I purchased this painting from a thrift store that holds auctions online. It's huge, and cost almost as much to ship it as it did to buy it. Until very recently I knew next to nothing about the artist, save that he lived in Colorado and had passed away some time ago. I started digging, and just the little I managed to find was amazing!
Jack Pohr was born Jakiw Pohrebynsky on Sept. 19, 1918 in Kiev, Russia, to an aristocratic family. His family fled to Poland to escape the Russian Revolution shortly after his birth. According to a newspaper article from 1952, he was interred in a concentration camp by the Nazis during WWII, where he learned to play the violin so well that he avoided the death chambers by playing for the Gestapo. He and his wife (also a Russian aristocrat) emigrated first to Canada then eventually to Colorado Springs, where he became well-known as a portraitist and painter. He passed away at age 84 in 2003, leaving behind many works, including this one. Sadly, his only son Alfred "Freddy" Pohr died of a stroke a year later, and his wife Lisa Dworkina Pohr (nee Tutmasion) passed in 2006. He left no direct descendants.
This was one of only a handful paintings of Indians that Jack made, as far as I can tell. The inspiration was an antique photograph of Kicking Bear (March 18, 1846–May 28, 1904, also called Matȟó Wanáȟtake), an Oglala Lakota who became a band chief of the Minneconjou Lakota. He was a first cousin of Crazy Horse. It's a very nicely done painting, and quite striking on my wall!
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| "Kicking Bear, Sioux" by Jack Pohr, oil on Masonite |
I have a portrait of an Indian boy. John was a good friend and a famous artist.
ReplyDeleteIf this is the right J. Pohr from Colorado Springs, Colo. He painted the Kennedy's
and many prominent people in the east. Also his paintings were purchased by
Wells Fargo in Colorado Springs, branch on Nevada Ave.
I am trying to find out more information about the artist Jack Pohr. Was he part of the Broadmoor group? Does anyone one know about his training and did he learn his style from any other artists?
DeleteI wish I knew! Information on Jack Pohr is pretty thin on the ground. His only son died a year after he did, with his wife following soon after. He left no descendants to carry on the family stories. I consider myself lucky to have found out as much as I have. If you do find out, please let me know!
DeleteI have a painting that is by J. Pohr, it's a gorgeous painting & we would love to know some history about it & what it might be worth. In our research we have found that he did very few paintings of this style. Do you know who we could call to possibly get some information about this painting?
DeleteHi there,
DeleteIn all honesty, your best bet to determine relative value is to do as much research on past sales of his paintings as you can, concentrating on as many of his paintings that are similar to yours as you can. There are several subscription services that archive online auction results, or you can join online multi-house auction sites like liveauctioneers.com and invaluable.com for free and search their past auction results to get a few of them. As for someone to call, your best bet would be a professional art appraiser. But be aware that they charge for their services and know that "caveat emptor" applies - do your research on the appraiser too before spending your hard earned cash. I once scored a ticket to a local appraisal fair for the PBS program "Antiques Roadshow" to have a couple of items valued that I had found no comparables for.
I've seen Jack's paintings sell for anything from under a hundred to a couple thousand dollars, depending on many factors including content, colors, size, condition, etc. He's famous mostly for his impasto landscapes and portraits, though he covered many other subjects when commissioned to do so.
Pretty much all I know about him is in this post. As I find new information, I update this post. I do find it rather amusing that "askart" had not a single line in his biography until well after I had posted my research, and they then covered much the same ground! LOL
Frank B
The Bronze Hound
Hi there,
ReplyDeleteYes, as far as I know this is the same Jack Pohr. Again as far as I know, he was the only painter who signed his work "J. Pohr" and that he and his family were the only Pohrs in Colorado Springs. Much of the information I have found on him, I found in his wife's and son's obituaries, the rest after searching his full given name. I did read that he had painted the Kennedys too.
If you'd like to share any memories of your late friend, please feel free!
If this site is still active, I have a little bit of information about Jack Pohr. My parents were friends and neighbors of his in Denver.
ReplyDeleteLoved to here your information about him
DeleteYes, I love his paintings and would love to hear more about him.
ReplyDeleteSorry - I haven't checked back in a while. I live in Delaware now, but my parents met the Pohrs when they both lived on Niagara Street in Denver. They became friends and stayed friends after they both moved off the block, Jack and Lisa to Colorado Springs, and my parents to southwest Denver. I have portraits he painted of my grandparents in TX which are dated 1959. My grandmother sat for her portrait, but my grandfather was deceased so his was painted from a picture. I also had 2 prints of his that were my parents which I have since given to my cousin who now lives in COS, one of an Indian girl and one of a vase of orange poppies. I have a photo of my grandmother with Freddie on her lap, and a photo of Jack, Lisa, and Freddie in Jack's arms. I also have 3 cards. One with his contact information, gallery info, and references; one with is an invitation to a showing at the Garden of the Gods Club in September of 1959, and one is a Christmas card. All three have his artwork on the cover. Two memories: One is my mother saying that Lisa came from Russian royalty and her idea of hamburger was ground filet mignon, so needless to say, they always enjoyed dinners at the Pohrs. The second is going to their house for dinner in COS where Lisa served me goat's milk... not what I was expecting.
ReplyDeleteI have a very large beautiful painting of his that I stumbled across at a sale. It's so good to hear about him and his life! I've owned the painting for yrs and often wondered of its significance and value.
ReplyDelete