20th Century Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Abstract Mid 20th Century WPA Non Objective American Modernism New Hope Modern.mixed media. 21 x 16 (sight). Housed in a hand carved frame. Louis King Stone ...

Artist/Designer; Manufacturer: Andy Warhol (American, 1928-1987) Marking(s); notes: signed; 1975 Materials: marker on paper Dimensions (H, W, D): 7.5"h, 5"w; 15.5"h, 13"w mat Additional Information: Signed drawing is done on a half title from Andy Warhol's book, "The Philosophy of Andy Warhol: From A to B and Back Again." Andy Warhol’s Soup...

Signed lower right, 'Beth Ames Swartz' (American, born 1936) and dated 1966. Primarily working in the idioms of abstraction and semi-abstraction, Beth Ames Swarts's paintings and mixed-media works are commonly informed by philosophical and spiritual concepts shared by people of different cultural world-views, and incorporate both symbols and words in the vocabulary of their visual language. Beth's art practice has been guided by aesthetic philosophies including Wassily Kandinsky’s Concerning the Spiritual in Art and Robert Smithson’s Spiral Jetty, and inspired by various religious and philosophical systems including Native American Healing practices, Buddhism, Jewish Mysticism, and Christianity in order to facilitate communication with viewers on both a conscious and unconscious level. Swartz syncretizes a variety of spiritual traditions in her work in order to reveal their inherent commonality. Born in New York City, Beth grew up in Manhattan, and by her mid-teens, was studying at the Art Students League in New York in the late 1940s. Her education continued at NYC's High School of Music & Art followed by Cornell University where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science (1957), followed by a Master of Arts degree (1959) from New York University. Beth Ames Swartz exhibited nationwide including at over seventy solo exhibitions including a solo show at The Jewish Museum in New York. In addition, she participated in three major traveling museum exhibitions and her work is held in the permanent collections of numerous major museums including the National Museum of American Art at the Smithsonian. She received the Governor's Individual Artist Award in 2001 in Arizona, and a retrospective of her work was mounted in 2002 at The Phoenix Art Museum, with a monograph about her work co-published by The Phoenix Art Museum and Hudson Hills Press. Fellowships, Awards, Grants and Honors: New York, NY - 2003 Veteran Feminists of America, Medal of Honor Phoenix, AZ - 2001 Recipient, Governor's Arts Award, the highest honor in Arizona for one individual who may be a visual or performing artist or a writer. Snowmass Village, CO - 2000 Anderson Ranch, Artist in Residence Phoenix, AZ - 1994 Founder, Culture Care , an international, non-profit organization sponsoring The Sacred Souls Project, to identify, support and honor individuals who demonstrate positive human societal values New York, NY - 1994 Awarded Flow Fund grant for discretionary philanthropic use for non-personal benefit New York, NY - 1994 Panelist, College Art Association, Art, Earth and Medicine: A Healing Approach New York, NY - 1993 Panelist, The Sacred in the Arts Conference New York, NY - 1992 Speaker, MedArts Conference, Research Study on A Moving Point of Balance Stinson Beach, CA - 1991 Speaker, Symposium, Art as a Healing Force New Harmony, IN - 1990 Keynote Speaker, Art and Healing Conference Phoenix, AZ - 1988 Co-Founder, International Friends of Transformative Art (IFTA), an international, non-profit organization for positive global change Payson, AZ - 1988, '87 Project Coordinator, Rim Institute, Transformative Artist's Conference and Workshop Phoenix, AZ - 1985 Governor's Award, Outstanding Women of Arizona - Women Who Create Sun Valley, ID - 1980 Sun Valley Center for the Arts & Humanities, Artist in Residence, The Awesome Space: The Inner and Outer Landscape Hawaii National Park, HI - 1979 Volcano Art Center, Artist in Residence Phoenix, AZ - 1978, '77 Named Master Teacher by State Department of Public Instruction Phoenix, AZ - 1978, '77 Educational Grant for Inquiry Into Fire, Arizona Commission on Arts and Humanities Selected Bibliography and Reference: Davenport’s Art Reference Guide, 2007/8 Edition, p.2468; Arizona/Women '75 (exhibition catalogue). Tucson, AZ: Tucson Art Museum, 1975; Baigell, Matthew. "Art and Spirit: Kabbalah and Jewish-American Artists." Tikkun vol. 14, no.4, (July-August 1999): 59-61 (illus. in b&w of Shen Qi Series: the Cabalistic Scheme of the Four Worlds #5); Beth Ames Swartz, Inquiry Into Fire (exhibition catalog). Scottsdale, AZ: Scottsdale Center for the Arts, 1978. Introduction by Melinda Wortz; Beth Ames Swartz, 1982-1988: A Moving Point of Balance (exhibition catalog). Scottsdale, AZ: A Moving Point of Balance, Inc., 1988. Introduction by John Perreault; Biennial 1979 (exhibition catalog). Phoenix: Phoenix Art Museum, March 9-April 8, 1979, 35-37, 64 (illus. in color Sedona, #23; illus. in b&w, Torah Scroll, #5); Body and Soul: Contemporary Art and Healing (exhibition catalog). Lincoln, MA: DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park, 1994. Introduction by Rachel Rosenfeld Lafo, Nicholas Capasso, and Sara Rehm Roberts; Cembalest, Robin. "The Ecological Art Explosion." ARTnews vol. 90, no. 6 (summer 1991): 96-105; The First Western States Biennial Exhibition (exhibition catalog). Denver: Western States Art Foundation, 1979. Introduction by Joshua C. Taylor (with illus. in color of Torah Scroll #4); Gablik, Suzi. The Reenchantment of Art. Thames and Hudson: New York, 1991, 155-57; Gadon, Elinor W. The Once and Future Goddess: A Symbol for Our Time. New York: Harper and Row, 1989, 245-46; 248; Henderson, Barbara. "Beth Ames Swartz," A Magazine of Fine Arts vol. 2, no. 15 (April 1976): 34-41; Israel Revisited: Beth Ames Swartz (exhibition catalog). Scottsdale, AZ: Beth Ames Swartz, 1981: 40 pp. Introduction by Harry Rand...

G Sinclair - Green and Purple Composition, Year: 1969, Medium: Watercolor on Paper, signed and dated in pencil, Image Size: 12.5 x 11 inches, Size: 15.25 x 12 in. (38.74 x 30.48 ...

Eiko Taniguchi Kahn (b. 1929) Untitled, c. 1960s Watercolor on board Each panel: 33 x 11 in. Framed: 45 1/2 x 32 x 1 in. Each panel signed bottom These stunning watercolor panels are beautifully mounted in a period frame. The frame needs some minor restoration but this would be a worthy repair, as it matches the artwork so nicely. Eiko Taniguchi Kahn was Japanese Artist who was born on January 24, 1929 in Fukuoka, Kyushu, Japan, to Tosuke Yamashita and Masano Taniguchi. She came to the United States in 1955, and was naturalized in 1958. She was the recipient of the President's award at the National Arts...

Donald Stacy "Sitting in Chair" c.1950s Gouache and oil pastel on paper 24" x 18" unframed Came from artist's estate *Custom framing available for additio...

Alan Davie, Scotland (1920-2014). Gouache painting with watercolor 'Village Myth' Hand signed ('with love') lower left, 1982 Dimensions: with frame 37.5"H x 30.25"W; image, 28"H x 22.5"W. James Alan Davie (1920 – 2014) was a Scottish painter and musician. Davie was born in Grangemouth, Scotland in 1920, the son of Elizabeth (née Turnbull) and James William Davie, an art teacher and painter who exhibited at the Salon des Artistes Français in 1925. During this formative period Davie discovered the poetry of Walt Whitman and T.S. Eliot, whose prose is echoed in letters home as well as his own verses. Alan Davie studied at Edinburgh College of Art from 1937 to 1941. An early exhibition of his work came through the Society of Scottish Artists. After the Second World War, Davie played tenor saxophone in the Tommy Sampson Orchestra, which was based in Edinburgh and broadcast and toured in Europe. He also earned a living making jewellery during the postwar period. Davie began teaching basic design in the jewellery department at London’s Central School of Arts and Crafts led by the Scottish artist William Johnstone, where colleagues included artists Nigel Henderson, Eduardo Paolozzi, Richard Hamilton and Patrick Heron. In 1961, Davie’s jewellery was featured in The International Exhibition of Modern Jewellery at London’s Goldsmith’s Hall, a milestone in the history of jewellery making in Britain where an impressive roster of international and British artists including Alexander Calder, Naum Gabo, Victor Pasmore and John McHale...

Abstract Expressionist Composition by Jacques COULAIS (1955-2011) gouache painting on paper/ card unframed: 8.5 x 5.75inches condition: excellent provenance: all the paintings we hav...

This is a minimalist watercolor painting depicting abstracted architectural features (windows & doorway) in red and blue with the landscape and ocean of Rhodes, Greece visible. The watercolor itself measures 9.5"x6.5" and is floated in a double-mat 16.5" x 13" narrow, contemporary wood (maple) frame. Signed, titled, and dated on the back of the watercolor paper. Diego Esposito...

Arman Boom Boom (unique variation from New York International Portfolio), 1965 Screenprint with pencil additions. Pencil signed and numbered 12/225 on the front Published by Chiron ...

Abstract Expressionist Composition by Jacques COULAIS (1955-2011) gouache painting on paper/ card unframed: 12.75 x 10 inches condition: excellent provenance: all the paintings we ha...

Pointillist Abstract Design by Louis Bellon (French 1908-1998) initialled lower right gouache painting on paper, unframed measurements: 8.75 x 6 inches (overall the sheet measures 11...

This artwork "Untitled #5" c.1970 is a colors pastel and crayon on thick paper by American artist Jerry Opper, 1924-2014. It is hand signed in pencil at the lower right corner by the artist. The image size is 22 x 17 inches, sheet size is 24 x 19 inches. It is in excellent condition, there are pastel marks on the margin all around the artwork and also on the back, see picture #1. About the artist: Jerry Opper was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on September 5, 1924. He moved to Los Angeles with his family in 1933. After graduating from Hollywood High School, he worked in movie studios and attended art classes at Chouinard Art Institute. In May 1942, Opper was drafted into the army and was then able to study at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center while his outfit was stationed in Colorado. Later he was sent to Guam and was discharged in December 1945. Opper returned to Chouinard and his work in movie studios until 1947, when he moved to San Francisco. He enrolled as a full-time student at the California School of Fine Arts (now SFAI) and received his diploma in June of 1950. In 1948, Opper met his wife Gertrud Ruth Friedmann, daughter of artist Gustav Friedmann, whose works are also in the Lost Art Salon collection. It was love at first sight and a few weeks after their first encounter at the Black Cat in San Francisco's North Beach, they got married and enjoyed a passionate, life-long romance. Shortly after he finished school, Opper worked briefly as a decorator’s assistant and then started his career as a commercial artist, working for several firms such as Fibreboard, Beatrix Food and Precision. Working full-time and dedicating himself to having a rich family life occupied most of Opper's time, but he continued to be creative. He was above all a family man with the pride of having raised two exceptional daughters, Erika and Jody. Year after year, Opper would painstakingly craft their Halloween costumes...

Abstract watercolor composition bearing the influence of the earlier color-block compositions of Paul Klee. Pawel August Kontny, (Polish-German-American artist) He was born in Laura...

Abstract Expressionist Composition by Jacques COULAIS (1955-2011) gouache painting on paper/ card unframed: 12.75 x 10 inches condition: excellent provenance: all the paintings we ha...

Jay Rosenblum Polarity #9, 1981 Acrylic on Paper painting 6 × 9 1/2 inches Pencil signed and titled on the front Unique work Unframed ]This gem of a work is an acrylic painting on p...

Al Hirschfeld Original (unique) Self portrait drawing, 1976 Hand signed ink drawing, on typewritten letter with envelope Hand signed in Hirschfel...

A graphite on paper, untitled mural study, Cubist scene of a rail yard by important Chicago Modernist artist Rudolph Weisenborn, ca. 1940. Artwork size: 11 3/4" x 9 3/4". Archivally matted to 16" x 18". Provenance: Estate of the artist. Rudolph Weisenborn was born in Strassburg, Germany in 1881, but was orphaned at the age of nine. He was taken-in by Mid-Western farmer Thomas Westaby and spent his early years in Wisconsin, Iowa and North Dakota. Weisenborn first attended the University of North Dakota in 1898, then the Students School of Art in Denver. Various accounts have him working out west as a gold miner and cowboy. Around 1912, he settled in Chicago and worked as a window designer for Marshall Field’s. Weisenborn is best known as the founder of the Chicago No-Jury Society of Artists. The group was founded because many artists could not get their work accepted into the mainstream Art Institute shows. Weisenborn is quoted as saying that he harbored feelings of disdain for any jury and that his own paintings were frequently rejected by conservative jurors. He was also involved and helped found other radical artist’s groups such as the Salon des Refuses, Cor Ardens and Neo-Arlimusic. In 1936, he helped found the New York-based American Abstract Artist’s Group. He created the only abstract mural for the 1933 Century of Progress Exhibition in Chicago and also worked for the Federal Arts Project in the Easel Division. His WPA murals can be found in Crane Technical High School and Nettlehorst Elementary School in Chicago, IL. In 1945, Chicago businessman Herman Spertus...

A large charcoal-on-paper rendering by arguably one of America's most influential artists. It comes from the pioneering Allan Stone Galleries, who ...

Abstract Expressionist Composition by Jacques COULAIS (1955-2011) gouache painting on paper/ card unframed: 12.75 x 9.75 inches condition: excellent provenance: all the paintings we ...

Abstract Expressionist Composition by Jacques COULAIS (1955-2011) gouache painting on paper/ card unframed: 13 x 10 inches Signed condition: excellent provenance: all the paintings w...

Grisha Bruskin Study 8, 1990 Ink and Gouache on paper Hand signed and inscribed by the artist on the front Original vintage frame with Marlborough Gallery label included This work is...

Unsigned. Presented in a contemporary white frame. On paper.

Abstract Expressionist Composition by Jacques COULAIS (1955-2011) gouache painting on paper/ card unframed: 12.75 x 10 inches condition: excellent provenance: all the paintings we ha...

Edith Isaac-Rose "Pastel Landscape Pond" 1963 Pastel on paper 13.5"x10" unframed Signed and dated lower left in pencil. Came from a portfolio of her work 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. They were both actively involved with the anti-war movement, gay liberation...

"Morph Dog Series: Kachina," is an original watercolor painting by David Barnett, signed along the lower center edge. This image depicts a Kachina, an ancestral spirit in Pueblo reli...

Robert Mangold Untitled minimalist drawing, ca. 1980 Drawing in Ink on Paper Hand signed and inscribed on lower front Inscription reads as follows: Best Wishes David Bob Mangold Fram...

Abstract Expressionist Composition by Jacques COULAIS (1955-2011) gouache painting on paper/ card unframed: 10.75 x 8.5 inches condition: excellent provenance: all the paintings we h...

Drawing on paper without frame Size A4

Concetto Spaziale, 1968 Etching and Aquatint with hand-cut central slash incision by Fontana himself limited edition of 60 copies , Signed in pencil by artist and numbered 38/60 pape...

Abstract Expressionist Composition by Jacques COULAIS (1955-2011) gouache painting on paper/ card unframed: 12.75 x 9.75 inches condition: excellent provenance: all the paintings we ...

Abstract Expressionist Composition by Jacques COULAIS (1955-2011) gouache painting on paper/ card unframed: 14 x 7.75 inches condition: excellent provenance: all the paintings we hav...

Abstract Expressionist Composition by Jacques COULAIS (1955-2011) gouache painting on paper/ card unframed: 10.75 x 8.5 inches condition: excellent provenance: all the paintings we h...

A unique abstract expressionist pastel drawing by an unknown artist. Depicting a mans face as the focal point with what appears to be chu...

Art: 30-1/8 x 22-3/8 inches Lithograph, from Portfolio Signed and numbered ‘80’, from the edition of 100” Famed worldwide for giving graphic definition to the postwar age, Saul Ste...

Hans Hofmann Untitled, circa 1943 Signed lower right Oil and watercolor on paper 22 1/4 x 30 3/4 inches The only artist of the New York school to participate directly in European m...

"Abstract Cityscape" NYC Early 20th Century American Scene Social Realism Ashcan Abraham Walkowitz (American, 1878-1965) Abstract Cityscape Sight: 6 1/4' x 8 1/2 inches Mixed media...

Composition No. 12 Gouache on paper, c. 1926 Signed lower right: “Urban Weis” (see photo) Condition: Excellent Image: 16 5/8 x 10 5/8" Frame: 21 1/2 x 15 5/8" Provenance: Dudensing G...

Sam Francis Composition in Red c. 1960 Gouache on paper 52.5 x 24.5 cms (20 11/16 x 9 11/16 ins) SF14434 $125,000 Exhibited: Bernard Jacobson Gall...

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...

Signed lower right, 'Mario Cespedes' (Bolivian-American, born 1942) and created circa 1985. Matted dimensions: 24 H x 18 W x .25 D inches. Born in Bolivia, Mario Cespedes immigrated...

Abstract Expressionist Composition by Jacques COULAIS (1955-2011) gouache painting on board unframed: 7.75 x 7.75 inches condition: excellent provenance: all the paintings we have fo...

Modern light blue, brown, and black geometric abstract circle pattern painting by textile designer John Little. The work was created as a proposed design for a wallpaper and features the original color codes in the front lower left corner. Currently hung in a solid black frame with a large white margin. Dimensions Without Frame: H 32.75 in. x W 35.63 in. Artist Biography: A painter and textile designer, John Little is best known for gestural works filled with boldly explosive color that reflect the influences of his teacher Hans Hofmann and for his involvement in the Abstract Expressionist movement in East Hampton, where he moved in the late 1940s. In East Hampton Little congregated with Jackson Pollock, Lee Krasner, and the other artists who were the leading innovators in the New York School. John Little was born in Sanford, Alabama. He left home at the age of fourteen to become an artist, and moved to Buffalo, New York, in 1923. After spending a year working as a stevedore on the docks to save money, he enrolled at the Buffalo Fine Arts Academy and developed an interest in singing. In 1927 he moved to New York City where he continued his vocal work and studied operatic literature. He also became involved in textile design, opening his own store in 1920, called John Little Studios: Fabric and Wallpaper Design. He ran the store until 1950. In 1933 John Little resumed his painting studies at the Art Students League in New York under the guidance of George Grosz (1893-1959). The following year he made his first visit to East Hampton, Long Island, which he would eventually call home. Later in the decade, he traveled to Paris where he became familiar with European modernism. On his return to America, he taught textile design at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. He hired Josephine Watkins to work for him; she later became his wife. Little's textile store and teaching job gave him a financial security that was rare during the Depression, and he never found it necessary to find employment with the Works Progress Administration. At the end of the decade, John Little studied with Hans Hofmann (1880-1966) in New York and Provincetown. Little was greatly influenced by Hofmann, particularly by his views on color theory. In 1942 John Little joined the Navy as an aerial photographer. In the late 1940s he purchased a rundown house on Three Mile Harbor...

This is a contemporary abstract watercolor painting by artist David Ruth. This series of paintings often feature bright colors and vibrant layouts that draw the viewer in. They are c...

Abstract Expressionist Composition by Jacques COULAIS (1955-2011) gouache painting on paper/ card unframed: 12.75 x 9.75 inches condition: excellent provenance: all the paintings we ...

Javier Calleja 199 drawing: A rare, early drawing by Javier Calleja featuring classic Calleja character stylings in a tropical setting. Medium: Mixed media on paper. Dimensions: 5....

MODERNIST DRAWING New Hope Mid-Century WPA Abstract Non-Objective Jazz Modern. Signed with a "Ramstonev" stamp lower right. RAMSTONEV Cooperative Art Project (1937-1939). In the late 1930s, Charles Ramsey became close friends with Charles Evans and Louis Stone. He persuaded them to join him teaching his New Hope summer classes in non-objective painting. Soon, a history-making collaboration began. In 1937, meeting in Evans' studio at the rear of Cryer's Hardware store on Main Street in New Hope, a decision was made to establish the Co-Operative Painting Project. They were intrigued by the cooperative ad-lib process by which jazz musicians created their music. Believing this to be the quintessential American contribution to music, they theorized that a similar result might be obtainable with art, a "visual jam session." This particlarly fascinated Ramsey, who was a jazz buff and had a large collection of jazz records. The objective was to jointly collaborate in the creation of a painting as well as applying collective criticism during its creation. By creating forward movement by general consent, they believed they could produce a higher level of beauty. By consensus it was decided that subject matter would be non-objective. Up to eight people would participate and stop when the painting "felt" finished by common agreement. These co-operative works were done in several different mediums- the majority in pastel, but some in watercolor, gouache, graphite or cut paper collage. On occasion, the group would create a series, as opposed to a single work, created in steps by three or four artists. One of the occasional participants was famed New Hope poet, Stanley Kunitz. These series could range in number from four to sixteen paintings in each. The first of a series would be very basic and the last a fully finished work. In the scope of importance among the New Hope Modernist...

Lyman Kipp Untitled drawing, 1993 Unique Colored Ink Drawing on paper with two deckled edges Hand signed, inscribed and dated by the artist on lower front 26 1/4 × 20 inches Unframed...

This is a contemporary abstract watercolor painting by artist David Ruth. This series of paintings often feature bright colors and vibrant layouts that draw the viewer in. They are c...

Abstract composition with soft lavender and yellow watercolor tones by Les Anderson (American, 1928-2009). Unsigned, but was acquired from the estate of Les Anderson in Monterey, Cal...

Ervin NEUHAUS Colored Waves Original watercolor and tempera on heavy paper Handsigned bottom right Authenticated with the stamp of the Estate sale on the back 21 x 21 cm (c. 8 x 8 ...

G Sinclair - Blue and Red Composition, Year: 1969, Medium: Watercolor on Paper, signed and dated in pencil, Image Size: 14 x 11 inches, Size: 15 x 12 in. (38.1 x 30.48 cm)

Ernest A. Dieringer, Untitled (Color is Life), watercolor, 1959. Initialed 'ED' and dated ' '59' in red pencil at the top and bottom sheet edges—the artist's indication that the work can be viewed from either side. Signed 'Dieringer' in pencil in the bottom support board margin. A fine abstract expressionist work, watercolor on white wove paper, with fresh, bright colors; the image extends to the sheet edges, spot glued to the original cream wove backing board, in very good condition. Archivally matted to museum standards, unframed. Image size 9 x 10 15/16 inches; backing board size 13 1/2 x 16 3/4 inches. Provenance: ex. Collection Alexander Raydon. The collector/dealer's well-known 'Raydon Gallery' was established in 1962 on 82nd Street and Madison Avenue, New York City. ABOUT THE ARTIST Ernest Dieringer studied at the Art Institute of Chicago on a National Scholastic Scholarship, beginning his career with the Chicago-based Wells Street Gallery in 1957. He showed his work with other abstract artists, including Robert Natkin and John Chamberlain. The gallery was considered a vanguard space in Chicago for exhibiting emerging abstract artists from the surrounding area. Artists associated with the gallery eventually became known as the Wells Street Group. Due to the success of the gallery, Dieringer and other group members were invited by the Manhattan-based contemporary art dealer...

Magnificent abstract work on paper by Swiss artist Albert Chubac measuring 55.5 x 66.5 x 4 cm

DONALD SULTAN Signed, titled & dated in pencil along the left edge of the paper. In excellent condition Provenance: McIntosh/Drysdale, Washington, D.C. 1988; Private Collection, Bethesda, Maryland; Private collection, San Diego, CA Exhibition History: The Corcoran Museum of Art, Washington, D.C. "Donald Sultan: In The Still Life Tradition" May 10-July 7...

Surrealist proto-Afropunk drawing by African-American artist, Roland Ayers (1932-2014). Animal Capers, ca. 1970 . Ink on illustration board, image measures 20 inches. inches; illustration panel measures 21.5 inches. Unsigned. Minor staining evident in detail photos Artist and art educator, Roland Ayers was born on July 2, 1932, the only child of Alice and Lorenzo Ayers, and grew up in the Germantown district of Philadelphia. Ayers served in the US Army (stationed in Germany) before studying at the Philadelphia College of Art (currently University of the Arts). He graduated with a BFA in Art Education, 1954. He traveled Europe 1966-67, spending time in Amsterdam and Greece in particular. During this period, he drifted away from painting to focus on linear figurative drawings of a surreal nature. His return home inaugurated the artist’s most prolific and inspired period (1968-1975). Shorty before his second major trip abroad in 1971-72 to West Africa, Ayers began to focus on African themes, and African American figures populated his work almost exclusively. In spite of Ayers’ travel and exploration of the world, he gravitated back to his beloved Germantown, a place he endowed with mythological qualities in his work and literature. His auto-biographical writing focuses on the importance of place during his childhood. Ayers’ journals meticulously document the ethnic and cultural make-up of Germantown, and tell a compelling story of class marginalization that brought together poor families despite racial differences. The distinctive look and design of Germantown inform Ayers’ visual vocabulary. It is a setting with distinctive Gothic Revival architecture and haunting natural beauty. These characteristics are translated and recur in the artist’s imagery. During his childhood, one of the only books in the Ayers household was an illustrated Bible. The images within had a profound effect on the themes and subjects that would appear in his adult work. Figures in an Ayers’ drawing often seem trapped in a narrative of loss and redemption. Powerful women loom large in the drawings: they suggest the female role models his journals record in early life. The drawings can sometimes convey a strong sense of conflict, and at other times, harmony. Nature and architecture seem to have an antagonistic relationship that is, ironically, symbiotic. A critical turning point in the artist’s career came in 1971 when he was included in the extremely controversial Whitney Museum show, Contemporary Black Artists in America. The exhibition gave Ayers an international audience and served as a calling card for introductions he would soon make in Europe. Ayers is a particularly compelling figure in a period when black artists struggled with the idea of authenticity. A questioned often asked was “Is your work too black, or not black enough?” Abstractionists were considered by some peers to be sell-outs, frauds or worse. Figurative* work was accused of being either sentimental or politically radical depending on the critical source. Ayers made the choice early on to be a figurative artist, but considered his work devoid of political content. Organizations such as Chicago’ s Afri-Cobra in the late 1960‘s asserted that the only true black art of any relevance must depict the black man and woman...

PETER HALLEY 6/21/96.9, 1998 Graphite and ink drawing Hand-signed by artist, signed and dated in graphite lower right front; lower left front bears title: 6/21/96.9 Frame included: elegantly matted and framed in a hand made museum frame with UV plexiglass signed and dated in graphite lower right front; lower left front bears title: 6/21/96.9 This is a unique work Frame included: elegantly floated and framed in a museum quality hand made white wood frame under UV plexiglass Measurements: Framed 16.5 inches vertical by 13 inches horizontal by 1.5 inches Artwork (visible) 10 inches vertical by 8 inches horizontal Peter Halley Biography Peter Halley was born in 1953 in New York. He began his formal training at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, from which he graduated in 1971. During that time, Halley read Josef Albers’s Interaction of Color (1981), which would influence him throughout his career. From 1973 to 1974 Halley lived in New Orleans, where he absorbed the vibrant cultural influences of the city, began using commercial materials in his art, and first became acquainted with the writings of earthwork artist Robert Smithson. In 1975 the artist graduated from Yale University, New Haven, with a degree in art history. After Yale, Halley returned to New Orleans, where he received an MFA in painting from the University of New Orleans in 1978. He had his first solo exhibition at the Contemporary Art Center, New Orleans, that same year. In 1978 Halley spent a semester teaching art at the University of Louisiana, Lafayette. He has continued to teach throughout his career. In 1980, Halley moved back to New York and had his first solo exhibition in the city at PS122 Gallery. At this time, Halley was drawn to the pop themes and social issues addressed in New Wave music. Inspired by New York’s intense urban environment, Halley set out to use the language of geometric abstraction to describe the actual geometricized space around him. He also began his iconic use of fluorescent Day-Glo paint. In 1984, Halley started to exhibit with the International With Monument gallery, becoming closely associated with the organization and its artists, who exhibited conceptually rigorous work in a market-savvy, coolly presented space that stood in stark contrast to the bohemian, Neo-Expressionist flair of the East Village art scene at the time. In 1986, an exhibition of four artists from International With Monument at the Sonnabend Gallery in New York heralded the group’s growing success. By the late 1980s, Halley was exhibiting with prominent galleries in the United States and Europe. In 1989, an exhibition of his paintings traveled to the Museum Haus Esters, Krefeld, Germany; Maison de la culture et de la communication de Saint-Étienne, France; and Institute of Contemporary Arts, London. From 1991 to 1992, a retrospective toured Europe, with presentations at the CAPC Musée d’art contemporain de Bordeaux, France; Musée d’art contemporain, Lausanne, Switzerland; Museo nacional centro de arte Reina Sofía, Madrid; and Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam. In 1992, the Des Moines Art Center hosted his first solo exhibition at a U.S. museum. While developing his visual language, Halley became interested in French post-structuralist writers, including Jean Baudrillard, Guy Debord, Michel Foucault, and Paul Virillio, all of whom shared his concern with the character of social spaces in a post-industrial society. In 1981, he published his first essay “Beat, Minimalism, New Wave, and Robert Smithson” in Arts, a New York–based magazine that would publish eight of his essays before the decade’s end. Halley’s writings became the basis for Neo-Geometric Conceptualism (also known as Neo-Geo), the offshoot of Neo-Conceptualism associated with the work of Ashley Bickerton, Halley, and Jeff Koons. In 1988, the artist’s writings were anthologized in Collected Essays, 1981–1987, and again in 1997 in a second anthology, Recent Essays, 1990–1996. In the mid-1990s, Halley began to produce site-specific installations for museums, galleries, and public spaces. These characteristically brought together a range of imagery and mediums, including paintings, wall-size flowcharts, and digitally generated wallpaper prints. Halley has executed permanent installations at the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, Texas, and the Gallatin School of Individualized Study at New York University. In 2011, his installation of digital prints Judgment Day...

Etching on paper, signed Gaetano Carboni A painter and engraver, Gaetano Carboni was born in 1928 in Ascoli Piceno and, between 1940 and 1950, implemented his first figurative experi...

Pointillist Abstract Design by Louis Bellon (French 1908-1998) initialled lower right in the image and again in the margin gouache painting on paper, unframed unfinished sketch on th...

Clinton Hill (1922-2003), created quintessential mid-century images. He lived in SoHo, New York, and was a frequent Gallery visitor. Born in Idaho and raised on a working ranch, ...