Mid-20th Century Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Abstract drawing on paper without frame

Edmond Xavier Kapp (British, 1890 – 1978) Toccata 23 Ink on paper Signed and dated ‘Kapp 76’ (lower right) 9.1/2 x 14 in. (24.3 x 35.5 cm.) Edmond Kapp was born in Islington, London, on 5 November 1890, of American and German Jewish parentage. He gave himself the middle initial ‘X’ – sometimes said to stand for Xavier – to distinguish himself from his father Emil Kapp, who was a wine merchant. However, his parents called him ‘Eddie’ while his wife and friends knew him as ‘Peter’. During his early years, Kapp was continually ill and, while convalescing, entertained himself by drawing at home. As his health improved, he attended Dame Alice Owen’s School, Islington (1903-10), with periods at Berlin University (1909) and L’Institut Français pour les Etrangers, Paris (1909). He then read Languages at Christ’s College, Cambridge (1910-13), though spent most of his time writing and drawing. Kapp took a studio in London, and worked intensively until the outbreak of the First World War, contributing to the Daily News, the Onlooker and other periodicals. During the war, he served as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Royal Sussex Regiment on the Western Front, and then in Intelligence, rising to the position of Staff Captain on Haig’s Staff. Finally, he founded and directed the Neutral Press Counter-propaganda Section. In 1919, Kapp returned to London and, after abortive periods at three art schools, worked alone. In that year, he made his name with an exhibition of caricatures, held at Furst’s Gallery, London, and accompanied by a catalogue introduced by Max Beerbohm. This soon led to contracts with three London periodicals and a book of caricatures, Personalities, published by Martin Secker. Through the 1920s and 30s, his drawings of musicians and other personalities appeared in a wide variety of periodicals, most notably Time & Tide; were collected in further volumes; and were exhibited at the Leicester Galleries. He considered himself to be a ‘character-portraitist’, producing images of psychological not satirical power, and disliking the term ‘caricature’. Between the wars, Kapp developed other aspects of his artistic talents, the desire to study and the search for subject matter often taking him abroad. For instance, work at the British Academy, Rome, under Antonio Sciortino...

Early modern black and white sketch by iconic Houston based artist David Adickes. Pulled from a collection of previously undiscovered sketchbooks, this work serves as a peak behind t...

Fluid abstract pencil drawing by Spanish artist Hugo Esteban, circa 1960. Signed lower left. Original artwork on paper displayed on a white mat with a gold border. Mat fits a stan...

Non-Objective Drawing (Double sided composition) Graphite on paper, 1938 Initialed "B" by the artist lower right corner Created while the artist was imprisoned in a Gestapo Prison fo...

Stunning original project drawings, hand-painted with color pencil on translucent tracing paper by French artist, circa the 1960s. The two paintings feature a geometric study of litt...

Marbled French abstract aquatint of flowing motion, 1963. Signed lower right. Original artwork on paper displayed on a white mat with a gold border. Archival plastic sleeve and Cert...

Work on paper without frame

Pointillist Large Abstract Design by Louis Bellon (French 1908-1998) signed lower left in the image gouache painting on paper, unframed measurements: 16.5 x 10 inches (overall the sh...

Naturalistic pencil drawing of a New Mexican landscape by artist Madelyn Colby. The work features a grove of trees surrounding a small abandoned building with the hint of a mountain ...

Abstract drawing on paper without frame

Pastel (modern), 1932 62.00 cm. x 46.50 cm. 24.41 in. x 18.31 in. (paper) Charcoal drawing enhanced with pastel A charcoal drawing on one of art history's major themes. Here, the...

Abstract drawing on paper without frame

Drawing on paper without frame Size A4

Drawing on paper without frame Size A4

Drawing on paper without frame Size A4

Rem Raymond Coninckx was born on 28th March in Couvin (Belgium) 1904 and died in Dinan 1974. He was a painter, draftsman, engraver and also created metallic panels and mosaics. Cont...

The 16 in x 23 in watercolor displays striking and colorful qualities that influenced abstract expressionism for decades to come. In 2016 the Dennos Museum in Traverse City, Michigan, in homage to the very first exhibition in the Zimmerman Sculpture Court, installed the first two paintings by the former Michigan State University painting professor, Clif McChesney (1929-2011) on the Court walls, and the glass artistry of Dale Chihuly, featuring works from the Dennos Collection. In 1991, an exhibition of Dale Chihuly glass...

Early modern black and white sketch by iconic Houston based artist David Adickes. Pulled from a collection of previously undiscovered sketchbooks, this work serves as a peak behind t...

Watercolor on wove paper. Signed and dated in ink, lower right recto.

Sonia Gechtoff Flag Icon, 1963 Pastel, graphite and collage Frame included: elegantly framed in hand made wood frame with UV plexiglass Evocative mixed media mid century modern work...

double-sided c.1950's drawing by Spanish artist, Federico Castellon (1914-1971). Ink on wove paper, sheet measures 10 x 13 inches; 21.5 x 24.5 inches in wood frame. Excellent condition with no restoration or damage. Signed with artist's chop in red ink seal that he used in Asia. From a recently discovered collection of over 60 important Castellon drawings and watercolors c.1939-1950. Birth place: Almeria, SpainDeath place: New York, NYAddresses: NYC (immigrated 1921; citizen, 1943)Profession: Painter, graphic artist, sculptor, etcher, illustrator, teacher Exhibited: Weyhe Gal., 1934, 1936-40; AIC, 1935-47 (prize, 1938); AFA traveling exh., 1937; WMAA, 1938-45; PAFA, 1938-39, 1940 (prize), 1941-42; Carnegie Inst., 1942; PAFA, 1943-53; Assoc. Am. Ar., 1946 (prize), 1952 (solo); Corcoran Gal, 1947; LOC, 1949 (prize); Paris, France, 1952; Bombay, India, 1952; Gallery 10, 1961; Dintenfass Gal., N.Y., 1963; Phila. Pr. Cl., 1964 (prize); Hudson Gld. A., 1964; Great Neck, L.I., 1964; SAGA, 1964 (prize). In 1953, under the auspices of State Dept. Specialist Div., of I.E.S., he exhibited in Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Chile, Bolivia, Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay, with lectures in each country. Awards: F., Spanish Republic, 1934-36; fellow, Guggenheim Fnd., 1941, 1950; Nat. Inst. A. & Let. Grant, 1950. Member: NA; SAGAWork: WMAA; PAFA; MoMA; PMA; MMA; BM; AIC; NYPL; LOC; Univ. KY; San Diego Mus. FA; Newark (NJ) Pub. Lib.; Princeton Univ. (Frank Jewett Mather Coll.). Comments: A Surrealist painter whose imagery of the 1930s was greatly influenced by Dali. His full name was Federico Cristencia de Castellón y Martinez. Teacher: Columbia Univ., 1946-61; Pratt Inst., Brooklyn, 1952-61. Illustrator: Shenandoah, 1941; I Went into the Country, 1941; Bulfinch's Mythology, 1948; The Story of Marco Polo, 1954; The Man Who Changed China, 1954; The Story of J. J. Audubon, 1955; The Little Prince, 1954; The Life of Robert L. Stevenson, 1954. Reproduction of paintings on The Sumerian Civilization" for Life series "The Epic of Man," 1956; 15 paintings on "The History of Medicine" for MD magazine, 1960-61; The Story of Madame Curie...

Untitled (Abstraction) Ink on textured paper, c. 1958 Signed lower right "Scarlett" (see photo) Condition: Excellent Archival framing with OP3 Acrylic Sheet size: 21 3/4 x 30 inches Frame size: 28 1/2 x 36 1/2 inches Note: A rare mid to late 1950s example of the artist's abstract expressionist style. Provenance: estate of the artist Private Collection, Hudson River Valley, New York Rolph Scarlett B. 1889, GUELPH, ONTARIO; D. 1984, WOODSTOCK, NEW YORK Born on June 13, 1889 in Guelph, Canada, and into an artistic family, Rolph Scarlett spent his teenage years as an apprentice in his uncle’s jewelry firm and briefly studied at the Art Students League, New York. While working in the jewelry industry, Scarlett found time to paint and design theatrical sets in his free time, including one for the 1928 world premiere of Eugene O’Neill’s drama Lazarus Laughed (1926). In 1923, while on a business trip to Switzerland, Scarlett had met the artist Paul Klee and soon after abandoned his figurative painting style in favor of an abstract language that suggested more universal, cosmic truths. In 1937, after permanently settling in New York, Scarlett became acquainted with the artist and curator Hilla Rebay, the first director of the Museum of Non-Objective Painting (renamed the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in 1952). Rebay provided Scarlett with a Guggenheim Foundation scholarship to paint full-time and obtained several of his paintings for the museum’s collection. From 1940 to 1946, Scarlett served as the museum’s chief lecturer, giving Sunday afternoon talks on art. Through Rebay, Scarlett became acquainted with the nonobjective works of Rudolf Bauer and Vasily Kandinsky and further refined his abstract style. Works from this era such as Yellow Bar (1942) are defined by overlapping geometric planes of bright, primary colors set against mute backgrounds. Scarlett avoided any reference to the outside world and believed that nonobjective painting was an act, in his words, of “pure creation.” During his lifetime, solo shows of his work were held at the Jacques Seligmann Gallery, New York (1949); Sioux City Art Center, Iowa (1951); and Washburn Gallery...

Diana Kurz Pink Green Study Pastel on paper 20 x 15 inches Diana Kurz (born 1936) is an Austrian-born feminist painter. In 1938, Diana Kurz's family fled Austria, first to England ...

Gouache and paper, mixed media, Signed in the middle center. Armand Avril, né à Lyon en 1926, est un peintre vivant à Cotignac dans le Var. Il est surtout connu pour les assemblages qu'il a réalisés à partir de 1968. D'origine modeste, cependant très tôt intéressé par l'art et les musées où le poussait son père, il s'essaie d'abord à la peinture. Cependant, Avril ne commence à trouver son véritable style qu'à l'âge de quarante-deux ans. Enfant, il est un habitué des musées de Lyon qu’il fréquente sur les conseils de son père. Adulte, sa passion pour la collection l’incite à se nourrir des arts premiers et d’artistes comme Gaston Chaissac...

Stunning modernist avant-garde figurative abstract pastel in deep royal blue, with red and yellow accents by Henry Elinson (Californian/Russian 1935-2010), 1996. Signed and dated "H....

THOMAS BROWNELL ELDRED Untitled Mid Century Modern Abstraction, 1941 Gouache on paper Hand signed and dated 1941 on the front 14 3/4 × 21 inches Unique Provenance: Acquired from the estate of Thomas Brownell Eldred Accompanied by Certificate of Guarantee from Alpha 137 Gallery Unframed This gorgeously colored gouache painting on thick paper was created at a time when the Guggenheim Museum (Museum of Non-Objective Painting) was collecting Eldred's work, alongside works by Kandinsky and Bauer. Unique works like this by Eldred are very desirable in the marketplace. It typifies the artist's eclectic style, reflecting his involvement with Surrealism and the New York School. It also highlights Eldred’s excellent draftsmanship through the characteristic bright colors and patterns that he developed during his time as a naval wood pattern maker in the merchant marines...

John Levee, an American abstract expressionist, served as a pilot in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. Following the war, he harnessed the educational opportunit...

Paul Gattuso attended the Art Students League and worked primarily in New York City. There is an old address with a Bronx, Grand Concourse address on the ...

Artist: Roberto Matta Title: Sans Titre 2 Medium: Original pastel/drawing on paper Signed: Hand Signed Measurements: 20" x 25" Framed: 28" x 35" Authentication: Kajsa Westling N...

Sketch is an original artwork realized in 1963 by the italian Contemporary artist Leo Guida (1992 - 2017). Original china ink, watercolor and pencil drawing on ivory-colored paper,...

Scottie Wilson (Scottish, 1888 – 1972, born Louis Freeman) Ducks paradise Signed ‘Scottie’ (lower right), further signed and inscribed with title on th...

The imaginary kiss is a contemporary artwork realized by Maurice Henry. Black and white pencil drawing. Hand signed and titled on the lower margin. Original title: Le baiser imagi...

Diana Kurz June Watercolor and pastels on board 17 x 23 inches Diana Kurz (born 1936) is an Austrian-born feminist painter. In 1938, Diana Kurz's family fled Austria, first to Engl...

J.Rennell, "Untitled: Woman in Dress", Figurative Pen and Ink Drawing signed on Paper, 6 x 4 (13.50 x 10.50 Framed), Mid to Late 20th C...

Edmund D. Kinzinger was born in 1888, to an upper-middle class family in Pforzhein, Germany. In Munich he studied at the Kirr Schule and the Staatliche Akademie, and pursued graduate studies at the Academie Modern, Paris. Before serving in the German Army, Kinzinger was a master student of Adolph Holzel at the Staatcliche Akademie, Stuttgart; he returned to study under Henrich Waldschmidt after nearly five years of artillery service. Several of Kinzinger’s fellow students in Germany, such as Johannes Itten, would go on to be associated with the Bauhaus school. Coming into contact with all manner of artistic influences in Europe after World War One, Kinzinger’s work may be viewed as a “synthesis” of modernist styles. The influences of Abstract Expressionist, Cubist, and Futurist styles in Kinzinger’s work at this time are symptomatic of his contact with the likes of Hans Hofmann, Pablo Picasso, and Alexander Archipenko. Philip Van Keuren...

PERLE FINE Untitled Graphite on paper 14 x 11 inches

Original felt pens on paper Unique piece Hand signed and dated in 1957 Rare piece from the Master

Signed lower right, 'A. Cunningham' for Alfred A Cunningham (American, 20th century) and painted circa 1965. Alfred Cunningham was active in Northern California from the 1950's thro...

André Masson (1896-1987) Surrealistic flower Original colour pencil drawing Signed with the artist's stamp on the back (see photo) On 30.5 x 29 cm tracing paper (11.8 x 11.4 inche...

Unknown, Untitled Abstract Watercolor, 10 x 12 ( 15.50 x 18 In Frame), 1961 Colors: Green, Yellow, Black, Brown, White

Composition is an original Drawing in Pencil and watercolor realized by an anonymous artist in the mid-20th Century. Good Conditions. The artwork is depicted through strong strokes...

Abstract Composition is an Ink and Watercolor on paper realized by the french artist Simone Haret mid-20th century. The artwork is in good condition and vivid colors. No Signature....

Peter Macchiarini "Brooch Drawing" c. 1950s Pencil on paper Site 3.5"x3.5" silver carved wood frame 14.75"x16.75" Studio stamp lower left Was born to Italian parents on the Wohler Ranch, a hop yard and vineyard spread on the Russian river near Santa Rosa, Sonoma County on August 27, 1909. I attended grammar school and high schools in Sonoma County until the age of fourteen at which time my parents returned to Italy. There I took preliminary courses in the Italian language and having decided on an artistic career, took the entry examinations for the Art Academy Pietrasanta, Province of Lucca, and was accepted. At the Academy I received basic training in marble carving, clay modeling, architectural drawing and general sciences. In 1928 I returned to the United States and was gainfully employed as a stonecarver with several San Francisco Bay Area firms. I continued my art studies in San Francisco at the California School of Fine Arts, taking night courses. In 1936, I worked on projects under Beniamino Bufano and Ralph Stackpole...

Figure is an original drawing in mixed media (ink, tempera and white lead) on cardboard, realized by Sergio Barletta in 1962. Hand-signed on the lower right and dated. Image Dimens...

Diana Kurz Study for TH Pastel and gouache on paper 21 1/2 x 20 inches Diana Kurz (born 1936) is an Austrian-born feminist painter. In 1938, Diana Kurz's family fled Austria, first...

Evelyn Harper, "Untitled: Cadillac Automobile Show" , Mixed Media on Illustration Board, 15 x 10, Mid-20th Century, 1948 Colors: Black and White A 15 x 10 Black and White Illustrat...

A nice, creative letter by the french poet and dancer Boris Kochno to Countess Pecci-Blunt. This composition was realized as letter of greetings for New Y...

Maurice MOREL said l’abbé Morel (1908-1991) Untitled, composition in black, orange, green and plum Mixed media on glossy paper (cut-out magazine page) Signed on reverse 23 x 10 cm So...

Signed lower right, 'Beth Ames Swartz' (American, born 1936) and dated 1967. Primarily working in the idioms of abstraction and semi-abstraction, Beth's paintings and mixed-media works are commonly informed by philosophical and spiritual concepts shared by people of different cultural worldviews, and incorporate both symbols and words in the vocabulary of their visual language. Her 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 the conscious and unconscious level. Swartz synthesizes these spiritual traditions in her work with the purpose of revealing the commonality between them. Beth was born in New York City and 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 The High School of Music & Art in New York City, and Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, where she graduated in 1957 with a Bachelor of Science degree, followed by a Master of Arts degree in 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. Swartz explores systems of knowledge by translating philosophical concepts into aesthetic visual experiences. 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...

Dorothea Tanning (American, 1910–2012) Initially associated with the Surrealist movement, Dorothea Tanning developed a personal visual language that blurred the boundaries between r...

Structure is an interesting drawing in pen on paper realized by the artist Nicola Carrino in 1969. The state of preservation is very good. This original print presents a geometric a...

Minotaur is an original painting in watercolor realized by Sergio Barletta in 1946. Hand-signed. In fair conditions with some folding, stains, and tearing on the margins. The artw...

Seymour Fogel Texas Artist From his New York Transcendental Period 1971 "Woodland Eros Drawing I" "Woodland Eros Drawing II" Conte Crayon on Illustration Board. Professionally c...

Diana Kurz Untitled, circa 1961 Pastel on paper 25 1/2 x 20 1/2 inches Diana Kurz (born 1936) is an Austrian-born feminist painter. In 1938, Diana Kurz's family fled Austria, first...

Structure is an interesting drawing in pen on paper realized by the artist Nicola Carrino in 1964. The state of preservation is very good. Hand-signed in pencil on the lower right ...

The Dead Tiger Ink and watercolor on paper, 1955 Signed and dated in ink (see photo) Condition: Aging to the entire sheet (it's 78 years old) Image/Sheet size: 18 1/4 x 23 inches On...

Original ink on paper Hand signed Unique piece Manufacture Nationale des Gobelins