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
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
237 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 AllBellagio, Lake Como. Pastel.
By Hercules Brabazon Brabazon
Located in Cotignac, FR
Mid 19th century pastel drawing view of Bellagio on Lake Como by Hercules Brabazon Brabazon. The work is under its original mount and initial signed (HBB) b...
Category
1860s Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Pastel, Pencil
19th century pastel of a river scene, The Chapel Bridge, Lucerne, Switzerland.
By Hercules Brabazon Brabazon
Located in Cotignac, FR
Mid 19th century pastel drawing view of the Chapel Bridge and river Reuss in Lucerne, Switzerland by Hercules Brabazon Brabazon. The work...
Category
1860s Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Pastel, Pencil
Sunset on the Alps
By Hercules Brabazon Brabazon
Located in Cotignac, FR
Late 19th century drawing and crayon view of a sunset over the Alps by Hercules Brabazon Brabazon. Initial signed (HBB) by the artist.
Brabazon would have vi...
Category
Late 19th Century Impressionist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Pencil, Crayon
'Le Chemin Privé b'. Contemporary Fauvist Pastel Landscape.
Located in Cotignac, FR
Contemporary abstract expressionist pastel of a Provençal landscape ' Chemin Privé b.' by Dutch artist Bernadette Van Baarsen. Signed and...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Pastel
'Cancan b'. Contemporary Fauvist Pastel Landscape.
Located in Cotignac, FR
Contemporary abstract expressionist pastel on paper of a Provençal landscape 'Cancan b' by Dutch artist Bernadette Van Baarsen. Signed an...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Pastel
'Cancan a'. Contemporary Fauvist Pastel. Provence.
Located in Cotignac, FR
Contemporary expressionist pastel on paper of a Provençal landscape titled 'Cancan a' by Dutch artist Bernadette Van Baarsen. Signed and dated to the bottom right and presented in wo...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Pastel
You May Also Like
Light Buttress, by Kenneth Draper, pastel, paper, framed, abstract, England
By Kenneth Draper
Located in Santa Fe, NM
frame size 27.5" x 25.5"
Light Buttress, by Kenneth Draper, pastel, paper, framed, abstract, England
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Expressionist Abstract Drawings a...
Materials
Oil Pastel
Llangorse Lake Brecon Beacons Wales Circa 1964 Welsh Abstract Landscape Painting
By Roger Cecil
Located in Sutton Poyntz, Dorset
Roger Cecil.
Welsh ( b.1942 - d.2015 ).
Llangorse, Brecon Beacons.
Watercolor & Pastel Mixed Media On Paper.
Signed Lower Left.
Image size 19.5 inches x 29.5 inches ( 49.5cm x 75cm...
Category
Mid-20th Century Abstract Expressionist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Pastel, Watercolor
"Pastel Landscape in Blues 2" Original Impressionist Landscape Drawing
By Edith Isaac-Rose
Located in Arp, TX
Edith Isaac-Rose
"Pastel Landscape in Blues 2"
c.1960
Pastel on paper
17"x15" unframed
Unsigned
Edith Isaac-Rose (1929-2018)
Born in Chicago in 1929, and neé Ganansky-Teitelbaum, she graduated from The Art Institute of Chicago in 1951 and moved to New York in 1959 where she lived ever since. Taking as her professional name her parents’ first names, Edith was a prolific artist working first as an abstract expressionist then turning in the 1980s to figurative, political work consisting of drawings, paintings, and embroideries which she called “Daily Rage”.
She had been represented by the Phyllis Kind Gallery and her work is in the Hirshhorn Museum as well as numerous private collections.
Edith, along with her partner of 35 years, Bea Kreloff, (1925-2016), founded Art Workshop International in 1981 where they held art and writing workshops in Assisi, Italy, Monhegan Island, Maine, and Puerto Escondido, Mexico.
Edith was a resident at the Westbeth Artist Housing in Greenwich Village and was actively involved with the anti-war movement, gay liberation...
Category
Mid-20th Century Abstract Impressionist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Oil Pastel
1988 "Hawaii II" Abstract Landscape Drawing
By Elaine Kaufman Feiner
Located in Arp, TX
Elaine Kaufman Feiner (1922-2018)
"Hawaii II"
1993
Oil pastel, paint on paper
30"x40" unframed
Signed and dated in pencil lower right, signed, titled and dated on reverse
Category
1980s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Oil Pastel, Paint
$617 Sale Price
35% Off
1999 "February" Abstract Landscape Drawing
By Elaine Kaufman Feiner
Located in Arp, TX
Elaine Kaufman Feiner (1922-2018)
"February"
1999
Oil pastel on paper
40"x30" unframed
Signed and dated in pencil lower right, signed, titled and dated on reverse
Category
1990s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Oil Pastel
$640 Sale Price
32% Off
The Cliff, Abstract Colorado Landscape, 1940s American Modernist Pastel Drawing
By Eric Bransby
Located in Denver, CO
This stunning artwork features an expressive blend of vibrant green, orange, blue, and purple tones, capturing the dynamic beauty of Colorado’s mountainous terrain. Created by renown...
Category
1990s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Oil Pastel, Pastel, Archival Paper
Recently Viewed
View AllMore Ways To Browse
Vintage Pastel Art
Pastel And Black
Abstract Expressionist Pastel
Catholic Art
Expressionist Early 20th Century
Framed Outsider Art
Cigarette Paper
Horror Art
Big Black Lines
Black And White Charcoal Abstract Drawing
Charcoal Drawing London
Nun Art
So Black Boy
Nuns In Art
Black And White Charcoal Expressionist
Cigarette Oil
Pencil Drawing Boy
Oil Painting Highway