Orville Bulman
SIDE EFFECTS
Ink on paper
6 x 4 1/2 in
15.2 x 11.4 cm
Available at Surovek Gallery
It certainly does pay to be understanding and to accept people of whatever creed or nationality with sympathy and a genuine desire to know them and to understand them and their country...I hope I'm not dreaming.
- Orville Bulman in a letter to his wife, Jean, 1952.
The most well-known paintings of Orville Bulman (1904-1978) reflect his appreciation for the grace and noble bearing of the people of Haiti and their colorful, lattice-trimmed architecture.
Actor Raymond Burr, who owned an art gallery in Beverly Hills, admired Bulman’s works and exhibited them in his gallery. “Bulman’s Island,” Burr said, “an island of humor and color, laughter and love.”
It took Bulman a while to begin his career as an artist because was a responsible son, and helped his father run the family business in the 1920s and ‘30s. He did take a year off, after graduating from high school, to work as a cartoonist for a Chicago newspaper, before returning to help the family in Grand Rapids.
His talent for creating cartoons, and his sense of humor, apparently remained with him throughout his life, although he had to deal with serious neck injuries for several years. In 1946, while he was recovering from his injuries, he and his wife spent winters in a home in Palm Beach, Florida, and owned a gallery on Worth Avenue. Despite his injuries, Bulman was able to paint and, eventually, travel to Haiti, where he found his muse.
Our recently acquired drawings reflect Orville Bulman’s continued sense of humor, although he seems to take issue with the medical profession in Demonic Doctor and Side Effects, which may have been his commentary about the Swine Flu vaccine, which was used during the Swine Flu epidemic in 1976. Houghton Bay and Out-Hammered just speak for themselves…about a man who had a wide social network and enjoyed his life.
Please contact us if you would like more information about the works of Orville Bulman available at Surovek Gallery.
References:
Pollack, Deborah C., Orville Bulman, an Enchanted Life and Fantastic Legacy, Blue Heron Press, 2006.
Richard Vettese, GRHC. Orville Bulman, Artist.History Grand rapids.org by the grand Rapids Historical Commission. March 3, 2009.
