A.muse Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

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...

Abstracted Sleeping Female Figurative in Pastel on Paper Vivid abstracted sleeping female figurative by Black Arts Bay Area artist, Kelvin Curry (American, 20th Century), circa 2000...

Two Faces (Purple and Magenta) in Pastel on Paper Brightly colored faces by Bay Area artist, Kelvin Curry (American, 20th Century). Two faces are shown in profile, looking to the le...

Abstracted Nude Figurative in Pastel on Paper Vivid abstracted figurative by Black Arts Bay Area artist, Kelvin Curry (American, 20th Century), circa 2000. A woman's profile of her ...

Blossom Light from Blood is a Drawing realized by Iranian Painter and Poet Parimah Avani in 2022. China ink and acrylic on ivory-colored paper. Hand-si...

Colorful abstract work by Bay Area artist Kelvin Curry (American, 20th Century). Signed "Kelvin Curry" lower left. Unframed. Image size, 15"H x 11.25"W. Born in Oakland, California ...

Street art style figurative abstract of blue face by Bay Area artist, Kelvin Curry (American, 20th Century). Signed "Kelvin Curry" lower right. Unframed. Ima...

Red, Yellow, Pink Roses of Revolution is a Drawing realized by Iranian Painter and Poet Parimah Avani in 2022. China ink and acrylic on ivory-colored paper. Hand-signed and dated...

This brightly colored mixed media artwork titled "Mask On, You’re Happy Now" is an original artwork by Kelly Kozma made of hand embroidery, latex paint, marker and handmade sequins o...

Freedom as Flooding Blood is a drawing realized by Iranian Painter and Poet Parimah Avani in 2022. China ink and acrylic on ivory-colored paper. Hand-signed and dated. Excellen...

LESZEK RÓZGA (1924-2015) He studied painting at Maria Skarbek-Kruszewska private atelier in 1945-46. In 1948, he began studies at the art school in Łódź (later: Academy of Fine Arts)...

The Sole Letter of Freedom is a drawing realised by Iranian Painter and Poet Parimah Avani in 2022. China ink and acrylic on ivory-colored paper. Hand-signed and dated. Excellent co...