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394

John Plumer Ludlum Desert Skies Painting

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Western Americana Start Price:10.00 USD Estimated At:250.00 - 350.00 USD
John Plumer Ludlum Desert Skies Painting
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Acrylic Painting. 14 5/8" by 9" in matte. John Plumer Ludlum (1906 - 1993) was active/lived in New York, California. John Ludlum is known for Celebrity portrait and religious theme painting. John Plumer Ludlum had an art career that spanned over 70 years. He is known as the Pioneer in the use of Fluorescent Paints in fine art, a technique he called "Living Light". Born in Hempstead NY, John Ludlum left home at the age of 16 to attend the Chicago Institute of Fine Art. At the age of 20, Ludlum returned to New York, where he studied at the Art Students League and The National Academy of Design. Ludlum had a studio of his own on 46th Street near Broadway, and many known dancers, singers and actors would frequent the Ludlum studio, and some became models. He later moved his studio to the Greenwich Village area of New York City, becoming the founder of the Greenwich Village Artists. Franz Cline, a member, made the logo for the club. John Ludlum was a pioneer in that he did some of the first serigraphs in fine art in New York City and these works were exhibited at Rockefeller Center in 1943. I In early 1945, Ludlum moved to Los Angeles, California where he studied under Nicolai Fechin and established a secluded studio on the estate of Dr. and Mrs. Isaac Jones overlooking the city, and across the road from the estate of famous Hollywood director Cecil B. De Mille. In 1945 Ludlum became one of the first to use fluorescent color in fine art. He utilized this new medium and entirely new method of application to extend the range of his palette from the lighter artist colors, on into light itself. He called his new method "Living Light", and it would prove to be Ludlum's distinct style. In 1954 he married his wife, Shirley Grote. They bought a beautiful Victorian style 18-room home in the Hollywood Hills. It was then that he began to paint what would later become his signature masterpiece. "The Nativity" took 3.5 years to complete and was finished in 1957. This 72" X 108" mural depicting the birth of Christ was done in a Byzantine style; utilizing Gold and Silver metallic powder and of course Fluorescent paint. "The Nativity" would go on to be viewed by many and win four international competitions over the next 15 years. In 1964 "The Nativity" and other Ludlum works were exhibited at the dedication of "The Tower Of Hope" in Garden Grove, CA. "The Tower Of Hope" was part of the Garden Grove Community Church, an organization led by Dr. Robert Schuller, a televangilists. "The Nativity" was purchased for $2.5 Million U.S.D. in 1973 by the Ohio Tourist Center. In October of 1973, as special guests to the U.S. Army, the Ludlums were flown to Ft. Gordon Georgia for the international premiere of "The Nativity". Flanked by armed guards, "The Nativity" would be unveiled center stage before over 900 people. The 72-piece Augusta Symphony played behind the curtain for the unveiling of "The Nativity". The United States Presidential car was assigned to the Ludlums during their stay. The United States Air Force honored the Ludlums at a formal reception at the base in Mantz, Germany (1973). A procession of five vehicles and armed guards accompanied the Ludlums; all for one artist and one painting. In Madrid, Spain the painting was under the protection of the Spanish Government. Armed guards protected the painting from the time it was lowered off the plane until it left the country. There were armed guards stationed at the airfield, before the landing of the plane that "The Nativity" was being transported on. His paintings have been exhibited in the Laguna Beach Museum of Art, Laguna Beach CA., the Southeast Arkansas Art and Science Center, Pine Bluff, Arkansas and The Bowers Museum, Santa Ana, CA. In 1979, Ludlum's Biography was requested by the Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC for the National Archives. In 1979 it was researched, compiled and delivered to the Archives. Mr. and Mrs. Ludlum finished the later years of their life quietly. Mr. Ludlum passed away in 1993, in the Ludlum's hometown of Tustin, CA. leaving a very grievous Mrs. Ludlum behind. She withdrew from the public eye, stopped selling her late husband's work and later died in Los Angeles, CA in 2003.
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