William Horace Littlefield (American 1902-1969) Mid-Century Modern Art Abstract Oil Painting Circa 1960

William Horace Littlefield (American 1902-1969) Mid-Century Modern abstract oil painting on paper. Signed with cipher at center. Measures 11 1/2″ x 9 3/4″ framed. Good condition – frame wear.

After graduating from Harvard in 1924, Littlefield departed for Paris to further his studies in painting, and where he met and shared a studio with the English painter and printmaker Stanley William Hayter. In 1931, he was commissioned by Lincoln Kirstein to create stage sets for the American Ballet’s first production of Serenade and Mozartiana at the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, Connecticut. He was invited in 1932 to participate in the Whitney Museum’s First Biennial and in 1936 a group exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA). He had his first solo exhibition at the Grace Horne Galleries in Boston in 1938. His work was also part of the painting event in the art competition at the 1932 Summer Olympics.

In 1947, Littlefield co-founded the Cape Cod Art Association. He first exhibited at the Provincetown Art Association in 1949. In the fall of 1951, Littlefield rented a studio in Manhattan to study with Morris Davidson and, during the summer of 1952, with Hans Hofmann in Provincetown.

Littlefield’s work is included in private and public collections including the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Harvard Art Museums, the Worcester Art Museum, the Cape Cod Museum of Art, Smith College Museum of Art, the New Hampshire Institute of Art, the Addison Gallery.