Josef Presser Paintings

Erotic Scene is a gouache and China ink original painting on silk, realized probably in the second half of XIX century by an anonymous Japanese artist of XIX century, From a collection of twelve Japanese erotic silk paintings, wrongly titled "Shunga", mounted under a yellow cardboard Passepartout, cm 37 x 26.8, this modern artwork of little dimensions, but of extraordinary quality represents an erotic scene between two young Japanese lovers portrayed in their intimate situation and with their sophisticated traditional costumes and hairstyle. Without ever being vulgar or too explicit but with extreme elegance, our ancient Japanese artwork...

Predominantly recognized as a self-taught painter, he also worked in architectural murals, sculptures, ceramics, prints and drawings. Vigas is one...

Girl with a book

AKOS BIRO (HUNGARIAN 1911-2002) watercolour/ gouache painting on card, signed size: 7.75 x 10.75inches Beautifully colourful, original painting by the very popular and highly regard...

Simka Simkhovitch (Russian/American 1893 - 1949) This came with a small grouping from the artist's family, some were hand signed some were not. These were studies for larger paintings. This is a watercolor and gouache beach scene three young men bathing...

Simka Simkhovitch (Russian/American 1893 - 1949) This came with a small grouping from the artist's family, some were hand signed some were not. These were studies for larger paintings. Simka Simkhovitch (Симха Файбусович Симхович) (aka Simka Faibusovich Simkhovich) (Novozybkov, Russia May 21, 1885 O.S./June 2, 1885 N.S.—Greenwich, Connecticut February 25, 1949) was a Ukrainian-Russian Jewish artist and immigrant to the United States. He painted theater scenery in his early career and then had several showings in galleries in New York City. Winning Works Progress Administration (WPA) commissions in the 1930s, he completed murals for the post offices in Jackson, Mississippi and Beaufort, North Carolina. His works are in the permanent collections of the Dallas Museum of Art, the National Museum of American Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art. Born outside Kyiv (Petrograd Ukraine) into a Jewish family who owned a small department store. During a severe case of measles when he was seven, Simcha Simchovitch sketched the views outside his window and decided to become an artist, over his father's objections. Beginning in 1905, he studied at the Grekov Odessa Art School and upon completion of his studies in 1911 received a recommendation to be admitted to the Imperial Academy of Arts. Though he enrolled to begin classes in architecture, painting, and sculpture at the Imperial Academy, he was dropped from the school roster in December because of the quota on the number of Jewish students and drafted into the army. Simchovitch served as a private in the 175th Infantry Regiment Baturyn [ru] until his demobilization in 1912. Re-enrolling in the Imperial Academy, he audited classes. Simka Simkhovitch exhibited paintings and sculptures in 1918 as part of an exhibition of Jewish artists and in 1919 placed 1st in the competition "The Great Russian Revolution" with a painting called "Russian Revolution" which was hung in the State Museum of Revolution. In 1922, Simkha Simkhovitch exhibited at the International Book Fair in Florence (Italian: Fiera Internazionale del Libro di Firenze). In 1924, Simkhovitch came to the United States to make illustrations for Soviet textbooks and decided to immigrate instead. Initially he supported himself by doing commercial art and a few portrait commissions. In 1927, he was hired to paint a screen for a scene in the play "The Command to Love" by Fritz Gottwald and Rudolph Lothar which was playing at the Longacre Theatre on Broadway. Art dealers began clamoring for the screen and Simkhovitch began a career as a screen painter for the theater. Catching the attention of the screenwriter, Ernest Pascal, he worked as an illustrator for Pascal, who then introduced him to gallery owner, Marie Sterner. Simkhovitch's works appeared at the Marie Sterner Gallery beginning with a 1927 exhibit and were repeated the following year. Simkhovitch had an exhibit in 1929 at Sterner's on circus paintings. In 1931, he held a showing of works at the Helen Hackett Gallery, in New York City and later that same year he was one of the featured artists of a special exhibit in San Francisco at the California Palace of the Legion of Honor in Lincoln Park. The exhibit was coordinated by Marie Sterner and included four watercolors, including one titled "Nudes". He is of the generation of Russian Soviet artists such as Isaac Pailes, Serge Charchoune, Marc Chagall, Chana Orloff, Isaac Ilyich Levitan, and Ossip Zadkine. In 1936, Simkhovitch was selected to complete the mural for the WPA Post office project in Jackson, Mississippi. The mural was hung in the post office and courthouse in 1938 depicted a plantation theme. Painted on the wall behind the judge’s bench, “Pursuits of Life in Mississippi”, a depiction of black workers engaged in manual labor amid scenes of white professionals and socialites, was eventually covered over in later years during renovations due to its stereotypical African American imagery. Simka painted what he thought was typical of Jackson. His impression of pre-civil rights Mississippi was evidently Greek Revival column houses, weeping willow trees, working class families, and the oppression of African Americans. He painted African American men picking cotton, while a white man took account of the harvest and a white judge advised a white family, calling it Pursuits of Life in Mississippi. Though clearly endorsed by the government and initially generally well-received, the mural soon raised concerns with locals as the climate toward racial segregation began to change. The main concern was whether depictions that show African Americans in subjugated societal roles should be featured in a courtroom. The following year, his painting "Holiday" won praise at an exhibition in Lincoln, Nebraska. In 1940, Simkhovitch's second WPA post office project was completed when four murals, "The Cape Lookout Lighthouse and the Orville W. Mail Boat", "The Wreck of the Crissie Wright", "Sand Ponies" and "Canada Geese" were installed in Beaufort, North Carolina. The works were commissioned in 1938 and did not generate the controversy that the Jackson mural had. The main mural is "The Wreck of the Crissie Wright" and depicts a shipwreck which had occurred in Beaufort in 1866. "The Cape Lookout Lighthouse and the Orville W. Mail Boat" depicted the lighthouse built in 1859 and the mail boat that was running mail during the time which Simkhovitch was there. The boat ran mail for the area until 1957. "Sand Ponies" shows the wild horses common to the North Carolina barrier islands and "Canada Geese" showed the importance of hunting and fishing in the area. All four murals were restored in the 1990s by Elisabeth Speight, daughter of two other WPA muralists, Francis Speight...

Jim's of Lambertville Fine Art Gallery is proud to present this work by Jacob Lawrence (1917 – 2000). Provenance: This painting is from the private collection of Gwen Lawrence, widow of Jacob Lawrence. Exhibitions: An attached photo (3rd photo) of the back of the piece shows its extensive exhibition history. Biography: Leading African-American narrative painter, Jacob Lawrence was born in Atlantic City, New Jersey in 1917. After his father abandoned his family in 1924, Lawrence spent several years in foster homes before reuniting with his mother in 1930 in Harlem, New York. In New York, he attended art classes organized at the Harlem Art Workshop with Charles Aston and the Harlem Community Art Center with Augusta Savage. There, he met fellow young painters, Aaron Douglas, and William Johnson...

Predominantly recognized as a self-taught painter, he also worked in architectural murals, sculptures, ceramics, prints and drawings. Vigas is one...

William Gropper Original Gouache on Paper Hand signed lower right 33.5 x 27.5 image 26 x 20.5 The New-York born artist William Gropper was a painter and cartoonist who, with caricature style, focused on social concerns, and was actively engaged in support of the organized labor movement throughout his career. This original watercolor drawing is done in the iconic style of the artist's oeuvre. Born to Harry and Jenny Gropper in 1897, William was raised in New York City's Lower East Side. His parents were Jewish immigrants from Romania and Ukraine, and young William grew up in relative poverty, watching his family struggle to achieve that sought-after American dream. His father, a bright and college-educated man, was unable to find employment that worthy of his intellect. His mother, meanwhile, worked as a seamstress from home. Coupled with the devastating loss of an aunt to the infamous Triangle Factory fire of 1911, significant childhood factors created the foundation that led to Gropper’s exploration of the American experience. Early on, Gropper displayed an extraordinary, natural skill for art. By 1912, he was already studying under the instruction of George Bellows and Robert Henri at the Ferrer School in Greenwich Village. During his time at school, Gropper was also awarded a prestigious scholarship to study at the National Academy of Design. However, he refused to fit into convention and was swiftly expelled from the Academy. After his expulsion, Gropper returned home to help financially by assisting his mother and taking a shop position. However, he didn't abandon art academia and soon presented a portfolio to the New York School of Fine Art which earned him a scholarship for study. Gropper obtained his first significant job as a cartoonist for the New York Tribune in 1917. While working as a staff cartoonist for the Tribune, he also contributed drawings to publications like Vanity Fair, New Masses, The Nation, and Freiheit. His interest in the welfare of the American worker, class inequality, and social injustice was central in his work. After publishing the graphic novel Alley Oop in 1930, Gropper's illustration career extended well into the decade. However, he was never exempt from controversy, and his 1935 Vanity Fair cartoon; prompted anger from the Japanese government. As an involved labor organizer and Social Realist activist, Gropper continued to bring attention to his radical reputation with visits to the Soviet Union and Poland. However, his concern with European politics and U.S. social causes didn't slow down his artistic career, and by the late 1930s, he had produced significant murals for American cities like Washington D.C. His 1938 mural Construction of a Dam was commissioned for the Department of the Interior and represents the Social-Realism style that depicts experiences of the worker and everyday societal life. Measuring at a staggering 27ft by 87ft, the piece portrays muscular, robust American laborers scaling rocky hillsides, building infrastructure, and operating heavy machinery. The mural feels undeniably American with golden scenery, denim blues, and steely gray colors. Gropper fits perfectly into Social-Realism because the style exhibits an illustrative flair with strong lines and simple, bold hues. The inspiration for Construction of a Dam sprang from his 1937 travels to the poverty-stricken Dust Bowl area. The trip was sponsored by a Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship, and his drawings of the Grand Coulee and Boulder Dams...

'Café de la Place', gouache on paper, by Raymond Debiève (circa 1970s). A solitary stroller in a small French town crosses the street in front of a café al...

This is a two sided painting. Nude reclining woman and a ship lit at night. Harold Cohn (1908 - 1982) Harold Cohn was active/lived in New Jersey, Michigan. Harold Cohn is known fo...

Jim’s of Lambertville Fine Art Gallery is proud to offer this piece by Martha Walter (1875 - 1976). Born in Philadelphia in 1875, Martha Walter attended Girls’ High School followed by the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. It was at the Academy that Walter’s artistic talent was discovered. An admiring instructor by the name of William Merritt Chase took young Martha under his wing, giving her both inspiration and direction. She additionally enrolled with Chase at his summer school in Shinnecock, Long Island and in 1903, was awarded the Cresson Traveling Scholarship by the Pennsylvania Academy. This sent Martha Walter on travels to France, Italy, Spain, and Holland, where she attended the Grand Chaumiere and the Academie Julian in Paris. Afterwards, she established a studio on the Rue De Bagneaux in France with several other American women artists...