Ivars Hirss

Hiršs was born in Riga, into an extremely wealthy Latvian family of Roberts Hiršs, a textile mill owner. Contrary to his father's wishes that he become a businessman, Hiršs pursued a career in art. The family left Latvia in the late 1930s and moved to Sweden, before emigrating to the United States. There Hiršs graduated with a Masters from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1954.^[1]

He continued his studies at the California College of the Arts and Crafts, later moving to San Francisco, where, by the early 1960s he had made a name for himself in graphics, as well as within the greater San Francisco art community.^[2] He had several successful exhibits, including one at the Triangle Gallery (San Francisco) in 1962 and another in 1967 at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.^[3] His work often included a bright primary color upon which other colors were then superimposed. It also often included Latvian decorations or ornaments.^[4]

Hiršs died in 1989 from complications related to alcoholism. With the revival of modernist aesthetics, Hiršs' art has received renewed interest from scholars.

• 1962 Thesis (M.F.A.)--California College of Arts and Crafts "The serigraphs of Ivars Hirss", San Francisco, CA^[5]
• 1967 January 17-February 12, "Serigraphs by Rolf Eiselin and Ivars Hirss: San Francisco Museum of Art. CA^[6]
• 1971 January 15-February 28, "San Francisco Art Institute centennial exhibition", San Francisco CA

• The Janet Turner Print Museum at California State University, Chico. CA^[7]

(in others as well as many private collections)

• Untitled, 1962, Serigraph / color Collection of The Janet Turner Print Museum at California State University, Chico CA.
• My Window Facing East, Serigraph/color, Collection of The Janet Turner Print Museum at California State University, Chico CA.