Wolf Kahn

Artist Information

Born in Stuttgart, Germany, Wolf Kahn escaped Nazi persecution through the Kindertransport in the late 1930s, finding refuge in Britain before immigrating to the United States. After completing high school, he served in the U.S. Navy and later studied under renowned artist and teacher Hans Hofmann, eventually becoming his studio assistant. In 1950, Kahn enrolled at the University of Chicago, earning his Bachelor of Arts degree in just one year.

Kahn’s first solo exhibition took place at New York’s Hansa Gallery in 1953, marking the beginning of a prolific career. He went on to exhibit with Grace Borgenicht Gallery for over four decades, establishing himself as a leading figure in American contemporary art. His achievements include a Fulbright Scholarship, a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Award in Art from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and the U.S. State Department’s Medal of Arts.

In 1957, Kahn married fellow painter Emily Mason. The two shared sixty-two years of life and art together, dividing their time between their studios in New York City and West Brattleboro, Vermont.

Kahn’s luminous, color-rich landscapes have been celebrated in exhibitions across North America and are included in the permanent collections of major institutions such as The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Whitney Museum of American Art, The Museum of Modern Art, The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, The Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and The Smithsonian American Art Museum.

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