Wright Auction

Ivan Le Lorraine Albright was born in 1897 in North Harvey, Illinois. He hailed from a family with deep artistic roots. His father, Adam Emory Albright, was an accomplished Impressionist painter who influenced Ivan and his identical twin brother, Malvin Marr Albright. The Albright twins were immersed in art from a young age, frequently serving as models for their father's works and receiving formal drawing lessons inspired by Thomas Eakins. Ivan Albright attended several institutions, including Northwestern University and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, before committing to a career in art. His early exposure to American Impressionists and Realists through his father laid a strong foundation for his artistic development. A pivotal moment came during his service in World War I, where he produced medical illustrations that sparked his enduring interest in the human condition.

After the war, Albright honed his craft at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where he graduated in 1923. He furthered his studies at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and the National Academy of Design, developing a style marked by extreme Realism and a Baroque sensibility. His early works, such as The Lineman (1928) and Woman (1928), began to generate both acclaim and controversy for their unflinching portrayal of the human form. The 1930s and 1940s were pivotal decades for Albright. His paintings, including the monumental That Which I Should Have Done I Did Not Do (The Door) (1931), highlighted his fascination with elaborate detail and rich texture. Despite the economic turmoil of the Great Depression, Albright's career thrived, partly due to his participation in the New Deal-sponsored Public Works of Art Project and the support of his family.

After his mother died in 1939, Albright spent the next several summers painting in Maine with his father and brother, producing evocative coastal scenes and portraits of fishermen and other locals. Albright's contribution to the 1943 film adaptation of Oscar Wilde's novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, further cemented his reputation, showcasing his ability to depict corruption and decay vividly. Thereafter, Albright continued to explore notions of mortality and physical deterioration. His personal life saw significant changes, including a marriage to Josephine Medill Patterson Reeve in 1946 and the subsequent birth of two children. Albright's works from this period, such as The Window (1941–1962) and If Life Were Life — There Would Be No Death (The Vermonter) (1966–1977), reflect a mature synthesis of his lifelong themes and techniques.

While Albright passed away in 1983 in Woodstock, Vermont, his legacy is preserved in numerous prestigious institutions, with the most extensive collection of his work housed at the Art Institute of Chicago, including his portrait of Dorian Gray. Albright's influence extends through a body of work that challenges viewers to confront the often unsettling realities of human existence. His detailed and labor-intensive approach to art, combined with his morbid thematic focus, ensures that Albright remains a significant and unforgettable figure in American art history best known for his haunting self-portraits, character studies, and still lifes. Albright's work is characterized by meticulous attention to detail and a dark subject matter that often explores the fragility of the human body and the inevitability of decomposition. This unique style has led to his classification by some critics as an artist in the Magic Realist tradition and earned him the fitting sobriquet, "master of the macabre."