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Joyce Szejman COLLECTED WORKS
Top: Based on the painting of Tutankhamun and Ankhesenamun. Collection of the artist. Right: Based on the painting by John William Waterhouse: Echo and Narcissus. Collection of the artist.
Joyce Szejman C O L L E C T E D WO R K S
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oyce Szejman is an artist of extraordinary talent. Her facility with the language of paint – color, light, composition, mark-making, perspective, gesture, storytelling – attest to her lifelong pursuit of artistic excellence. She captures not only the likeness of her subjects, but also their essence.
Joyce was born on December 23, 1941 in Waterbury, CT to Alice (née Grigalus) and Andrew Hudobenko. She grew up in Naugatuck, CT, with her parents, her elder sister Barbara, and her grandfather, Alizas Grigalus. At an early age, she showed artistic promise and passion – sketching birds, animals, still lifes, landscapes – and in her teenage years, cultural icons, such as Elvis Presley. Joyce studied privately throughout high school, and then attended the prestigious Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY. There, she met and married her husband, Dennis Szejman. They lived in Garfield, NJ, then in 1963, returned to Naugatuck, and settled in Prospect, CT in 1967. In 1963, Joyce gave birth to their daughter, Denise (who is now a talented painter in her own right) and in 1965, to their son, Dennis, Jr. (who photographed, color-corrected and prepared many of the images in this book.) The importance of family is apparent in Joyce’s work. In her earlier portraiture, she primarily depicts her own family (husband, mother, children, grandchildren, nieces, pets) both immediate and extended. After a remarkable recovery from an aneurysm, Joyce’s later portraits referenced religious themes more overtly, using the Holy family and an “extended family” of saints and apostles, as her subject matter. Her paintings of landscapes and seascapes show a mastery of light and rhythm in her brush strokes. Joyce has exhibited widely in the Connecticut area and beyond. (A newspaper clipping of one such exhibit is shown at left.) Always generous, she has donated her work to her local church, and has gifted paintings to family and friends. Joyce’s inspirations are treasures from the past: Egyptian hieroglyphs, Vigée Le Brun’s royal court; Singer Sargeant’s Boston Brahmins; Cassat’s depictions of children; Homer’s wind-swept skies. She scours her sources for techniques and processes, incorporating them into her own. Her works are treasures in their own right – documents of, and testaments to, her love of painting and her life of 75 years.
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Dennis Szejman, Sr. Collection of the artist. 2
Self portrait with Snowball. Collection of the artist. 1969. 3
Left: Alice Hudebenko / Swick (nĂŠe Grigalus); Right: Denise Szejman 4
Dennis Szejman, Jr. Collection of the artist. 5
Amber Szejman (granddaughter) 6
Top and bottom left: Caroline BoulĂŠ (granddaughter); Top right: Monique BoulĂŠ (granddaughter). 7
Amber Szejman (granddaughter) with dog. Oil on canvas. 8
Fawn. Oil on canvas.Collection of the artist. 9
Denise Boulé (née Szejman) with pets. Oil on canvas. 10
Caroline BoulĂŠ. Oil on canvas. Collection of the artist. 2016. 11
Commissioned portraits. Oil on canvas. 12
Jennifer Mills (niece). Oil on canvas. Collection of Barbara and John Mills 13
Top and bottom left: Kathy Mills (niece). Watercolor on paper; Oil on canvas; Top right: Ben Kelley (great nephew). Pastel on paper, 2000. 14
Top: Dr. Asif Jillani, 2016. Collection of the artist. Bottom: Anna. Caretaker for Alice Swick. 15
Molinati family house, San Vito da Cadore, Cortina Italy. Oil on canvas. From the collection of Barbara and John Mills. 16
Landscape. Oil on canvas. Collection of the artist. 17
Portrait of Denise Szejman with dog Fifi.Oil on canvas. Collection of the artist. 18
Landscape. Oil on canvas. Collection of the artist. 19
Top: Seascape. Oil on canvas. Collection of Jean Kelley. Bottom: Seascape. Oil on canvas. Collection of Barbara and John Mills 20
Seascapes. Oil on canvas. Collection of the artist. 21
Still life. Oil on canvas.Collection of Barbara and John Mills.1964 22
Girl with ducks. Oil on canvas. Collection of John and Barbara Mills. 23
Based on the painting by George Caleb Bingham (1845) Fur Traders Descending the Missouri. Oil on canvas.Collection of the artist. 24
Based on the painting by Antonio Ciseri (1871) Ecce Home (Behold the man) of Pilate presents Jesus. Oil on canvas. Collection of the artist. 25
Jesus, Fisher of Men. Collection of the artist. 26
Mary and Child. Collection of the artist. 27
Mary and Child. Collection of the artist. 28
Mary and Child. Collection of the artist. 29
Left: Mary with Child. Collection of the artist. Right: Portrait of Saint. Collection of the artist. 30
Mary with Child. Collection of the artist. 31
Mary and Child. Collection of the artist. 32
Portrait of Saint Theresa. Oil on canvas. Collection of the artist. 33
Jesus with Lamb.Oil on canvas. Collection of the artist. 34
Left: Saint Francis with Animals. Oil on canvas. Collection of the artist. Right: Jesus with Lamb. Oil on canvas. Collection of Jean Kelley. 35
Saint Teresa. Oil on canvas.Collection of the artist. 36
Jesus on the Cross. Collection of the artist. 37
Sacred Heart (Mary).Oil on canvas.Collection of the artist. 38
Sacred Heart (Jesus). Oil on canvas. Collection of the artist. 39
Collection of the artist. 40
Mary with Child. Oil on canvas. Collection of the artist. 41
Left: Jesus. Oil on canvas. Collection of the artist. Right: Mary, Joseph and Jesus. Oil on canvas. Collection of the artist. 42
Jesus. Oil on canvas. Collection of the artist. 43
Joyce Szejman is an artist of extraordinary talent who captures not only the likeness of her subjects, but also their essence. This collection of her paintings, in honor of her 75th birthday, brings together both early and later works, showing her breadth and skill as an artist.
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