Portrait

Born in Arizona, Paul Wonner moved to California at the age of 17, studying at the California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland and the University of California in Berkeley. He quickly became part of the contemporary art scene, and was included in the seminal Contemporary Bay Area Figurative Painting at the Oakland Museum in 1957.
Like many of the peers, Wonner was deeply influenced by Henri Matisse (by way of Diebenkorn), as can be seen in the present lot, with its lushly decorative interior and powerfully realized female form. He also is a masterful landscape painter, creating expansive and bold works that are among the best of the Bay Area painters.