Items Similar to Abstract Expressionist Outsider Art, Oil Pastel on Black Paper.
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 20
John Mc QuirkAbstract Expressionist Outsider Art, Oil Pastel on Black Paper.1990s
1990s
$858.86
£626.40
€720
CA$1,177.67
A$1,314.91
CHF 689.92
MX$16,228.28
NOK 8,672.36
SEK 8,114.53
DKK 5,478.75
Shipping
Retrieving quote...The 1stDibs Promise:
Authenticity Guarantee,
Money-Back Guarantee,
24-Hour Cancellation
About the Item
Abstract expressionist, pastel on black paper by English artist John McQuirk. Signed bottom right.
McQuirk's work is an example of outsider art or art brut.
Born in 1933, the artist was heavily influenced by his upbringing as an orphan in a Catholic children's home. His early life was one filled with horror, chaos and confusion. Priests, nuns, orphans are transmuted into children's symbols: scarecrows, phantoms and dolls, set about with rainbows, black night skies. At times he transforms the Catholic iconography which oppressed him into his own illuminated language of signs and totems.
His work reflects big city life with its madness, its graffiti and aggression. He works in pastel and using spontaneous gestures shows us a world full of vulnerable people symbolised by putty like forms who are to be shaped and impressed with the rigours and stresses of everyday life.
McQuirk has been exhibited in the V and A in London, the 'Musée de la Création Franche' near Bordeaux and forms part of the De Stadshof Collection now on loan to the Dr. Guislain Museum in Ghent, Belgium.
McQuirk’s biography in his own words, in 1995: “Born 1933, mother Annie Quirk, barmaid, and father an old traditional copper plate printer. At the age of two, along with my brother and sister, I was dispatched to a Catholic orphanage, owing to the dramatic dismissal of my father from his job and he became an alcoholic, left my mother who found it impossible to look after the children. At the age of fifteen, together with my brother and sister (…) met at my mother’s flat (…). There was a strange feeling of disunity amongst us. Having been separated for so many years, we were like strangers. I stayed for a year (…) but decided to leave and explore the world on my own. During the years that followed, I took on numerous occupations – i.e. messenger boy, trainee designer, textile worker, packer, salesman, factory hand, builder’s labourer, painting white lines on the highways of England, bingo caller, etc. All through the vast multiples of jobs I had a pencil in hand, drawing and scribbling images that were never ‘right’. (…) I am now a ‘recluse’ in my workroom and draw every day.” Extract from a typed letter, 1995, to Stichting De Stadshof.
A interview with McQuirk published in the publication 'Raw Vision' in 2000 revealed the following about him :
John McQuirk can talk. Not for him the tongue-tied introversion of the self-conscious artist or the mute autism of the affected recluse. It's my third visit to his cramped attic workroom ('studio' sounds too grand for the cluttered space) in a quiet backwater near London's Victoria.
While his wife Maureen serves me with a mug of coffee, McQuirk sits hunched on his stool, rolling himself a cigarette and delving into a fund of anecdotes from his itinerant years as labourer, door-to-door salesman and fairground barker.
I had already seen and marvelled at McQuirk's uniquely radiant paintings on board and canvas and the dense charcoal drawings on paper. I had learned that he would not or could not explain the details of the crowded spirit-world evoked by the pictures, except to say that the wellspring from which these visions poured was not his experiences on the road, colourful though they had been, but an overwhelming memory of childhood.
John McQuirk now lives and works in London.
- Creator:John Mc Quirk
- Creation Year:1990s
- Dimensions:Height: 34.65 in (88 cm)Width: 26.78 in (68 cm)Depth: 0.4 in (1 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:Cotignac, FR
- Reference Number:Seller: GB/Mc Quirk/Pastel.1stDibs: LU1430210566532
About the Seller
5.0
Platinum Seller
Premium sellers with a 4.7+ rating and 24-hour response times
Established in 2000
1stDibs seller since 2020
244 sales on 1stDibs
Typical response time: <1 hour
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Shipping from: Cotignac, France
- Return Policy
Authenticity Guarantee
In the unlikely event there’s an issue with an item’s authenticity, contact us within 1 year for a full refund. DetailsMoney-Back Guarantee
If your item is not as described, is damaged in transit, or does not arrive, contact us within 7 days for a full refund. Details24-Hour Cancellation
You have a 24-hour grace period in which to reconsider your purchase, with no questions asked.Vetted Professional Sellers
Our world-class sellers must adhere to strict standards for service and quality, maintaining the integrity of our listings.Price-Match Guarantee
If you find that a seller listed the same item for a lower price elsewhere, we’ll match it.Trusted Global Delivery
Our best-in-class carrier network provides specialized shipping options worldwide, including custom delivery.More From This Seller
View AllMid-Century French Abstract Expressionist Oil on Canvas.
Located in Cotignac, FR
A large mid-century French abstract expressionist oil and acrylic on canvas by Jean-Louis Ladislas. Signed and dated 69 to the reverse. Presented in a slim baton wood frame.
A highl...
Category
1960s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
'Monogrammes'. French Mid-Century Abstract Expressionist. Oil on Canvas.
Located in Cotignac, FR
A mid-century abstract expressionist oil on canvas presented in a plain wooden frame. The work is titled and there are initials 'G.O.' (artist?) on a label to the rear stretcher as w...
Category
Mid-20th Century Contemporary Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Abstract Expressionist CoBRA Style Fantastical Figure. Acrylic on Card.
Located in Cotignac, FR
Abstract expressionist CoBrA style acrylic on card of a humanised figure attributed to French artist, A Nuchy. The work is signed bottom right and stamped with the Atelier stamp to t...
Category
Late 20th Century Outsider Art Abstract Paintings
Materials
Acrylic, Cardboard, Watercolor
Large Aboriginal-Inspired Abstract Oil on Board.
Located in Cotignac, FR
Large Aboriginal-inspired abstract oil on board. We have shown the painting hanging in 'portrait' form but it could also be hung 'landscape'.
This painting shares some of the qualit...
Category
Mid-20th Century Neo-Expressionist Abstract Paintings
Materials
Oil, Board
Late 20th Century Abstract Expressionist Gouache on Paper.
Located in Cotignac, FR
Lyrical abstract expressionist gouache on paper by French artist Michel Loiseau. Signed bottom right.
Michel Loiseau-Rizzo, born in 1937 is an illust...
Category
Late 20th Century Abstract Expressionist Abstract Paintings
Materials
Paper, Gouache
$878 Sale Price
54% Off
Abstract Expressionist CoBrA Style Figure. Chalk on Card.
Located in Cotignac, FR
Abstract expressionist CoBrA style chalk on paper of a human figure attributed to French artist, A Nuchy. The work is unsigned but was acquired along with ...
Category
1970s Outsider Art Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Chalk, Cardboard
You May Also Like
Large Harry Bertschmann Swiss American Abstract Expressionist Outsider Painting
By Harry Bertschmann
Located in Surfside, FL
Harry Bertschmann (Swiss American, born 1931).
Acrylic painting on paper.
Artist signature to lower right.
Provenance: Joy Moos Gallery (this was exhibited at the Outsider Art Fair)
...
Category
20th Century Abstract Expressionist Abstract Paintings
Materials
Paper, Acrylic
"Preferred But Not Required, " Oil Pastel signed by Reginald K. Gee
By Reginald K. Gee
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"Preferred But Not Required" is an original oil pastel drawing by Reginald K. Gee. The artist signed the piece in the left margin. This abstract piece contains a wide variety of colo...
Category
1990s Neo-Expressionist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Oil Pastel
"Okalikolo, " Abstract Expressionist Oil Pastel signed by Reginald K. Gee
By Reginald K. Gee
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"Okalikolo" is an original oil pastel drawing by Reginald K. Gee. The artist signed the piece on the left margin. This piece features an amalgamation of various abstract figures and ...
Category
1990s Contemporary Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Oil Pastel
Expressionist Abstract #7, multi colored, Philadelphia artist, signed and framed
By Morris Lewis Blackman
Located in Doylestown, PA
"Expressionist Abstract #7" is a 40 x 30 inches oil on board work by Philadelphia artist Morris Lewis Blackman. The painting is signed in the artist's monogram "MLB" in the lower left and it is estate stamped on verso. Additional shipping options are available by contacting the seller via 1stDibs messaging system.
Morris Blackman...
Category
1960s Abstract Abstract Paintings
Materials
Oil, Board
"Abstract Portrait, " Oil Pastel on Paper signed by Reginald K. Gee
By Reginald K. Gee
Located in Milwaukee, WI
This pastel drawing, 'Abstract Portrait,' demonstrates Reggie K Gee's love of color and love of abstraction. In the image, the form of a head is marked by a black contour; however, a...
Category
1990s Neo-Expressionist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Oil Pastel, Paper, Pastel
Caldentey. Characters original Neo-expressionist acrylic painting
By Toni Caldentey
Located in CORAL GABLES - MIAMI, FL
Characters- original neo-expressionist acrylic painting. framed
contemporary work by the mallorquin artist Toni CALDENTEY
Painting on paper
CALDENTEY, Toni - (Portocolom, Mallorca -...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Abstract Paintings
Materials
Paper, Acrylic
More Ways To Browse
Vintage Pastel Art
Catholic Art
Abstract Expressionist Pastel
Horror Art
Black And White Charcoal Abstract Drawing
Nun Art
So Black Boy
Nuns In Art
Cigarette Oil Painting
Fairground Art
Abstract Totem Black
Paintings Of Nuns
Oil Priests
Oil Painting Priest
Phantom Hands
The Scarecrow
Catholic Priest
Nun Oil Painting