Ivars Hirss (1931–1989) was a

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

n-born American painter.

Life and work

Hirss was born in

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

, into an extremely wealthy Latvian family. Contrary to his father's wishes that he become a businessman, Hirss pursued a career in art. He eventually moved to

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

, where, by the early 1960s he had made a name for himself in graphics, as well as within the greater

art community. He had several successful exhibits, including one at the Triangle Gallery (San Francisco) in 1962 and another in 1967 at the

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) is a modern and contemporary art museum located in San Francisco, California. A nonprofit organization, SFMOMA holds an internationally recognized collection of modern and contemporary art, and was ...

. His work often included a bright primary color upon which other colors were then superimposed. It also often included Latvian decoration or ornament. Hirss died in 1989 from complications related to alcoholism. With the revival of modernist aesthetics, Hirss' art has received renewed interest from scholars.

Exhibitions

*1962 Thesis (M.F.A.)--

California College of Arts and Crafts California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the mo ...

"The serigraphs of Ivars Hirss", San Francisco, CA *1967 January 17-February 12, "Serigraphs by Rolf Eiselin and Ivars Hirss: San Francisco Museum of Art. CA *1971 January 15-February 28, "

San Francisco Art Institute San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI) was a private college of contemporary art in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1871, SFAI was one of the oldest art schools in the United States and the oldest west of the Mississippi River. Approximately ...

centennial exhibition", San Francisco CA

Selected major collections

*The Janet Turner Print Museum at California State University, Chico. CA (in others as well as many private collections)

List of works

*Untitled, 1962, Serigraph / color Collection of The Janet Turner Print Museum at California State University, Chico CA. *My Window Facing East, Serigraph/color, Collection of The Janet Turner Print Museum at California State University, Chico CA.

References

Additional reference

*American artist, Vol 28, P 63 1964 *S.F. Art Clippings v.4: 122 - exhibit

External links

San Francisco Public Library, Artists File : Hirss, Ivars (1931- ) b. Riga, Latvia S.FThe Janet Turner Print Museum at California State University, Chico. Collection: Ivars Hirss.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hirss, Ivars 1931 births 1989 deaths Artists from Riga Latvian painters American contemporary painters Modern artists 20th-century American painters American male painters Painters from California Soviet emigrants to the United States 20th-century American male artists