Washington Bridge over the Harlem River
Year c. 1915
Artist H. David Spivak (1893–1932, American)
Media oil on canvas
Dimensions 11 1/2 x 15 3/4 inches
Hayem David Spivak was born in Philadelphia in 1893, but David was just three years old when the family relocated to Denver. After graduating from South High School he briefly attended the University of Denver before heading to the Art Institute of Chicago for two years. From Chicago he moved on to New York and spent three years studying under Robert Henri and John C. Johansen at the Art Students League, where he was an honors student. After serving for a year in an aviation unit in Texas during WWI, Spivak returned to Denver and became an art instructor. Over time he would teach art at East High School, West High School, the Denver Academy of Applied Art, the Denver Institute of Art and the Chappell School of Art. In 1927 Spivak was one of the 52 charter members of the Denver Artists’ Guild and later served as its second president. As an artist, Spivak painted with loose brushstrokes like the American impressionists with whom he had studied. Most of his works were landscapes and portraits, but he was also an illustrator, printmaker and muralist. Spivak died suddenly in 1932 from a brain tumor at just thirty-nine years old. Shortly after his death the Denver Art Museum held an exhibition of his work.
ON VIEW in Art Nouveau Gallery 4
Signature unsigned
Credit Line Collection Kirkland Museum of Fine & Decorative Art; Gift of Barbara and Daniel Spivak
Accession Number 2004.1008
