“A portrait by Russian émigré Ivan Puni, who transformed from avant-garde revolutionary to lyric painter, capturing an American newspaper magnate in his mature French style.”
This portrait of Captain Joseph Medill Patterson was painted by Ivan Puni (also known as Jean Pougny), a Russian avant-garde artist who underwent dramatic stylistic transformations throughout his career. By the time this work was created, Puni had long since emigrated from Russia—leaving in 1920 after organizing pivotal avant-garde exhibitions like Tramway V and 0.10 in St. Petersburg, where he exhibited alongside Malevich and Tatlin. After settling in Paris in 1923 and becoming a French citizen in 1947, Puni's style evolved dramatically from his early Suprematist and Cubo-Futurist experiments to what scholars describe as 'lyric Primitivism' in the direction of Pierre Bonnard and Édouard Vuillard—a shift that stabilized around 1943. This portrait showcases Puni's mature French period, when he had fully embraced a more accessible, Post-Impressionist approach while retaining the sophisticated color sense and compositional strength developed during his avant-garde years. Captain Patterson, a prominent American newspaper publisher and founder of the New York Daily News, was known for his progressive views and military service in World War I, making him a fitting subject for an artist who had himself witnessed revolutionary upheaval and reinvented his artistic identity across continents.
- Artist
- Ivan Puni
- Date
- 1962
- Medium
- Oil on board
- Location
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Dimensions
- 76.2 × 61 cm (30 × 24 in.)
- Collection
- Arts of the Americas
- Culture
- United States
- Credit line
- Gift of Ivan Albright
What to Notice
Five details hide in plain sight. Here’s where to look.
The bold, simplified planes of color that recall Puni's Cubist training
The expressive brushwork showing Post-Impressionist influence from his Paris years
How the compact board format creates an intimate, direct encounter with the subject
The balance between formal structure and painterly spontaneity in the rendering
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Ivan Puni
1890–1956 · Russian EmpireRussian avant-garde pioneer who organized the legendary 0.10 exhibition, then reinvented himself as a French painter.
Further Works by Puni
Memories of the Past
1927 · Art Institute of Chicago
The Lineman
1927 · Art Institute of Chicago
Heavy the Oar to Him Who Is Tired, Heavy the Coat, Heavy the Sea
1929 · Art Institute of Chicago
Into the World There Came a Soul Called Ida
1929 · Art Institute of Chicago
And Man Created God in His Own Image
1930 · Art Institute of Chicago
Three Love Birds
1930 · Art Institute of Chicago
Nude
1931 · Art Institute of Chicago
That Which I Should Have Done I Did Not Do (The Door)
1931 · Art Institute of Chicago
More works to explore
Beyond Puni: works from the same years.
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Jackson Pollock · 1953 · Art Institute of Chicago
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Sun Spot
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Essai
Sam Francis · 1963 · Art Institute of Chicago
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La grande bellezza
Pierre Alechinsky · 1965
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Impregnazione
Piero Manzoni · 1958
Same era · 1940s–1970s
Alka Seltzer
Roy Lichtenstein · 1966 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same era · 1940s–1970s
Nude Model (Male)
Andy Warhol · 1977 · Art Institute of Chicago
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Woman at the Piano
Philip Evergood · 1955 · Smithsonian American Art Museum
Same era · 1940s–1970s
Nude under a Pine Tree
Pablo Picasso · 1959 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same era · 1940s–1970s
Flag
Jasper Johns · 1958
Same era · 1940s–1970s
The Banquet
René Magritte · 1958 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same era · 1940s–1970s
Untitled (Brown and Gray)
Mark Rothko · 1969 · The Metropolitan Museum of Art