The Cahén Foundation is inviting researchers to produce in-depth scholarship on artist Oscar Cahén (b.1916, Copenhagen-d.1956, near Toronto). Cahén came to Canada as a refugee in 1940, and he established himself as a leading illustrator and abstract painter.

We welcome ideas from authors. Possible topics could include Oscar Cahén’s

• European roots, especially training at Dresden, art scenes in Copenhagen and Stockholm and Prague 1930-1938, teaching at Rotter School in Prague 1938.
• Engagement with Expressionism and other European modernisms
• Relationships with Painters Eleven and/or other Toronto artists
• Awareness of New York School art movements
• Place in Jewish diaspora studies
• Life in Montreal 1942-1945; relation to Les Automa-
tistes
• Fame/loss of renown/recuperation in relation to institutions and/or market
• Sculptures and/or ceramics
• Relation to the subconscious or psychoanalytical theory
• Religious identity, themes, and imagery
• War posters
• Magazine covers and interiors
• Illustrations for Canadian literature
• Sojourns in Florida, associations with other artists in
the Naples and Venice area of Florida
• Textbook illustrations
• Treatment of jazz in paintings and illustrations
• Iconographies of grief, prayer, family, birds, etc
• Works for children
• Portrayal of ethnic minorities in illustrations
• Relationship to issues in Canadian identity
• Use of humour/irony/cartoon/caricature
• Technical experimentation, media, and form; and is-
sues in conservation

We will provide access and research assistance to our holdings (original figurative and abstract art, original illustration art, mss, oral histories, family history, photographs, exhibition catalogs, correspondence, published illustration). Much of this can be conducted remotely through our extensive digital offerings.

A colloquium is planned for April 26, 2014, and submissions will also be considered for an edited book. Chosen participants will be awarded honoraria. Research with especial promise on European topics may qualify for limited funding.

We are holding an orientation on Friday, Sept. 27, at 60 Bedford Rd., Toronto; and a briefing at UAAC in Banff.

The mission of the non-profit Cahén Foundation is to preserve the estate of Oscar Cahén and to develop knowledge about his unusual life and artistic contribution.

Please visit http://oscarcahen.com/CFP.html for complete details. As Scholar-in-Residence of The Cahén Foundation, I would be more than happy to answer questions.

Jaleen Grove
jaleen.grovecahen.net
http://oscarcahen.com/CFP.html