Guess the Surrealist's Spouse

On this day in 1965, "The Dating Game" premiered on network television.

What better way to commemorate this anniversary than with our own version of the hit, the Artists' Dating Game?

Our Bachelor today is artist Lorser Feitelson. Feitelson, painter, teacher, graphic artist, was born in 1898 in Savannah, Georgia. At age 18 he began his career in New York City, establishing a studio in Greenwich Village. In 1927, he settled permanently in Los Angeles, where he became interested in Surrealism. There he married his second wife. Can you guess who it was?

Before you guess, let's describe our three bachelorettes. (You met them before on December 7, 11, and 16.)

Bachelorette 1: Alice Pike Barney (1857–1931) was born in Cincinnati but spent most of her adult life in the Washington, D.C., area. Could she have been involved in a romance with Lorser Feitelson? Do not dismiss her too quickly; the eccentric Alice moved to Southern California in 1923. The wealthy socialite thrived on the limelight; taking up with a young suitor would have been just the kind of unpredictable move that would have gained Alice coveted space in the gossip columns.

Bachelorette 2: Perhaps Helen Lundeberg (1908–99) is a more plausible choice? Just ten years junior to Feitelson, she moved to southern California as a child. She was part of a group of artists who developed the style of post-surrealism. Lorser was also a member of this group, but so were other artists who could have attracted Helen's affection. Were Feitelson and Lundeberg soul mates?

Bachelorette 3: Lee Krasner (1908–84) who grew up in New York City. She attended the Cooper Union, Arts Students League, and the National Academy of Design, among others. She was affiliated with the Abstract American Artists group and is considered a first generation abstract expressionist. She married an artist. Did Lorser Feitelson meet up with the young Lee Krasner in Greenwich Village? Or was Krasner pledged to another?

So, is it bachelorette number 1, 2, or 3?

Find out who our bachelor selected as his bride.

Pictured: Lorser Feitelson, 1898–1978, Genesis #2, 1934, oil, 40 1/4 x 47 7/8 in., Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase.