Robert Amft (December 7, 1916 – October 28, 2012) was a painter, sculptor, photographer, designer born in Chicago.

Biography

Amft grew up during the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

. After graduating from high school, he worked for a year for the New Deal's

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government unemployment, work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was ...

in the Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho before enrolling in the

School of the Art Institute of Chicago The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) is a Private university, private art school associated with the Art Institute of Chicago (AIC) in Chicago, Illinois. Tracing its history to an art students' cooperative founded in 1866, which gr ...

, studying at the Saugatuck Summer School of Painting. He graduated from the School of the Chicago Art Institute, 1939. He entered advertising and publishing design upon graduation and taught at the Ray School in Chicago and the

New Orleans Academy of Fine Arts The New Orleans Academy of Fine Arts (NOAFA) is a private fine arts school located in New Orleans, Louisiana. Established in 1978, the academy offers instruction in traditional art disciplines, emphasizing classical techniques and working from l ...

. He was a senior book designer for the Language Arts Department at

Scott Foresman Scott Foresman was an elementary educational publisher for PreK through Grade 6 in all subject areas. Its titles are now owned by Savvas Learning Company which formed from former Pearson Education K12 division. The old Glenview headquarters ...

& Co. His painting ''Sunday Afternoon in Lincoln Park'' won First Prize at the New Horizons Annual Exhibition in 1975, and his painting ''Head'' won the Renaissance Prize at the Artists of Chicago and Vicinity Show. In 1985, he won a Painting Award from the Beverly Art Center, and in 1986, he was Curator's Choice at the Art Sales and Rental Gallery of the

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the United States. The museum is based in the Art Institute of Chicago Building in Chicago's Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park. Its collection, stewa ...

. He has also exhibited his watercolors at the International Watercolor Show. In 2005, the

Chicago Public Radio WBEZ (91.5 FM) – branded ''WBEZ 91.5'' – is a non-commercial educational radio station licensed to Chicago, Illinois, and primarily serving the tri-state region of the Chicago metropolitan area. It is owned by Chicago Public Media and is fi ...

program ''Hello Beautiful!'' featured Amft in an extended audio visit to his home studio.Robert Amft: Paintings for Particular People
wbez.org. Retrieved June 2, 2023. For more than 70 years, Amft worked in a variety of media—oils, watercolors,

collage Collage (, from the , "to glue" or "to stick together") is a technique of art creation, primarily used in the visual arts, but in music too, by which art results from an assembly of different forms, thus creating a new whole. (Compare with pasti ...

s, sculptures, photographs. His photography and design have won over fifty awards and have been reproduced in Graphics Annual, N.Y. Art Director Annual, Life, and Photo Graphics. His sculpture, Dog, won an award in the 1994 Beverly Art Center Annual Exhibition and his Whistler's Mother sculpture won the Best of Show Award at the 1997 Later Impressions' Exhibit held at the

James R. Thompson Center The James R. Thompson Center (JRTC), under reconstruction as Google Center or Googleplex Chicago and originally the State of Illinois Center, is a postmodern-style building designed by architect Helmut Jahn, located at 100 W. Randolph Street in ...

in Chicago. Amft died in

Myrtle Beach Myrtle Beach is a resort city on the East Coast of the United States in Horry County, South Carolina. It is located in the center of a long and continuous stretch of beach known as the " Grand Strand” in the northeastern part of the state. It ...

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

, on October 28, 2012, at the age of 95.

Solo exhibitions

* 2014 Richardson Gallery "Robert Amft: Painter, Sculptor, Photographer, Designer" Conway, SC * 2012 Galleries Anaerobic Studios "Robert Amft: The Work" Myrtle Beach, SC * 2010 Maurice Sternberg Galleries: "Robert Amft: Still Out of His Mind" – Robert Amft: New Paintings, 1970-2010 (Chicago) * 2008 Maurice Sternberg Galleries: "Robert Amft: Out of His Mind" – Personal Paintings: 1938 – 1960 (Chicago) * 2006 Corbett vs Dempsey Gallery: "Paintings for Particular People — A Survey, 1935-2005" – Major Works (Chicago) * 2003 Woodland Pattern Book Center * 2003 "Robert Amft's Beastiary" (Milwaukee) * 1996

Intuit Intuit Inc. is an American multinational business software company that specializes in financial software. The company is headquartered in Mountain View, California, and the CEO is Sasan Goodarzi. Intuit's products include the tax preparati ...

Gallery: Illinois — Photos 1996 (Chicago) * 1994 Rotunda Gallery: Illinois — Photos (Highland Park) * 1994 Caputo Gallery (Madison, Wisconsin) * 1989 Illinois Printers (Springfield, Illinois) * 1985 One Illinois Center: "Recent Painting" (Chicago) * 1984

Kansas State University Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant coll ...

: "Watercolors" * 1982 Countryside Art Center (Arlington Heights) * 1981 Hammer & Hammer Gallery (Chicago) * 1981 Joy Horwich Gallery (Chicago) * 1979

Western Illinois University Western Illinois University (WIU) is a public university in Macomb, Illinois, United States. It was founded in 1899 as Western Illinois State Normal School. As the normal school grew, it became Western Illinois State Teachers College. Once West ...

* 1970 Welna Gallery (Chicago) * 1970 Junior Museum (Art Institute, Chicago) * 1968 Medical Center (University of Illinois) * 1967, 1968 St. Xavier's College * 1964

Cliff Dwellers Club The Cliff Dwellers Club is a private civic arts organization in Chicago, Illinois. The Club was founded in 1907 by Chicago author Hamlin Garland as "The Attic Club", On January 18, 1909, the name was formally changed to The Cliff Dwellers. In 190 ...

* 1963 Panoras Gallery (New York) * 1961, 1962, 1964 Old Town Art Center * 1957, 1959 Morris Gallery (New York)

Group exhibitions and awards

*2008 "Chicago Art" Artropolis (Chicago) *2005 "Six Rings" Corbett vs Dempsey Gallery *2005 "Chicago at Mid Century" De Paul Art Museum (Chicago) *2005 "Art in Chicago" Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art *2003 "Animal Images Show": First Prize — Sculpture "Coyote" Anti-Cruelty Society *2000 Triennial International Print (Krakow, Poland) *1997 Print & Drawing Annual 21st Harper College/Western Illinois University *1997 Bi-State Exhibition Museum of Art *1997 8th International Print Competition (Osaka, Japan) *1997 "Roadside Attractions" Museum of Art Lafayette *1997 "Later Impressions": Best of Show (Chicago) *1996 Midwestern Sculpture South Bend Regional Art Center (South Bend, Indiana) *1996 Annual Best of Photography Photographer's Forum *1995 Artforms Museum of Art Lafayette *1993 Genesis — Paintings R.H. Love Gallery (Chicago) *1993 Beverly Art Center: Sculpture Award *1993 "A Place in the World" – Photos,

Alverno College Alverno College is a Private college, private Catholic Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. History Chartered in 1887 as "St. Joseph's Normal School", Alverno became "Alverno Teachers Col ...

(Milwaukee, Wisconsin) *1990 Midwestern Sculptures South Bend Art Center (South Bend, Indiana) *1990 "Illinois Painters" Springfield Art Association *1986 Curators Choice Art Rental Gallery Art Institute Chicago *1985 Painting Award Beverly Art Center *1984 "Mainstreams '74"

Marietta College Marietta College (MC) is a private liberal arts college in Marietta, Ohio, United States. Its campus encompasses approximately six city blocks next to downtown Marietta and enrolls 1,200 students. History Marietta College began as the Muskin ...

(Marietta, Ohio) *1978 Painting and Sculpture Today (Indianapolis, Indiana) *1975 New Horizons — Painting Award Annual *1975 Chicago Vicinity Show: Renaissance Prize (Chicago) *1965 Washington Museum (Tacoma) *1958 Pennsylvania Academy Annual (Youngstown, Ohio) Purchase Prize Butler Institute of Art (New York) *1952 Hallmark Show: Hallmark Award *1947 Pepsi Cola Annual *1940, 1956, 1963, 1974, 1975 Chicago and Vicinity Show *1938, 1939, 1941 International Watercolor Show

Reviews

*Bonesteel, Michael. Review of photography at Rotunda Gallery,

Highland Park, Illinois Highland Park is a suburban city located in southeastern Lake County, Illinois, United States, about north of downtown Chicago. Per the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 30,176. Highland Park is one of several municipali ...

. "Living in Their Own World", ''Evanston Review'' (February 18, 1993) *Two-man show at Art Rental Gallery. ''Bulletin of the Art Institute of Chicago'' (November–December 1978, vol. 72, no. 6) *"Great Treasures from the Art Institute of Chicago", Reproductions of 7 of Amft's "Modified Masters", ''Chicago Magazine'' (April 1977) *Kultermann, Udo. "Van Gogh in Contemporary Art", ''Art Voices South'' (January 1976) *"Les Americans a Paris". Reproduction of "Pink Sunglasses" (Mona Lisa), ''Le Dessin'' (January 1976) *''Who's Who in American Art'' (1976) *Kind, Joshua. Article on Chicago Vicinity Show, ''New Art Examiner'' (February 1975) *Reproduction of "Head". ''Sun Times'' (December 15, 1974) *Article related to Amft's winning First Prize in "New Horizons", 1972, ''Evanston Review'' (June 29, 1972) *Arts Club Members Show. ''Chicago Sun Times'' (April 22, 1973) *Schultze, Franze. Review of exhibition at Welna Gallery, ''Chicago Daily News'' (March 18, 1972) *Anderson. Don. Review of Welna Exhibition, ''Chicago Sun Times'' (January 11, 1970) *Wagner, Robert. Review of exhibition at Welna Gallery, ''Chicago Trlbune'' (January 3, 1970) *Haydon, Harold. Review. "What does this talent outpour mean?" Review of 75th Artists of Chicago & Vicinity Show. *Burckhardt, Edith. Review of one-man show at Morris Gallery, New York: A-"Grandpa Moses of Concrete" *Article showing Amft's photographs of the sculpture of self-taught artist, Fred Smith. ''LIFE'' (November 1969) *Sawin, Martica. Review of one-man show at Morris Gallery, New York, ''Arts Magazine'' (January 1958)

References

Sources

Illinois, Cook County Birth Certificates, 1878-1922

Official Robert Amft website

Robert Amft biography

Galleries of Robert Amft's artwork on Flickr
{{DEFAULTSORT:Amft, Robert Civilian Conservation Corps people Artists from Chicago 1916 births 2012 deaths 20th-century American painters 20th-century American male artists American male painters 21st-century American painters 21st-century American male artists