“Shorebirds in Trees” Original Painting on Paper, Morris Shulman, 1952

Casein on paper depicting birds, likely cormorants, in coastal trees. Signed and dated 1952 upper right.

Morris Shulman, American, (1912–1978) moved to Hartford, CT as a child from Savannah, Georgia. He started learning how to paint and draw at the Goodwill Boys Club. He relocated to New York City when he was 17 years old, and he studied at the National Academy of Design from 1931 to 1934. From 1935 to 1936, he attended the Siqueiros Fresco Workshop. The following year, he worked as Fresco’s assistant at Bellevue Hospital. “American Art Today,” Shulman’s first noteworthy exhibition, debuted at the New York World’s Fair in 1939.

Shulman was in the Navy for three years during World War II before enrolling in the Arts Students League and attending the Hofmann School of Art for a year. He completed his formal education at New York’s The New School for Social Research.

Shulman worked in a variety of mediums; oils, watercolors, and casein, occasionally adding conte or pastel.