Helen Orman

Figurative Abstract in Purple and Blue Tones

Contemporary abstract pastel drawing of a nose. The work is mainly blue, pink and orange tones. The work is framed in a light wooden frame with a white matte. The work is signed by H...

Orange tonal surrealist portrait drawing. The work is signed by the artist in the bottom corner and is not currently framed. Artist Biography: Eyes are a recurring motif in the work of American artist Stanley Clark...

Symbolist abstract pastel drawing by artist Bentzion Ben Yosef Yakov in the style of Marc Chagall. The work features the first miracle performed by Jesus known as the feeding of the ...

Abstract modern figurative drawing by Native American artist R.C. Gorman. The work features a large group of faceless figures representing the Navajo people who were forcefully remov...

Jewel-toned abstract figurative watercolor painting by Texas artist Ron Hoover. This painting depicts a figure of a man wearing a suit against a split background. Signed and titled b...

Grayscale abstract charcoal drawing of a lounging female figure. The work features loose, expressive linework with light red accents. Signed in pencil in front lower right corner. Cu...

This mythological abstract portrait, 'Blue Deity', uses rich shades of blue to contrast with the white pastel against the paper. The figure wears an elaborate and exotic headdress, a...

A really striking and original work by mid century Modern British artist, Ewart Johns (1923 - 2013). This eye-catching piece depicted in contrasting yellows and blues was executed i...

Arthur Berridge (British, 1902-1957) Abstract forms, circa 1950 Pastel and black crayon 13.1/4 x 17.1/2 in. (33.7 x 44.4 cm.) Born in Leicester in 1902, Berridge attended Goldsmith...

Mercedes Carles Matter (1913 - 2001) Untitled, circa 1937 Pastel on paper 16 x 13 1/2 inches Estate stamped on the reverse Provenance: Estate of the artist Spanierman Gallery, New York Private Collection, Pennsylvania circa 2013 Private Collection, New York, 2021 Mercedes Matter was born in New York in 1913. Her father, the American modernist Arthur B. Carles, had studied with Matisse. Her mother, Mercedes de Cordoba, was a model for Edward Steichen. Ms. Matter grew up in Philadelphia, New York and Europe. She began painting under her father's supervision at age 6, and studied art at Bennett College in Millbrook, N.Y., and then in New York City with Maurice Sterne, Alexander Archipenko and Hans Hofmann. In the late 1930's, she was an original member of the American Abstract Artists organization and worked for the federal Works Progress Administration, assisting Fernand Léger on his mural for the French Line passenger ship company. Léger introduced her to Herbert Matter, the Swiss graphic designer and photographer, whom she married in 1939. The Matters were active in the emerging New York art scene and also traveled frequently to Europe. Their closest friends included Jackson Pollock, Lee Krasner, Franz Kline, Philip Guston, Alexander Calder and Willem de Kooning. They were also close to Alberto Giacometti, who was an important artistic role model for Mrs. Matter and a frequent photographic subject for her husband. Beginning in 1953, Mrs. Matter taught at the Philadelphia College of Art (now University of the Arts), Pratt Institute and New York University. Based on her teaching experiences she wrote an article for Art News in 1963 titled ''What's Wrong with U.S. Art Schools?'' In it, she lamented the phasing out of the extended studio classes required to initiate ''that painfully slow education of the senses,'' which she considered an artist's life work. The article prompted a group of Pratt students to ask her to form a school based on her ideas, which led, in 1964, to the founding of the New York Studio School. Originally in a loft on Broadway, the school gained almost immediate support from the Kaplan Fund, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and the Ford Foundation. It granted no degrees, had only studio classes and emphasized drawing from life. Its teachers, chosen by the students, included the artists Guston, Bradley Walker Tomlin, Charles Cajori, Louis Finkelstein...

Stunning modernist avant-garde figurative abstract pastel in deep royal blue, with red and yellow accents by Henry Elinson (Californian/Russian 1935-2010), 1996. Signed and dated "H....

Original pastel on paper. Hand signed on front and authenticated on verso by the artist. Framed. Artwork is in excellent condition. Certificate of authenticity included. All reasonab...