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Ben Marcune
Ben Fortunado Marcune (American, 1935-2018)
Oil on board
Sight: 13” x 10”
Has been restored!
Source: Biography from Alderfer Auction
“If you look at your life’s journey through the wisdom of age, you’ll see a similarity to all the things you have done. For me, it’s art: the art of movement when I was a dancer, the art of design when I was an engineer, the art of business when I was running companies…we all have a thread like that.” Reflective words spoken by the artist Ben Marcune.
A man who lived many lives within his stretch on this earth; a ballet dancer, Korean War medic, biomedical engineer, business owner, inventor, artist. A true Renaissance man, his varied skill sets informed his art work. Marcune produced upwards of 100 paintings a year & spent over a decade producing monumental sculptures throughout the Lehigh Valley. He painted upside down in strips with his left hand, creating landscapes & portraits of local dignitaries. His gift was to see & have the knowledge of structure & perception of depth & texture. Marcune loved to explore nature, paint in the tradition of plein air & see the small things most ignore. The way light played off of bark. The many shades of green in a tree’s foliage.
A fellow of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art, he originally was turned away from the school when seeking a degree in his forties – the time he came into him Self as an artist. He was told to go paint in the style of the masters & because of this he was able to paint in the style of Van Gogh & the greats. Often times in the beginning of his career he was asked to do just that, recreate works of the masters. With time the biomedical engineer from UCLA whose masters came from the elite Cal Tech, formed his own signature style, producing landscapes in as little as two days.
Marcune was sought out by DeSalles University to not only paint portraits of their fathers, but to create the heroic sized sculptures that now dot their campuses landscape. A favorite, a piece that spoke deeply to the practicing Catholic, was the black Madonna.
A well-traveled man, Marcune loved to take in new sights. He had lived in California in his younger days & thought of moving to Maine as he grew older. But the love of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, a place that had longer days filled with light during the winter & plenty of interesting grounds to explore, kept him happily local.
Source:
The artist's family
Source: Wikipedia
Marcune was born in New York City on March 30, 1935. Initially raised in Brooklyn he moved with his family to Florida and later to California. Marcune attended UCLA and Caltech in the 1950s and earned a master's degree in human factors engineering. After serving as a medic in the United States Army in Korea, Marcune worked as a biomedical and industrial designer. He obtained patents for several surgical and orthopedic devices. He also performed as a lead dancer for the Philadelphia Civic Ballet.[2]
Marcune attended the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in the 1970s and graduated in 1976.[2] Marcune began to shift his focus from engineering and design to the fine arts and by the late 1980s was painting full time. In the 1990s through the present, Marcune began to work on public bronze sculptures. He currently maintains three working studios in Northampton and Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
Marcune's bronze sculptures are located primarily in Pennsylvania, including the Korean-Vietnam Memorial at Lehigh Carbon Community College, the Worker’s Memorial in the Bethlehem Rose Garden, and Jesus as Teacher on the campus of DeSales University. He has had portraits commissioned by Quakertown National Bank, St. Luke’s Hospital, Moravian College, DeSales University, and Lafayette College. His oil landscapes are in public and private collections, including Lehigh Valley Hospital, St. Luke’s Hospital, DeSales University and UGI.
Ben Fortunado Marcune (American, 1935-2018)
Oil on board
Sight: 13” x 10”
Has been restored!
Source: Biography from Alderfer Auction
“If you look at your life’s journey through the wisdom of age, you’ll see a similarity to all the things you have done. For me, it’s art: the art of movement when I was a dancer, the art of design when I was an engineer, the art of business when I was running companies…we all have a thread like that.” Reflective words spoken by the artist Ben Marcune.
A man who lived many lives within his stretch on this earth; a ballet dancer, Korean War medic, biomedical engineer, business owner, inventor, artist. A true Renaissance man, his varied skill sets informed his art work. Marcune produced upwards of 100 paintings a year & spent over a decade producing monumental sculptures throughout the Lehigh Valley. He painted upside down in strips with his left hand, creating landscapes & portraits of local dignitaries. His gift was to see & have the knowledge of structure & perception of depth & texture. Marcune loved to explore nature, paint in the tradition of plein air & see the small things most ignore. The way light played off of bark. The many shades of green in a tree’s foliage.
A fellow of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art, he originally was turned away from the school when seeking a degree in his forties – the time he came into him Self as an artist. He was told to go paint in the style of the masters & because of this he was able to paint in the style of Van Gogh & the greats. Often times in the beginning of his career he was asked to do just that, recreate works of the masters. With time the biomedical engineer from UCLA whose masters came from the elite Cal Tech, formed his own signature style, producing landscapes in as little as two days.
Marcune was sought out by DeSalles University to not only paint portraits of their fathers, but to create the heroic sized sculptures that now dot their campuses landscape. A favorite, a piece that spoke deeply to the practicing Catholic, was the black Madonna.
A well-traveled man, Marcune loved to take in new sights. He had lived in California in his younger days & thought of moving to Maine as he grew older. But the love of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, a place that had longer days filled with light during the winter & plenty of interesting grounds to explore, kept him happily local.
Source:
The artist's family
Source: Wikipedia
Marcune was born in New York City on March 30, 1935. Initially raised in Brooklyn he moved with his family to Florida and later to California. Marcune attended UCLA and Caltech in the 1950s and earned a master's degree in human factors engineering. After serving as a medic in the United States Army in Korea, Marcune worked as a biomedical and industrial designer. He obtained patents for several surgical and orthopedic devices. He also performed as a lead dancer for the Philadelphia Civic Ballet.[2]
Marcune attended the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in the 1970s and graduated in 1976.[2] Marcune began to shift his focus from engineering and design to the fine arts and by the late 1980s was painting full time. In the 1990s through the present, Marcune began to work on public bronze sculptures. He currently maintains three working studios in Northampton and Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
Marcune's bronze sculptures are located primarily in Pennsylvania, including the Korean-Vietnam Memorial at Lehigh Carbon Community College, the Worker’s Memorial in the Bethlehem Rose Garden, and Jesus as Teacher on the campus of DeSales University. He has had portraits commissioned by Quakertown National Bank, St. Luke’s Hospital, Moravian College, DeSales University, and Lafayette College. His oil landscapes are in public and private collections, including Lehigh Valley Hospital, St. Luke’s Hospital, DeSales University and UGI.