Ritter, Julian, 1909-2000
Person
Dates
- Existence: 1909 - 2000
Biography
Julian Ritter was an American painter best known for his paintings of nudes and clowns and for his ill-fated Pacific voyage that nearly cost the lives of Ritter and his crew.
Ritter's paintings were typically rich in color. His nudes celebrated the glamor and beauty of the female form. All of his figurative paintings expressed the humanness in his subjects. He also painted landscapes at different points during his career and complex compositions dealing with mystical and spiritual subjects during his later years.
Ritter was born Julian Stawski on September 19, 1909 in Hamburg, Germany, the only child of an aspiring Polish actress. His mother, Angela Stawska, claimed that his father was a Count but never revealed his identity.