Catherine Koenig

2008 Exhibition link

Catherine Catanzaro Koenig (American, 1921-2004) was born Caterina Catanzaro in 1921 and grew up on the West side of Buffalo, NY. She graduated from Lafayette High School Buffalo in 1939. She exhibited a talent for drawing and painting early on and attended Albright Art School, where she graduated with an Associate’s Degree in 1942.

Her professional career as an artist began in the 1940s when she started to exhibit her work. From 1946-1956 she taught drawing and painting at the Art Institute of Buffalo. She married James R. Koenig in 1947. During the fifties she worked as an illustrator and graphic designer for several WNY area department stores and ad agencies. She was also actively working on portraiture throughout her career.

Her art work evolved from American realism in the forties and fifties to nature-based abstraction in the 1960s. In the seventies she developed her signature style and subject matter: a blend of realism integrating surrealist combinations of still life objects and figures. Her primary medium was egg tempera, an early Renaissance painting technique which is quite rare in contemporary art. Her refined paintings and drawings have been exhibited in many sites locally and nationally including: Butler Institute of Art in Ohio, Memorial Art Gallery of Rochester, NY, Oklahoma Art Center, Laguna Gloria Art Museum in Texas, the Pennsylvania Academy of Art in Philadelphia, the Albright Knox Art Gallery, and Hallwalls Gallery in Buffalo NY as well as private galleries in Washington DC, London, New York City and Toronto. Her work is part of many public and private collections including University of Buffalo Foundation, Ball State University in Indiana, Burchfield Art Center, Buffalo and the Library of Congress.

Teaching was another important aspect of her artistic career. She taught drawing at the University at Buffalo from 1961- 1979. She also taught at Niagara Community College and ran classes out of her studio.

In 2003 she had concurrent retrospective exhibitions at the University at Buffalo Anderson Gallery and the Burchfield Penney Art Center. She also received a Pollack-Krasner Foundation grant.

To view additional works, please visit the Koenig Art Studio link

• Egg Tempera is a form of painting using egg yoke as the binding agent for the pigment and water as the thinning agent for the paint. Tempera dates back hundreds of years to before oil painting was invented. Leonardo de Vinci's, Last Supper and Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel come to mind. The traditional technique is to paint in light cross hatching strokes to build up the image. A more modern method is to glaze many layers of color one over the other to create optical effects. The painting surface should appear fairly smooth. Pressed-wood board (masonite) is mostly used with a smooth absorbent gesso surface as the painting support. The painting will take up to nine months to cure but becomes quite tough after curing and it is not necessary to frame with glass.

Chronology:

1921- Born, Buffalo, NY.

1939- Graduated from Lafayette Highschool, Buffalo, NY.

1941- Exhibited (group), “Western New York Shows”, Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY.

1942- Graduated from the Albright Art School of the Buffalo Fine Arts Academy (Associates Degree), Buffalo, NY.

1946-1956- Instructor of Art, The Art Institute of Buffalo, Buffalo, NY.

1947- Married Buffalo artist James R. Koenig. Exhibited (solo), Art Institute of Buffalo, NY.

1948- Exhibited (group), “National Print Show”, Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY. Exhibited (group), “National Print Show”, Library of Congress, Washington, DC. Exhibited (group), “Four Woman Print Show of the Buffalo Print Club”, Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY.

1951- Exhibited (group), “National Watercolor Exhibit”, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA. Exhibited (solo), Art Institute of Buffalo, NY.

1953- Exhibited (group), “International Watercolor Exhibit”, Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY. Exhibited (group), “National Watercolor Exhibit”, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA.

1954- Exhibited (group), “Midyear National Juried Shows”, Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, OH. Exhibited (group), “National Watercolor Exhibit”, Birmingham Museum, Birmingham, AL.

1955- Exhibited (solo), Art Institute of Buffalo, NY.

1957- Exhibited (group), “National Watercolor Exhibit”, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA.

1961-1979- Lecturer of Art, Millard Fillmore College of the State University of NY at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY.

1962- Exhibited (group), “National Watercolor Exhibit”, Birmingham Museum, Birmingham, AL.

1965- Exhibited (solo), Tomac Gallery, Buffalo, NY.

1966- Exhibited (group), “Juried National Shows”, Chautauqua Exhibit of American Art, Chautauqua, NY.

1967- Exhibited (group), “Juried Exhibit of the Faculty of the State University of NY”, Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY.

1968- Exhibited (group), “Juried National Shows”, Chautauqua Exhibit of American Art, Chautauqua, NY.

1969- Exhibited (solo), Tomac Gallery, Buffalo, NY.

1970 & 1971- Exhibited (group), “Juried National Shows”, Chautauqua Exhibit of American Art, Chautauqua, NY.

1972- Exhibited (group), “Western New York Shows”, Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY. Exhibited (group), “Juried National Shows”, Chautauqua Exhibit of American Art, Chautauqua, NY. Exhibited (group), “Midyear National Juried Shows”, Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, OH.

1973- Exhibited (group), “15th National Exhibit of Prints and Drawings”, Oklahoma Art Center, Oklahoma City, OK. Exhibited (solo), Chautauqua Art Association, Chautauqua, NY.

1974- Exhibited (group), “11 Woman Invitational”, Upton Hall Gallery, State University College of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY. Exhibited (group), “Invitational Woman’s Show”, Everson Museum, Syracuse, NY. Exhibited (group), “Drawings 74”, “National Exhibit of Drawings”, Wheaton College, OH. Exhibited (group), “20th National Drawing Show”, Ball State University Gallery, Muncie, IN. Exhibited (group), “17th National Juried Show”, (Painting Award) Chautauqua Exhibit of American Art, Chautauqua, NY. Exhibited (group), “39th National Art Exhibit”, (Painting Award) Cooperstown Art Association, Cooperstown, NY.

1975- Exhibited (group), “Western NY Exhibit of Women Artists”, Michael C. Rockefeller Gallery, State University of New York at Fredonia, Fredonia, NY. Exhibited (group), “Midyear Show of American Art”, Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, OH. Exhibited (group), “18th National Juried Show”, Chautauqua Exhibit of American Art, Chautauqua, NY. Exhibited (solo), Gallery Danielle, Toronto, Canada.

1976- Exhibited (group), “18th National Exhibit of Prints and Drawings”, Oklahoma Art Center, Oklahoma City, OK. Exhibited (group), “22nd National Drawing Show”, Ball State University Gallery, Muncie, IN. Exhibited (group), “19th National Show”, (Painting Award) Chautauqua Exhibition of American Art, Chautauqua, NY. Exhibited (group), “American National Miniature Show”, (Painting Award) Laramie, WY. Exhibited (group), “41st National Painting Exhibit”, Cooperstown Art Association, Cooperstown NY. Exhibited (group), “Mainstreams 1976”, Herman Fine Arts Center, Marietta College, Marietta, OH.

1977- Exhibited (group), “In Western New York Invitational”, Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY. Exhibited (group), “8 New Gallery Artist”, Oxford Gallery, Rochester, NY. Exhibited (group), “19th National Exhibit of Prints and Drawings”, Oklahoma Art Center, Oklahoma City, OK. Exhibited (group), “66th National Painting Show”, Laguna Gloria Art Museum, Austin, TX. Exhibited (group), “23rd National Drawing Show”, Ball State University Art Gallery, Muncie, IN. Exhibited (group), “National Drawing Show”, Delmer College, Corpus Christi, TX. Exhibited (group), “National Drawing Show”, Stedman Gallery, Rutgers, Camden, NJ. Exhibited (group), “Mainstreams 1977” (Award of Distinction), Herman Fine Arts Center, Marietta College, Marietta, OH. Exhibited (group), “11th National Print and Drawing Show”, Dulin Gallery of Art, Knoxville, TN. Exhibited (group), “53rd National April Art Exhibit”, Springville Museum of Art, Springville, UT. Exhibited (group), “20th National Print and Drawing Show”, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND.

1977-1979- Instructor of Art, Niagara County Community College, Sanborn, NY.

1978- Exhibited (group), “24th National Drawing Show”, (Cash Award) Ball State University Art Gallery, Muncie, IN. Exhibited (group), “3rd Annual National Invitational”, Crafts Center, Pittsburg, PA. Exhibited (group), “Western New York Dozen”, Dayton Art Institute, Dayton, OH. Exhibited (solo), Shaw-Rimmington Gallery, Toronto, Canada. Exhibited (solo), More-Rubin Gallery, Buffalo, NY.

1979- Exhibited (group), “National Small Painting Show”, New York University, New York, NY. Exhibited (group), “11th National Paint Show”, Washington and Jefferson College, Washington, PA. Exhibited (group), “3rd National Invitational”, Emporia State University Gallery, Emporia, KA. Exhibited (group), “Women As Artist” Invitational Painting Show, Tyler Gallery, Oswego, NY. Exhibited (solo), Oxford Gallery, Rochester, NY. Exhibited (solo), Venable/Neslage Galleries, Washington DC.

1980- Exhibited (group), “National Drawing Show”, (Cash Award) Delmar College, Corpus Christi, TX. Exhibited (group), “26th National Drawing Show”, (Purchase Award) Ball State University Gallery, Muncie, IN. Exhibited (group), “22nd National Drawing Show”, Oklahoma Art Center, Oklahoma City, OK. Exhibited (group), “14th National Drawing and Print Show”, Dulin Gallery of Art, Knoxville, TN. Exhibited (solo), Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY.

1981- Exhibited (group), “27th National Drawing Show”, Ball State University Gallery, Muncie, IN. Exhibited (group), “5th National Drawing Invitational”, Emporia State University Gallery, Emporia, KA. Exhibited (group), “Western New York Show”, Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY. Exhibited (solo), Ball State University Gallery, Muncie, IN.

1982- Exhibited (group), “24th National Drawing Show”, (Purchase Award) Oklahoma Art Center, Oklahoma City, OK.

1983- Exhibited (group), “150 Years of Portraiture of Western NY”, Burchfield Art Center (now the Burchfield-Penney Art Center), Buffalo, NY. Exhibited (group), Mercury Gallery, London, England. Exhibited (solo), Lillian Heidelberg Gallery, New York, NY. Exhibited (solo), Oxford Gallery, Rochester, NY.

1984- Exhibited (group), “Works on Paper”, Invitational, Nina Freudenheim Gallery, Buffalo, NY. Exhibited (solo), Larkin House, Buffalo Seminary, Buffalo, NY.

1985- Exhibited (solo), Lillian Heidenberg Gallery, New York, NY.

1986- Exhibited (solo), Nina Freudenheim Gallery, Buffalo, NY.

1987- Exhibited (group), “125 Years of Western New York Painting”, Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY. Exhibited (group), “Philip Desind Collection”, Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, OH. Exhibited (solo), Capricorn Gallery, Bethesda, MD. Exhibited (solo), Memorial Art Gallery of Rochester, Rochester, NY.

1988- Exhibited (group), “Buffalo Print Club”, Burchfield Art Center (now the Burchfield-Penney Art Center), Buffalo, NY. Exhibited (group), “52nd Annual Midyear Exhibition” (Award), Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, OH.

1989- Exhibited (group), “The Nude”, Oxford Gallery, Rochester, NY. Exhibited (group), “4 Artists”, Oxford Gallery, Rochester, NY. Exhibited (group), “53rd Annual Midyear Exhibition”, Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, OH. Exhibited (solo), Nina Freudenheim Gallery, Buffalo, NY.

1990- Exhibited (group), “54th Annual Invitational”, Butler Institute American Art, Youngstown OH. Exhibited (solo), Capricorn Galleries, Bethesda, MD.

1991- Exhibited (group), “Buffalo Society of Artist 100th Anniversary Show”, Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY. Exhibited (Group), “Buffalo Society of Artist 100th Anniversary Show”, Burchfield Art Center (now the Burchfield-Penney Art Center), Buffalo, NY. Exhibited (solo), Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, OH.

1992- Exhibited (solo), Nina Freudenheim Gallery Buffalo, NY.

1994- Exhibited (solo), 20th Century Realism, South Bend Regional Museum, South Bend, Indiana. Exhibited (solo), Franz Bader Gallery, Washington, DC.

1995- Exhibited (solo), Nina Freudenheim Gallery, Buffalo NY.

1997- Exhibited (solo), Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center, Buffalo NY.

2002- Won the Pollack-Krasner Foundation, Inc., Grant Award.

2004- Died, Buffalo, NY.

2003- Exhibited (group), “Realism’s Allure”, Burchfield-Penney Art Center, Buffalo, NY. Exhibited (solo), Six Decades of Drawing and Painting, UB Anderson Gallery, Buffalo, NY.

2008- Exhibited (two person show), “James & Catherine Koenig, Mid Century Paintings” (paintings from the 1940-60’s), Meibohm Fine Arts, East Aurora, NY.

Museum Collections: Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY; Ball State University Gallery, Muncie, IN; Burchfield Art Center (now the Burchfield-Penney Art Center), Buffalo, NY; Library of Congress, Washington, DC; Oklahoma Art Center, Oklahoma City, OK.

Other Collections: Nichols School Colby Collection (2004), Buffalo, NY; University at Buffalo Foundation, Buffalo, NY; Gannet Publishers, Rochester, NY; Manufacturers and Traders Trust Co. Inc., Buffalo, NY; Buffalo News, Buffalo, NY; Leslie Fay Corporation, New York City, NY; Graphic Controls Corp., Buffalo, NY; Strong Memorial Hospital, Rochester NY; Roswell Park Memorial Institute, Buffalo, NY; Hyatt Hotel, Buffalo, NY; Goldome Bank, Buffalo, NY; The Buffalo Seminary, Buffalo, NY; F. Hutton, New York City , NY; Philip Desind Collection, Bethesda, MD; David Anderson Collection, Buffalo, NY.

(Rewritten in parts & compiled chronologically by Mark Strong of Meibohm Fine Arts, Inc., East Aurora, NY 04/2008 from source: Biography & resume info with permission from Becky Koenig, from the biographical information on the family’s website koenigartstudio.com)