19th Century Painter PAUL GORKA (AMERICAN, BORN 1931)CONTEMPLATION

Oil on canvas, 24 x 20 inches / Signed lower left

Paul Gorka was born in Nanticoke, Pennsylvania, the heart of the anthracite coal region. Having an artistic bent that deviated from academic pursuits considered “normal” for nanticoke, he found an outlet by creating backdrops for school theatrical productions, yearbook designs and welcome home signs for returning World War II veterans. The Korean War interrupted his art education at the University of Pennsylvania. Gorka enlisted in the Air Force and later was released from the Air Force to work in Army Intelligence. Returning to Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, he was awarded the prestigious Cresson Award and the Scheidt Traveling Scholarship, the latter of which gave him the opportunity to take a tour of Ireland, where he often “painted for his supper.” His work has been described as “fantasy realist” and further that his works are “interpretations of real people, in a real world, with a sometime phantasmagoric ambience and dream-like symbols driving the action of the painting”.

In Gorka’s own words, “I want to do work that causes you to stop, look, puzzle and muse. If you are pleased, that’s good. If you are irritated, that is better. If you are provoked, that’s better.” He has been a teacher and lecturer, in addition to his exhibitions for which he has won numerous awards. Gorka maintains a studio in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. We, the owners of Bedford Fine Art Gallery, not knowing the original title, call this painting “Contemplation”—we certainly spent some time puzzling and musing over this painting.