Contact gallery for price		Paulette Victorine van Roekens France 1896 - 1988 Pennsylvania Green and Blue Oil and gauche on paper 8 3/8 x 6 7/8 inches Signed: P Van R 46 Paulette Van Roekens was born in Chateau-Thierry, France on New Year’s Day 1896. Shortly after she was born, she and her parents immigrated to the U.S. and settled in rural Glenside, Pennsylvania. She studied at the Philadelphia School of Design for Women, and later at the Graphic Sketch Club and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts with Samuel Murray, L.G. Seyffert, J. Pearson, H.B. Snell and Charles Grafly. Between 1920 and 1923 she lived and painted at Long Wharf in Newport. Here she became a close friend of Old Lyme mentor, Charles H. Davis. From 1923 to 1961 Paulette Van Roekens taught at what today is known as Moore College of Art and Design, where she was an instructor of drawing and painting in the Life Class. In 1961 she received a L.H.D. from Moore College. In the mid-1920s she met the well-known artist Arthur Meltzer, who also taught at Moore College and was the head of the Fine Arts Department; their professional friendship grew and in 1927 they were married. Soon after they moved to Trevose, Pennsylvania where they lived until Ms. Van Roekens died on January 11, 1988. Paulette Van Roekens has received numerous awards for her artwork, including the Plastic Club (gold), the Philadelphia Sketch Club (medal) and the PAFA Fellowship Prize. Her work has been widely exhibited in galleries and museums in the Philadelphia area and across the United States in venues such as the Corcoran Gallery biennials (1921-1943) and at the NAD in Washington, D.C., at the Art Institute of Chicago and in collections in South America. Moreover, the artist was given fourteen solo shows, including Philadelphia Art Alliance (1951), The Newport AA (1920 and 1950) and Moore Institute of Art (1961), and ten duo shows with her husband, Arthur Meltzer. She painted largely in Old Lyme, CT and Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Van Roekens’ work is in many private and public collections, including the Pennsylvania Academy, the Pennsylvania State University and the Woodmere Art Museum. The typical subject matter of Van Roekens impressionistic paintings is country fairs, beaches, picnics, still life, circus scenes and ballet scenes. She executed her canvases quickly and they are filled with bold color. Our piece Green and Blue, exemplifies Van Roekens’ affinity for capturing ballet scenes and vivid scenes of in people in motion. The two ballerinas that are the focal point of this painting are slightly leaning towards each other, as they are performing their dance. Their whirling skirts sparkle with pattern and bright hues, which further enhance the expressiveness of the dancers’ body language. Even though a relatively limited palette has been used there is no trouble visually reading the two moving figures. As the viewer’s eye moves toward the background of the painting, one sees a large number of dancers that are hardly discernible because of the thickness of the brush strokes. However, they underline the dominant feeling of lively movement that is so characteristic of Van Roekens’ paintings. The striking mood and atmosphere of this piece is communicated by thick, bold strokes of paint that leave the impression of movement and vivacity. The complex fabric of brushstrokes that Van Roekens creates with the paint further enhances this impression.