Alfred Van Loen was a highly influential modern artist and teacher. He was born in 1924 in Germany and relocated to Amsterdam during WWII. He was formally trained there, graduating from the Royal Academy of Amsterdam. He immigrated to the United States following World War II and taught art at Vassar, Hunter College and Columbia University. He also taught at C.W. Post College in Brookville on Long Island for over 20 years. He was a prolific artist whose career spanned a half century.
His work is characterized by a spiritual connection to nature. His sculptures are organic in shape and hint at worlds beyond lived reality. One of his most well-known works is a four foot square chess set with bronze figures that is in the Permanent Collection of the Metropolitan Museum, NY. The chess set, "Liberty vs Slaver," was the centerpiece of a popular exhibit that coincided with the first international chess game collectors meeting in New York.
His work is held in numerous important collections including MOMA NY. He succumbed to diabetes in 1993.
