Orville Bulman
La Protectrice, 1969 / 1970
Oil on canvas
30 x 36 in
76.2 x 91.4 cm
dated and signed '1969 / Orville Bulman' (lower left)
and inscribed with title, signed again and dated '1970' (on the reverse)
The works of Orville Bulman (1904–1978) are joyful and superbly done.
Born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Bulman put his career as an artist on hold in order to help run the family business. His father, Elvah Bulman, invented ingenious items, like the twine holder and paper roll dispenser that are still in use today.
Bulman began wintering in Palm Beach around 1946, initially to recover from a neck injury. He opened a gallery on Worth Avenue and began focusing on his own artwork. He found his muse when he visited Haiti. The people, architecture, lush landscape and the sea, combined with the style of Henri Rousseau, inspired Bulman to create works that are filled with beauty and whimsy. “When I first started to paint years ago,” he said, “there was so much sadness, strife, and outright mayhem in work back then, that I decided to bring, if I could, some laughter into painting.” He succeeded.
Works like La Protectrice and Le Lion L'esprit Balladeur, available at Surovek Gallery, combine all the elements that Bulman wanted to bring into his paintings.
He and his wife, Jean, also created a foundation to support other artists and museums. All the proceeds from every Bulman painting that was sold went to artists or the museum in which his paintings were exhibited.
By 1977, Bulman, the self-taught artist, had exhibited in more than forty one-man shows and sold over 2,000 paintings.
The genius of Wnslow Homer (1836-1910) is not only apparent in his technique but also in his ability to portray his subjects with care and compassion.
Some of his most compelling work was done during the Civil War (1861–1865) when he documented both the chaos and quiet moments of the war for Harper’s magazine.
During the last decades of his life, Homer moved to his family estate in Prouts Neck, Maine. He lived and worked in a remodeled carriage house, just seventy-five feet from the ocean. It was there that he painted some of his most remarkable seascapes, like By the Sea, available at our gallery.
Homer’s Proust Neck studio is a National Historic Landmark, now owned by the Portland Museum of Art.
At an upcoming show, the museum will be exhibiting rare etchings alongside paintings, drawings, and proofs. Winslow Homer: Painter, Etcher will be on view from July 3 through October 18, 2026 at the Portland Museum.
For inquiries, please contact Clay Surovek at (561) 655-2665 or clay@surovekgallery.com.
