Ernest Fiene (November 2, 1894 – August 10, 1965) was a 20th-century American graphic artist who primarily worked in New York City and

Woodstock, New York Woodstock is a town in Ulster County, New York, United States, in the northern part of the county, northwest of Kingston, NY. It lies within the borders of the Catskill Park. The population was 5,884 at the 2010 census, down from 6,241 in 20 ...

. Fiene was known primarily for his varied printed works, including lithographs and etchings. His notable work includes cityscapes, views of New York City in particular, landscapes and other figural art.

Biography

Ernest Fiene was born in

Elberfeld Elberfeld is a municipal subdivision of the German city of Wuppertal; it was an independent town until 1929. History The first official mentioning of the geographic area on the banks of today's Wupper River as "''elverfelde''" was in a doc ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

on November 2, 1894 to Henry and Maria Fiene. He left Germany in 1912. Traveling first to the Netherlands, he continued on to the United States. From 1914 to 1918 he studied at the

National Academy of Design The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, and others "to promote the f ...

in New York City, and from 1916 to 1918 at the Beaux Arts Institute. In 1923, Fiene continued his study of printmaking at the Art Students League of New York. In 1921 he married Jeannette Etarre. In 1923, he had his first solo show at the Whitney Studio Club. The show was successful, and he secured an art dealer. His work was decidedly modern, depicting modern life and industry through color and shape through

precisionism Precisionism was a modernist art movement that emerged in the United States after World War I. Influenced by Cubism, Purism, and Futurism, Precisionist artists reduced subjects to their essential geometric shapes, eliminated detail, and often us ...

. From 1928 to 1929 Fiene studied in Paris and traveled in France. In 1932, he was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship which allowed him to study mural painting in Italy. His work was sold as

lithographs Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German a ...

through the Associated American Artists' (AAA) mail-order catalogs for $5 each. Through his association with AAA, Fiene was hired in 1940, along with eight other prominent American artists, to document dramatic scenes and characters during the production of the film ''

The Long Voyage Home ''The Long Voyage Home'' is a 1940 American drama film directed by John Ford. It stars John Wayne, Thomas Mitchell and Ian Hunter. It features Barry Fitzgerald, Wilfrid Lawson, John Qualen, Mildred Natwick, and Ward Bond, among others. The f ...

'', a cinematic adaptation of Eugene O'Neill's plays."Cover Article, American Artist Magazine, September, 1940, pp. 4-14"
/ref> His work was part of the painting event in the art competition at the 1932 Summer Olympics. In 1945 he divorced his first wife and married Alicia Wiencek (1918–1961) on August 13, 1945, who was one of his students at the Arts Students League. Fiene re-established his relationship with the Art Students League in 1948, returning to teach classes in painting and drawing there. In 1948, he was elected into the

as an Associate member, and became a full Academician in 1952. In the 1950s he also served on the faculty of the

Famous Artists School Famous Artists School is an art correspondence course institution, in operation since 1948. The school was founded by members of the New York Society of Illustrators, principally Albert Dorne and Norman Rockwell. History The Famous Artists S ...

Westport, Connecticut Westport is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, along the Long Island Sound within Connecticut's Gold Coast. It is northeast of New York City. The town had a population of 27,141 according to the 2020 U.S. Census. History ...

. Fiene died of a heart attack in Paris in 1965.

References

External links

''The Long Voyage Home'' Artist Portraits and Paintings
at

The Ned Scott Archive Ned Scott (April 16, 1907 – November 24, 1964) was an American photographer who worked in the Hollywood film industry as a still photographer from 1935–1948. As a member of the Camera Club of New York from 1930–34, he was heavily influe ...

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Ernest Fiene: Issue 1 of Younger artists series
', by William Murrell (1922) {{DEFAULTSORT:Fiene, Ernest 1894 births 1965 deaths German emigrants to the United States American graphic designers Art Students League of New York faculty Art Students League of New York alumni Section of Painting and Sculpture artists Olympic competitors in art competitions 20th-century American printmakers 20th-century American male artists