Late 20th Century Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

This abstract composition by William Schwedler includes several geometric forms and shapes that are placed alongside straight, angled lines. Untitled 2 Artist: William Schwedler, A...

Clarence Holbrook Carter (American, 1904-2000) Study for Worlds Beyond, 1980 Graphite, collage and white heightening on illustration board Signed and dated lower right 10.75 x 4.5 in...

Simon Samsonian (1912 - 2003) Colorful Geometric Abstraction, 1981 Oil on paper 16 x 22 inches Signed and dated lower right Provenance: Estate of the artist This survivor of the Armenian genocide wound up in a Cairo orphanage in 1927. He rose to fame as one of Egypt’s great modernists, but after moving to Long Island late in life he withdrew into anonymity. Now his compelling story is being told. Art historians are finally beginning to realize that the power of abstraction in its early years was a zeitgeist not limited to the major European centers of the avant-garde — Paris, Munich, and Moscow — but one that quickly rippled to major cities throughout the world. Within a few decades that original shock of a new vision had inspired thousands of artists from different cultures — particularly those the Middle East — whose translations were not slavish imitations of works by seminal figures like Picasso, Braque, Malevich, and Kandinsky but creative variants colored by their respective cultures. This essay focuses on an extraordinary Armenian artist, his harrowing survival of the genocide, his rise to fame in Cairo, and his creation of a unique style of abstraction. Art historians have typically formed a chorus that teaches the history of abstraction like this: Just before and during the World War I era, several avant-garde artists emerged to create shockingly different new forms by which artists could express themselves. In Paris, Picasso and Braque broke out with cubism, quickly followed by Mondrian. In Moscow, Malevich created Suprematism, the ultimate hard-edge geometric abstraction. And in Munich, Kandinsky emerged as the father of Abstract Expressionism. Within these few short years a zeitgeist was sensed throughout the art world. American pioneers, too — particularly Stanton Macdonald-Wright and Morgan Russell — felt this explosive freedom of expression. When Europe was recovering after World War I it became clear that Paris would retain its title as capitol of the art world, lasting through the Roaring Twenties and even through the Great Depression. But the end of World War II changed everything. A parallel war had been won by a group of irascible young Abstract Expressionists in New York — led by Pollock, Rothko, DeKooning, and Kline. No sooner had Paris been liberated from the Germans than Picasso, Matisse, Breton, and Duchamp surrendered to the Americans. From that point on New York would be the epicenter of the art world. But a lens that focuses myopically on the war between the avant-garde of Paris and New York misses the wider narrative of multiple aesthetic modernities that developed in the several decades following World War I. For Armenian artists the matter is even more complex owing to the genocide of 1915 where more than 1.5 million people — seventy-five percent of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire — were massacred. Those not shot on the spot were sent on death marches through the Mesopotamian desert without food or water. Frequently, the marchers were stripped and forced to walk naked under the scorching sun until they dropped dead. As a child Samsonian witnessed the murder of his parents and most of the members of his family. Soon thereafter, his older sister, Anahid, quickly shepherded him into a line of children being rescued by Greek nuns. But they became separated and he lost her, too. He was sent to a Greek orphanage in Smyrna (now Izmir), on Turkey’s west coast. Because he only knew his first name, the orphanage gave him a last name based on the place where they found him — Samsun — a major port on Turkey’s north coast on the Black Sea. His birth date was unknown, too. According to Samsonian’s vague recollections he assumed he was about three or four years old at the onset of the genocide, which would place his birth year in 1911 or 1912. In 1922, when Samsonian was about 10, the Turks ended their war with the Greeks by putting Smyrna to the torch in what has been called the “Catastrophe of Smyrna.” Once again, the child was on the run, escaping the fire and slaughter. He found temporary refuge in Constantinople, but within a year that major port would fall to the Turks, too, and become renamed as Istanbul. This time, Samsonian was whisked away to an orphanage in Greece founded by the American charity, Near East Relief — which is credited with saving so many Armenian orphans that the American historian Howard M. Sachar said it “quite literally kept an entire nation alive. Any understanding of Samsonian’s approach to modernism requires careful consideration of the impact of his early years because his art is inseparable from the anguish he experienced. In 1927, when he was a teenager, he was transferred to Cairo, Egypt, then a cosmopolitan city hosting a sizable portion of the Armenian diaspora. There he lived with thirty-two other children on the top floor of the Kalousdian Armenian School. Upon graduating in 1932 he won a scholarship to attend the Leonardo da Vinci Art Institute — an Italian art school in Cairo — where he won first prize in final examinations among one hundred students. He found work with an Armenian lithographic printer and he returned to the Kalousdian Armenian School to teach drawing. In 1939 he married one of his students, Lucy Guendimian. The Cairo in which Samsonian matured as an artist was home to many prominent art collectors after World War I. In this receptive environment Samsonian exhibited widely and won many awards. Beginning in 1937 and for the next thirty years he exhibited annually at the prestigious Le Salon du Caire hosted by the Société les Amis de l’Art (founded in 1921). After World War II he hit his stride as a modernist in Cairo, counting among his peers other artists of the Armenian diaspora such as Onnig Avedissian, Achod Zorian, Gregoire Meguerdichian, Hagop Hagopian...

Signed, titled & dated in pencil along the left edge of the paper. In excellent condition Provenance: McIntosh/Drysdale, Washington, D.C. 1988; Private Collection, Bethesda, Maryland; Private collection, San Diego, CA Exhibition History: The Corcoran Museum of Art, Washington, D.C. "Donald Sultan: In The Still Life Tradition" May 10-July 7...

This artwork "Sea Bottom" c.1980 is a watercolor with collage on heavy watercolor paper by California artist Charlotte Huntley. It is signed at the lower right corner by the artist. The size is 15.5 x 23.75 inches. It is in excellent condition, the colors are fresh and bright. About the artist: Charlotte Huntley might have been a renowned graffiti artist – her earliest work consisted of drawing on walls. But fate intervened and she learned to control these urges with a formal education at Scripps College, Chouinard School of Art, and the Los Angeles County Art Institute. These early tendencies reemerged not just in painting, but in other artistic ways as well, to the benefit of community theaters in the San Francisco Bay Area and Chicago. She spent years as a professional puppeteer and set designer, and developing her own unique watercolor painting style. Charlotte’s use of pointillism. Charlotte Huntley AWS, June Workshop Instructor “Charlotte Huntley has special insights into color and fresh approaches to cliche subject matter. Her work in watercolor is truly unique. Charlotte adapts the Pointillism of Seurat and other post-Impressionists and makes it her own in watercolor. With Pointillism, distinct points of primary colors create the impression of a wide selection of secondary colors. The technique relies on the perceptive ability of the eye and mind of the viewer to mix the color spots into a fuller range of tones. Charlotte truly makes the most of this style of painting. Over her illustrious career, Huntley has been awarded a signature membership in 29 watercolor societies, including the American Watercolor Society, California Watercolor Association, Transparent Watercolor Soc. of America, Northwest Watercolor Society, and Watercolor West. Overall, Charlotte has received 45 Awards in National Exhibitions since 2000 – an impressive achievement This imaginative Watercolor Artist has had over 575 paintings accepted in National Juried Art Exhibitions in 46 states, also Canada and Puerto Rico, with 113 Awards. Charlotte has proven to be a popular Juror, knowledgeable Juror, inspiring Workshop Instructor, and an Award-winning Author.The work of Charlotte Huntley is held in collections in the U.S. Canada and Puerto Rico as well as in some European country. In 2016 Charlotte has been accepted in 14 National Exhibitions with 1 Award: Signature American W/C Society (CA), Rockies West National (CO) , Animals in Art (LA) (Judge’s Award) , Georgia W/C Society , Missouri W/C Society, Society of W/C Artists (TX) , Gibson Co. Visual Arts Ass’n (TN) , Illinois W/C Society, W/C Soc. of Alabama, Rocky Mountain Nat’1 W/C (CO), Alaska W/C Soc., Aqueous USA 2016 (KY), Niagara Frontier W/C Soc . (NY) and Northwest W/C Soc. (WA). Elite Awards Sylvan Grouse Guild Award, Pennsylvania Watercolor Society Elite Signature Status , Watercolor Art Society-Houston Master Signature Member, Western Colorado Watercolor...

This striking large-scale abstract study depicts flashes of blue, white and green pastel lines against a blue wash background. Signed with initials and dated to the lower right. Pres...

Archaic Spirit is an artwork realized by the English artist Martin Bradley in 1970 ca.. Watercolour on cardboard, hand-signed on the lower left corner "Martin Bradley " and titled o...

Oeuvres Completes is an original contemporary artwork realized by Giulio Paolini in 1992. Ink on paper. Certificate of authenticity by the Artist. Giulio Paolini (Genova, 5 Novembe...

Anthony Benjamin, 'Green Dots', acrylic and gouache on gold leaf board, image size 9" x 12", signed and dated 1999. Artist Estate Stamp on verso Provenance: From the Artist Estate A...

Abstract Composition is a tempera and watercolor attributed to José Ortega oand realized in the 1970s. The artwork is composed by two little arts on a cream colored cardboard passpa...

Work on paper without frame

Work on paper without frame

This striking large-scale abstract study depicts flashes of blue, white and red pastel lines against a black wash background. Signed and dated to the lower right. Presented in a cont...

Work on paper without frame

Work on Japan paper With frame. Total size with frame: 44x32x3 cm

Colorful figurative drawing by Texas artist William Anzalone. The drawing depicts a nude woman in solitude taking off her robe. Signed by the artist at the bottom right. Framed in a beautiful black modern frame. Dimensions Without Frame: H 16 in. x W 13 in. Artist Biography: William Anzalone was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1935. He was educated at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1953-1958) in Boston, earning a B.A., M.A. and the Rotch Prize in architecture. In 1956 he attended Pratt Institute, in Brooklyn, studying architectural design. In 1958 he also attended the Museum School at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Anzalone married his wife, Louise, in 1956 and they had one daughter, Toni. The Anzalone’s moved from the East Coast to Houston, Texas in 1959. Soon after arriving in Texas, Anzalone began lecturing at the University of Houston, and also began an association with the gallery Meredith Long...

Allan D'Arcangelo Constellation, 1971 Acrylic on paper, mounted to canvas Hand sgned and dated 1971 lower front Frame included Measurements: Framed: 23.75 x 23.75 x 1.25 inches Artwo...

Red Grooms Ruckus Rodeo, 1975 Acrylic and felt tip pen on paper Signed and dated in black felt marker Unique work Provenance: Marlborough-Gerson Gallery, with original label verso Frame included: in museum frame with UV plexiglass Measurements: 22.75 inches vertical by 19.75 inches horizontal by 1.5 inches Work 16.5 inches vertical by 13.5 inches horizontal This work on paper, Ruckus Rodeo, is a unique study by Red Grooms for one of the most popular works of art in the Museum of Modern Art, Ft. Worth, Texas's collection. Ruckus Rodeo is an immense, walk-through work of art that covers 1,237 square feet of gallery space. It consists of painted two-dimensional surfaces and sculptural three-dimensional figures that re-create the Fort Worth rodeo. Grooms has referred to this work as a "sculpto-pictorama." Sculpture wire, canvas, burlap, acrylic paint, and a fiberglass compound known as celastic were used to construct the work’s Texas-sized, larger-than-life, three-dimensional caricatures of rodeo archetypes, which include the rodeo queen and her steed, a bucking bronc, playful rodeo clowns, and a giant yellow bull named Butter. Ruckus Rodeo was commissioned for the Museum's 1976 exhibition The Great American Rodeo. Grooms was one of eleven artists invited to create a work for this show. In preparation, he attended every rodeo performance during Fort Worth's 1975 Stock Show and made many sketches. From these studies, Grooms drew a panoramic rodeo scene spanning more than seven feet, which served as the basis for Ruckus Rodeo's design. Grooms returned to his studio in New York to fabricate the work's major figures. In 1976, he returned to Fort Worth with the talented fifteen-member group of painters, sculptors, engineers, and carpenters known as the "Ruckus Construction Co.," who helped in the final assembly of Grooms's robust tableau. Associate Curator Andrea Karnes commented, "Ruckus Rodeo portrays the chaos, entertainment, and danger of the Fort Worth rodeo. Grooms's engaging work is characterized by a grand sense of spectacle, encompassing the ritual, pageantry, and disorderly commotion of a real rodeo event. The artist's interest in naive and primitive objects, such as folk art puppets and toys, is easily seen in this work. His rich, arbitrary use of bold and unmodulated colors combined with angular contours creates a loud, brash ambience. Despite the work's cartoonish flair, it is clearly inflected with an urban sensibility. The characters' outfits, for example, are more like the vibrant apparel of the urban cowboy...

Peter Halley Prison 30, 1995 Original graphite drawing on paper Pencil signed on the recto. Titled and dated verso. Framed This unique work on paper was created by Peter Halley in 19...

Work on paper without frame

Black and white figurative drawing by Texas artist William Anzalone. The drawing depicts a nude woman in solitude taking off her ro...

Bright abstracted landscape by Maxine "Mickey" Spencer (American, 1927-2011). Strong blues and magentas create an abstracted scene, evoking a body of water with trees...

Work on paper without frame

Work on paper without frame

Jay Rosenblum Polarity #3, 1981 Acrylic on paper 6 × 9 1/2 inches Signed and titled in graphite pencil on the front Unframed This gem of a work is an acrylic painting on paper by ren...

Work on paper without frame

Abstract expressionist, pastel on black paper by English artist John McQuirk. Signed bottom right. McQuirk's work is an example of outsider art or art brut. Born in 1933, the arti...

Work on paper to frame

Subtly shaded abstract figurative illustration by Elsa Warnick (American, 1942-2013). Two adult and three baby figures are rendered with subtle tan shading, against an abstract background with geometric shapes and swirling ribbons. One of the two adult figures is laying down, while the other appears to be jumping or dancing. Notable is the skillful use of negative space to balance the composition. Signed and dated "Warnick 1982" in the lower right corner. Signed, titled, and dated with materials information on verso. Presented in a silver aluminum frame. Frame size: 23.5"H x 31.25"W Paper size: 23.25"H x 31"W Elsa Warnick (American, 1942-2013) was born and raised in Tacoma, Washington. She moved to Portland to attend the Reed College/Museum Art School joint five year program. Warnick went on to create many works of art as well as teach art and illustration. She is mostly known for her watercolor paintings, including the illustration of several children's books. Some of her pieces are held in the Portland Art Museum’s collection. Selected Exhibitions: 1974: University Center Gallery, Willamette University - Salem, OR 1978: Mayer Gallery...

This artwork "Untitled #5" c.1970 is a colors pastel and crayon on thick paper by American artist Jerry Opper, 1924-2014. It is hand signed in pencil at the lower right corner by the artist. The image size is 22 x 17 inches, sheet size is 24 x 19 inches. It is in excellent condition, there are pastel marks on the margin all around the artwork and also on the back, see picture #1. About the artist: Jerry Opper was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on September 5, 1924. He moved to Los Angeles with his family in 1933. After graduating from Hollywood High School, he worked in movie studios and attended art classes at Chouinard Art Institute. In May 1942, Opper was drafted into the army and was then able to study at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center while his outfit was stationed in Colorado. Later he was sent to Guam and was discharged in December 1945. Opper returned to Chouinard and his work in movie studios until 1947, when he moved to San Francisco. He enrolled as a full-time student at the California School of Fine Arts (now SFAI) and received his diploma in June of 1950. In 1948, Opper met his wife Gertrud Ruth Friedmann, daughter of artist Gustav Friedmann, whose works are also in the Lost Art Salon collection. It was love at first sight and a few weeks after their first encounter at the Black Cat in San Francisco's North Beach, they got married and enjoyed a passionate, life-long romance. Shortly after he finished school, Opper worked briefly as a decorator’s assistant and then started his career as a commercial artist, working for several firms such as Fibreboard, Beatrix Food and Precision. Working full-time and dedicating himself to having a rich family life occupied most of Opper's time, but he continued to be creative. He was above all a family man with the pride of having raised two exceptional daughters, Erika and Jody. Year after year, Opper would painstakingly craft their Halloween costumes...

Composition is an original ink and watercolor drawing on paper, realized by the artist Antoine Mayo (1905-1990) in the 1970s. Good conditions. Antoine M...

Kenneth Rowntree Abstract Australian Landscape Watercolour 27.5 x 33cm Signed (top left) and dated ‘Kenneth Rowntree ’85’ Provenance: Anderson & Garland Studio sale of Kenneth Rowntree lot 263 Tuesday 8 September 2009 For biographical details and other works by Rowntree click here. Rowntree visited Australia in 1984/85. In this painting he picks up various vignettes from the Australian landscape in six separate blocks. Two relate to the sky, with almost-unbroken blue skies stretching from horizon to horizon, three relate to desert areas, with a whole array of different textures, and one is a luscious green. In one of the desert scenes he has picked out two road signs, in typical Rowntree fashion, reducing them to their simplest form. In her essay Kenneth Rowntree: A Strange Simplicity (published in Kenneth Rowntree A Centenary Exhibition Published by Moore-Gwyn Fine Art and Liss Llewellyn Fine Art, on behalf of the artist’s estate, on the occasion of the centenary of Kenneth Rowntree’s birth) Alexandra Harris makes reference to this painting noting: "Later, in 1986, just when the young David Hockney was collaging the signs and road-markings of Route 138 in Pearblossom Highway, Rowntree was in Australia painting yellow diamond-shaped road-signs as bright icons in open country. Wherever he went, Rowntree captured both the unfamiliarity of places and their relationship to things he knew. Heading into the Australian outback, he painted a road-sign as he would paint a rail signal at Clare in Suffolk or nautical markers at Swansea." Hockney’s 1986 Pearblossom Highway may be seen in the Getty and it is worth noting that Rowntree was in fact painting the yellow sign in 1985, so a year before Hockney. Kenneth Rowntree (1915-1997) Rowntree was born in Scarborough and educated in York where his father managed the local department store. Young Kenneth’s work was displayed there and his first major commission arose from an advertisement at the store. After the Ruskin School of Drawing in Oxford he studied at the Slade School, meeting Eric Ravilious and Edward Bawden and then moving to north Essex to work with them as members of the group of Great Bardfield Artists. Between 1940 and 1943 he was one of the team of over 60 artists engaged by the War Artists Advisory Committee for the ‘Recording Britain’ project, to record the face of England and Wales before wartime action – or development – changed it for ever. Rowntree’s keen sense of design, and fascination with the quirky and the vernacular made him an ideal candidate to interpret our built heritage’s more unusual aspects. In 1951 he painted murals in the Lion and Unicorn pavilion for the Festival of Britain, he decorated the route of the Queen’s Coronation procession (some of the works being acquired by Her Majesty). During a teaching job at the Ruskin School of Drawing in Oxford he was driven, perhaps by his experiences recording Britain, to record the decorated barges that belonged to the Oxford Colleges. These wooden Victorian ceremonial barges had belonged to the London livery companies, but were acquired in their later life by the Colleges to be used as changing rooms and clubhouses for the College boat clubs – depending on the size of the barge rowing eights were stored on board too. Part way through painting one of them Rowntree thought his drawing incorrect until he realised that it was the boat that was moving. It was in fact sinking. These days the Colleges have modern (but unromantic) boat houses; a handful of the barges remain – restored – in private hands. In 1959 he was appointed Professor of Fine Art at King’s College, Newcastle (latterly part of the University), which as British art schools went was one of the most progressive. The Master of Painting was the abstract constructionist Victor Passmore...

This artwork "Still Life #1" c.1970 is a colors pastel and crayon on thick paper by American artist Jerry Opper, 1924-2014. It is hand signed in pencil at the lower right corner by the artist. The image size is 22 x 16 inches, sheet size is 24.25 x 18 inches. It is in excellent condition, there are pastel marks on the margin all around the artwork and also on the back, see picture #1. About the artist: Jerry Opper was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on September 5, 1924. He moved to Los Angeles with his family in 1933. After graduating from Hollywood High School, he worked in movie studios and attended art classes at Chouinard Art Institute. In May 1942, Opper was drafted into the army and was then able to study at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center while his outfit was stationed in Colorado. Later he was sent to Guam and was discharged in December 1945. Opper returned to Chouinard and his work in movie studios until 1947, when he moved to San Francisco. He enrolled as a full-time student at the California School of Fine Arts (now SFAI) and received his diploma in June of 1950. In 1948, Opper met his wife Gertrud Ruth Friedmann, daughter of artist Gustav Friedmann, whose works are also in the Lost Art Salon collection. It was love at first sight and a few weeks after their first encounter at the Black Cat in San Francisco's North Beach, they got married and enjoyed a passionate, life-long romance. Shortly after he finished school, Opper worked briefly as a decorator’s assistant and then started his career as a commercial artist, working for several firms such as Fibreboard, Beatrix Food and Precision. Working full-time and dedicating himself to having a rich family life occupied most of Opper's time, but he continued to be creative. He was above all a family man with the pride of having raised two exceptional daughters, Erika and Jody. Year after year, Opper would painstakingly craft their Halloween costumes...

Billy Al Bengston American (b. 1934) Venice Watercolor, 1975 Watercolor on paper 10 x 40 1/4 in. Initialed, inscribed and dated lower center: "B.A.B. / Venice 1975" Provenance: Bill...

Paul Jenkins Untitled, 1971 conveys a strong sense of movement through a bold central composition dominated by shades of yellow, purple and black...

"Three Pyramids + Blue Ball" is a gouache on paper by Alexander Calder. The work is signed in the lower right, "Calder 73”. Although renowned for his innovative and groundbreaking sculptures, Alexander Calder started his artistic career as an abstract painter, preferring to use gouache. What is gouache? Gouache is a water-soluble paint – a type of opaque watercolor. As Calder returned to gouache painting towards the end of his life, he was now armed with a lifetime of experience as a sculptor. He explored the three-dimensional vocabulary of sculptural forms he had developed onto the two-dimensional surface of the paper. Certain shapes and colors recur throughout his gouaches and sculptures. Circles, ovals, and other geometric forms dominate the space. There is the same sense of energy and fluidity. The shapes do not sit on the surface but vibrate giving a feeling of movement in contrast to the static nature of painting. Like his sculpture, Calder’s gouache...

Mark di Suvero Study for Motu Viget, ca. 1977 Ink wash on notebook paper. Hand signed in black marker 14 × 11 1/4 inches Boldly signed in black marker o...

Composition is an original ink and watercolor drawing on paper, realized by the artist Antoine Mayo (1905-1990) in the 1970s. Good conditions. Antoine M...

This artwork "Untitled #2" c.1970 is a colors pastel and crayon on thick paper by American artist Jerry Opper, 1924-2014. It is hand signed with initial in pencil at the lower right corner by the artist. The image size is 23 x 18 inches, sheet size is 24 x 19 inches. It is in excellent condition, there are pastel marks on the margin all around the artwork and also on the back, see picture #1. About the artist: Jerry Opper was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on September 5, 1924. He moved to Los Angeles with his family in 1933. After graduating from Hollywood High School, he worked in movie studios and attended art classes at Chouinard Art Institute. In May 1942, Opper was drafted into the army and was then able to study at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center while his outfit was stationed in Colorado. Later he was sent to Guam and was discharged in December 1945. Opper returned to Chouinard and his work in movie studios until 1947, when he moved to San Francisco. He enrolled as a full-time student at the California School of Fine Arts (now SFAI) and received his diploma in June of 1950. In 1948, Opper met his wife Gertrud Ruth Friedmann, daughter of artist Gustav Friedmann, whose works are also in the Lost Art Salon collection. It was love at first sight and a few weeks after their first encounter at the Black Cat in San Francisco's North Beach, they got married and enjoyed a passionate, life-long romance. Shortly after he finished school, Opper worked briefly as a decorator’s assistant and then started his career as a commercial artist, working for several firms such as Fibreboard, Beatrix Food and Precision. Working full-time and dedicating himself to having a rich family life occupied most of Opper's time, but he continued to be creative. He was above all a family man with the pride of having raised two exceptional daughters, Erika and Jody. Year after year, Opper would painstakingly craft their Halloween costumes...

Composition is an original contemporary artwork realized by Mario Martini in 1970. Original drawing in tempera on paper. Good conditions except for some folding and stains that don...

This artwork "Untitled #1" c.1970 is a colors pastel and crayon on thick paper by American artist Jerry Opper, 1924-2014. It is hand signed in pencil at the lower right corner by the artist. The image size is 26.5 x 20.5 inches, sheet size is 28.5 x 22.5 inches. It is in excellent condition, there are pastel marks on the margin all around the artwork and also on the back, see picture #1. About the artist: Jerry Opper was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on September 5, 1924. He moved to Los Angeles with his family in 1933. After graduating from Hollywood High School, he worked in movie studios and attended art classes at Chouinard Art Institute. In May 1942, Opper was drafted into the army and was then able to study at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center while his outfit was stationed in Colorado. Later he was sent to Guam and was discharged in December 1945. Opper returned to Chouinard and his work in movie studios until 1947, when he moved to San Francisco. He enrolled as a full-time student at the California School of Fine Arts (now SFAI) and received his diploma in June of 1950. In 1948, Opper met his wife Gertrud Ruth Friedmann, daughter of artist Gustav Friedmann, whose works are also in the Lost Art Salon collection. It was love at first sight and a few weeks after their first encounter at the Black Cat in San Francisco's North Beach, they got married and enjoyed a passionate, life-long romance. Shortly after he finished school, Opper worked briefly as a decorator’s assistant and then started his career as a commercial artist, working for several firms such as Fibreboard, Beatrix Food and Precision. Working full-time and dedicating himself to having a rich family life occupied most of Opper's time, but he continued to be creative. He was above all a family man with the pride of having raised two exceptional daughters, Erika and Jody. Year after year, Opper would painstakingly craft their Halloween costumes...

This artwork "Untitled #3" c.1970 is a colors pastel and crayon on thick paper by American artist Jerry Opper, 1924-2014. It is hand signed in pencil at the lower right corner by the artist. The image size is 21.75 x 16.75 inches, sheet size is 24 x 19 inches. It is in excellent condition, there are pastel marks on the margin all around the artwork and also on the back, see picture #1. About the artist: Jerry Opper was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on September 5, 1924. He moved to Los Angeles with his family in 1933. After graduating from Hollywood High School, he worked in movie studios and attended art classes at Chouinard Art Institute. In May 1942, Opper was drafted into the army and was then able to study at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center while his outfit was stationed in Colorado. Later he was sent to Guam and was discharged in December 1945. Opper returned to Chouinard and his work in movie studios until 1947, when he moved to San Francisco. He enrolled as a full-time student at the California School of Fine Arts (now SFAI) and received his diploma in June of 1950. In 1948, Opper met his wife Gertrud Ruth Friedmann, daughter of artist Gustav Friedmann, whose works are also in the Lost Art Salon collection. It was love at first sight and a few weeks after their first encounter at the Black Cat in San Francisco's North Beach, they got married and enjoyed a passionate, life-long romance. Shortly after he finished school, Opper worked briefly as a decorator’s assistant and then started his career as a commercial artist, working for several firms such as Fibreboard, Beatrix Food and Precision. Working full-time and dedicating himself to having a rich family life occupied most of Opper's time, but he continued to be creative. He was above all a family man with the pride of having raised two exceptional daughters, Erika and Jody. Year after year, Opper would painstakingly craft their Halloween costumes...

Artist: Ben Hancocks Title: 31st of March Year: 1982 Medium: Oil Pastel on Paper, signed and dated Paper Size: 34 x 15 inches [86.36 x 38.1 cm] Image Size: 27.5 x 10 in. [69.85 x 25....

"Bobine" is a gouache and ink on paper by Alexander Calder. The work is signed in the lower right "Calder 72". Although renowned for his innovative and groundbreaking sculptures, Alexander Calder started his artistic career as an abstract painter, preferring to use gouache. What is gouache? Gouache is a water-soluble paint – a type of opaque watercolor. As Calder returned to gouache painting towards the end of his life, he was now armed with a lifetime of experience as a sculptor. He explored the three-dimensional vocabulary of sculptural forms he had developed onto the two-dimensional surface of the paper. Certain shapes and colors recur throughout his gouaches and sculptures. Circles, ovals, and other geometric forms dominate the space. There is the same sense of energy and fluidity. The shapes do not sit on the surface but vibrate giving a feeling of movement in contrast to the static nature of painting. Like his sculpture, Calder’s gouache...

This artwork "Untitled #1" c.1970 is a colors pastel and crayon on thick paper by American artist Jerry Opper, 1924-2014. It is hand signed in pencil at the lower right corner by the artist. The image size is 23 x 18 inches, sheet size is 24 x 19 inches. It is in excellent condition, there are pastel marks on the margin all around the artwork and also on the back, see picture #1. About the artist: Jerry Opper was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on September 5, 1924. He moved to Los Angeles with his family in 1933. After graduating from Hollywood High School, he worked in movie studios and attended art classes at Chouinard Art Institute. In May 1942, Opper was drafted into the army and was then able to study at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center while his outfit was stationed in Colorado. Later he was sent to Guam and was discharged in December 1945. Opper returned to Chouinard and his work in movie studios until 1947, when he moved to San Francisco. He enrolled as a full-time student at the California School of Fine Arts (now SFAI) and received his diploma in June of 1950. In 1948, Opper met his wife Gertrud Ruth Friedmann, daughter of artist Gustav Friedmann, whose works are also in the Lost Art Salon collection. It was love at first sight and a few weeks after their first encounter at the Black Cat in San Francisco's North Beach, they got married and enjoyed a passionate, life-long romance. Shortly after he finished school, Opper worked briefly as a decorator’s assistant and then started his career as a commercial artist, working for several firms such as Fibreboard, Beatrix Food and Precision. Working full-time and dedicating himself to having a rich family life occupied most of Opper's time, but he continued to be creative. He was above all a family man with the pride of having raised two exceptional daughters, Erika and Jody. Year after year, Opper would painstakingly craft their Halloween costumes...

Andrea Belag A Second Hand II, 1990 Monotype on cotton rag paper 42 1/2 × 30 inches Hand-signed by artist, Signed, titled and dated in pencil on the front; bears publishers name and copyright on the back, along with the unique inventory number Unframed Poignant 1990 monotype, in elegant pastel colors. The cotton rag paper has lightly deckled edges so it will look gorgeous when floated and framed. American painter Andrea Belag creates lush and luminous abstractions inspired by the visual and spiritual principles of Zen, as well as artists such as Mary Heilmann, Bernard Frize...

Andrea Belag Beauty for Sale, 1990 Monotype on cotton rag paper 42 1/2 × 30 inches Unframed Pencil signed, dated and titled on the front; bears publisher name and copyright on the back Exquisite monotype; both gestural and minimalist. The title speaks for itself and defines the work. American painter Andrea Belag creates lush and luminous abstractions inspired by the visual and spiritual principles of Zen, as well as artists such as Mary Heilmann, Bernard Frize...

Abstract expressionist CoBrA style chalk on paper of a human figure attributed to French artist, A Nuchy. The work is unsigned but was acquired along with ...

Robert Motherwell (1915-1991) is one of the essential American abstract painters that radically defined post-war abstraction in New York City. Today, his work appears in museum collections around the world and is instantly recognizable for its boldness and black forms. His auction record was set in 2018 at $12.6 million USD. In addition to his impressive paintings, Motherwell is also revered as one of the most innovative and prolific printmakers of the 20th century. He was always searching for new techniques, whether at his own printmaking atelier, or collaborating with others, to expand his ideas and express his aesthetic. Created in 1980, "Paris Suite...

Modern oval figurative drawing of a nude, tattooed woman with wings and cowboy boots by Houston, TX artist Charles Pebworth. Signed by the artist next to the figure's right hip. Hung...

Vibrant and playful abstract composition by Sherry Schrut (American, b. 1928). Soft yet bright shades of teal, orange, and purple create a filed of color...

Saint Clair Cemin (Brazilian-American) Double Sculpture, 1987 Graphite and watercolor on paper Hand signed, dated and titled on the back of the sheet ...

Highly detailed rendering of a kimono by Patricia A. Pearce (American, b. 1948). The ribbons in this piece have a metallic quality to them. Signed "Patricia A Pearce" in the bottom r...

Expressive line drawing figure study featuring a group of figures in a classroom by David Rosen (Canadian, 1912-2004). Unsigned, but was acquire...

Untitled (Yellow, Gray and Pink) Pastel on paper, 1981 Signed and dated lower right Condition: Excellent Sheet size: 12 x 18 inches Frame size: 15 x 21 inches Provenance: Jan Cowles Jan Cowles was married to Gardner Cowles owner of Cowles Media Company (1935–1998) which owned newspapers, magazines and information publishing company based in Minneapolis, Minnesota in the United States. The company operated Cowles Business Media, Cowles Creative Publishing, and Cowles Enthusiast Media units. Owners of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune from 1935 to 1998, other newspapers owned at one time by Cowles Media and its affiliates included the Des Moines Register, the Buffalo Courier...

Drawing on paper without frame Size A4

Modern abstract figurative drawing of a nude, tattooed woman with wings by Houston, TX artist Charles Pebworth. Signed by the artist on the figure's left hip. Hung behind glass in a ...

Flowing, organic abstract by Unger (20th Century). Several biomorphic shapes are flowing around each other, rendered in high-contrast shading. Signed and dated "Unger, 1975" on vers...