Eugene Ludins (March 23, 1904 in Mariupol Russian Empire – May 20, 1996 in New York City)[1] was a leading regional American painter and academic.
[2] His representational art, often fantastic and surrealistic, fell into obscurity after 1948, concurrent with the advent of Abstract Expressionism and his move to teach at the University of Iowa.
[1][2][6][7][8] From 1941 to 1942, Luden's Fish Hunt was exhibited at the Art Institute of Chicago, but did not win any awards in their annual show of American paintings and sculpture.
[6] He was changed by the experience;[7] According to the Troy Record, "the horrors he saw there would strongly influence his artistic career for the next decade and to some extent for the rest of his life.
artists who had gone to teach art at U. of Iowa, all without academic credentials, including his more famous peer, Grant Wood, although Ludins would stay there for 30 years.