| Ivars Hiršs | |
| Birth Date: | 11 July 1931 |
| Birth Place: | Riga, Latvia |
| Death Place: | San Francisco |
| Nationality: | Latvia, American |
| Field: | Painter |
| Movement: | Graphics |
Ivars Hiršs (1931–1989) was a Latvian-born American painter.
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, later continuing on 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.
(in others as well as many private collections)