Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 4

William Nelson
East Village

2022

About the Item

William Nelson’s latest body of work, titled Pretty, Desirable, Delightful, Dangerous, invites us into a dynamic world of glamour and mystery, rich with symbolism, history, and intriguing narratives. In this exhibition, Nelson takes us on a tour of New York City and beyond, revisiting icons of film, pop culture, and architecture as he merges illustration and portraiture in his signature style. In a painting titled 51st and Lex, Audrey Hepburn as seen in Breakfast at Tiffany’s reclines with effortless elegance along the bottom edge of the painted picture frame, set in black-and-white glory against a richly colored background depicting the 1931 General Electric Building’s Gothic Revival crown. A nod to the Lexington Avenue landmark’s origins takes the form of lightning dancing in the midnight blue sky. The skyscraper’s pinnacle is framed by a large circle and bordered by a pastiche of Art Deco-styled stained glass, and comic-book-inspired gargoyles. Each of the canvases in this exhibition are similarly dense with references—constructivist both in their creation and their interpretation, unique to the individual experiencing the work and their personal histories. Nelson’s own history plays a role in his visual repertoire, recalling his childhood spent devouring the Sunday comics, and frequently visiting the movie theater to escape the Florida heat. His avid consumption of the images surrounding him—drawings, films, the sculptural elements of the landscape and built environment further expanded when he moved to New York City as a young adult. Today these images and memories come together as Nelson sets the stage in each work, bringing disparate characters together with a vibrancy that commands our attention much in the same way as the big screen has always captured his own. William Nelson graduated from the School of Visual Arts, in New York City in 1993, and has since exhibited in notable contemporary institutions throughout the country. His work has been showcased at prestigious art fairs such as Art Miami, Palm Beach Modern + Contemporary, The Palm Beach Show, and Art New York, as well as annual exhibitions with Cavalier Galleries in New York, Greenwich, Nantucket, and Palm Beach.
  • Creator:
    William Nelson (1961, American)
  • Creation Year:
    2022
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 48 in (121.92 cm)Width: 48 in (121.92 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    Greenwich, CT
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU18110928372
More From This SellerView All
  • Kim
    By Louis Jaquet
    Located in Greenwich, CT
    Abstract portrait of woman with red hat and blue dress
    Materials

    Canvas, Oil

  • Le Rendez Vous
    By Louis Jaquet
    Located in Greenwich, CT
    Abstract portrait of woman with white hat and green over her eyes
    Materials

    Canvas, Oil

  • Connie in Old Studio Chair
    By Max Ginsburg
    Located in Greenwich, CT
    American, b. 1931 Max Ginsburg received his BFA from Syracuse University and his MFA from City College of New York. Since then, his true to life New York City sidewalk scenes have received numerous awards including, Christopher Award, Pauline Law Award, The Edith Lehman Prize, and honorable mentions from both Audubon and Salamagundi. Ginsburg Is an active member of the Allied Artists and the Society of Illustrators and his work has been commissioned by New York Times Magazine, Fortune Magazine, Harper Collins Publications, Dial Books/Penguin Publications and many others. His paintings also hang in many prominent collections, such as New Britain Museum of American Art, Connecticut, Martin Luther King Labor Center, H. J. Heinz Company and those of Jules Bernstein, Dom DeLuise, Edgar Bronfman, Harvey...
    Category

    2010s American Realist Interior Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Oil

  • And Forsake All Others
    By William Nelson
    Located in Greenwich, CT
    Lady Gaga, The Pink Panther and the Little Man
    Category

    2010s Pop Art Portrait Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Oil

  • Mans (Best Friend) Splaining
    By William Nelson
    Located in Greenwich, CT
    Mr. Peabody and Juliette Binoche cooking in the Way Back Machine
    Category

    2010s Pop Art Portrait Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Oil

  • Ambassador Hotel
    By William Nelson
    Located in Greenwich, CT
    William Nelson’s latest body of work, titled Pretty, Desirable, Delightful, Dangerous, invites us into a dynamic world of glamour and mystery, rich with symbolism, history, and intri...
    Category

    2010s Portrait Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Oil

You May Also Like
  • Portrait of a Boy, John Closterman, Large English Portrait Art, Old Master
    By John Closterman
    Located in Greven, DE
    John Clostermann (Osnabrück 1660 - 1711 London) Portrait of a boy, maybe Charles Hinde Oil on canvas, 61 x 74,6 cm John Closterman (also Klosterman) was a portrait painter of the late 17th and early 18th centuries. He primarily portrayed English noblemen and European aristocratic families. His father was already an artist and he trained his son. In 1679 he went to Paris and studied with Francois de Troy. In 1681 he was in London and worked for the artist John Riley, whose studio he took over after his death. In 1696 he was invited to the Spanish court...
    Category

    17th Century Baroque Figurative Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Oil

  • Island of Broken Toys (diptych)
    Located in Burlingame, CA
    'Island of Broken Toys' 2019, a diptych contemporary oil on canvas painting by Tamera Avery, whose paintings are created with wit and wisdom. Avery's work...
    Category

    21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Paintings

    Materials

    Cotton Canvas, Oil

  • Ralph Pallen Coleman (American 1892-1968) A Monumental Painting of Jesus Christ
    Located in New York, NY
    Ralph Pallen Coleman (American 1892-1968) A Monumental Painting of "The Resurrection of Jesus Christ", circa 1940. Measuring 102" high x 77" wide (framed), this massive oil on canvas painting is truly one of a kind. The quality throughout the entire painting is masterful. The painting is very realistically painted with bright, vibrant, colors which shows the artists true passion and love for Jesus and Christianity. Ralph Pallen Coleman was an American painter and illustrator. His career spanned more than half a century during which he illustrated stories for many magazines, and later, religious illustrations and paintings which provided images of Christianity to millions of people during the 1950s-1960's. A native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he grew up and lived there throughout his 75 years. He received his formal art education at the Philadelphia School...
    Category

    1940s Portrait Paintings

    Materials

    Oil, Canvas

  • Oil Painting / Photorealism / Figurative Art / Human Figure /Museum
    By Bruce Adams
    Located in Buffalo, NY
    Bruce Adams was a painter, art educator, and writer. Born in Buffalo, N.Y., in 1952, he received a B.S. in 1976 and an M.A. in 1983 from Buffalo State College. Adams’s work is includ...
    Category

    1980s Contemporary Figurative Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Oil

  • Madonna and Child with Angels in the Clouds
    Located in New York, NY
    Provenance: Charles H. and Virginia Baldwin, Claremont, Colorado Springs, Colorado ca. 1907-1934; thence by descent until sold in 1949 to: Charles Blevins Davis, Claremont (renamed Trianon), Colorado Springs 1949 -until gifted in 1952 to: The Poor Sisters of Saint Francis, Trianon, Colorado Springs, 1952 until acquired, 1960, by: John W. Metzger, Trianon, renamed as the Trianon School of Fine Arts, Colorado Springs, 1960-1967; when transferred to: The Metzger Family Foundation, Trianon Art Museum, Denver, 1967 - 2004; thence by descent in the Metzger Family until 2015 Exhibited: Trianon Art Museum, Denver (until 2004) The present work is a spectacular jewel-like canvas by Amigoni, rich in delicate pastel colors, most likely a modello for an altarpiece either lost or never painted. In it the Madonna stands firmly upon a cloud in the heavens, her Child resting on a delicate veil further supported by a cloud, as he gently wraps his arm around his mother’s neck. From above angels prepare to lower flowers and a wreath, while other angels and seraphim surrounding the two joyfully cavort. Dr. Annalisa Scarpa, author of the forthcoming monograph on Jacopo Amigoni...
    Category

    18th Century and Earlier Figurative Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Oil

  • Portrait of Laura Keppel, later Lady Southampton
    By Sir John Hoppner
    Located in New York, NY
    Inscribed, upper left: “Miss Laura Keppel” Provenance: Commissioned from the artist and by descent in the Keppel family estate, Lexham Hall, Norfolk, to: Major Bertram William Arnol...
    Category

    18th Century Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Oil

Recently Viewed

View All