Braun, Maurice (1877-1941).

Evening Light by Maurice Braun (1877-1941) 36" x 42", Oil/Canvas, Signed Est.: $100,000 - $150,000 Sold by John Moran Auctioneers for $180,800 on 10/26/2004 ARTIST WORLD RECORD

Landscape painter. Born in Nagy Bittse, Hungary on Oct. 1, 1877.

Braun immigrated with his family to the U.S. in 1881 and settled in NYC. He began drawing at age three and in his early teens was apprenticed to a jeweler. In 1897 he began a five year study period at the NAD followed by one year with William M. Chase.

He was an established portrait and figure painter in New York before moving to San Diego in 1910. After opening a studio on Point Loma, he founded the San Diego Academy of Art in 1912 and served as its director for many years. In 1915 he was a cofounder of the San Diego Art Guild and in 1929 co-founded Contemporary Artists in San Diego.

Braun remained in San Diego except for the years 1922-24 when he maintained a studio in Silvermine, CT. His impressionist paintings of the Southwest desert, Southern California hills, and High Sierra have brought him great national acclaim.

At the end of his career he specialized in still lifes of flowers and oriental objets d’art. An ardent follower of Theosophy, their teachings of the unity of nature and man is evident in his work.

Braun died in San Diego on Nov. 7, 1941.

Member: San Diego Theosophical Society; Salmagundi Club (NY); Laguna Beach AA; San Diego FA Ass’n; Calif. Art Club; Academy of Western Painters; San Diego Contemporary Artists. Exhibited: PPIE, 1915; LACMA, 1918, 1920 (solos); GGIE, 1939; NAD and Carnegie Institute annually, 1911-15; PAFA; AIC. Awards: Hallgarten prize, NAD, 1900; gold medals, Panama-Calif. Expo, San Diego, 1915-16; and others. Works held: Bloomington (IL) AA; Houston Art Museum; San Diego Museum of Art; Public Collections of Riverside and San Bernardino, Ca; Phoenix Municipal Collection; LA Women’s Athletic Club; LACMA; Theosophy Center, Pasadena; LA Commercial Club; Laguna Beach Museum of Art; Wichita (KS) AA; San Antonio AA. PPIE cat.; Fld; Ber; Ben; Sam; Impressionism, The California View; California Design, 1910; AAA 1919-33; WWAA 1936-41; PAP; SCA; AAW; So. California Artists, 1890-1940.