1930s Abstract Paintings

Boris Margo Cave Drama, 1938 Signed and dated lower left Oil on canvas 22 x 30 inches Best known as a painter of surrealist imagery, Boris Margo was born in Wolotschisk, Ukraine, i...

Rooftop view of the upper West Side Manhattan as it looked in the 1930s. There is a rough indication of a billboard and a glimpse of the Hudson River. The cluster of buildings depic...

Charles Evans (1907-1992) Mediterranean Costal Town, 1932. Gouache and watercolor on paper. Sheet measures 8.5 x 10 inches; mounted in frame measuring 8.5 x 10 inches. Signed and dated lower left. Charles Evans was a modernist known for his abstract style of painting. He studied at New York's Art Students League and Parsons School of Design, and later in Paris with Fernand Lger at the Acadmie Moderne. In 1930, Evans and his wife spent a year living in what was Paul Cezanne's studio in Aix-en-Provence, France. The following year, Evans purchased the old silk mill in New Hope and became involved in the area's modernist movement, joining the Independents in 1932. By 1935, he began to work collaboratively with Louis Stone, whom he had met in 1929 while studying with Hans Hofman in Saint Tropez, and with Charles F. Ramsey, teaching art classes and working on the Cooperative Painting Project. Every week, the three were joined by the abstract painter, Lee Gatch, in discussions at Ledger's Inn in Lambertville. In 1948 Evans co-founded the New Hope Gazette with Walter M. Teller. The same year he created set designs for St. John Terrell's Lambertville Music Circus. He also designed sets for the Bucks County Playhouse and Philadelphia's Playhouse in the Park. He later served as Set Designer for the Fred Miller...

Pastel on paper The German-born American Abstractionist Carl Robert Holty became known for his biomorphic abstract forms as well as his geometric abstractions that he painted with a ...

Pastel on paper The German-born American Abstractionist Carl Robert Holty became known for his biomorphic abstract forms as well as his geometric abstractions that he painted with a ...

Abstract Cubist Construction Collage Mid 20th Century American Modernism Cubism Vaclav Vytacil (1892 - 1984) Abstract Construction #2 Caesin on board collage 11 x 13 1/2 th inches S...

Mystery Artist Untitled, 1993 Watercolor on paper Sight: 13 x 19 1/4 in. Framed: 25 1/2 x 29 1/2 x 1 1/4 in. Signed and dated lower right

This is a beautiful oil painting by American artist Conrad Buff. It measures 15.5"x23.5" and is painted on board. Buff painted a simplified abstracted landscape by the bluffs. Born...

An original oil painting by Benjamin Benno, American (1901 - 1980). By the early 1930s he had established a reputation as a member of the international avant-garde and exhibited wit...

A beautifully painted Art Deco period oil painting by highly acclaimed American Artist Burr Singer 1912-1992 . Oil on canvas dating to the 1930s . Very good condition. Dimensions...

Giulio D'Anna è uno dei più importanti pittori del 2 Futurismo italiano Questa luminosa opera rappresenta un'aereo in volo nel cielo siciliano Colori sgargianti e cielo turchese del...

Antique American modernist still life oil painting by Victor Thall (American, 1902-1983). Oil on canvas. Framed in a very nice period American frame. Great color and thick impast....

Antique oil on canvas by Ernest Fiene (1894 - 1965) . This work was exhibited at Midtown Galleries. Housed in its original modernist frame as well. Perfect and ready to hang! Tit...

Untitled (Fabric Design) Annotated on the verso with the studio address of the artist Signed in ink lower right corner: “Marguerite Gross” Gouache on heavy paper, 1930-1939 In 1930 ...

Irving Lehman was a New York School artist whose work was influenced by constructivism and cubism. He exhibited at the Whitney, the Brooklyn Museum, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art, and many other institutions. This work shows an abstracted view of New York rooftops...

Early geometric ala Kandinsky Oil on paper Estate of Sam Esses Never afraid of trying new styles, curious and opinionated, constantly engaged with the world around him, Rolph Scarle...

Oil on artist board Collection of Samuel Esses, then by descent in the family It is possible that this is an early modernist stage design Never afraid of trying new styles, curious...

Oil on artist board Collection of Samuel Esses, then by descent in the family Never afraid of trying new styles, curious and opinionated, constantly engaged with the world around hi...

Modernist painting by Vaclav Vytlacil of "City Scene with Faces". Signed and dated "Vytlacil 32" lower right. Provenance: Estate of the artist #1584; Martin Diamond Fine Art Exhibi...

This painting is part of our exhibition America Coast to Coast: Artists of the 1930s Abstract Street (Untitled), 1939, oil on canvas, signed and dated lower right, 12 x 32 inches; provenance includes a private collection in Venice, California; presented in what is likely the artist's original handmade frame About the Painting The present work is the culmination of a series of mainly horizontal urban abstractions Harari completed between 1937 and 1939. Deeply influenced by Stuart Davis, Harari’s New York streetscapes began with clearly recognizable objects and landmarks as in Into New York (1937 - Collection of the Whitney Museum of American Art), New York Harbor (1937), Up and Downtown (1938), and his other mural proposals for the Nurses Home on Welfare Island (1937) and the Williamsburg Housing Project (1938). At the end of the series, Harari’s vistas became increasingly abstract with broad planes of color representing buildings and streets, the slightest cross-hatching forming a bridge or elevated train track and the vague suggestion of a streetlight looping in the right center of the composition. Figures, birds, and a street vendor’s cart are reduced to pictograms scratched into the surface of the canvas. Abstract Street (Untitled) is among Harari’s most spare works of the 1930s and 1940s and calls to mind the seemingly childlike, but deeply sophisticated works of Paul Klee from the 1920s. It serves as an excellent reminder of why Harari was heralded as one of the earliest members of the American Abstract Artists. About the Artist Hananiah Harari was an artistic polyglot who was equally at home working in styles as diverse as Cubism, Constructivism, Expressionism, Hard Edged Abstraction and trompe l’oeil Realism. A native of Rochester, New York, Harari initially studied as a child at the Memorial Art Gallery in his hometown and later as a scholarship student at the College of Fine Arts at Syracuse University. In 1932, Harari left for Paris where he befriended Nahum Tschacbasov, Benjamin Benno and John Graham and studied at the ateliers of Lhote, Leger and Gromaire. He also studied fresco painting at the Ecole de Fresque. By 1933, Harari had completed enough work and gained a sufficient reputation to have a solo exhibition at the American Club in Paris. The following year, Harari and his childhood friend and fellow artist Herzl Emanuel traveled to Palestine, where the artists worked hard in the orchards and fields of Kibbutz Deganiah, but produced little art. After returning to New York, Harari married Emanuel’s sister, Freda, and set out on the development of what noted scholar Gail Stavitsky has called an “original synthesis of the old and new." Harari became an early member of the American Abstract Artists (AAA), an organization formed to give modernists exhibition opportunities. Harari was also a member of the socially conscious Artist’s Union and the American Artist’s Congress. From 1936 through 1942, Harari worked on the Federal Art Project and assisted Marion Greenwood on a project as part of the Mural Division, but to his disappointment did not lead his own project. During the late 1930s and early 1940s, Harari completed a series of paired paintings with the same subject matter depicted in a Cubist manner and in trompe l’oeil Realism. Harari was acclaimed by Clement Greenberg and six of the artist’s works were selected for the Museum of Modern Art’s important 1943 exhibition American Realists and Magic Realists. During World War II, Harari served in the US Army Air Corps. Following the war, Harari continued to produce fine art while also producing commercial art. During the McCarthy Era, Harari’s progressive politics and leftist leaning art...

Antique American modernist surreal oil painting. Oil on canvas. Framed. Signed illegibly.

Louis Schanker was an important early American modernist painter. He was best known for his work of the 30's and 40's done in a semi-abstract mode that was influenced by European m...

Signed and dated "Biederman 4-35" lower right. About this artist: Charles Joseph Biederman was a twentieth century abstract American artist best known for his constructivist, cubist...

Antique American modernist nude signed drawing. Pencil on paper. Unsigned. Framed. Image size, 9L x 12H.

Signed and dated "Vytlacil 38" lower left, and signed and dated verso. Provenance: Estate of the artist #1602; Martin Diamond Fine Art About this artist: Born in 1892 to Czechoslov...

Antique American modernist signed interior oil painting. Oil on board. Signed. Framed. Image size, 9L x 10H. Provenance from the San Francisco Museum of Art.

Early geometric ala Kandinsky Oil on paper Estate of Sam Esses Never afraid of trying new styles, curious and opinionated, constantly engaged with the world around him, Rolph Scarle...

Antique American modernist landscape signed painting. Watercolor and gouache on paper. Signed. Framed.

Antique American school seascape oil painting. Oil on canvas. Framed. Signed. Image size, 30L x 24H.

Antique American abstract cubist table top still life oil painting. Oil on canvas, circa 1930. No signature found. Image size, 20L x 16H. Framing available.

Antique American school cubist abstract oil painting. Oil on canvas. Signed.

Antique impressionist signed landscape oil painting. Oil on canvas. Signed illegibly. Framed. Image size, 13L x 9.5H.

Jim's of Lambertville Fine Art Gallery is proud to present this piece by Burgoyne Diller (1906 – 1965). Born in New York City in 1906, Burgoyne Diller began drawing when he was stri...

The Amazon Benjamin Benno, American (1901–1980) Date: 1938 Oil and montage on canvas, signed and dated lower left Size: 31.75 x 26.13 in. (80.65 x 66.36 cm) Frame Size: 33.5 x 27.5 i...

Jim's of Lambertville Fine Art Gallery is proud to present this piece by Eve Drewelowe (1899 - 1988). Landscape painter, Eve Drewelowe, was the eighth of thirteen children born in ...

An oil painting by artist Benjamin Benno depicting the main characters from the novel “Don Quixote” in a cubist style. Don Quixote and Sancho Panza...

Rare and interesting original drawing. Charcoal and penicl on paper. Signed. Framed. Image size, 15L x 13H.

Antique American impressionist seascape signed oil painting. Oil on canvas. Signed. Framed. Image size, 15L x 12H.

"Untitled Abstract" is a 30 x 22 inches, oil on canvas painting by American modernist and surrealist, female artist Peter Miller. The work is painted in a vibrant color palette and estate stamped #202163 on verso. The painting has been conserved and inspected by conservation specialist, Gratz Gallery & Conservation Studio, Inc. Exhibition history: Forgotten Woman of American Modernism, Gratz Gallery & Conservation Studio, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, 2022. Provenance: Estate of the Artist; Private Collection, Saugerties, New York; Gratz Gallery & Conservation Studio, Doylestown, Pennsylvania. Image: Peter Miller in Her Studio Julien Levy Gallery...

Vintage American modernist abstract interior painting. Oil on canvas, circa 1930. No signature found. Image size, 20L x 16H. Framing available.

#90 Strange Creature Oil and pencil on board, 1932 Signed and dated in the image lower right (see photo) Provenance: Joseph M. Erdelac, Cleveland, OH Condition: excellent Archival framing Image size: 10 1/2 x 11 3/4 inches Frame size: 25 x 24 inches Painter, illustrator and commercial artist Norbert Lenz was born in Norwalk, Ohio and received his artistic training at both the Huntington Polytechnic Institute and the Cleveland School of Art. During his career Lenz exhibited his paintings and drawings at such institutions as the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Cleveland Museum of Art and the Butler Institute of American Art. Today the art of Norbert Lenz is held by the Columbus Museum of Art, the Cleveland Museum of Art and the Butler Institute of American Art. Lenz was also a very highly regarded commercial designer of stamps. He worked for a number of years at the House of Farman, a leading vendor of first day covers...

A small-scale oil painting by Benjamin Benno, executed in 1934. A large boulder perches precariously on a tiled slab of earth, echoing a sense of stillness. A Rock and a Hard Place...

Antique American modernist landscape painting. Monogrammed. "E" lower right. Framed. Image size, 12L x 9.5H.

Work is matted but not framed. Painter, Designer, Illustrator born on July 18, 1903 in Warren Arkansas. Studied at the Chicago Art Institute; Northwestern University; Vienne, Austria; with Eliot O’Hara and Hubert Ropp. Member of the following organizations: Dallas Art Association; Texas Fine Arts Association; National Association of Watercolor Artists; and the Texas watercolor Society. Smith exhibited at: American Watercolor Society in 1945, 1948 and 1952; with National Assn. of Watercolor Artists in 1945, 1946, and 1948; Artists Alliance in Dallas in 1943 (awarded prize), in 1944 (awarded prize), in 1945-46 and 1948-1950, 1952-53 with prizes awarded in 1948 and 1953; the Texas General Exhibition from 1943 through 1946, 1948-49; with the Texas Watercolor Society from 1950-52 with prizes won in 1950 and 1951, 1957; with the Southern States Arts League in 1944 and 1945; Texas Fine Arts Association in 1945 and awarded prize and with the Texas Artist Group consecutively from 1945.Smith’s work is in the collection of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts. Her one-man shows were in Austin, Texas in 1948; in San Antonio in 1951 and Dallas in 1951. Smith’s work is in the collection of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts. Original pastel and gouache on paper by Robin Artine Smith...

Antique American modernist abstract pastel and watercolor painting. Signed illegibly. Framed. Image size, 14L x 18H.

Set against a deep green background of layered paint and wavy lines, Benjamin Benno’s textured composition features an array of unidentifiable figures of varying sizes and shapes. Th...

An original cubist gouache painting by American artist Benjamin Benno. This surreal teal composition does little to resemble anything from its title, i...

Antique American impressionist signed still life oil painting. Oil on board. Signed. Framed. Image size, 25L x 19H.

Antique large modern interior scene oil painting. Oil on canvas, circa 1920. Unsigned. Image size 35.5L x47.5H.

Antique European modernist landscape painting. Oil on board, circa 1930. Unsigned. Image size, 20.5L x 17.5H. Housed in a period giltwood frame.

Signed lower left, 'Gregory Deane' (American, born 1938) and painted circa 1985. Framed dimensions: 15 H x 31.5 W x 1.5 D inches This contemporary California Expressionist incorpora...

Antique American school surreal composition painting. Oil on board, circa 1950. Unsigned. Image size, 8L x 12H. Housed in a period modern frame.

Nice quality modernist painting. Oil on canvas. Framed. Image size, 16L x 12H.

Antique American modernist landscape abstraction. Oil on board, circa 1940. Signed. Image size 30L x 25H. Housed in a period modern frame.

A Judaica painting with Hebrew Calligraphy by noted Chicago Modernist. Alexander Raymond Katz (his Hungarian first name, Sandor, was anglicized to A...

"Untitled" is a painting by American artist David Smith. David Smith’s paintings from the 1930s rarely come to market, and when Untitled (Billiard Players) surfaced at a Christie’s auction in 2018, it created quite a stir, realizing an impressive price of $1.15 million. Painted around the same time, Untitled shares many similarities with Untitled (Billiard Players). Both paintings affirm Smith’s place among the American artists when ideas and style began to intermingle and coalesce around Picasso’s innovations. Uniquely positioned in temperament and ability, Smith was a man of considerable ambition whose direct-metal configurations would have much to do with achieving new ideas about abstraction. Yet all along, he insisted he was a painter, not a sculptor who painted. Paintings by Smith...

"Untitled" is a painting by artist David Smith. The work is signed and dated in the upper left "David Smith (symbol) 1936". When David Smith set up a workshop on the Brooklyn Navy Pier in 1933 to learn direct-metal techniques, he shared the space not with artists, but with professional welders. Yet as he stated in 1964, ‘…all my early friends were painters…I never conceived of myself as anything other than a painter because my work came straight through the raised surface.’ Picasso and Cubism would be dominant influences in Smith’s work. He understood that Picasso imagined the world as a sculptor might, and not necessarily limited to the unavoidable impact of Cubism. In addition to pursuing a kind of rethinking of the world in three-dimensionality on his own terms, by the late 1920s, Picasso had shown interest in surrealism. That meant drawing not as a depiction of reality, but rather as a reconfiguration of the body in an assemblage of often precariously balanced, interconnected forms — some expressed in a three-dimensional form, others as drawings or paintings. Those processes are reflected in this work by David Smith; three fanciful totemic assemblages set within a landscape perspective of ground, mountains, and sky and whose presence is surreal enough to cast shadows under a presumed solar presence. Untitled, 1936 embraces surrealism, yet also serves to demonstrate the extent to which his thought processes are inextricably linked to sculpture and related to scale, spatial orientation, and three-dimensionality. With that in mind, it is not surprising to know that Smith saw no demarcation between sculpture and painting, or that a painting such as Untitled (1936) can exist outside of planning or design for future three-dimensional work. Provenance: Estate of David Smith, New York Hauser & Wirth Private Collection Exhibition: Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, ‘David Smith: Skulptureen, Zeichnungen [David Smith: Sculpture and Drawings]’ Dusseldorf/DE, March 14 – April 27, 1986 (travelled to: Städtische Galerie im Stäelschen Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt/DE, June 19 – September 28, 1986: Whitechapel Art Gallery...

"Shattered" WPA Mid 20th Century Modernism American Scene Surrealism Figurative Estate stamp on the stretcher, verso. Provenance: Estate of the artist. 20 x 24 inches. BIO Leon Bibel continued painting through 1941 and resumed work in both painting and especially wood sculpture by 1960. He worked until his very last day in 1995. His last series of large wood sculptures were modeled on spice boxes, which were miniature buildings...