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| Exhibition brochure from Lukits' 1926 show at Montmartre Gallery [enlarge image] |
Eddy Brandstatter's Montmartre Cafe was one of the most prestigious restaurants in Los Angeles. Frequented by movie stars, it had a gallery attached to the restaurant. Lukits had two exhibitions there in 1926. [enlarge image] |
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| Rear of brochure [enlarge image] |
Undated clipping, circa 1928. Theodore Lukits showed with Jules Kievits for several years in the 1920s. Kievits Gallery was located in the Flintridge Hotel, which was located in La Canada, just north of Los Angeles, and catered to the Eastern carriage trade. The Flintridge Hotel was designed by the famous Pasadena architect Myron Hunt, who also designed the Rose Bowl and Occidental College. Owned by Senator Frank Flint, the hotel was too far away from the center of Los Angeles or Pasadena to be profitable. Today the structure is Sacred Heart Academy, an educational institution run by the Dominican Sisters. |
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"Admiration" is one of Theodore Lukits "decorative portraits" from the 1920s. Reproduced on the brochure for his Montmartre Cafe Exhibition in 1926, the work was sold to Saul Wurtzel, General Manager of Fox Studios. The model was a starlet only identified as "Miss X" in Lukits' records. This usually indicated that a model did not want to have it known that she worked as an artist's model. In some cases, the actresses that posed for Lukits were the mistresses pf powerful executives. The current location of this painting is unknown.
"Admiration" approximately 40" x 28", circa 1926 |
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Sol Wurtzel was one of Theodore Lukits' prominent Hollywood collectors. He was Vice President of Fox Studios and the manager of Fox's West Coast operations. Wurtzel was the wizard behind the throne - the figure who dealt with egotistical talents, a difficult labor force and a mercurial boss, the latter remaining in New York, attacking his manager by letter and memo. While Wurtzel did most of the work and William Fox garnered the glory, the Vice President ultimately did well enough to leave his family comfortably fixed and build a magnificent estate (above) designed by the legendary architect Wallace Neff that was based on Vignola's Villa Giulia. Wurtzel was an art collector and about 1926 he acquired the fine Lukits decorative portrait "Admiration." |
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| more 1921 archive material on page 2 | |||||