A Portrait in Abstraction by Lester Molleson

This is a colorful and modernist oil on canvas painting by Lester Molleson, a Milwaukee based artist. Titled “Madam”, this abstract portrait features a glamorous woman in a cleavage-baring dress draped in a fur stole and accessorized with a feathered hat.

Grapefruit Moon Gallery acquired an interesting collection of paintings by this artist in an unexpected rural Wisconsin barn find!

Molleson graduated from the Layton School of the Arts in 1950 after serving in the military during World War II. He opened and ran an art studio with Nicola Conigliaro called “Open Studio” at the time this painting was completed. While unsigned, this is guaranteed to be the work of Lester Molleson.

Molleson was described as a “shy” artist who “paints explosively”. Due to an ongoing struggle with alcohol and depression, the artist never broke through to prominence.

Exhibits: Layton Gallery, Westun Gallery, Wisconsin State Fair, Wisconsin Painters and Sculptors Exhibit, 1950 Gimbels Art Collection “Wisconsin at Work”, 1951 Gimbels Contemporary House at the Milwaukee Auditorium Home Show, and The Art Institute of Chicago’s – 75th Annual Exhibition.