Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 8

Carl Robert Holty
Carl Holty Abstract Oil Painting "Riviera" in Primary Colors

1950

About the Item

SALE ONE WEEK ONLY "Riviera" is an exquisite painting of American Modern - primary colors actively composed in energetic movement and structure on the painted surface. These colors formulate the painting, play both for and against each other and create a lively surface with hints of either an architectural structure or freeway. This painting hints to future Modernists such as Richard Diebenkorn "Driveway" and David Hockney "Garrowby." Unframed the piece measures 18 x 24. "Riviera" is signed on lower left. On verso is Provenance of over 70 years, 3 galleries in New York and one in Detroit, Michigan: Andrew Crispo Gallery, Sid Deutsch Gallery and Linda Hyman Gallery in New York and Collected Detroit Gallery in Detroit, Michigan. Abstractionist Carl Robert Holty was known for his biomorphic abstract forms as well as the geometric abstractions he painted with his vibrant color palette. Born in Frieburg, Germany his family immigrated to the United States settling in Wisconsin. In 1919, he enrolled at the Art Institute of Chicago, and shortly thereafter attended the Parsons School of Design. He spent a short time at the National Academy of Design and studied with Francis Coates Jones, younger brother of H. Bolton Jones, the well-known landscape artist. He studied at the prestigious Hans Hofmann's school where he was exposed to the world of Abstract Expressionism—a style that would come to define much of his future work. Despite his short tenure there, he maintained a personal friendship with Hofmann, and continued to incorporate Hofmann's teachings into his work. Holty’s early work shows influences of Fauvist colors and the work of French artists Maurice de Vlaminck and André Derain. He traveled extensively throughout Europe and Northern Africa. The artist Robert Delaunay sponsored Holty's membership to Paris's Abstraction-Creation Group, where Holty found greater artistic acceptance than at home in the US. Upon his return to the United States, Holty played a major role in the establishment and successful operation of the American Abstract Artists organization in New York which is still flourishing today. This organizations’ members include Josef Albers, Eames, Jean Arp, Louise Bourgeois, Lee Krasner, Fernand Leger, Sol Lewitt, Al Loving, Brice Marsden, Piet Mondrian, Louise Nevelson, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, Hans Richter, and Richard Tuttle. Holty was chairman in 1938 and exhibited his work with them until his departure from the group in 1944. He also surrounded himself with his old friends from Europe, including Hans Hofmann, Vaclav Vytlacil, and Stuart Davis. His strong advocacy for modern art brought the American art scene exposure to emerging styles, and helped to establish him as a leading American Abstract painter.
More From This SellerView All
  • "Don't Cry Long" Abstracted and Distorted Self-Portrait, One Crying Eye
    Located in Detroit, MI
    "Don't Cry Long" is a self-portrait of the artist and an unusual one at that in which the artist portrays herself shedding tears. Perhaps it is an expression of some grief experienced by Ms. Woodlock, but it also admonishes her to not "Cry Long" while at the same time poking fun because of her elongated face and the one lone "long" tear tracing a pattern down her face. In addition to self-portraits, Ethelyn painted commissioned portraits. In this painting her head is cocked and her famous bangs hang down her forehead. Compare two self-portraits, “Up From Under”, and “M’Eyes" to "Don't Cry Long." The major differences are the close facial view and the brilliant blood red paint that fills the entire canvas. This painting is included in the book, "Dreams Have Wings: An Artist's Journey into Magic and Mystery" printed in the United States, 1985. She describes "Don't Cry Long" as showing how funny looking we are, if we cry too long. Ethelyn Woodlock...
    Category

    Mid-20th Century American Modern Abstract Paintings

    Materials

    Oil, Masonite

  • "Falling Squares" Abstract, Linear, Muted Colors, Acrylic
    By William Antonow
    Located in Detroit, MI
    SALE ONE WEEK ONLY "Falling Squares" is a rich gouache painting by William Antonow. Though the colors are muted they blend in a harmony that contrasts slightly with the falling squares that bring a movement to the piece. One of the original Cass Corridor artists from the 1960s William Antonow studied at the School of the Detroit Society of Arts and Crafts (now the College for Creative Studies) and at Wayne State University, where he received his BFA (1967) and MA (1970.) Other well-known individuals who taught or studied at Wayne State University and are connected with the arts are Arthur Danto, Dr. Wayne Dyer, Susan Aaron-Taylor, Tyree Guyton, Hughie Lee-Smith, Philip Levine, Casey Kasem, Helen Thomas, Sergio DeGuisti, Stanley Rosenthal...
    Category

    Late 20th Century American Modern Abstract Paintings

    Materials

    Paper, Acrylic

  • "Untitled", Colorful Abstract Landscape, Oil on Canvas, Signed by Artist
    Located in Detroit, MI
    This small multicolor abstract is an exemplary work of Mexican-American artist Nora Chapa Mendoza. This vibrantly colorful landscape is oil on canvas and exhibits the cool colors that evoke images of a Mexican or American Southwest desert sunset. The painting is signed by the artist and this work comes with the metal easel that is seen displayed in the photos. Nora Mendoza...
    Category

    Late 20th Century Abstract Expressionist Abstract Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Oil

  • "Beyond the Wall" Oil on Canvas, Brilliant Blues, Red, Abstract Expressionist
    By Robert Piatek
    Located in Detroit, MI
    Robert's brilliant abstract paintings are easily identified with energized aspects of the universe as in sun burst, nebula, black hole, or far away. His Zen practice allows him release from earthly concerns to soar amongst the stars. Robert Piatek...
    Category

    2010s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Oil

  • "In the Beginning" Abstract, Brilliant Colors of Blue, Red, Yellow, Oil
    By Robert Piatek
    Located in Detroit, MI
    Robert's brilliant abstract paintings are easily identified with energized aspects of the universe as in sun burst, nebula, black hole, or far away. His Zen practice allows him release from earthly concerns to soar amongst the stars. Robert Piatek...
    Category

    2010s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Oil

  • "Red Harmony" Abstract, Geometric, Colors, Bright Red, Green
    By William Antonow
    Located in Detroit, MI
    SALE ONE WEEK ONLY "Red Harmony" is an abstract painting that does have a sculptural presence in the shapes of the red areas. The lush greens blend various shades into a background that while it does contrast sharply with the reds, it is not in conflict. The overall effect of this work is dynamic in its energy while at the same time harmonious. One of the original Cass Corridor artists from the 1960s William Antonow studied at the School of the Detroit Society of Arts and Crafts (now the College for Creative Studies) and at Wayne State University, where he received his BFA (1967) and MA (1970.) Antonow’s first one-person show at the Willis Gallery in 1971, represented a radical departure from his early work – abstract bronzes shown at the Michigan Artists exhibitions at the Detroit Institute of Arts in 1969 and 1970. A founding member of the Willis, Antonow publicized his exhibition with a cryptic invitation stating, “art isn’t anything.” Echoing the challenge implicit in the exhibition announcement, the works in the show consisted of precariously balanced piles of such non-art materials as wood crates and barrels, corrugated paper or cardboard, cellophane and beer cans. These brash, paint-slathered juxtapositions of salvaged objects were perhaps the first example of the nascent “tough art” aesthetic of the Cass Corridor. (Both Gordon Newton’s wood constructions and Bob Sestok’s crude “radio wheels” first appeared in 1972.) In 1975, in the inaugural group exhibition of the Willis at its new location in the Fisher Building...
    Category

    1980s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Oil

You May Also Like
  • No. 3 -1960
    By Stanley Twardowicz
    Located in New York, NY
    Signed (on stretcher): Stanley Twardowicz Stanley Twardowicz (1917–2008), a one-time orphan, Golden Gloves boxer, professional baseball player and auto worker, emerged from a hards...
    Category

    Late 20th Century American Modern Abstract Paintings

    Materials

    Enamel

  • Yours Truly
    By Arthur Dove
    Located in New York, NY
    Yours Truly is a work of 1927, a fertile year for Dove, capped by a solo exhibit at Stieglitz’s “The Intimate Gallery,” which included this picture. From 1924 through 1930, Dove produced a notable series of collages, interspersed with drawings, pastels, and oil paintings on a variety of supports. In 1927, the same year that Dove painted Yours Truly, he found inspiration in American popular music, often referring in his titles to works by George Gershwin and Irving Berlin. Yours Truly was the title of a Broadway musical that opened at the Shubert Theater on January 25, 1927. Gene Buck, the producer, had collaborated with Raymond Hubbell, the composer, on the Ziegfield Follies shows of 1923, 1924, and 1925. The production, which contained the title song, “Yours Truly,” ran for 127 performances, closing on May 14, 1927. Given the context of Dove paintings...
    Category

    1920s American Modern Paintings

    Materials

    Oil, Canvas

  • Untitled
    By Louisa Chase
    Located in New York, NY
    Louisa Lizbeth Chase was born in 1951 to Benjamin and Wilda Stengel Chase in Panama City, Panama, where her father, a West Point graduate, was stationed. The family moved to Pennsylv...
    Category

    20th Century American Modern Abstract Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Oil

  • Untitled
    By Louisa Chase
    Located in New York, NY
    Louisa Lizbeth Chase was born in 1951 to Benjamin and Wilda Stengel Chase in Panama City, Panama, where her father, a West Point graduate, was stationed. The family moved to Pennsylv...
    Category

    Late 20th Century American Modern Abstract Paintings

    Materials

    Oil, Canvas

  • Hug
    By Louisa Chase
    Located in New York, NY
    Louisa Lizbeth Chase was born in 1951 to Benjamin and Wilda Stengel Chase in Panama City, Panama, where her father, a West Point graduate, was stationed. The family moved to Pennsylv...
    Category

    20th Century American Modern Abstract Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Oil

  • Untitled
    By Louisa Chase
    Located in New York, NY
    Oil on canvas, 11 x 10 in.
    Category

    Late 20th Century American Modern Abstract Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Oil

Recently Viewed

View All