Julian Ritter (September 19, 1909 – March 4, 2000) was an American painter of Polish-German descent who painted primarily nudes, clowns and portraits.
He was introduced to figure painting under the tutelage of Stanley Reckless[2] who had studied at the Philadelphia Academy of Art and taught in the tradition of Frank Duveneck and the Munich School.
He has individual types of great interest: the old philosopher talking forever to a blank wall, the peasant woman going to church against the wind of life.
This is rather flashy work with more than a little cleverness, and includes three paintings accompanied by poems—rather dire comments on life today.The one-man show at the Newhouse Galleries was a particular success and led to portrait commissions.
While attending a party thrown by a patron who commissioned a portrait of his daughter, Ritter got drunk and stripped off his clothes, calling the other attendees "phony baloneys".
Ritter met Hildegarde "Hilde" Sabena Meyer-Radon in 1942 when he saw her walking past his studio to take violin lessons from an instructor next door.
[4] At the US entrance into the war, Ritter wanted to enlist in the US Navy due to his love of the sea, his sense of adventure and his loyalty to his adopted country.
He was assigned to the 40th Engineer Regiment[8] which was organized in Camp Pickett, Virginia, attached to the 45th Infantry Division which was part of General George Patton's 7th Army.
While at Camp Pickett, Ritter was selected to paint a portrait of Lt. General Ben "Yoo-Hoo" Lear who was the commanding officer of the 2nd Army based in Tennessee.
[2] Art critic Arthur Miller of the Los Angeles Times wrote in a 1947 review of Ritter's one-man show at the James Vigeveno Galleries in Westwood, California:[10] Julian Ritter, still-young painter and etcher who has not shown here in many years, has a large exhibit at the James Vigeveno Galleries to June 12.
It shows him remarkably gifted and various.Some will like his many paintings of girls or nudes, done in charming colors, or his characterful portraits of older folk or children.
"In a 1948 "Brush Strokes" column in the Los Angeles Times commented:[11] Julian Ritter's paintings of clowns, on view in the gallery at 401 S Lake Ave., Pasadena, are notable for liveliness of expression and color.
In addition to his painting, Ritter was a talented landscaper and he terraced the front and rear hills with steps, paths and pools all made from slabs of broken concrete.
The two made the trip from Los Angeles to Las Vegas in Ritter's 1949 Dodge Wayfarer, a yellow convertible with no rear seat and an extended trunk which would be packed with paintings.
Ritter wrote in a note published in the Los Angeles Times "the place is a paradise for landscape painters and living is cheap.
"[4] After nearly a year in San Blas, Ritter returned to California in 1957 and purchased the house at 2321 Edgewater Way in the Santa Barbara Mesa neighborhood.
It was generally well-received with Scott McClean, the gallery director, stating "This is probably the first exhibit to show the whole range and variety of the work of a man who has been known for two specialties – nudes and clowns.
A 1964 Los Angeles Times review of the same exhibit by Constance Perkins stated:[16] ...[Ritter's] fame rests largely on his sensual paintings of the nude figure.
Almost unknown are the artist's portrait pieces and a series of both large canvases and small abstract drawings in which the surreal element is dominant.
The large canvases, on the other hand, tend to be too personal and too involved in allegory to hold as significant statements.In 1964, Hilde had been sick for a year but refused to see a doctor.
[18] Ritter named the boat Galilee, and with the assistance of a two-man crew, on February 2, 1968,[19] he sailed it to various ports including Acapulco, Mexico, where he was joined by Kokx.
In December, 1968, a show was mounted at the Bernard Gallery in Los Angeles of works painted in Puntarenas that Ritter had sent home.
Ritter appeared on the TV game show To Tell the Truth along with two "impostor" contestants and the celebrity panelists in an episode that aired December 22, 1970.
[22] Ritter donated six of his clown paintings for an auction to raise money for a group working for the release of American prisoners of war held in North Vietnam.
To meet the demands of his collectors and his need for money, Ritter continued painting nudes, portraits and occasional clown compositions.
Autry purchased the Silver Slipper collection of Ritter's paintings from the Summa Corporation in a closed-bid auction in the late 1980s.
His earlier work also includes lots of clowns, many of which he painted with introspection and compassion – generally to the exclusion of their surroundings – telling us that his mind, heart and eye were in league with the human being beneath the costume, behind the make-up.
[4] Although he was known primarily as a figurative painter, Ritter painted a number of landscapes, particularly when he was in San Blas, Mexico, and when he made his Pacific voyage.
Art historian Phyllis Settacase Barton wrote of these paintings: "In the glowing panoramic scenes, powerfully and prayerfully, Julian Ritter lets us in on some of his most intimate secrets, eases us into his precious discoveries and shares with us deepest concerns.
"[4] The Silver Slipper Casino collection started in February, 1950 when Ritter sold 13 framed nude paintings for $1000 to Bill Moore, the owner of the Last Frontier Hotel.