Mid-20th Century Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Untitled This piece includes an artist hand-signed note attached to the back of the framed work.

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...

Estate stamp, verso, for Manfred Schwartz (American, 1909-1970) and painted circa 1960. Paper dimensions: 15 x 19.75 inches. Born in Lodz, Poland, Manfred Schwartz immigrated to Am...

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, ...

Ink on paper, signed in Hebrew and dated.

Mid-century oil pastel abstract incorporating a vast array of color and unique shapes by artist D. Wargon, circa 1950. Signed lower right. Original artwork on paper displayed on a...

Great color and form to this work on paper by Liberman who was an important and innovative American painter and sculptor. Great visual impact as the color choices are meant to be st...

Ink, graphite and colored pencil on graph paper The final composition measured 28 x 28 inches Annotated #615 in the lower right corner of the sheet Provenance: Francine Seders Galler...

This vintage 1960s abstract painting by renowned New Mexico modernist artist Ward Lockwood (1894–1963) is an exceptional example of mid-century modern art. The original artwork, crea...

Abstract Expressionist Composition by Jacques COULAIS (1955-2011) gouache painting on paper/ card unframed: 10 x 6.5 inches condition: excellent provenance: all the paintings we have...

Original pen and ink drawing by New York Abstract Artist, John Sennhauser (1907-1978) Signed lower right "J. Sennhauser" and dated '44. Titled and dated on the verso: "Line in Motion...

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...

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: 11 x 7.5 inches condition: excellent provenance: all the paintings we have...

Jack Youngerman Untitled Study #26, 1967 Gouache painting on paper (with original JL Hudson and PACE Gallery labels) Hand signed and dated '67 on the front; J.L. Hudson Gallery Label on Verso. Unique Abstract Expressionist work on paper Frame included Framed Measurements: Framed: 15 inches by 15 inches by 1.5 inch Artwork: 7.75 inches by 7.5 inches Provenance From the estate of Anne Markley Spivak J. L. Hudson Gallery Label affixed to verso (back). The J.L. Hudson Gallery, Detroit, Michigan This 1967 unique, signed gouache painting by renowned abstract expressionist painter Jack Youngerman was acquired from the estate of Anne Markley Spivak. It is held in the original vintage metal frame with the original J.L. Hudson Gallery label, as well as the PACE gallery label on the verso The artwork has been newly loated and framed in a museum quality white wood frame; the original labels from the original back board have been affixed to the back to preserve provenance. Jack Youngerman Biography Jack Youngerman was born in St. Louis, Missouri on March 25, 1926. He moved to Louisville, Kentucky in 1929 and studied at the University of Missouri, Columbia from 1944 to 1946 under a wartime navy training program. He graduated from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill in 1947 and, that same year, he returned to Missouri to finish his Bachelor’s degree in Journalism before moving to Paris on a G.I. scholarship. In Paris, Youngerman enrolled at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, studying drawing with Jean Souverbie. He explored Paris, taking in the cathedrals, museums, and history in order to grasp a greater sense of art history. He also traveled to the Netherlands, Spain, Belgium, Italy, and Greece on fine art excursions. In 1948, Youngerman became friends with Ellsworth Kelly, Eduardo Paolozzi, and Cesar – fellow students at Ecole des Beaux-Arts. He married Delphine Seyrig in 1950, and later that year he had his first group exhibition at Galerie Maeght in Paris. He visited the studios of Constantín Brancusi and Jean Arp and became heavily influenced by the organic forms present in their work. He also met artist Alexander Calder through his father-in-law, Henri Seyrig, and experimental filmmaker and artist, Robert Breer...

Framed Size: approx 17 3/4 x 20 3/4 inches Fred Conway (1900-1973) "Golf Bags, Caddy with Golf Bag on His Back" Pen/Ink/Watercolor on Paper Site Size: approx. 10 x 13 inches Framed Size: approx. 17 3/4 x 20 3/4 inches A member of the faculty of the Washington University Art School from 1929 to 1970, Frederick Conway...

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...

Frank Duffield (British, 1908-1982) signed original watercolour painting on artistic paper, unframed size: 10.75 x 14.75 inches condition: overall very good, minor wear to the edges ...

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...

Charmion von Wiegand Pillar of Zen #124, 1959 Gouache on paper painting Hand signed, titled and dated on the front Unique Provenance: Andre Zarre Gallery, with label verso (Estate of renowned gallerist Andre Zarre, ne Andre Sowulewski) Measurements: Framed 26.5 inches vertical by 25.5 horizontal by 2 inches Artwork: 21 inches vertical by 22 inches horizontal Mid century modern, geometric, spiritual abstraction, mystical The Estate of the celebrated artist Charmion Von Wiegand has been represented exclusively by Michael Rosenfeld Gallery since 1998. From March 3 to August 13, 2023, Charmion Von Wiegand was the subject of an acclaimed retrospective at the Kunstmuseum Basel, and she has received major attention in the price, including a June, 2023 ArtNews feature entitled, "Who Was Charmion von Wiegand and Why Is She Important?". Her work was also featured in a solo presentation by Rosenfeld Gallery at the New York Art Show held at the Park Avenue Armory, which also received critical acclaim. Artists Biography - courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery: Known for her vibrant, geometric paintings that originate a deeply personal language of spiritual enlightenment expressed through a constructivist mode of abstraction, Charmion von Wiegand (1896–1983) was born in Chicago but spent much of her childhood traveling. The daughter of a journalist for Hearst, von Wiegand eventually settled in New York in 1915 to attend Barnard College and Columbia University, where she took classes at the School of Journalism while nurturing a growing interest in art history. In 1925, von Wiegand realized that she wanted to be an artist and set up a studio in Greenwich Village, teaching herself how to paint while pursuing a career as a journalist. In 1929, she secured a position in Moscow as a foreign correspondent for Hearst, the only woman at the desk at the time. In 1932, von Wiegand returned to New York and married Russian émigré Joseph Freeman, who co-founded and edited the leftist journal New Masses. Von Wiegand began writing art criticism for New Masses as well as for other publications, including New Theatre, ARTnews, and Arts Magazine. When the Abstract American Artists (AAA) held their inaugural exhibition, von Wiegand reviewed it. An early champion of abstract art, von Wiegand became close friends with AAA founder Carl Holty. In 1941, Holty introduced von Wiegand to Piet Mondrian, who would have a profound impact on her art. Fascinated by Mondrian’s artistic philosophy, von Wiegand played a key role in the introduction of his work to American audiences, translating many of the Dutch artist’s writings into English and assisting in the composition of his influential article “Toward the True Vision of Reality” (1941). Through her friendship with Mondrian, von Wiegand re-kindled her interest in Theosophy (a religion established in the late 19th century that combines aspects of Hinduism, Buddhism, occultism, and esotericism) and embarked on an extended study of neoplasticism. In her artwork, she incorporated Mondrian’s iconic grid but rejected the constraints of pure neoplasticism and embraced a wide range of influences including surrealism and German expressionism. In 1942, von Wiegand became a member of the AAA, exhibiting regularly with the group and eventually serving as its president from 1951 to 1953. In the late 1940s, sculptor and fellow AAA member Ibram Lassaw gave her a translation of The Secret of the Golden Flower: A Chinese Book of Life, which inspired von Wiegand to immerse herself in a study of Buddhist art. She began incorporating Buddhist motifs such as stupas and mandalas into her paintings, and her spiritual practice steadily intensified throughout the 1950s. In 1953, her husband gifted her a copy of the Taoist I Ching Book of Changes, a guide for divining meaning from randomly derived numbers arranged in a hexagram—a form the artist readily incorporated into her painting. Von Wiegand’s study of Theosophy also intensified over these years, bolstered by her increased access to the religion’s primary sources composed by the religion’s founders and their successors at the New York Theosophical Society’s library. Von Wiegand’s search for the sacred and transcendent ultimately led her to Tibetan Buddhism and, in 1967, von Wiegand met Khyongla Rato Rinpoche, a Gelugpa monk who had recently arrived in New York, who would mentor her spiritual study in the tradition of Mahayana Buddhism until her death. Her travels in the 1960s and 1970s took her to Tibet and India, where she had an audience with the Dalai Lama, who was living in exile in Dharamsala. Many works from these decades incorporate symbols and schematics drawn from Theosophical prismatic color charts, Chinese astrology and tantric yoga. In 1978, she was the subject of a PBS documentary titled The Circle of Charmion von Wiegand, which was scored by Philip Glass. In 1980, von Wiegand was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters and in 1982, the Bass Museum of Art in Miami Beach (FL) organized her first retrospective exhibition. She died the following year in New York, bequeathing her estate to Khyongla Rato and the Tibet Center of New York. In 1998, Michael Rosenfeld Gallery became the sole representative of her estate and has presented her work in four solo and multiple group exhibitions. Recent notable exhibitions that have included her work are The Third Mind: American Artists Contemplate Asia (Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY, 2009) and Constructive Spirit: Abstract Art in South and North America (Newark Museum, NJ, 2010). In March 2023, the Kunstmuseum Basel (Switzerland) opened the first comprehensive museum retrospective of von Wiegand’s work in Europe. Von Wiegand’s work is represented in numerous museum collections including the Addison Gallery of American Art, Phillips Academy (Andover, MA); Albright-Knox Art Gallery (Buffalo, NY); Arithmeum, University of Bonn (Germany); Birmingham Museum of Art (Alabama); Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin; Brooklyn Museum (NY); Carnegie Museum of Art (Pittsburgh, PA); The Cleveland Museum of Art (OH); Indianapolis Museum of Art (IN); Fondazione Marguerite Arp (Locarno, Switzerland); Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (Massachusetts); The Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, NY); The Museum of Modern Art (New York, NY); Newark Museum of Art (New Jersey); Seattle Art Museum (WA); Smithsonian American Art Museum (Washington, DC); Walker Art Center (Minneapolis, MN); Weatherspoon Art Museum, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro; Wellin Museum of Art at Hamilton College (Clinton, NY); Whitney Museum of American Art (New York, NY); and Yale University Art Gallery (New Haven, CT). More about gallerist Andre Zarre A tribute in the New Criterion: Dispatch August 11, 2020 Andre Zarre, 1942–2020 by Dana Gordon On the late New York gallery pioneer. Art should never be aggressively explained; art should be felt. —Andre Zarre, 1977 Often, in the starlit New York cultural mecca, a longtime important figure fades away through the penumbra and dies without notice. Such was the fate of Andre Zarre, the contemporary art dealer, who passed away a few weeks ago. Andy, as he wanted friends to call him, opened his eponymous gallery in 1974 just off Madison Avenue on Sixty-ninth Street. He soon moved it to the omphalos of the art world in that era, 41 East Fifty-seventh Street, the Fuller Building. Over the years he moved to SoHo and then to Chelsea, as fashion and real estate prices pushed the art souk hither and thither. To understand his importance, all you need do is take a look at a list of artists who had solo shows at the Andre Zarre Gallery. This includes such names, from an early generation, as Sonia Delaunay, Nassos Daphnis, Sari Dienes, and Perle Fine. Among a subsequent generation are Pat Lipsky, Jay Milder, Thornton Willis, and Kes Zapkus.1 And this list does not include the many knowns and unknowns who were in his lively group shows. Zarre had a real “eye” and was a champion of abstract art from the moment he founded his gallery—even among the gathering storms of conceptual and political art, which he eschewed. He showed a good deal of figurative art as well. His galleries were always spacious and unpretentious, oriented simply to show the art. In the words of Dee Shapiro, who showed with the Zarre gallery many times, “He had a photographic memory and knew a lot about art and was always interested in the artist’s life.” Reliable biographical information on Zarre is scarce, but he said of his background that he was born in Poland in 1942 and that his parents were a diplomat and a socialite. He left home for the United States at the age of fifteen. During his decades as an art dealer in New York, Zarre did not appear to accumulate wealth, though he acquired a collection and lived on Park Avenue. “He was not personally aggressive in that way. People had to come to him,” Dee Shapiro said. He was honest in his financial dealings with artists, which not all art dealers are. For a long time while running the gallery he had a second job as a supervisor in an airline office and he kept little to no additional staff in the gallery. He supported a brother who remained in Poland. Among artists, Zarre was known to be quite ornery. After my show at his gallery in 1997, I refused to enter it for seventeen years. Then I ran into him in Chelsea and he offered me another show, an opportunity I gladly accepted, but he remained just as disagreeable. He showed the work of many women, probably more than any other gallery, save those devoted to showing only women. Collectors, curators, and writers found him mostly friendly. As Peter Reginato put it, Zarre was a “strange guy but I liked him. I think he was a dealer who was more interested in the art than in making money, but somehow he lasted forty-plus years.” Zarre is not known to have kept extensive or extant records of his gallery’s long history, though these may emerge in time. Scouring the Internet, one may compile a partial list of more than eighty artists who had solo shows at the Andre Zarre Gallery:Nancy Azara, Ellen Banks, Mary Barnes, Tony Bechara, Juan Bernal, Stephanie Bernheim, Randy Bloom, Elena Borstein, Michael Boyd, Fritz Bultman, Ed Buonagurio, Yoan Capote, Sonia Delaunay, Nassos Daphnis, Cathy Diamond, Sari Dienes, Joseph Dolinsky, Beata Drozd, Ronnie Elliot, William Fares, Perle Fine, Lynne Frehm, Ben Georgia, Mikel Glass, Dana Gordon, Juanita Guccione, Fred Gutzeit, Don Hazlitt, Amy Hill, Clinton Hill, Monroe Hodder, Budd Hopkins, Arlan Huang, Richard Hunt, Rhia Hurt, Buffie Johnson, Alexander Kaletski, Robert Kaupelis...

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...

Drawing on paper without frame Size A4

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...

From the estate of Jerry and Ruth Opper Abstract Expressionism Contour Drawing 1 c.1950s Ink and Pastel Contour Drawing 18" x 12", Unframed Signed in ink lo...

Abstract Expressionist Composition by Jacques COULAIS (1955-2011) gouache painting on thick board unframed: 8 x 8 inches condition: excellent provenance: all the paintings we have fo...

Artist: Claude Lagouche (French 1943-2020) Claude Lagouche was born January 2, 1943 in Naves, died January 16, 2020. He quickly gained recognition for his talent and his work, exh...

Rare color lithograph on Rives paper , built in 1958 Limited edition of 125 copies Signed and numbered in pencil by the artist Numbered specimen: 111/125 Sheet size: 76 x 56 cm Plate...

Untitled Abstraction Graphite on paper. c. 1946 Unsigned Provenance: Estate of the Artist Inherited by his neighbor/caregiver Condition: Staining at corners ...

Gouache and technic mixte on paper, signed in the text. Benjamin Vautier was born July 18, 1935 in Naples, Italy to a French family. He is the great-grandson of the Swiss painter Marc Louis Benjamin Vautier [fr] (1829-1898). He discovered Yves Klein and the Nouveau Réalisme in the 1950s, but he became quickly interested in the French dada artist Marcel Duchamp and the music of John Cage. In 1959, Vautier founded the journal Ben Dieu. In 1960, he had his first one-man show, Rien et tout in Laboratoire 32. Ben joined George Maciunas...

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 thick board unframed: 8 x 8 inches condition: excellent provenance: all the paintings we have fo...

Bold mid century modern abstracted pastel on paper still life of several terra cotta jugs and vessels distilled down to their most basic shapes and ar...

Paul Feeley Rafina II Greece, 1961 Watercolour on paper Hand Signed, titled and dated lower front In 1961, color field painter Paul Feeley created a series of watercolors - Rafina an...

Arnaldo Coen, Mexican (1940 -) - Pink Abstract, Year: circa 1968, Medium: Gouache On Paper, Size: 14 x 8.5 in. (35.56 x 21.59 cm), Description: ex-collection Sergio Aragones.

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...

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...

Abstract drawing on paper without frame

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...

Frank Duffield (British, 1908-1982) signed original watercolour painting on artistic paper, unframed size: 10 x 14 inches condition: overall very good, minor wear to the edges as is ...

Ron Gorchov Untitled early 1960s Abstract Expressionist work, 1962 Ink and watercolor painting on paper Signed and dated in black ink lower left recto Frame included: elegantly floa...

Abstract Expressionist Composition by Jacques COULAIS (1955-2011) gouache painting on paper/ card unframed: 9.5 x 9.5 inches condition: excellent provenance: all the paintings we hav...

Agatha Wojciechowsky Untitled Concert Hall Abstraction Watercolor, 1964 Watercolor on thick wove paper (with original label from Cordier & Ekstrom Gallery) Signed and dated by the artist on the lower-right front 19 3/4 × 15 inches Unframed Dazzling 1960s, modern abstraction watercolor piece. This work was acquired from the legendary Cordier & Ekstrom Gallery Agatha Wojciechowsky (1896 -1986) was recognized during her lifetime as a Surrealist. Although not following an art movement, her work reflected the sentiment of Art Informel of the 1950's. She had solo exhibitions from the 1960's to the present in New York, Cologne, Berlin, and Hamburg. Group exhibitions included shows with Man Ray, Marcel Duchamp, Jean Dubuffet, Isamu Noguchi, Francis Picabia, Romare Bearden. Her artwork can be found in numerous public collections including Museum of Modern Art, the Prado, the Menil Collection, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Whitney Museum. Agatha lived her earlier years in Steinach de Saale, and then sailed to the United States in 1923 to be a German-speaking governess in a German baron...

Ceri Richards Lyre Bird (Design for the cover of Poetry London), 1943 Ink, gouache and pastel on paper Bears original Jonathan Clark & Co. label on the back of the frame Unique Frame...

Charmion von Wiegand Intersecting Magic Square, ca. 1963 Gouache on paperboard Signed and titled on the back of the artwork. The signature shown on the frame back is a photo of the actual signature on the artwork itself. Frame Included: elegantly floated and framed in hand made white wood museum frame with UV plexiglass This work is signed and titled on the back of the artwork itself. The signature shown on the back of the frame is a photo of the actual signature, since the actual pencil signature and title is on the artwork itself, which can't be seen within the frame Measurements: Frame: 21 x 17 x 1.5 inches Artwork: 18 x 14.25 inches The Estate of the celebrated artist Charmion Von Wiegand has been represented exclusively by Michael Rosenfeld...

Important watercolour on paper 'Untitled' by the great Italian artist Riccardo Licata. Dated and signed at lower right "74 Licata". This work is representative at the highest level ...

A painting by Alexander Calder. "The Forest" is a Post-War abstract painting, gouache and ink on paper in bold colors of reds, blacks, yellows, and blues by artist Alexander Calder. The artwork is signed lower right, "Calder 72...

Bright and colorful abstract geometric watercolor with multicolor connected forms cascading in a dynamic vertical composition by Ellwood Graham (American, 1911-2007). Signed "GRAHAM" in the upper right corner, and "Ellwood Graham" on verso. Circa 1961-1966. The title "Indian Dance...

Surrealist proto-Afropunk drawing by African-American artist, Roland Ayers (1932-2014). Hesitation Blues, 1968. Ink on paper, sheet measures 13 x 23 inches; 14 x 18 inches in archival pH-neutral matting. Signed and dated lower right. Excellent condition with no damage or restoration. Provenance: Sheila Ayers-Whitelaw Exhibition History: Roland Ayers: Calligraphy of Dreams, Woodmere Art Museum, 07/10/2021 - 10/24/2021 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...

Signed lower center, 'Leo Kenney' (American, 1925-2001) and dated 1947. A seminal figure in the second generation of Northwest School artists, Leo Kenney was, like many of his conte...

Marsden Hartley ALPSPITZE #3 (with Zabriskie Gallery Label), 1933 Pencil on cream wove paper. In original vintage frame with Zabriskie Gallery label Sticker label, framed with Zabris...

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...

Hans Hofmann (1880-1966) was a pre-eminent figure of postwar American art and one of the most important artists (and instructors) of the 20th century. Born in Germany, Hofmann immigr...

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...

Manfred Schwartz (American, b. Poland, 1909-1970), Abstract Pointillism Composition, Mixed Media on Paper, signed lower right, M. Knoedler & Co. Inc. label to the reverse, brass fram...

Artist: Claude Lagouche (French 1943-2020) Claude Lagouche was born January 2, 1943 in Naves, died January 16, 2020. He quickly gained recognition for his talent and his work, exh...

Abstract Expressionist Composition by Jacques COULAIS (1955-2011) gouache painting on paper/ card unframed: 19 x 15.5 inches condition: excellent provenance: all the paintings we hav...

A graphite on paper, untitled mural study, Cubist city scene by important Chicago Modernist artist Rudolph Weisenborn, ca. 1940. Artwork size: 9 3/4" x 11 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...

Work on paper This captivating work reveals an interior scene rich in detail and texture. At the heart of the composition, a figure draped in flowing fabrics stands by a blazing fire...

Floral Abstract by Bernard Labbe (French mid 20th century) original watercolour/ gouache painting on artist paper, unframed size: 12 x 9 inches condition: very good and ready to be e...

“If it brings to me a harmonious sensation…” Walkowitz once said, “…I then try to find the concrete elements that are likely to record the sensation in visual forms.” This philosoph...