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

Charles Barr
'Abstract, Citron & Scarlet', American Abstraction, Pittsburgh, Freeman Center

Circa 1965

About the Item

Signed verso, 'Barr' for Charles Barr (American, 1929-2019); additionally inscribed and painted circa 1965. From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 2019: CHARLES "CHUCK" BARR Age 89, of Highland Park, graduated from human life on August 11. Although no headlines marked the event, he was a great man. People ranging from fellow Pittsburghers to New York art collectors have known Chuck as a wonderful self-taught artist and creative jazz musician. But above all, everyone touched by his joy knew him as a carrier of the Great Spirit. Ten minutes with Chuck could do more than make your day. It could open your heart to the boundless possibilities that life offers, if only we live from love. Chuck was raised in a working-class musical family in Beechview. Leaving home as a teenager to play tenor sax in a Chicago nightclub alongside brother, Tommy, a pianist, he burned out on the late-night routine. He then spent years trying to fit into so-called normal society, working various jobs in places from Yokohama (with the U.S. Army) to Philadelphia. Around 1969, Chuck returned to Pittsburgh to rediscover his calling and became a local legend. A Post-Gazette article dubbed him the city's "rambling minstrel" for his sax and flute recitals in public. College-trained artists marveled at the dynamic, visually musical paintings he began to turn out. During the 1980s, he taught art at Penn Circle Alternative High School and at the Point Park Children's School. Recognition for his own art came late. A one-man show this March at the Irma Freeman Center, curated by art expert Pat McArdle, triggered wide interest in buying his works. Yet Chuck's greatest work lay in how he lived. He was intellectually curious and spiritually inspired. He loved nature; he loved people. He wasn't perfect but always laughed, staying attuned to the harmonies that unite us. Chuck is survived by his wife, Mary Barr; his daughter, Lynne Jeffries and son, David Barr. Interment was at Penn Forest Natural Burial Park. Before he passed, Chuck wrote in his final journal entry, "Well isn't The World a wonderful place to live and learn." He also left these words: "Every day is a reincarnation." And the last painting sold from his show bore a fitting title: "Go Baby You're Free
  • Creator:
    Charles Barr (1929 - 2019, American)
  • Creation Year:
    Circa 1965
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 18 in (45.72 cm)Width: 16 in (40.64 cm)Depth: 0.75 in (1.91 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
    minor losses, minor edge-rubbing; minor craquelure; unframed; shows well.
  • Gallery Location:
    Santa Cruz, CA
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU3449952042
More From This SellerView All
  • 'Abstract, Ebony & Rust', San Francisco Bay Area Abstraction, Large Oil
    By Eral Leek
    Located in Santa Cruz, CA
    Signed lower right, "Eral" for Eral Leek (American, 20th century) and dated 1962. A substantial, mid-century oil abstract comprising bold, overlapping rectangular compositional elem...
    Category

    1960s Abstract Abstract Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Oil

  • Abstract in Saffron and Jade
    By Nancy Shafsky
    Located in Santa Cruz, CA
    Signed lower right, 'Shafsky' and painted circa 1960. A kinetic, mid-century oil abstract comprising a structurally inter-related field of jade and saffron contrasted against second...
    Category

    1960s Abstract Abstract Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Oil

  • 'Abstract in Jade and Light Green', Woman Artist
    By Holly Blake
    Located in Santa Cruz, CA
    Signed, verso, 'Holly Blake', dated 2016 and titled 'A Pattern of Chance'. Holly Blake (American, 20th century) first attended Ohio's Columbus College of Art and Design and subseque...
    Category

    2010s Abstract Abstract Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Oil

  • 'Winter Landscape', San Francisco Bay Area Abstraction, Wayne Thiebaud
    By Robert George Gilberg
    Located in Santa Cruz, CA
    Painted by Robert Gilberg (American, 1911-1970) circa 1950. Unsigned and accompanied by a certificate of authenticity. Born in Oakland, Robert George Gilberg first studied at the O...
    Category

    1940s Abstract Abstract Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Oil

  • 'Abstract, Coral and Saffron', Bay Area Oil Abstraction, Triton Museum, Brooklyn
    Located in Santa Cruz, CA
    Signed twice, verso, on stretcher 'Marsha Straus' for Marsha Rogow Strauss (American, 1944-2008) and painted circa 1995. A substantial and vibrant oil abstract comprising massed, ov...
    Category

    1980s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Oil

  • 'Sunset over Velden, Holland', French Expressionist Landscape, Benezit
    By Henri Plas
    Located in Santa Cruz, CA
    Signed lower left "H. Plas" (French, born 1933) and dated 1971; inscribed verso "Champs de Velden" (Fields of Velden). A substantial Expressionist oil landscape showing a lyrical view of russet and gold fields bathed in evening sunlight outside the Dutch village...
    Category

    1970s Abstract Expressionist Landscape Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Oil

You May Also Like
  • Untitled 01 [Remains of the Remains 01] - Contemporary, Black, White, Abstract
    By Zsolt Berszán
    Located in Berlin, DE
    Untitled 01 [Remains of the Remains 01], 2018 oil on canvas 78 47/64 H x 59 1/16 W in 200 H x 150 W cm The large-sized paintings, signed by Zsolt Berszán...
    Category

    2010s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Oil

  • Origins
    By Osvaldo Mariscotti
    Located in New York, NY
    Origins, 2020 Oil on canvas (3 panels) 72 x 108 x 1 1/2 inches, overall Signed and dated, verso leftmost panel
    Category

    2010s Abstract Abstract Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Oil

  • Sonata 23 Triptych
    By Osvaldo Mariscotti
    Located in New York, NY
    Sonata 23 Triptych 2017 Oil on canvas (3 panels) 48 x 120 x 1 1/2 inches, overall Signed and dated, verso
    Category

    2010s Abstract Geometric Abstract Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Oil

  • Color Symphony 49 Triptych
    By Osvaldo Mariscotti
    Located in New York, NY
    Color Symphony 49 Triptych, 2016 Oil on canvas (3 panels) 72 x 120 x 1 1/2 inches, overall Signed and dated, verso leftmost panel
    Category

    2010s Abstract Abstract Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Oil

  • Diving for Pearls
    Located in New York, NY
    Diving for Pearls, 1986 Oil on canvas 88 x 76 in. (223.5 x 193 cm) Signed, dated, and titled, verso
    Category

    1980s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Oil

  • James Joyce's Smile
    Located in New York, NY
    James Joyce's Smile, 1984 Oil on canvas 66 x 87 in. (167.6 x 221 cm) Signed, dated, and titled, verso
    Category

    1980s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Oil

Recently Viewed

View All