Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 8

Rudolph Weisenborn
A Graphite on Paper Mural Study of a Rail Yard by Rudolph Weisenborn, ca. 1940

ca. 1940

$650
£493.69
€570.38
CA$911
A$1,019.58
CHF 532.14
MX$12,433.60
NOK 6,810.69
SEK 6,447.19
DKK 4,256.64
Shipping
Retrieving quote...
The 1stDibs Promise:
Authenticity Guarantee,
Money-Back Guarantee,
24-Hour Cancellation

About the Item

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 commissioned Weisenborn to paint the mural “The Fighting Navy” for the Great Lakes Naval Training Station. He taught at Hull House (1920), the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts (1922-34), his own Weisenborn Art School (1934-64), and the Austin, Oak Park, River Forest Art League in Oak Park (1941). Weisenborn died in Chicago in 1974.
  • Creator:
    Rudolph Weisenborn (1881-1974, American)
  • Creation Year:
    ca. 1940
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 18 in (45.72 cm)Width: 16 in (40.64 cm)
  • More Editions & Sizes:
    Archivally Matted to 18" x 16"Price: $850
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
    See Photos.
  • Gallery Location:
    Chicago, IL
  • Reference Number:
    Seller: #52701stDibs: LU2591214251082

More From This Seller

View All
A ca. 1940s Graphite on Paper Mural Study of a City Scene by Rudolph Weisenborn
By Rudolph Weisenborn
Located in Chicago, IL
A ca. 1940s graphite on paper mural study of a Chicago city scene by notable Modern artist Rudolph Weisenborn. Artwork size: 12 1/2" x 9 1/4". Archivally matted to 18" x 16". 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...
Category

1940s American Modern Landscape Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Graphite

A Cubist, Untitled Mural Study of a City Scene by Artist Rudolph Weisenborn
By Rudolph Weisenborn
Located in Chicago, IL
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...
Category

1940s Cubist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Graphite

Ca. 1945 Cubist Graphite on Paper Still Life Drawing by Artist Stanley Bielecky
By Stanley Bielecky
Located in Chicago, IL
A ca. 1945, Cubist black & white graphite drawing of fruit by artist Illinois and Michigan artist Stanley Bielecky. Image size: 4" x 5". Archivally matted to: 13 1/4" x 16". Stanley Bielecky was an Indiana artist who painted the American scene, from the factories and workers around East Chicago to the bucolic settings of Mackinac Island...
Category

1940s American Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Graphite, Paper

A Dynamic 1945 Mid-Century Modern Cubist Studio Scene, Artist Sketch Class
By Harold Haydon
Located in Chicago, IL
A Dynamic, 1945 Mid-Century Modern Cubist Studio Scene, Artist's Sketch Class by Noted Chicago Painter, Harold Haydon (Am. 1909-1994). Artwork size: 11 x 8 1/2 inches, unframed, mo...
Category

Mid-20th Century Cubist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Charcoal, Pastel

WPA Era, Industrial Scene of a Steel Mill by Artist Harold Haydon
By Harold Haydon
Located in Chicago, IL
A ca. 1935 tonal, watercolor of a steel mill by artist Harold Haydon. Artwork size: 8 3/4" x 11 3/4". Archivally matted to 14" x 18". Provenance: Estate of the artist. Harold E...
Category

1930s American Modern Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor, Paper

A ca. 1938 Graphite on Paper Study of Classical Drapery by Modernist Jan Matulka
By Jan Matulka
Located in Chicago, IL
A ca. 1938 graphite on paper, study of a classical drapery by notable Modernist artist Jan Matulka. The image is drawn on the back of a typewritten, folded sheet of stationery, from...
Category

1930s American Modern Still-life Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Graphite

You May Also Like

Abstract Composition - Drawing By Reynold Arnould - Mid-20th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Abstract Composition is a Charcoal Drawing realized by Reynold Arnould (Le Havre 1919 - Parigi 1980). Good condition on a yellowed paper, included a white cardboard passpartout (3...
Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Charcoal

Mid Century Modern East Bay Abstracted Industrial Landscape
By Erle Loran
Located in Soquel, CA
Dynamic abstracted geometric landscape drawing of the industrial East Bay California landscape by Erle Loran (American, 1905-1999), circa 1940. From collectio...
Category

1940s Abstract Geometric Landscape Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Charcoal, Laid Paper

Abstract Composition - Original Charcoal on Paper - 1960
Located in Roma, IT
Abstract Composition is an original contemporary artwork realized the second half of the XX Century. Original black Charcoal on paper. Hand-signed in pencil by the artist on the lo...
Category

1960s Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Pen

Sutherland Project VII: Cubist Abstract Graphite Drawing with Antique Frame
By David Dew Bruner
Located in Hudson, NY
Figurative abstract cubist style drawing in an antique wood frame, inspired by artwork by Graham Sutherland “Sutherland Project VII” by Hudson Valley artist, David Dew Bruner, made in 2015 23.5 x 11.5 inch graphite on paper drawing in a 27.5 x 15.5 inch antique black stained...
Category

2010s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Graphite

Building Sketches - Original Drawing by Unknown - Mid 20th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Building Sketches is an Original Pencil and Watercolor Drawing realized by an Unknown artist in mid-20th century. Good condition on a yellowed paper....
Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Pencil

The Balcony (Drawing for Plate I, Planches de Salut)
By Louis Marcoussis
Located in London, GB
LOUIS MARCOUSSIS (1883-1941) (Ludwik Kazimierz Wladyslaw Markus) 1878 or 1883 Łódź, Poland – 1941, Cusset, France (Polish/French) Title: The Balcony (Drawing for Plate I, Plan...
Category

1930s Cubist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Pencil