Though H.C. Westermann is known primarily as a sculptor of witty and carefully crafted objects, his vivid drawings and illustrated letters constitute a body of work commensurate with the achievement of his most accomplished sculptures. He began sending letters while serving on the U.S.S. Enterprise during World War II – some ten years before making his first sculpture – which typically paired personal messages with punchy drawings. This signature blend of text and image developed into Westermann’s mature drawing style, typified by a particular brand of slapstick humor, saturated color, pressurized narrative, and contoured lines. Drawing remained a central aspect of Westermann’s practice for the rest of his life, through subsequent tours of duty, cross-country road trips, time spent in Chicago and San Francisco, and ultimately the years he spent with his wife, Joanna Beall Westermann, in Brookfield Center, Connecticut. Indeed, she recalls him spending “a couple of hours every morning writing and drawing.”

ABOUT H.C. WESTERMANN

Horace Clifford Westermann was born in 1922 in Los Angeles, California. He attended Los Angeles City College for two years before enlisting in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1942, serving aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise during World War II in the Pacific. Following the war, Westermann enrolled at the Art Institute of Chicago, before reenlisting for a tour of duty in the Korean War. Upon his return, Westermann reenrolled at the Art Institute, and staged his debut solo exhibition at the Allan Frumkin Gallery in 1958. In 1959, he married the painter Joanna Beall, with whom he moved to Brookfield Center, Connecticut, in 1964. Westermann’s work has been the subject of numerous solo presentations, including recent exhibitions at the Museo National Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid; Fondazione Prada, Milan; and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago. His work is held by many public institutions, including The Museum of Modern Art, New York; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; and the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago. Westermann lived and worked in Brookfield Center until his death in 1981.

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