127

Hugo Ballin

(1879-1956)

Untitled.

Oil on canvasboard.
Signed in oil at lower right, recto. Signed and inscribed with the artist's address in pencil, verso.
22 x 28 in. (55.9 x 71.1 cm.)
Frame: 26 x 32 in. (66 x 81.3 cm.)

  • Provenance: Hugo Ballin was a painter, muralist, and writer, director, and producer of silent films.
    Ballin studied fine art painting at the Art Students League in New York City. He travelled to Europe where he spent three years absorbing the techniques of the Renaissance painters in particular that of the Italian fresco artists. He returned to the United States where he found a demand for his classical style of painting securing work as a muralist for Beaux-Arts architectural projects.
    In the early 1920s Ballin worked for the film industry, first as an art director in New Jersey and later in Los Angeles writing, directing, and producing silent films for his own film company.
    In 1925 Hugo Ballin returned to fine art painting, continuing with his mural works. In 1939 he participated in the monumental Golden Gate International Exposition funded by the San Francisco Bay Exposition, Inc., as well as funding from the WPA.
  • Condition:
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January 29, 2026 12:00 PM EST
New York, NY, US

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