Description

What an unexpected combination of color --blues, chartreuse, and orange, but it works.  Robert "Bob" Rheem, along with his lifelong partner and fellow artist Liam O'Gallagher, were both students of Hans Hofmann.  This is a pretty classic abstract expressionist painting -- is it a poppy field? -- from this important period in American painting. More than that, it is happy, colorful and vibrant (in a California kind of way).

Details

• Robert Rheem (American, 20th century)
• Untitled, California inscribed on verso
• Oil on canvas
  
• Signed and dated in lower right hand corner
  
• 16" x 20" (overall) 14 1/2" x 18 1/2" (sight)
• Newly cleaned, varnished and framed

About the Artist

It has been difficult to gather details about the life of Robert "Bob" Rheem because his is so closely intertwined, and overshadowed, by that of his life partner, the late Liam O'Gallagher.  They studied together with Hans Hofmann at the Art Students League in New York in 1946 and then relocated to the Chinatown neighborhood of San Francisco where they became prominent members of what would become known as the Beat Generation. Bob came from wealth; his father was the noted industrialist and founder of Rheem Heating and Cooling.  Perhaps that was why he was content to remain behind the scenes somewhat. Nevertheless, he was noted for his incredible aesthetic that extended beyond painting to include gardening and cooking.

The pair surrounded themselves with some of the most fascinating people of the period: Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsburg, Andy Warhol, William Burroughs and the artist Beatrice Wood. Together they helped to found Feathered Pipe Ranch (a yoga and wellness retreat) in Montana, as well as the Beatrice Wood Foundation for the Arts in Ojai, California.