R.B. Kitaj was an American artist known for his expressive, figurative works that playfully depict contemporary life, art historical references, and sexuality. Using an array of aesthetic styles he merged the collage techniques of Pop Art with the agitated brushstrokes of Abstract Expressionism. Fascinated by his family’s Viennese and Russian-Jewish heritage, Kitaj introduced the narratives, self-analysis, and Judeo-Christian mysticism embedded in the early 20th-century literature of Franz Kafka and Walter Benjamin into his art practice. Born Ronald Brooks Kitaj on October 29, 1932 in Chagrin Falls, OH, he spent his early adulthood as a seaman for a Norwegian freighting company, followed by a short stint in the US Army. Kitaj went on ...