Abstract Cathedral by Leonard Lieb

This is a mixed media drawing by Pittsburgh artist Leonard Lieb. It shows a shadowy hooded figure in front of an obelisk framed by gothic arches. It's quite foreboding and the actual setting is unclear as there appears to be a fence line and some trees visible, however there is also a roof in place. It does seem to be a sacred space but whether it a place of light or dark, holy, or unholy is ambiguous. I find it interesting how the figure's hood echoes the arches and the folds in the robes resemble the tracery of the arches and windows. It's a very interesting piece. The title is mine but its accuracy is open to interpretation. This is a mixed media drawing using ink and a dark crayon. It is signed Leonard Lieb toward the bottom center. The artist appears to have scratched through the crayon at the top of the image to create the ceiling. It is on cardboard and is mounted on a mat board. It is in excellent condition. The piece is small, 4 1/8 x 6 inches. The mat board is 11 x 14 inches. There are no condition issues. This would be a later work by the artist when he began to move into abstraction.

Leonard Lieb (1912-1977) Leonard Lieb was born in Poland but emigrated to the United States and settled in Pittsburgh. He studied art at the Irene Kaufmann Settlement Art School and the University of Pittsburgh. His preferred medium was oil painting but he worked in other media as well. He had a strong regional reputation in Pittsburgh and Pennsylvania as a genre painter. Later in his career he was drawn to more abstract imagery and was a member of “The Abstract Group”. It is a select group of Pittsburgh artists founded in 1944, renamed Group A in 1969, and still active. He was a member of the Associated Artists of Pittsburgh and exhibited in the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. In 1941 he had major national recognition through participation in a competition at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC and winning the National Watercolor award presented by the US Treasury Department. Other awards included a purchase award from the Carnegie Institute in 1958 (an abstract lithograph titled Creator that is in the collection) and an award for distinguished drawing from the Associated Artists of Pittsburgh in 1962. His work has been exhibited at the Art Institute of Chicago and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. In addition to his artistic work, Lieb was a well-known educator teaching drawing & painting at the DePaul Institute, the Irene Kaufmann Settlement Art School, and the Arts & Crafts Center in Pittsburgh from 1948-70. He also worked in the display and advertising department of the Kaufmann department store. He died at age 64 from injuries in an automobile accident.