Paul Hultberg Bio • Hultberg Artworks

Paul Eric Hultberg, also known as Paul Hammer-Hultberg is an American multidisciplinary artist and educator born January 6, 1926 in Oakland, California.

Education, Training & Teaching

Hultberg attended the University of Southern California in Los Angeles (Roski School of Art and Design) starting in 1943 under the GI Bill, and then starting again in 1946, where he studied under abstract landscape watercolorist, Keith Crown. He continued his art studies in at Fresno State College in 1947. [1][2][3][4][6][7]

“He developed an interest in mural painting and, in 1948, went to Mexico City to study at the Instituto Politécnico Nacional with Jose Gutierrez, a renowned muralist who had worked in the studio of David Alfaro Siqueiros.” [6]

While in Mexico, Hultberg had the opportunity to learn directly from two of his boyhood heroes, internationally celebrated muralists Rufino Tamayo at the Escuela de Bellas Artes, 1948, and David Alfaro Siqueiros at the Instituto Politécnico Nacional, 1949, in addition to renown muralist José Clemente Orozco, and José L. Gutierrez, author of From Fresco to Plastics; new materials for easel and mural paintings. [1][3][4][5][6][7]

“As a young man Hultberg had studied with muralist José Gutierrez in Mexico City. Gutierrez pioneered the use of new synthetic paints to increase the longevity of his murals, and Hultberg became fascinated with the possibility of durable two dimensional mediums.” [5]

Dancing Couple by Paul Hultberg • acrylic on board • 1948, Mexico

Like the Muralistas’, Hultberg was searching for a paint medium that could be used on building exteriors that would survive harsh outdoor exteriors, which he felt could open new venues for artists’ work, contribute to the beauty of public spaces, and also reach a wider audience. [3][5][7] Hultberg not only studied the traditional mediums of egg tempura, oils, fresco and fresco-seco while in Mexico, but he and the other students also worked alongside Gutierrez with a chemist, making their own paints, and experimented with the new synthetic resins just then made available for the first time by Dupont and Union Carbide, in 1948 and 1949. Alongside the Mexican muralists, Hultberg had the opportunity to paint with the new acrylic emulsions before they reached the commercial market. [3][7][8][9]*

“With the knowledge he acquired from Gutierrez, Hultberg returned to Los Angeles and started his own mural-painting business in the late 1940s. He continually explored methods to create large works that would be integral to the design of buildings.” [6][1][3][4]

In 1951, while still on the GI Bill, he enrolled at the Brooklyn Museum School where he studied painting and printmaking with Reuben Tam, Gabor Peterdi, and Max Ernst. As his GI Bill was running out, the director of the Brooklyn Museum School, Augustus Peck hired Hultberg in 1953 to teach 2-Dimensional Design, painting and graphics, and to help develop their artisans guild program in porcelain enamels. [7]

“Don Quixote” enamel by Paul Hultberg • circa 1950’s

“There he met Walter Rogalski, a printmaker. They undertook a yearlong experiment, using painting and printmaking techniques with enamels.” [6] “In the early 1950s, while teaching at the Brooklyn Museum School, he and a printmaker friend started fooling around with enamels, which are durable but cannot be applied like paint (most have a heavy, sandy texture that prevents them from flowing onto a surface) Hultberg found that he could paint a mixture of water, glycerin, and a commercial binder onto a sheet of copper.“ [5]

While experimenting with these materials, Hultberg wondered if paintings on copper or steel with enamel could be the medium he had been looking for: a paint that could survive outdoor conditions. [7]

* “Mexican muralists experimented with synthetic mediums as early as 1936. The muralist José David Alfaro Siqueiros founded and held a workshop in New York City to explore the latest synthetics and methods of application. One attendee was Jackson Pollock, who went on to use synthetic gloss enamel paints for his drip and pour techniques.” [8] Guttierrez was an early developer of the new water-soluble resin in the formulation of artist’s paints that became commercially available in 1953 as Politec acrylics. He was technical advisor to many of the Mexican muralists at the time. [7][9] In Siqueiros’ own words, “The medium that José L. Gutierrez has produced and perfected is a great contribution to 20th Century Art.” [9]

While experimenting with these materials, Hultberg wondered if paintings on copper or steel with enamel could be the medium he had been looking for: a paint that could survive outdoor conditions. [7]

In the 1960’s, Hultberg taught enameling courses at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Deer Isle, Maine and Penland School of Crafts in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, and was the art instructor at The Barker School, a private alternative school in Stony Point, NY based on Summerhill, a Canadian free-school developed by A.S. Neal. [16][19] He also taught and lectured locally at the Intellectual Resources Pool in Orangeburg, NY and at The Rockland Center of the Arts [ROCA].

In 1966, Hultberg accepted full time employment the State University of New York (S.U.N.Y.) in Rockland County, where he became a popular instructor in drawing, painting, materials and graphics at their Suffern campus, and where he taught for over 25 years, receiving his Professor Emeritus in 1993—all the while continuing to paint and exhibit his work.

Art Career

“Reliquary” by Paul Hultberg • circa 1950’s

While studying at the Brooklyn Museum School in 1951, Bill Lieberman, then print curator of the Museum of Modern Art purchased two Hultberg prints for the museum’s permanent collection, and two additional prints for their traveling shows, which went to Barcelona in 1955 and Belgrade in 1956. [7][15]

“After the Brooklyn Museum School, Hultberg shared a studio with potter, Hui Ka K’wong and then did commercial enamels for three years, making more, he estimates, than 45,000 pieces.” [3] Among the tens of thousands of enameled commercial products that Hultberg produced for income during this period were ashtrays, cigarette cases and boxes, compacts, candy dishes, and decorative tiles, among other small items. Hultberg was assisted by his wife in the production of these objects that can still be found today among antique dealers and collectors of small enameled materials. Photographic illustrations showing Hultberg with his wife demonstrating the step-by-step process of manufacturing small enameled objects can be found in the 1957 publication by author and enamellist, Oppi Untracht, Enameling on Metal. [14]

“After experimenting with the medium on a small scale, Hultberg started applying the technique to his murals. This was to lead him to a whole new and unusual method of creating art. [6] “In the 1950’s Paul Hultberg, [a] great innovator in enameling, created abstract enamel panels using unconventional methods. He preferred to work on a large, architectural scale, producing works that were akin to Abstract Expressionist artists such as Jackson Pollack and Franz Kline.” [4]

After the Pennsylvania Academy accepted one of his paintings for their 1952 annual exhibit, following the purchase of his prints by MOMA, Hultberg felt encouraged to begin looking for venues to show his work. His first show was at the Korman Gallery in 1953. He exhibited at the Zabriskie Gallery in 1956, the Martha Jackson Gallery in 1957 and with Martha Jackson’s son, David Anderson in 1958. [7]

It was at this time, 1956 that Hultberg moved his family to the Gate Hill Coop, an artist cooperative in Rockland County, New York where he created a mural business using what he had learned about enameling while at the Brooklyn Museum School. [1][4][7]

In the same year he submitted a multipanel work, Burnt Sun, to the Syracuse Ceramic National. The work gained national recognition. Hultberg was hailed as an innovator in the field, and his Expressionist painters such as Jackson Pollock.” [1][4][6]

While living at the Gate Hill Cooperative, Hultberg created a 24-foot long mural using 108 copper panels where decisions of placement and color were made by picking numbers randomly from a telephone book. This was due to the influence of John Cage, whom Hultberg admired and considered a seminal artist and a great teacher. Cage had explored the use of chance, which he called indeterminancy in making aesthetic choices. [7] The mural still exists today. Photos of the mural were published 1957 in the book Enameling on Metal by Oppi Untracht. [14]

Around 1958 Hultberg was commissioned by Anheuser-Busch’s to enamel the side of a 4-story outdoor escalator for their new Busch Gardens complex in Tampa, Florida that opened in 1959. “‘Stairway to the Stars, the longest continuous motor stairway ever built. Carried visitors over the reflection pool to the 86-foot high observation deck on the roof of Anheuser-Busch’s twenty-five million dollar Budweiser Brewery for a ‘parrot’s-eye’ view of Busch Gardens.” [23]

It was also around this time he was commissioned to produce a pair of large enameled entry doors for the Living Theater in NYC. [3][7]

“In the 1959 exhibition Enamels, held at the Museum of Contemporary Crafts in New York, five of his [Hultberg’s] large-scale works were shown, including a seventy-eight-by-ninety-six-inch four-panel screen, the largest work in the show.” [5] The show was billed as the “most comprehensive assemblage of enamels ever exhibited in the United States”, [24] and along with “60 pieces from great enameling periods of the past including Byzantine, Gothic, and Renaissance”, as part of an Historical View, it also featured Three American Enamelists in retrospect, Kenneth Bates, Karl Drerup and Edward Winter, a Contemporary Survey, and Museum Commissioned Objects. [24] “An enamel copper screen. Six by eight feet in size, designed and executed by Hultberg, greeted each visitor as he entered the fall show of contemporary enameling in the U.S., at the Museum of Contemporary Crafts (NYC), September 18-November 29.” [3]

“[Hultberg] represented a new generation of enamelists who embraced abstract expressionism. His enamels were big, and he specialized in making enamel look like it was applied in bold brushstrokes. The similarity to paintings by the most graphic of the abstract expressionist artists, like Clyfford Still, was unmistakable. The flavor of urban grit and downtown cool was unmistakable, too.” [5]

Hultberg’s enamels were featured in a traveling exhibition with the Smithsonian between 1960 and 1962 [more information], and at the Adventures in Art display at the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair in 1962, and in the Pavilion of American Interiors at the 1964 New York World’s Fair. “For the 1964 New York World’s Fair, the council [American Crafts Council] contributed a photographic essay on studio-craftspeople including ceramist John Mason, fiber artist Alice Parrott, metalsmith John Prip, enamelist Paul Hultberg, and furniture maker Sam Maloof.” [13]

By 1965 Hultberg was being represented by Lee Nordness Gallery, where he remained until Lee Nordness closed his gallery in the 1980’s.

In 1966 Hultberg was given a one-man show at the Museum of Contemporary Crafts, NYC, as part of the American Craftsmen’s Council’s exhibition entitled, Fantasy Furniture. [18], which was happening at the same time as when his prints were being exhibited next door at the Museum of Modern Art.

In 1967, a film about Hultberg was produced and directed by photographer, filmmaker, George Ancona, and won best documentary award at the Cannes Film Festival. Reflections: the Imagery of Paul Hultberg Enamelist was, “A study of the artist-craftsman Paul Hultberg in his studio as he executes his enamel paintings on copper” and “Shows the techniques and processes used by the artist to create his work, and emphasizes his thoughts and feelings about the medium in which he works.” [26]

In 1969 Hultberg was included in the much celebrated seminal exhibit, “Objects: USA: The Johnson Collection of Contemporary Crafts” [1][2][4][6] Objects: USA was initially exhibited at the National Collection of Fine Arts of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC in October 1969. It represented “the many crosscurrents of object-making in American craft and art.” The stated mission and purpose of the exhibit was, “to expose through a tour of exhibitions the objects being created today by artists in materials which have been traditionally called ‘craft media,’ such as clay, glass, fiber, wood. The timing of this survey could not be more appropriate, for during the past two years connoisseurs have been seriously reassessing the value labels normally assigned to the crafts. Placing paintings and sculpture into a convenient ‘fine arts’ category, and objects—whether functional or non-functional—into a craft category no longer sustains any aesthetic validity.” [20]

Hultberg’s work included in the show was an abstract expressionist painting in enamel on copper entitled, “Johnson Together”. It was featured in the December 1969 issue of Craft Horizons magazine (Volume 29 Number 6, pg. 34), as well as the brochure for the show, OBJECTS: USA, The Johnson Collection of Contemporary Crafts, and was republished in 1972 in, Objects: USA, the book of record by Lee Nordness, the shows curator. The show was also exhibited at the American Craft Museum in New York City from June 9 through September 3, 1972 and was circulated nationally and internationally by the American Craft Museum. [20][21]

From the mid 1970’s to the mid 80’s, Hultberg took a 10-year hiatus from enameling and began focusing more on large expressionistic portrait paintings in acrylic on canvas. The NY Times review of the 1986 invitational, Mount Aramah Exhibition—that included Jasper Johns and Richard Pousette-Dart—mentioned that, “Those who know Paul Hultberg by his abstractions enameled on copper sheeting will be surprised by his enormous head of a man smoking a cigarette, his sallow face shadowed by a black hat.” [25]

In the mid-1980’s, Hultberg was sought out by entrepreneur media-mogul, John Kluge, and commissioned to design and produce a series of sixteen 4’ x 3’ enameled steel panels that ran 60 feet in total. The artwork, titled Apple Dapple, was installed in the Metromedia building in Manhattan. It was the first enamelwork Hultberg had produced in over a decade, and he made additional steel enamel pieces at the same time.

In 1985 Hultberg’s enamel on steel artworks were exhibited in the National Crafts Invitational at Kent State University, Ohio, and were published in their catalog of the exhibition, “highlighting the art of sixteen innovative craftspeople currently living and working in the United States”. [17]

Hultberg had also exhibited his enamelwork at the universities of Texas, Oregon, Illinois, Minnesota and Washington, as well as San Diego State College. [7]

An enamel of Paul Hultberg’s from the permanent collection of the Enamel Arts Foundation was included in the 2006 publication, Painting With Fire: Masters of Enameling in America, 1930-1980, along with a bio of the artist. The traveling exhibit curated by the principals of the foundation, Bernard N. Jazzar and Harold B. Nelson, was shown at the Long Beach Museum of Art, the Mobile Museum of Art and the Cleveland Museum of Art from 2007 through 2009. [4]

The same enamel by was later included in the traveling exhibit of the Enamel Arts Foundation collection, entitled Little Dreams in Glass and Metal: Enameling in America from 1920 to Present, and published in their 2015 hardcover publication of the same title. The schedule for the traveling exhibit included the Fuller Craft Museum in Massachusetts, the Craft & Folk Art Museum in Los Angeles, the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento, and the Arkansas Art Center in Little Rock, from 2015 through 2017. [1] In 2016 the Enamel Arts Foundation acquired another Hultberg enamel for their collection.

An exhibition of Hultberg’s enamelwork is scheduled to open in April of 2017 at the Pomona Cultural Center in Pomona, NY. The exhibit is in conjunction with the Village of Pomona’s quinquagenary celebration, honoring the artist who lived in the village for over 50 years. The show will feature a selection of Paul Hultberg’s enamels produced over a period of three decades, from the 60’s through the 80’s. View the artwork in the current exhibit here.

Selected Architectural Enamel Mural Commissions:

Wall for Employees Lounge, Merck International, NYC
Executive Office Walls, Dorr-Oliver Corp., Stamford, CT
Lobby Entrance, Playbill Restaurant, Hotel Manhattan, NYC
Lobby Wall, Peter Doeleger Apts., NYC
Office Doors, Martha Jackson Gallery, NYC
Doors for the Living Theater, NYC
12 Doors, Malverne Jewish Center, Long Island, NY
Fireplace Hearth, Endina Country Club, MN
Façade for Architect Paul Wlliams Workshop, Gate Hill Coop, Stony Point, NY
Façade for Czukor Medical Building, Haverstraw, NY
Structural Steel Panels, 4-Story Outdoor Escalator, Busch Gardens, FL
Wall Panels, Pittsburgh National Bank, PA
60-foot Cove, Walden School, Berkeley, CA
Bedroom Wall Panels, Henry J. Kaiser residence, Hawaii
Panels for Jane & Ben Gilman Residence, Middletown, NY
Panels for David Sherman Residence, Stony Point, NY
40 Enamel Wall Sculptures, Abraham & Strauss, Huntington, Long Island, NY
Fireplace Hearth, Manger Hotel, Florida
Wall Panels, Hotel Statler, Washington DC
45-foot Mural on Aluminum for Alcoa Corporation, Pan Am Building, NYC
Lobby Wall Mural, Columbus Park Corporation Apts., NYC
Murals for Pence Residence, Fredricksted, St. Croix, Virgin Islands
60-foot Enamel Steel Panels for Metro Media Building, NYC

Selected Exhibitions:

2021 – Solo Show, Rediscovering Paul Hultberg, Moderne Gallery, Philadelphia PA

2020-21 – Objects: USA 2020, R & Company, NYC

2019 – OBJECTS REDUX: 50 Years After Objects: USA, Racine Art Museum, Racine, WI

2017 – Solo Show, FIFTY/50^th, Pomona Cultural Center, Pomona, NY

2016 – Little Dreams in Glass and Metal, traveling show, Enamel Arts Foundation, CA

2006 – Camera, Chisel & Brush, Pomona Cultural Center, Pomona, NY

2006 – Group Show, Artworks Gallery, Pomona, NY

2006 – Red Is Everywhere, Rockland Center for the Arts (ROCA), West Nyack, NY

2005 – Ripples, Blue Hill Cultural Center, Orangeburg, NY

2005 – Group Show, Rockland Center for the Arts (ROCA), West Nyack, NY

2005 – Group Show, Artworks Gallery, Pomona, NY

2004 – Rockland Center for the Arts (ROCA), West Nyack, NY

2004 – Solo Show, Artworks Gallery, Pomona, NY

2003 – Hopper House, Nyack, NY

2003 – Group Show, Artworks Gallery, Pomona, NY

2002 – Group Show, Pomona Cultural Center, Pomona, NY

2002 – 2^nd Arts Expo, GAGA, Garnerville, NY (now GarnerArts Center)

2001 – Solo Show, Blue Hill Cultural Center, Orangeburg, NY

1999 – Solo Show, Visions, Rockland Center for the Arts (ROCA), West Nyack, NY

1996 – Group Show, Artworks Gallery, Pomona, NY

1994 – Solo Show, Artworks Gallery, Pomona, NY

1992 – Group Show, Artworks Gallery, Pomona, NY

1991 – Art to Live With, The Sterlington Exhibition, Pierson Lakes, NY

1989 – Group Show, State University of New York at Rockland, NY

1986 – Mount Aramah Exhibition, Arden, NY

1984 – Spannings, Thorpe Intermedia Gallery, Orangeburg, NY

1982 – Eight Sensibilities, Thorpe Intermedia Gallery, Orangeburg, NY

1981 – State University of New York at Buffalo, NY

1980 – Solo Show, Artworks Gallery, Pomona, NY

1979 – Works on Paper, Rockland Center for the Arts (ROCA), West Nyack, NY

1979 – Many Lights, Intermedia Foundation, Garnerville, NY

1978 – Group Show, Artworks Gallery, Pomona, NY

1976 – Solo Show, Artworks Gallery, Pomona, NY

1975 – Homage to Thomas Wilfred, Rockland Center for the Arts (ROCA), West Nyack, NY

1974 – Solo Show, Lee Nordness Gallery, NYC

1973 – Solo Show, The Art of Enamels, SUNY at New Paltz, NY

1973 – Solo Show, Lee Nordness Gallery, NYC

1972 – Solo Show, NY State Craftsmen 1972 Selection, SUNY at Albany, NY

1972 – Bear Mountain Craft Show, Rockland County, NY

1972 – Solo Show, Lee Nordness Gallery, NYC

1972-73 – ObjectsUSA Traveling Show, Europe

1971 – Bear Mountain Craft Show, Rockland County, NY

1971 – Solo Show, Lee Nordness Gallery, NYC

1970-71 – ObjectsUSA Traveling Show, USA

1970 – Solo Show, Lee Nordness Gallery, NYC

1969 – ObjectsUSA, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC

1969 – Solo Show, Lee Nordness Gallery, NYC

1968 – Group Show, Market Fair Gallery, Nyack, NY

1968 – Solo Show, Lee Nordness Gallery, NYC

1967 – Solo Show, Lee Nordness Gallery, NYC

1966 – Solo Show, Museum of Contemporary Crafts, NYC

1966 – Solo Show, Lee Nordness Gallery, NYC

1966 – Solo Show, Market Fair Gallery, Nyack, NY

1966 – Henry Art Gallery, University of Washington, WA

1965 – Solo Show, Lee Nordness Gallery, NYC

1964 – New York World’s Fair, Pavilion of Interiors, Long Island, NY

1962 – Group Show, Museum of Contemporary Craft, NYC

1962 – Adventures in Art Show, Seattle World’s Far, WA

1960-62 – Traveling Exhibition, Smithsonian Institute, Washington DC

1959 – Casablanca U.S. Trade Fair, Casablanca, Morocco

1959 – Bari U.S. Trade Fair, Bari, Italy

1959 – Group Show, Museum of Contemporary Craft, NYC

1958 – The Common Denominator: Modern Design, Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston, TX

1958 – Group Show, David Anderson Gallery, NYC

1957 – Group Show, Martha Jackson Gallery, NYC

1956 – Group Show, Virginia Zabriskie Gallery, NYC

1955 – Museum of Modern Art, European Traveling Show, Belgrade, Serbia

1955 – Museum of Modern Art, European Traveling Show, Barcelona, Spain

1955 – Group Show, Korman Gallery, NYC

1954 – Group Show, Korman Gallery, NYC

1953 – Print Show, Permanent Collection Acquisitions, Museum of Modern Art, NYC

1953 – Print Show, Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY

1953 – Group Show, Korman Gallery, NYC

1952 – Pennsylvania Academy, Philadelphia, PA

1949 – Group Show, Museo de Bellas Artes, Mexico, D.F.

1948 – Group Show, Gene Schneider Gallery, Fresno, CA

1947 – Group Show, Fresno State College, Fresno, CA

1946 – Group Show, University of Southern California, CA

Illustrated Resources:

2021-ARTICLE: Rediscovering Paul Hultberg – Little Johnson enameled mural. Designed and made by Paul Hultberg, USA, 1969. 48” L x 36” W – https://objectsusa.r-and-company.com/paul-hultberg

2021-ARTICLE: Rediscovering Paul Hultberg: The Designer at the Beating Heart of the Avant Garde Who Expressed Himself in Enamel – by Claire Wrathhall, THE DESIGN EDIT – https://thedesignedit.com/exhibitions/rediscovering-paul-hultberg/

2021-ARTICLE: Paul Hultberg: Abstract Expressionist Enamelist by Alan Rosenberg – Metalsmith Magazine Vol 40 No. 4

2019-ARTICLE: Paul Hultberg 1926-2019 by Alan Rosenberg – https://alanrosenbergcurator.com/observations/2020/4/27/paul-hultberg-1926-2019

2016-ARTICLE: A New Show Sheds Light on the Unexplored World of Enamel Art, by Tanja M. Laden, (Feb 2016) The Creators Project, Lepidopteral Pyrotechnics, 1965, by Paul Hultberg, enamel on copper (Courtesy Enamel Arts Foundation/CAFAM) http://thecreatorsproject.vice.com/blog/enamel-art-exhibition-losangeles-sheds-light

2015-ARTICLE: Part II: What Is Missing From This Picture, by Zhou Zoe Yuan, (Sept 28, 2015), Center for Enamel Art. Paul Hultberg, Lepidopteral Pyrotechnics, 1965. Enamel on copper. 24″ x 18″. Collection of the Enamel Arts Foundation. http://www.enamelcenter.org/tag/thompson-enamel/

2015-ARTICLE: “Lustrous enamel, past and present, on view at Fuller”, (Aug 1, 2015), by Cate McQuaid Boston Globe. Paul Hultberg, Lepidopteral Pyrotechnics, 1965. Enamel on copper. 24″ x 18″. Collection of the Enamel Arts Foundation. https://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/2015/08/01/lustrous-enamel-past-and-present-view-fuller/loKIbQrFyiDSKuCBdtCvAI/story.html

2015-BOOK: ”Little Dreams in Glass and Metal: Enameling in America, 1920 to the Present” (2015) Bernard N. Jazzar and Harold B. Nelson. Los Angeles: Enamel Arts Foundation, distributed by the University of North Carolina Press. Paul Hultberg, Lepidopteral Pyrotechnics, 1965. Enamel on copper. 24″ x 18″. Collection of the Enamel Arts Foundation. Pg. 133.

2011-THESIS: ”Heartbreaking, Funny, Inventive, Original Cliché: The Tour, Artworks, and Craftsmen of OBJECTS: USA” by Gloria Evonne Dunlap (2011). Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts in the History of Decorative Arts Masters Program in the History of Decorative Arts The Smithsonian Associates and Corcoran College of Art + Design. Paul Hultberg, “Johnson Together”, 1969. Enamel on Copper. 48’ x 84”. Johnson Collection. https://repository.si.edu/bitstream/handle/10088/18624/GED%20Final%20Thesis%20Copy.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

2010-BOOK: Makers: “A History of American Studio Craft, Chapter 7, 1950-1959, The Second Revival of Crafts” (2010) Janet Koplos & Bruce Metcalf, University of North Carolina Press. Paul Hultberg, “Little Fault”, 1972. Enamel on copper. 48″ x 24″. Collection of the artist. Pg. 245. Found online: http://www.craftcreativitydesign.org/PDF’s/Makers_ChapterSeven.pdf

2010-BOOK: Makers: A History of American Studio Craft, by Janet Koplos & Bruce Metcalf, University of North Carolina Press, (2010). Paul Hultberg, “Little Fault”, 1965. Enamel on copper. 48″ x 24″. (Courtesy of Lawrence Hultberg).

2006-BOOK: ”Painting with Fire: Masters of Enameling in America, 1930-1980”, Jazzar, Bernard N. and Harold B. Nelson. Long Beach Museum of Art, 2006. Paul Hultberg, Lepidopteral Pyrotechnics, 1965. Enamel on copper. 24″ x 18″. Collection of the Enamel Arts Foundation. Pg. 267

2005-CIRCULAR: Ripples: Four Artists at The Blue Hill Cultural Center (June-Oct, 2005), Pearl River, NY. Paul Hultberg, “Big Gold, Enamel on copper, 4’ x 6’.

2003-ARTICLE: “Celebrating Diversity” by Nancy Cacioppo, Rockland History Month spotlights the rich heritage of the county’s diverse ethnicities and traditions of its residents”, (2003) The Journal News, Sept 23, 2003, front-page feature and full page of Section 3B. Paul and Ethel Hultberg standing in front of their paintings, “Earl” by Paul Hultberg, 48” x 72” and “Homeward Bound” by Ethel Hultberg, 60” x 72”.

1998-ARTICLE: “Architectural Enamel” by Woodrow Carpenter (April 1998), Glass On Metal: The Enamelist Magazine, Vol. 17. No. 2. Paul Hultberg, Apple Dapple, Porcelain enamel on 16 steel panels installed in the lobby of Metro Media, NYC, 60 feet, pg. 32; Paul Hultberg, Enamel on copper mural at entrance to Columbus Park Corporation, Enameled steel on 4-story escalator at Busch Gardens, Tampa FL. Pg. 33.

1986-ARTICLE: “Invitational in Orange County Features Johns, Pousette-Dart” (Sept. 21, 1986), by Vivien Raynor. New York Times. Paul Hultberg, “Aaron”, acrylic on canvas. http://www.nytimes.com/1986/09/21/nyregion/art-invitational-in-orange-county-features-johns-pousette-dart.html

1980-CATALOG: “The Council House (1980), Editor Lee Nordness. Paul Hultberg, “Johnson Together”, 1969. Enamel on Copper. 48’ x 84”. Johnson Collection.

1977-ARTICLE: Enamel Art Exhibited at Chastain (June 9, 1977), Atlanta Constitution

1977-CATALOG: “Enamelists: Established and Emerging: an exhibition of 25 artists working in vitreous enamel on metal” (May/June 1977), The Chastian Arts & Crafts Center, Atlanta, GA. Paul Hultberg, “Pastures of the Sea”, Enameled Wall Panel, 24” x 60”.

1972-CATALOG: “New York State Craftsmen” (March/April 1972). Invitational exhibition jointly sponsored by the University Art Gallery, State of New York University at Albany and the New York State Craftsmen. Paul Hultberg, “Red Melt”, Enamel on copper, 1972. Pg. 63.

1972-BOOK: “Step-By-Step Enameling” (1972) by William Harper, Golden Press. Paul Hultberg, “Homage to Hermann Rorschach”, 1972. Enamel on copper. 24″ x 18″. Courtesy of Lee Nordness Gallery. Pg. 77.

1970-BOOK: ObjectsUSA: Works by Artist-Craftsmen in Ceramic, Enamel, Glass, Metal, Plastic, Mosaic, Wood, and Fiber” (1970) Lee Nordness, Thames and Hudson. Paul Hultberg, “Johnson Together”, 1969. Enamel on Copper. 48’ x 84”. Collection of Johnson Wax Company. Pg. 32.

1969-ARTICLE: Objects: USA The Johnson Collection of Contemporary Crafts by Hilton Simmons; Craft Horizons, November/December 1969 issue. “Johnson Together” by Paul Hultberg (New York), Enamel on Copper. 48’ x 84 (1969) Pg. 34.

1966-FILM: Reflections: the imagery of Paul Hultberg enamelist, produced and directed by George Ancona. Summary: A study of the artist-craftsman Paul Hultberg in his studio as he executes his enamel paintings on copper. Shows the techniques and processes used by the artist to create his work, and emphasizes his thoughts and feelings about the medium in which he works.

1960-ARTICLE: “Paul Hultberg: The Enamel as Mural”, (March/April 1960), by M.C. Richards. Craft Horizons, CH 20 Pgs. 25–28. Paul Hultberg enamel detail, color cover image; Paul Hultberg, Enameled doors of the Living Theater, NYC, 3’ x 7’ each, pg. 25 & 26; Paul Hultberg, Three enameled panels, Above: 3’ x 8’ of painted white enamel on oxidized copper, Left: 9” x 27”, panel with white, black, red and silver enamels, Below: 3’ x 6’, painted enamel on copper triptych, has black enamels combined with copper oxides, pgs. 27 & 28; Paul Hultberg, Right, Screen, 6.5’ x 8’, painted white and black enamel on oxidized copper, Below: Model for hollow free-standing enamel on copper wall to be 6’ x 12’ x 1’, pg. 30. Pieces exhibited at the fall show of contemporary enameling at the Museum of Contemporary Crafts, NYC, Sept. 18-Nov. 29, 1960.

1957-BOOK: Enameling on Metal: Instructor in Enameling Brooklyn Museum School, by Oppi Untract. Chilton Book Company, 1957. Sgrafitto demonstrated by Paul Hultberg, pgs. 86-89; Sculptural Panel, Paul Hultberg, pg. 94; Demonstration by Paul Hultberg, pgs. 97-99; “Pines and Lake”, enamel on steel, Paul Hultberg; Mural installation by Paul Hultberg, at the Gate Hill Cooperative, pg.114; “Baroque City”, enamel on copper, Paul Hultberg; “Winter Hillside”, Paul Hultberg; “Petals”, three dimensional enamel, Paul Hultberg.

1951-WEBSITE: Escalator at the Anheuser-Busch brewery attraction in Tampa, Florida. ‘Stairway to the Stars Online: https://www.floridamemory.com/items/show/259048

References & Footnotes:

[1] Jazzar, Bernard N. and Harold B. Nelson. Little Dreams in Glass and Metal: Enameling in America, 1920 to the Present. Los Angeles: Enamel Arts Foundation, distributed by the University of North Carolina Press, 2015. Pg. 133.

[2] Nordness, Lee. ObjectsUSA: Works by Artist-Craftsmen in Ceramic, Enamel, Glass, Metal, Plastic, Mosaic, Wood, and Fiber. Thames and Hudson, 1970. Pg. 33.

[3] Richards, M.C. The Enamel as Mural, Craft Horizons, March/April, 1960 issue

[4] Jazzar, Bernard N. and Harold B. Nelson. Painting with Fire: Masters of Enameling in America, 1930-1980, Long Beach Museum of Art, 2006. Pg. 267.

[5] Koplos, Janet & Metcalf, Bruce; Makers: A History of American Studio Craft, Chapter 7, 1950-1959, The Second Revival of Crafts. University of North Carolina Press, 2010. Pg. 245, Found online: http://www.craftcreativitydesign.org/PDF’s/Makers_ChapterSeven.pdf and http://uncpress.unc.edu/pdfs/SampleChapters/9780807834138_Koplos_Makers_ChapterSeven.pdf

[6] Enamel Arts Foundation website/Paul Hultberg: http://enamelarts.org/index.php?collection&action=view_artist&artist_id=30

[7] Resume an Narrative Statement by Paul Hammer-Hultberg for the Gottlieb Foundation Individual Support Grant 2007 – unpublished

[8] Politec Acrylic website/History of Politec: http://www.politecacrylics.com/?page_id=54

[9] Politec Acrylic website/Mexican Masters: http://www.politecacrylics.com/?page_id=56)

[10] Wikipedia website/Acrylic paint: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acrylic_paint

[11] Wikipedia website/Brooklyn Museum School: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brooklyn_Museum_Art_School

[12] Brooklyn Museum School website: https://www.brooklynmuseum.org

[13] Falino, Jeanine ”Crafting Modernism: Midcentury American Art and Design” Abrams, NY in association with Museum of Arts and Design, 2011. Pg. 329. Found online: ftp://ftp.abramsbooks.com/abrams/Publicity_Fall11/Crafting%20Modernism/CraftModern_84806_Interior_FNLPass.pdf

[14] Untract, Oppi. Enameling on Metal: Instructor in Enameling Brooklyn Museum School, Chilton Book Company, 1957.

[15] El arte moderno en los Esatdos Inidos: Pintura, Escultura, Grabado, Arcuitectura. Selccion De Las Collecciones Del Museum of Modern Art, Nueva York. Palacio de la Virreina y Museo de Arte Moderno, Barcelona, 1955

[16] Girard, Alice “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?” Lulu.com, 2010. Pg. 31.

[17] National Crafts Invitational catalog. Feb 19–March 17, 1985. Kent State University, School of Art Gallery. An exhibition highlighting the art of sixteen innovative craftspeople currently living and working in the United States.

[18] Catalog for the exhibition “Fantasy Furniture”, on view January 21 through March 13, 1966 at the Museum of Contemporary Crafts in New York City.

[19] Craft Horizons magazine, June 1967 (volume 27, Number 3. Pg. 17), Study Opportunities in the U.S.A. http://digital.craftcouncil.org/cdm/fullbrowser/collection/p15785coll2/id/9842/rv/compoundobject/cpd/9946/rec/41

[20] OBJECTS: USA, The Johnson Collection of Contemporary Crafts, Brochure of the exhibition “Objects: USA” held at the American Craft Museum in New York City, June 9–September 3, 1972. http://digital.craftcouncil.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p15785coll7/id/2731/rec/40

[21] Craft Horizons magazine, November/December 1969 (Volume 29, Number 6, pg. 34). http://digital.craftcouncil.org/cdm/pageflip/collection/p15785coll2/id/7510/type/compoundobject/filename/print/page/download/start/53/pftype/pdf

[22] Craft Horizons magazine, June 1972 (Volume 32, Number 3, pg. 49 Exhibitions). http://digital.craftcouncil.org/cdm/fullbrowser/collection/p15785coll2/id/7219/rv/compoundobject/cpd/7295/rec/39

[23] Escalator at the Anheuser-Busch brewery attraction in Tampa, Florida. ‘Stairway to the Stars https://www.floridamemory.com/items/show/259048

[24] Enamels exhibit 1959 press release from American Craft Council – http://craftcouncil.org/library/museum-finding-aid/m-18

[25] New York Times, “Invitational in Orange County Features Johns, Pousette-Dart” by Vivien Raynor, Sept. 21, 1986

http://www.nytimes.com/1986/09/21/nyregion/art-invitational-in-orange-county-features-johns-pousette-dart.html

[26] New York Public Library film catalog description, WorldCat website – http://www.worldcat.org/title/reflections/oclc/317398161

[27] Reflections: the imagery of Paul Hultberg enamellist – online: https://vimeo.com/100047991

[28] Reflections, film produced and directed by George Ancona in conjunction with the American Craftsmen Council, published by the Center for Mass Communication, 1966. http://www.worldcat.org/title/reflections/oclc/317398161