Louis Kronberg
Kronberg, Louis
https://proxy.bostonathenaeum.org:2319/10.1093/benz/9780199773787.article.B00101446
Published online: 31 October 2011
American, 19th – 20th century, male.
Born 20 April 1872, in Boston (Massachusetts); died April 1965, in Palm Beach (Florida).
Painter, watercolourist. Scenes with figures, figures, portraits.
Louis Kronberg attended the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and the Art Students League in New York City, where he studied under William Merritt Chase. He studied under Benjamin Constant, Jean Paul Laurens at the École des Beaux-Arts and Raphaël Collin at the Académie Julian in Paris from 1894 to 1897. Kronberg's early oil paintings were in an academic style, somewhat dark, with a subdued tonal effect. Later influenced by the techniques of James McNeill Whistler, the compositions of Edgar Degas, and his own interest in oriental woodcuts and engravings, Kronberg evolved a new personal style - animated, dramatic, and adventurous in design. He worked increasingly in watercolour and pastel to create portraits and scenes of the ballet. A trip to Spain in 1921-1922 led to a renowned series of Spanish and Gypsy folk dancers, in watercolour, oil and pastel. Popular well into the first third of the 20th century, Kronberg made portraits of many notables of the USA and Europe. He was a member of the Salmagundi Club, and was the winner of the club's Shaw Prize in 1919.
Museum and Gallery Holdings
Boston (Isabella Stewart Gardner Mus.)
Boston (MFA)
Buffalo (Albright-Knox AG)
New York (Metropolitan Mus. of Art)
Paris (Mus. d'Orsay)
San Diego (MA)
Auction Records
New York, 18 May 1960: Before the Mirror (pastel) USD 500
Washington, 22 May 1976: Seated Nude with Chinese Vase (1912, pastel/canvas, 19½ ? 15½ ins/49.5 ? 39.5 cm) USD 700
New York, 27 Oct 1978: Nude Resting (pastel/canvas, 29? ? 25 ins/75.6 ? 63.5 cm) USD 2,300
New York, 21 June 1979: Ballerina at the Barre (1916, oil on canvas, 18? ? 14 ins/46.3 ? 35.5 cm) USD 1,400
New York, 25 Oct 1979: Dancer in White (1913, pastel, 36 ? 25½ ins/91.5 ? 64.8 cm) USD 3,250
New York, 29 Jan 1981: Mademoiselle Regina (1913, pastel/canvas, 36 ? 25½ ins/91.5 ? 64.8 cm) USD 3,000
New York, 3 Dec 1982: Ballerina (1915, oil on canvas, 52 ? 34? ins/132.2 ? 87.1 cm) USD 5,000
New York, 21 Sept 1984: The Blue Fan (pastel, 20? ? 11? ins/51.4 ? 30 cm) USD 950
New York, 1 Oct 1987: Mademoiselle Regina (1913, pastel/paper, 36? ? 25½ ins/91.8 ? 64.8 cm) USD 1,800
New York, 17 Dec 1990: Dancer Knotting her Hair in a Bun (1917, oil on canvas, 28½ ? 20½ ins/72.5 ? 52.1 cm) USD 3,080
New York, 10 June 1992: Red-headed Beauty (1908, pastel/paper, 23½ ? 17½ ins/59.7 ? 44.4 cm) USD 2,090
New York, 23 Sept 1992: Dancer in a Green Tutu with a Fan (1905, oil on canvas, 30 ? 22 ins/76 ? 56 cm) USD 9,900
New York, 29 Oct 1992: Judith (1906, oil on canvas, 61 ? 40 ins/154.9 ? 101.6 cm) USD 8,800
New York, 4 May 1993: Young Ballerina holding a Parrot (1901, oil on canvas, 24 ? 19½ ins/61 ? 49.5 cm) USD 4,600
New York, 28 Sept 1995: Dancer in Violet (oil on canvas, 40 ? 30 ins/101.6 ? 76.2 cm) USD 5,175
Detroit, 17 Oct 1999: Nude Female Figure (1917, pastel, 29 ? 25 ins/74 ? 64 cm) USD 10,000
Watertown, 5 Dec 1999: The Curtain Call - The Encore, Paris (oil on canvas, 36 ? 29 ins/91 ? 74 cm) USD 3,750
Boston, 10 March 2000: Group of Ballet Dancers on Stage (pastel on canvas, 11 ? 18 ins/27 ? 46 cm) USD 3,000
New York, 14 March 2001: The Ballerina (1915, oil on canvas, 52 ? 34 ins/132 ? 87 cm) USD 10,000
New York, 14 March 2001: The Velita (1909, oil on canvas, 36 ? 28 ins/91 ? 71 cm) USD 25,000
Boston, 22 March 2002: Ballerina (oil on canvas) USD 1,800
New York, 5 Feb 2003: Preparing for the Dance (1944, oil on canvas, 30 ? 25 ins/76 ? 64 cm) USD 1,700
Milford, 24 April 2003: Before the Ballet (1913, oil on canvas, 25 ? 20 ins/64 ? 51 cm) USD 7,000
New York, 31 March 2004: Ballerina (oil on canvas, 24 ? 18 ins/61 ? 46 cm) USD 3,500
Bethesda, 7 May 2004: Guitarista (1936, oil on canvas, 25 ? 35 ins/64 ? 89 cm) USD 5,500
