Red Bungalow

Description

This screen was used as a shop sample by Oktavec, priced at $10.

William Oktavec (1885-1956) is credited with inventing the art form of the painted screen in Baltimore in 1913. Vàclav Oktavec was born in Bohemia (now the Czech Republic). Emigrating first to Brooklyn, NY in 1909, he worked as a butcher and an airbrush painter, specializing in hard-to-paint surfaces such as wicker furniture. In 1913, he settled in the Czech enclave of Baltimore known as Little Bohemia. When applying for naturalization, Oktavec listed his occupation as “artist,” and anglicized his name to William.