CECILE GRAY BAZELON American, 1927–2023 Pink Peek in NYC's Central Park, 1991 Oil on canvas. The painting captures a classic spring scene in Central Park, likely near Cherry Hill or Pilgrim Hill. Verso gallery label provides attribution, title, and date. Framed. 20 x 20 inches; Frame 21 x 21 inches $300-400
ARTIST PROFILE: Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Cecile Gray Bazelon (1927–2023) was a distinguished American painter whose work bridged the gap between Surrealism and Precisionism through a uniquely "dislocating" lens. Her artistic foundation was laid at Syracuse University, where she graduated in 1949 and was awarded the Hiram Gee Fellowship, though her early travels were delayed due to her mother's health. In 1953, she moved to New York City—the environment that would eventually become her primary muse—and in 1960 married the American composer Irwin Bazelon. Her professional breakthrough followed a 1969 fellowship at the Yaddo artists' colony, leading to her first solo exhibition at the Robert Schoelkopf Gallery in 1971. Bazelon became best known for her "unpeopled" cityscapes and interiors, often characterized by wide-angle perspectives, hard-edged geometric patterns, and intensely decorative borders. These "conceptual viewpoints" of the New York skyline and silent interior spaces earned her a place in prestigious institutions, including the Museum of Modern Art and the Smithsonian Design Museum. Beyond the gallery walls, her evocative imagery reached the public through book covers for authors like Don DeLillo and numerous classical music album covers for her husband's compositions, cementing her legacy as a master of the architectural and psychological space.
