Charles Robert Searles"Watching Time"c. 1965
c. 1965
About the Item
- Creator:Charles Robert Searles (1937 - 2004, American)
- Creation Year:c. 1965
- Dimensions:Height: 13 in (33.02 cm)Width: 11 in (27.94 cm)Depth: 1 in (2.54 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:Lambertville, NJ
- Reference Number:
Charles Robert Searles
Inspired by the traditional art of Africa, Charles Robert Searles referenced masks, dancers and music in his kaleidoscopic paintings, sculptures, prints, public artworks and drawings. “Busy is the term that many people use when describing my paintings,” he wrote in a 1973 statement. “Busy yes, or I’d say full. Full of color, full of design, movement and people.”
Born in Philadelphia, Searles initially worked as a house painter before serving in the Army. He then studied at the University of Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts before traveling to Nigeria, Ghana, Morocco and other West African countries on a Cresson Traveling Scholarship. The experience was pivotal, with the sights and sounds he witnessed influencing the buoyant colors and dynamic scenes of his paintings. After returning to Philadelphia, Searles taught at the Ile Ife Black Humanitarian Center before moving to New York, where he set up a studio.
Searles’s work was featured in the 1969 “New Black Artists” exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum. It was among the first shows to showcase Black modern artists. Searles’s work was also part of the 1971 “Contemporary Black Artists in America” at the Whitney Museum, where his painting News garnered critical acclaim. In 1974, the artist was commissioned to paint a mural in Philadelphia’s William J. Green Jr. Federal Building. The resulting piece, a vibrant panorama of dancers and drummers, merges the energy of American street festivals with Searles’s memories of Nigeria. While his later work was more abstract and often involved carved wooden elements, it was always imbued with a vivid sense of rhythm and movement.
Searles’s art has been exhibited around the world. It is in many permanent collections, including the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Woodmere Art Museum and Smithsonian American Art Museum.
Find authentic Charles Robert Searles art today on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Lambertville, NJ
- Return PolicyThis item cannot be returned.
- "America's Best"By Charles Robert SearlesLocated in Lambertville, NJJim’s of Lambertville is proud to offer this artwork. Illustrated in "Charles Searles" 2013 exhibition catalog (La Salle University Art Museum/Tyler School of Art) Charles Searles (1937-2004) He was born in Philadelphia, PA and received his fine art education at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art (PAFA) from 1969-72. He also attended the University of Pennsylvania for liberal arts studies, where he worked in the labs beside the scientists and engineers creating technical illustrations for text books. His early paintings embraced the tumultuous 60's and also reflected his own family life and surroundings. Before graduating the PAFA, Searles received the Cresson Memorial Traveling Scholarship, and the following year, the Ware Memorial Traveling Scholarship. He was the first student to use these funds to travel to Africa. His travels in Africa marked his life and work forever -- the life, the rhythms, the patterns, and the energy. Searles returned to Philadelphia and began teaching at the Ile Ife Cultural Center. It was then that he began his "Dancer" Series. This series marked a change in his life, celebrating his new sense of renewal and the African experience. He was awarded his first mural commission at the William G. Green Federal Building. This work, entitled "Celebration" is still on view today. At that time, he was also hired as a drawing teacher at the (then) Philadelphia College of Art, where he remained a professor for over twenty years. In 1978, Searles moved to New York City. He found a large, raw space -- an old sewing factory -- on Broadway and Bleeker where he would remain for the rest of his life. He continued to commute to Philadelphia teaching part time. He met Kathleen Spicer, an art student, in 1983. They married in 1985. Together, they shared a wonderful, open, artistic, social, and creative experience. Searles gradually moved away from painting and into sculpture. His sculptures maintained the vibrant color and patterns from his paintings, but seemed to dance in three dimensions. These new works embodied a live sense of rhythm and energy -- trademarks that he maintained throughout his career, whether in wood, bronze, or aluminum. In his lifetime, Charles Searles participated in over 60 group shows, and 25 solo exhibitions. He was represented by the Sande Webster Gallery in Philadelphia for over 20 years. His paintings and sculptures can be found in innumerable public and private collections. Public commissions include the Delaware River Port Authority, the NYC Mass Transit Authority, the First District Plaza in Philadelphia, and the Amtrak station in Newark, NJ. He was the recipient of many awards, including ones from the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, the Adolph and Esther Gottleib Foundation, the Creative Arts Project Fellowship, and the National Endowment for the Arts. His wife of 23 years, Kathleen Spicer adds: "Charles was his work, and his work was him. Inseparable. Our lives were all about art. We lived each day as if it was a gift. To me, he was enchanted. His vision was clear -- he could envision something and make it come to life as easy as breathing. Genius. Charles made the world a better place. Charles speaks loud and clear." Bio courtesy of Kathleen Spicer (Searles) Selected Periodical Citations: Newhall, Edith, "Dual Celebration of Self-expression", Philadelphia Enquirer, May 2013 Fabbri, Anne, "A Farewell to Charles Searles", Art Matters, January 2005 Cornell University Review, August 2000 O'Neill, Denise I., "Black Experience Puts Soul Into the Heart of Christmas", Chicago Sun-Times, December 1996 Gleuck, Grace, Review, The New York Times, December 1996 McBride, Octavia, "An Artist Acclaimed", Philadelphia Tribune, April 1993 Fox, Catherine, "National Black Arts Festival Program Guide", The Atlanta Journal, July 1990 Wilson, William, "Black Artists in Tune with Ancestors", Los Angeles Times, January 1990 Jamusch, Ann, "Special Show-Legacy of Black Art", Dallas Times Herald, January 1990 Binkley, Barbara, "Colors, Bright and Bold", The Daily News, April 1986 Grafly, Dorothy, "Charles Searles at Neumans", ART in Focus, Summer 1978 Crittendon, Denise, "Back Home from Nigeria", The Michigan Chronicle, December 1977 Garrett, Bob, Art Section Review. Boston Sunday Herald, November 1975 Patry, Louise, "A Jubilee of Afro-American Art in Boston", New England Journal, December 1975 Wright, Charles, "Paint Art Racist", The Village Voice, April 1971 Nelson, Nells, "Black Artists Rise Above the Tempest", Philadelphia Daily News, April 1971 Canaday, John, "Black Artist on View in Two Exhibitions", The New York Times, February 1970 Collections: - Philadelphia Museum of Art - The Woodmere Art Museum - Smithsonian Institute of American Art - Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts - LaSalle University Art Museum - Howard University Gallery of Art - Dallas Museum of Art - Delaware Valley Arts Alliance - Montclair Museum of Art - Afro-American Historical & Cultural Museum - Museum of Afro-American History - 35 + corporate collections - National & international private collections 75+ Group Exhibitions, Including: - Woodmere Art Museum - Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts - Whitney Museum of American Art - Museum of American Art - Boston Museum of Fine Arts - Brooklyn Museum - Art Alliance - National Afro-American Museum - Liberty Museum - National Blacks Fine Arts Show - Institute of Contemporary Art - Ackland Arts Museum - Arnot Art Museum 30+ Solo Exhibitions, Including: - Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia PA - The State Museum of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg, PA - LaSalle University, Philadelphia, PA - Temple University, Philadelphia, PA - Montclair Art Museum, Montclair, NJ - Noyes Museum, Oceanville, NJ - Delaware Valley Arts Alliance, Narrowsburg, NY - North Carolina State University - Winston Salem State University, Winston Salem, NC - G.R. N’Namdi Gallery, New York, NY - Sande Webster Gallery, Philadelphia, PA - June Kelly Gallery, New York, NY - Noel Gallery, Charlotte, NC - Malcolm Brown...Category
1960s American Modern Figurative Photography
MaterialsPhotographic Paper
- "Grain Elevators, Buffalo"By Ralston CrawfordLocated in Lambertville, NJJim’s of Lambertville is proud to offer this artwork by: Tobias Musicant (1921 – 2004) A new discovery in the art world is something always searched for and rarely found. Surely th...Category
1930s American Modern Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsWatercolor, Ink, Paper
- "Country Haircut"By Milton AveryLocated in Lambertville, NJJim’s of Lambertville Fine Art Gallery is proud to offer this piece by Milton Avery (1885 – 1965). Milton Avery was a prominent Modernist painter whose work combined abstraction and...Category
1940s American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsWatercolor, Gouache, Paper
- "Autumn"By Gershon BenjaminLocated in Lambertville, NJJim’s of Lambertville is proud to offer this artwork by: Gershon Benjamin (1899-1985) An American Modernist of portraits, landscapes, still lives, and the urban scene, Gershon Benj...Category
1970s American Modern Landscape Paintings
MaterialsPastel, Paper
- "In Front of the Store"By Charles Robert SearlesLocated in Lambertville, NJJim’s of Lambertville is proud to offer this artwork. Signed and dated lower right. Illustrated in "Charles Searles" 2013 exhibition catalog (La Salle University Art Museum / Tyler School of Art) pg. 195 Charles Searles (1937-2004) He was born in Philadelphia, PA and received his fine art education at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art (PAFA) from 1969-72. He also attended the University of Pennsylvania for liberal arts studies, where he worked in the labs beside the scientists and engineers creating technical illustrations for text books. His early paintings embraced the tumultuous 60's and also reflected his own family life and surroundings. Before graduating the PAFA, Searles received the Cresson Memorial Traveling Scholarship, and the following year, the Ware Memorial Traveling Scholarship. He was the first student to use these funds to travel to Africa. His travels in Africa marked his life and work forever -- the life, the rhythms, the patterns, and the energy. Searles returned to Philadelphia and began teaching at the Ile Ife Cultural Center. It was then that he began his "Dancer" Series. This series marked a change in his life, celebrating his new sense of renewal and the African experience. He was awarded his first mural commission at the William G. Green Federal Building. This work, entitled "Celebration" is still on view today. At that time, he was also hired as a drawing teacher at the (then) Philadelphia College of Art, where he remained a professor for over twenty years. In 1978, Searles moved to New York City. He found a large, raw space -- an old sewing factory -- on Broadway and Bleeker where he would remain for the rest of his life. He continued to commute to Philadelphia teaching part time. He met Kathleen Spicer, an art student, in 1983. They married in 1985. Together, they shared a wonderful, open, artistic, social, and creative experience. Searles gradually moved away from painting and into sculpture. His sculptures maintained the vibrant color and patterns from his paintings, but seemed to dance in three dimensions. These new works embodied a live sense of rhythm and energy -- trademarks that he maintained throughout his career, whether in wood, bronze, or aluminum. In his lifetime, Charles Searles participated in over 60 group shows, and 25 solo exhibitions. He was represented by the Sande Webster Gallery in Philadelphia for over 20 years. His paintings and sculptures can be found in innumerable public and private collections. Public commissions include the Delaware River Port Authority, the NYC Mass Transit Authority, the First District Plaza in Philadelphia, and the Amtrak station in Newark, NJ. He was the recipient of many awards, including ones from the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, the Adolph and Esther Gottleib Foundation, the Creative Arts Project Fellowship, and the National Endowment for the Arts. His wife of 23 years, Kathleen Spicer adds: "Charles was his work, and his work was him. Inseparable. Our lives were all about art. We lived each day as if it was a gift. To me, he was enchanted. His vision was clear -- he could envision something and make it come to life as easy as breathing. Genius. Charles made the world a better place. Charles speaks loud and clear." Bio courtesy of Kathleen Spicer (Searles) Selected Periodical Citations: Newhall, Edith, "Dual Celebration of Self-expression", Philadelphia Enquirer, May 2013 Fabbri, Anne, "A Farewell to Charles Searles", Art Matters, January 2005 Cornell University Review, August 2000 O'Neill, Denise I., "Black Experience Puts Soul Into the Heart of Christmas", Chicago Sun-Times, December 1996 Gleuck, Grace, Review, The New York Times, December 1996 McBride, Octavia, "An Artist Acclaimed", Philadelphia Tribune, April 1993 Fox, Catherine, "National Black Arts Festival Program Guide", The Atlanta Journal, July 1990 Wilson, William, "Black Artists in Tune with Ancestors", Los Angeles Times, January 1990 Jamusch, Ann, "Special Show-Legacy of Black Art", Dallas Times Herald, January 1990 Binkley, Barbara, "Colors, Bright and Bold", The Daily News, April 1986 Grafly, Dorothy, "Charles Searles at Neumans", ART in Focus, Summer 1978 Crittendon, Denise, "Back Home from Nigeria", The Michigan Chronicle, December 1977 Garrett, Bob, Art Section Review. Boston Sunday Herald, November 1975 Patry, Louise, "A Jubilee of Afro-American Art in Boston", New England Journal, December 1975 Wright, Charles, "Paint Art Racist", The Village Voice, April 1971 Nelson, Nells, "Black Artists Rise Above the Tempest", Philadelphia Daily News, April 1971 Canaday, John, "Black Artist on View in Two Exhibitions", The New York Times, February 1970 Collections: - Philadelphia Museum of Art - The Woodmere Art Museum - Smithsonian Institute of American Art - Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts - LaSalle University Art Museum - Howard University Gallery of Art - Dallas Museum of Art - Delaware Valley Arts Alliance - Montclair Museum of Art - Afro-American Historical & Cultural Museum - Museum of Afro-American History - 35 + corporate collections - National & international private collections 75+ Group Exhibitions, Including: - Woodmere Art Museum - Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts - Whitney Museum of American Art - Museum of American Art - Boston Museum of Fine Arts - Brooklyn Museum - Art Alliance - National Afro-American Museum - Liberty Museum - National Blacks Fine Arts Show - Institute of Contemporary Art - Ackland Arts Museum - Arnot Art Museum 30+ Solo Exhibitions, Including: - Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia PA - The State Museum of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg, PA - LaSalle University, Philadelphia, PA - Temple University, Philadelphia, PA - Montclair Art Museum, Montclair, NJ - Noyes Museum, Oceanville, NJ - Delaware Valley Arts Alliance, Narrowsburg, NY - North Carolina State University - Winston Salem State University, Winston Salem, NC - G.R. N’Namdi Gallery, New York, NY - Sande Webster Gallery, Philadelphia, PA - June Kelly Gallery, New York, NY - Noel Gallery, Charlotte, NC - Malcolm Brown...Category
1970s American Modern Figurative Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
- "Little House Lambertville, Public Sale"By Joseph BarrettLocated in Lambertville, NJJim’s of Lambertville is proud to offer this artwork. Signed lower middle. Artist designed frame. Joseph Barrett (b. 1936) Joseph Barrett was born in Midland, North Carolina, in ...Category
20th Century American Modern Landscape Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
- Vintage C Print Groups in America Neal Slavin Color Photograph Ektacolor PhotoBy Neal SlavinLocated in Surfside, FLNeal Slavin (American, b. 1941) Staten Island Ferry Crew Vintage C-print [Chromogenic development print; Ektacolor prints] Hand signed and numbered by the photographer 48/75 Photos m...Category
1970s American Modern Color Photography
MaterialsPhotographic Paper, C Print
- Vintage C Print Groups in America Neal Slavin Color Photograph Ektacolor PhotoBy Neal SlavinLocated in Surfside, FLNeal Slavin (American, b. 1941) Holland Tunnel Crew, New York, NY Vintage C-print [Chromogenic development print; Ektacolor prints] Hand signed and numbered by the photographer 48/75 Photos made with 2.25 X 2.25 Hasselblad camera and 4 X 5 Calumet camera Contact printed on Kodak Ektacolor 74 RC-N paper Mat is 100% rag archival board Print measuring about 14 x 11 inches (33x26.7 cm.) or slightly smaller. image size varies a bit. Mat measures 18 X 14 In the 1970's, Neal Slavin captured a potpourri of various and sundry American groups of people: hobby groups, hot dog vendors, religious groups, social clubs, meetings, professional unions, and others. Neal Slavin (born 1941) is an American photographer and television/film director. He is the author of Portugal (1971), When Two or More are Gathered Together (1976) and Britons (1986). He directed and produced the film Focus (2001). Slavin was born in Brooklyn, New York. He graduated from the Cooper Union School of Art and Architecture in New York, where he obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. He was awarded an exchange student scholarship at Lincoln College...Category
1970s American Modern Color Photography
MaterialsPhotographic Paper, C Print
- Vintage C Print Groups in America Neal Slavin Color Photograph Ektacolor PhotoBy Neal SlavinLocated in Surfside, FLNeal Slavin (American, b. 1941) World Body Building Guild (W.B.B.G.) Brooklyn, N.Y. Vintage C-print [Chromogenic development print; Ektacolor prints] Hand signed and numbered by the photographer 48/75 Photos made with 2.25 X 2.25 Hasselblad camera and 4 X 5 Calumet camera Contact printed on Kodak Ektacolor 74 RC-N paper Mat is 100% rag archival board Print measuring about 14 x 11 inches (33x26.7 cm.) or slightly smaller. image size varies a bit. Mat measures 18 X 14 In the 1970's, Neal Slavin captured a potpourri of various and sundry American groups of people: hobby groups, hot dog vendors, religious groups, social clubs, meetings, professional unions, and others. Neal Slavin (born 1941) is an American photographer and television/film director. He is the author of Portugal (1971), When Two or More are Gathered Together (1976) and Britons (1986). He directed and produced the film Focus (2001). Slavin was born in Brooklyn, New York. He graduated from the Cooper Union School of Art and Architecture in New York, where he obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. He was awarded an exchange student scholarship at Lincoln College, Oxford in the UK. Britons is a series of photographs of people...Category
1970s American Modern Color Photography
MaterialsPhotographic Paper, C Print
- Vintage C Print Groups in America Neal Slavin Color Photograph Ektacolor PhotoBy Neal SlavinLocated in Surfside, FLNeal Slavin (American, b. 1941) Grand Canyon National Park Service, Arizona Vintage C-print [Chromogenic development print; Ektacolor prints] Hand signed and numbered by the photogra...Category
1970s American Modern Color Photography
MaterialsPhotographic Paper, C Print
- Vintage C Print Groups in America Neal Slavin Color Photograph Ektacolor PhotoBy Neal SlavinLocated in Surfside, FLNeal Slavin (American, b. 1941) The Wheelman, Swarthmore, PA Bicycle Riding Club. Antique Highwheeler Penny Farthing Bike club riders. Vintage C-print [Chromogenic development print; Ektacolor prints] Hand signed and numbered by the photographer 48/75 Photos made with 2.25 X 2.25 Hasselblad camera and 4 X 5 Calumet camera Contact printed on Kodak Ektacolor 74 RC-N paper Mat is 100% rag archival board Print measuring about 14 x 11 inches (33x26.7 cm.) or slightly smaller. image size varies a bit. Mat measures 18 X 14 In the 1970's, Neal Slavin captured a potpourri of various and sundry American groups of people: hobby groups, hot dog vendors, religious groups, social clubs, meetings, professional unions, and others. Neal Slavin (born 1941) is an American photographer and television/film director. He is the author of Portugal (1971), When Two or More are Gathered Together (1976) and Britons (1986). He directed and produced the film Focus (2001). Slavin was born in Brooklyn, New York. He graduated from the Cooper Union School of Art and Architecture in New York, where he obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. He was awarded an exchange student scholarship at Lincoln College, Oxford in the UK. Britons is a series of photographs of people from Britain, commissioned by the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television in the UK. It was published as a book in 1986 and exhibited at the International Center of Photography (ICP) in New York and at the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television that same year. His photography has been seen in publications and magazines, including The Sunday Times magazine, Stern, Town & Country, Esquire, The New York Times magazine, Life, House & Garden, and Geo Magazine. His photographs can be found in the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago, USA. His work encompasses a professional career of over 40 years, during which he has photographed a myriad of subjects including such celebrities as Steven Spielberg, Harrison Ford, Barbra Streisand, and Phil Collins. He is most known for his group portraits, which have been a significant focus throughout his career. He recently created a group portrait for T Magazine of film celebrities that have their roots in NYC, which includes Willem Dafoe, Glenn Close, LaTanya Richardson, Ed Harris, and Loretta Devine, among others. Slavin has received a number of grants and awards. He was one of the first Fulbright Fellows in Photography. He received US National Endowment for the Arts grants and a number of awards from Communication Arts Magazine. In 1986, he was named as the Corporate Photographer of the Year by the American Society of Magazine Photographers. He was also awarded the 1988 Augustus Saint-Gaudens Medal and the 2005 President's Citation by his alma mater, the Cooper Union. He is among the first generation of photographers, along with William Eggleston, Stephen Shore, Richard Misrach...Category
1970s American Modern Color Photography
MaterialsPhotographic Paper, C Print
- Vintage C Print Groups in America Neal Slavin Color Photograph Ektacolor PhotoBy Neal SlavinLocated in Surfside, FLNeal Slavin (American, b. 1941) Firemen, New York City Fire Department FDNY Vintage C-print [Chromogenic development print; Ektacolor prints] Hand signed and numbered by the photogra...Category
1970s American Modern Color Photography
MaterialsPhotographic Paper, C Print