Ben Abril
(1923-1995)
Train on a railway
Oil on canvas
Signed lower right: Ben Abril
18" H x 24" W
Other Notes: The romance of old California and nostalgia for a lost past of high-rises and vintage Los Angeles coalesce around the work of artist Ben Abril. Old LA is caught in a time capsule in each Abril work, frozen in time in dazzling brushwork and vibrant colors. Capturing a city between the Golden Age of Hollywood and the end of the midcentury, Abrilís work sees the passing of the old, the new, and the old again.

Born in 1923 in Los Angeles, Abril served in World War II in the Air Force. After a short stint at the Glendale School of Allied Arts (where we learned painting under Arthur Beaumont), Abril worked as a clerk in a post office at night so he could spend his days painting.† Abril was eclectic in his schooling and training, studying landscape painting at the Art Center School of Design, architectural rendering at Chouinard Art Institute (now Cal Arts), and watercolor classes at Otis Art Institute. While an accomplished artist on the side, Abril mainly worked as a cartographer and draftsman for the County of Los Angeles. A series of artistic projects and exhibitions in the mid-1950s and early 1960s cemented Abrilís reputation as an outstanding painter: an exhibition in 1964 prompted actor and art collector Vincent Price to buy out his whole studio. Abril received several high-profile commissions, including a series for the US Navy and a gift for Pope John Paul II.

Abril passed away in La Canada Flintridge in 1995 after complications from cancer. A stand-out from many of the other California Scene Painters, Abril's work was described as such in an exhibition at the Cowie Wilshire Galleries in Los Angeles:

"There are, nevertheless, few artists among the many southern California scene painters who so obviously enjoy their profession and also manage to convey this exuberance to the observer as does Abril. Whether his subject is taken from the rolling hills, beaches, sunlit slums, or suburbs, he makes swift bold statements in pure blazing colors that emphasize his enthusiasm as well as his often injudicious compositions."

Classic cars, old houses, skyscrapers, vistas of urban and rural, images of California do not spring to life as much as the work of Ben Abril.

Ben Abrilís work is held in many prestigious institutions, including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), the Frye Art Museum in Seattle, the Navy History and Heritage Command in Washington D.C., and the Hilbert Museum of California Art in Orange, California. Archival materials of the artist are held in the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and the Los Angeles Public Library.

Visual: Overall good condition.

Blacklight: No evidence of restoration.

Frame: 18.75" H x 25" W x 2" D Condition reports are offered as a courtesy and are typically published in Moran's catalogue or can be made available upon request. The absence of a condition report does not imply that an item is free from defects or restoration, nor does a reference to particular defects imply the absence of others. Buyers are responsible for determining to their own satisfaction the true nature and condition of any lot prior to bidding. Though buyers are not legally required to inspect lots prior to purchase, failure to do so may constitute a waiver of complaint that an item was not delivered in a condition equal to the existent condition at the auction.