Theodore Roszak, City Forms, 1937, gouache, watercolor and collage on board; 29 1/8” X 24 1/8”. Menconi + Schoelkopf
A gratifying recent project was the reframing of a gouache by Theodore Roszak (1933-2011) for Menconi + Schoelkopf.
Almost immediately upon seeing Roszak’s composition City Forms of 1937 I thought of a specific profile that would be perfect for the painting. The profile was designed in 1930 by the Austrian-born architect Joseph Urban for Thomas Hart Benton’s American Today mural. (See my blogpost about that project here.)
The profile is an elegant combination of angles and a central half-round that speak directly to Roszak’s forms. Finished in silver leaf to best complement the lush blues, the finish further affirms the modern world depicted.
DETAIL Thomas Hart Benton America Today, 1930-31; Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of AXA Equitable, 2012
Contemporary model of the profile designed for Benton’s America Today by Joseph Urban as seen in cross-section.