Simeon Braguin
All on White
Simeon Braguin (1907 – 1997), a Ukrainian-born American artist and illustrator, had a varied career that spanned over six decades. His professions ranged from aerial photographer for the Office of Strategic Services during WWII to Art Director at Vogue Magazine. Braguin was also an avid art collector, philanthropist and a great friend to Andy Warhol.
The exhibition All on White focuses on Braguin’s works from the 1970s, which served as the genesis of his quintessential style. It was not until this time that Simeon Braguin found his passion for abstract painting, which would become his primary focus during the last three decades of his life.
Shortly after acquiring a summer home in Essex, Connecticut, in the late 1960s, Braguin became engrossed by his love of sailing and painting. He was often found racing his Blue Jay at the Pettipaugh Yacht Club. His love of sailing is reflected in the airy lightness of the paintings he created while in Essex, with their notable blues and greens reminiscent of the cerulean skies and verdant surrounding nature. During this time, he would go on to evolve his own highly poetic brand of abstraction.
During a debut solo exhibition of these new paintings at the Poindexter Gallery in New York in 1971, a critic for Arts Magazine described his paintings as “powerful in their understatement and wonderful in their evocations.” For the last two decades, Findlay Galleries has proudly represented the artistic legacy of Simeon Braguin as his art continues to engage art lovers worldwide with its beauty and elegance.