Simeon Braguin
1980 | Essex Harbor Series | 1990
During his long life that spanned every decade of the twentieth century, a Ukrainian immigrant became a photographer, a New York fashion illustrator, an American war hero, and a celebrated abstract painter. Simeon Braguin was possessed by a dual passion for sailing and painting. Quietly and privately, Braguin painted daily and produced a significant body of work in various mediums. Although he regularly exhibited at Yale Art School, he garnered much more critical acclaim posthumously than he did while alive. Today, Simeon Braguin’s works are highly regarded for their clever use of color, softness, and diversity of forms.
After Braguin’s second solo show at Poindexter Gallery in New York in 1975, he began increasingly working with tinted colors, allowing them to take over his previously white backgrounds. He was reaching a new peak in the maturity of his style. From the early 1980s onwards, Braguin introduced smaller elements and linear patterns that complemented his carefully balanced geometric shapes.
This exhibition explores Braguin’s refreshing use of color and the strength of his compositions. He aimed for simplicity in design, allowing color to take center stage. The translucency of his color fields reveals his equal concern for detail and nuance, which he incorporated into the overall picture. He drew his inspiration from a deep personal well of experience and was aided in his pursuit of harmony by the beautiful environs of the Connecticut River near Essex Harbor.
