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Was Robert Henri a Realist?
1 Answer

Yes, Robert Henri was a Realist painter. In fact, he was the founder of the Ashcan School, a group of American artists who sought to depict the everyday lives of people living in New York City during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Some of Henri's most famous works include Snow in New York, The Masquerade Dress and Dutch Girl in White. On 1stDibs, shop a range of Robert Henri art.
1stDibs ExpertAugust 29, 2024
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Shop for Robert Henri Art on 1stDibs
Girl with Muff
By Robert Henri
Located in Palm Desert, CA
"Girl with Muff" is aa American figurative portrait oil on canvas painting by Robert Henri in 1912. The artwork is 57 1/4 x 38 1/4 inches and, with the frame, is 64 1/4 x 45 1/4 x 2 ...
Category
Early 20th Century American Realist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
$950,000
Portrait of a resting young lady (Marjorie Organ)
By Robert Henri
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Portrait of a resting young lady (Marjorie Organ)
Black chalk on paper. c. 1907
signed in ink by Henri's nephew, John C. LeClair, the executor of the Henri estate
"Robert Henri JLC"
Note: The sitter for this portrait is depicted in two drawings of similar size, illustrated in Chapellier Galleries Inc., Robert Henri 1865-1929, 1976, nos. 15 & 16.
Please see the attached photo of Marjorie Organ, Henri's second wife
Condition: Excellent
Image/Sheet size: 10 3/8 x 7 1/2 inches
Provenance: Estate of the Artist
John C. LeClair, Estate Adminitrator
Private Collection, Pawling, New York
Biography
Robert Henri was born Robert Henry Cozad in Cincinnati, Ohio, on June 24, 1865, the son of a professional gambler and real estate developer. The family lived in Nebraska and Colorado, but fled east when the father shot and killed a rancher over a land dispute and was indicted for manslaughter. They changed their last name because of the ensuing scandal and eventually settled in Atlantic City, New Jersey, during the early 1880s.
In 1886 Henri enrolled at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia, where he studied under Thomas Anshutz, Thomas Hovenden...
Category
Early 1900s American Impressionist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Graphite
"Self Portrait / Sketch on verso" Robert Henri, Ashcan Self-Portrait Work
By Robert Henri
Located in New York, NY
Robert Henri
Self Portrait / Sketch on verso
Estate stamped lower right
Ink on paper, graphite on paper
12 1/2 x 8 inches
Born Robert Henry Cozad in Cincinnati, Ohio, Robert Henri became one of the leading personalities in American art, known for his teaching skills, ethnic portraits, especially spirited children, and insistence that artists should adhere to social realism and give rein to their own artistic instincts.
During his growing up years, he lived between Cincinnati and Cozad, Nebraska, founded by his father John Jackson Cozad, a gambler and real estate promoter. When Robert was about 10 years old, his family moved to Cozad in Dawson County. Tension existed between John Cozad and the established ranchers who resented development, and a rancher attacked Cozad, who in self defense shot the man to death.
Fearing for his life, he, his wife and two sons sneaked out of town and re convened in Atlantic City where they disguised their identity by taking other names. The father was later cleared of the charge, but he changed his name to Richard H. Lee, and passed his two sons off as adopted children named Frank Southern and Robert Henri. Robert chose a variation of his middle name to rhyme with "buckeye" to symbolize his Ohio roots. From Atlantic City, as a young man, he attended boarding school in New York City.
He, having shown early art talent, studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts as a student of Thomas Anschutz and Thomas Hovenden...
Category
Early 1900s American Realist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Ink
"Sandy"
By Robert Henri
Located in Lambertville, NJ
Jim's of Lambertville Fine Art Gallery is proud to present this piece by Robert Henri (1865 - 1929).
Robert Henri was born Robert Henry Cozad in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1865. At the ...
Category
1920s Other Art Style Portrait Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
$218,750