DONLON MCGOVERN VINTAGE MODERN ABSTRACT BALOON LANDSCAPE OIL PAINTING LARGE 1969

LARGE AND BEAUTIFUL VINTAGE MODERN IMPRESSIONIST OIL PAINTING ON CANVAS BY ESTEEMED CALIFORNIA SCULPTOR, ILLUSTRATOR, AND PAINTER DONLON P. MCGOVERN. (American 1906-1990). THIS WORK IS COMPRISED OF INTRICATELY SCULPTED TREE BRANCHES INTERTWINED WITH LEAVES AND VIBRANT BALLONS OF VARIOUS COLORS FLOATING IN THE AIR, MCGOVERN SKILLFULLY RENDERS THE TREE BRANCHES WITH PAINSTAKING DETAIL, EACH BRANCH APPEARING ALMOST THREE-DIMENSIONAL, CASTING SHADOWS AND CREATING A SENSE OF DEPTH. THE BALLONS PAINTED WITH BOLD AND LIVELY COLORS SEEM TO DEFY GRAVITY AS THEY DANCE AMONGST THE LEAVES, CONTRIBUTING A SENSE OF LIGHTNESS AND JOY. THIS IS A VISUALLY STRIKING CENTERPIECE GUARANTEED TO BRIGHTEN UP ANY ROOM. SIGNED BY MCGOVERN IN THE LOWER RIGHTHAND CORNER. IT DATES AROUND THE 1960s. EXCELLENT OVERALL CONDITION. MILD WEAR TO THE FRAME. DIMENSIONS: 35” H x 71” W Donlon McGovern (1906 - 1990) was active/lived in California. Donlon McGovern is known for Illustrations and sculpture. Donlon McGovern Born: 1906 - Pennsylvania Died: 1990 - Pasadena, California Donlon McGovern was born in Pennsylvania on April 2, 1906. McGovern won an art scholarship to USC in 1934. During the Depression he worked for the Federal Art Project while living in Los. He later worked for 23 years as a technical illustrator of aircraft for North American Rockwell. He attended Westmont/Upper Yoder High School and while there won an art scholarship to University of Southern California. As a college student, he and a friend set up an outdoor sculpture studio just off-campus and that is where he carved the Lewis and Clark panel for the Clarkston, WA Post Office. Mr. McGovern did a number of sculptures for public sites including a granite bust of the President of the University, done while he was a student at University of Southern California, School of Fine Arts. Mr. McGovern was working on a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree but World War II ended his education. He had taken a position as a draftsman with North American Aviation in 1939 developing training aids with watercolor paintings of instument panels for pilot training on a number of military aircraft. After WWII he attended Art Center School in Los Angeles to further his techniques with oils and water color as a heart condition kept him from being able to return to working in stone or wood. He retired due to the heart condition in 1965. By then he had worked his way to the position of a Design Engineer for the Apollo Project. He passed away in November of 1990 in Pasadena, CA. Exh: Costa Mesa High School, 1963. Source: Edan Hughes, "Artists in California, 1786-1940" Ferdinand Perret Files; Death record.