Lawrence Kupferman

Street Life New York - Haunting Faces Windows Expressionism Mid-Century

1946

A fantasy scene with Elves and a beautiful girl lost in thought at the base of a tree. Elizabeth Mary Watt, G.S.W.A. In 1919, she was elected as ...

If people don't swat you . . . then something else happens." Illustration for Blechman's popular book Franklin the Fly (Mankato, MN: Creative Editions, 2007). Watercolor, pen and ink...

A turn-of-the-century fantasy illustration by female illustrator May Audubon Post features a charming fairy with expanded wings resting on Lilly s...

Meticulously rendered surreal image of a seemingly disoriented shirtless and shoeless man standing in the middle of a busy highway and gazing outward. The image is characterized by fine lines with some cross-hatching over a wash mono-chromatic background. Published: The Stories of John Cheever...

An original pen and ink by Barbara Macdonald 1892-1969, that was published on page 70 of the 1922 book, 'Princess Herminie and the Tapestry Prince,' written by Lee Ivatt. The second ...

"Shine On, Virginia Woolf!" Cover illustration for The New York Times Book Review, published June 8, 1997. Airbrush on paper with mylar overlay with mar...

Miniature Landscape Provenance: Virginia Field, Arts administrator; New York, N.Y. Assistant director for Asia House gallery. (she was friends with John von Wicht and Andy Warhol) Born in 1897, Ben-Zion Weinman celebrated his European Jewish heritage in his visual works as a sculptor, painter, and printmaker. Influenced by Spinoza, Knut Hamsun, and Wladyslaw Reymont, as well as Hebrew literature, Ben-Zion wrote poetry and essays that, like his visual work, attempt to reveal the deep “connection between man and the divine, and between man and earth.” An emigrant from the Ukraine, he came to the US in 1920. He wrote fairy tales and poems in Hebrew under the name Benzion Weinman, but when he began painting he dropped his last name and hyphenated his first, saying an artist needed only one name. Ben-Zion was a founding member of “The Ten: An Independent Group” The Ten” a 1930’s avant-garde group, Painted on anything handy. Ben-Zion often used cabinet doors (panels) in his work. Other members of group included Ilya Bolotowsky, Lee Gatch, Adolf Gottlieb, Louis Harris, Yankel Kufeld, Marcus Rothkowitz (later known as Mark Rothko), Louis Schanker, and Joseph Solman. The Art of “The Ten” was generally described as expressionist, as this style offered the best link between modernism and social art. Their exhibition at the Mercury Gallery in New York held at the same time as the Whitney Annual Exhibition of Contemporary American Painting, included a manifesto concentrating on aesthetic questions and criticisms of the conservative definition of modern art imposed by the Whitney. Ben-Zion’s work was quickly noticed. The New York Sun said he painted “furiously” and called him “the farthest along of the lot.” And the triptych, “The Glory of War,” was described by Art News as “resounding.” By 1939, The Ten disbanded because most of the members found individual galleries to represent their work. Ben-Zion had his first one-man show at the Artist’s Gallery in Greenwich Village and J.B. Neumann, the highly esteemed European art dealer who introduced Paul Klee, (among others) to America, purchased several of Ben-Zion’s drawings. Curt Valentin, another well-known dealer, exhibited groups of his drawings and undertook the printing of four portfolios of etchings, each composed of Ben-Zion’s biblical themes. Ben-Zion’s work is represented in many museums throughout the country including the Metropolitan, the Whitney, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Phillips Collection, Washington. The Jewish Museum in New York opened in 1948 with a Ben-Zion exhibition. “Ben-Zion has his hands on the pulse of the common man and his natural world” As he emerged as an artist Ben-Zion never lost his gift for presenting the ordinary in ways that are vital, fresh and filled with emotions that are somber and exhilarating, joyous and thoughtful, and ultimately, filled with extraordinary poetic simplicity. Ben-Zion consistently threaded certain subject matter—nature, still life, the human figure, the Hebrew Bible, and the Jewish people—into his work throughout his life. "In all his work a profound human feeling remains. Sea and sky, even sheaves of wheat acquire a monolithic beauty and simplicity which delineates the transient as a reflection of the eternal. This sensitive inter- mingling of the physical and metaphysical is one of the most enduring features of Ben-Zion's works." (Excerpt from Stephen Kayser, “Biblical Paintings,” The Jewish Museum Catalogue, 1952). Along with ben Shahn, William Gropper, Chaim Gross and Abraham Rattner he was an influential mid century Jewish American...

A delightful composition by this master watercolourist. William Payne (1760-1830) Figures and cattle by a river Watercolour 7¾ inches, circular, unframed 15 x 14½ inches with the fr...

Signed lower right, 'A. Manganaro' for 'Antonio Manganaro (Italian, 20th Century), and titled lower center, 'The Enduring Attractions of the Open Market'. Matted Dimensions: 16 x 20

Signed lower left, 'A. Manganaro' for 'Antonio Manganaro (Italian, 20th Century), and titled lower center, 'Ability of the Working Classes to Enjoy Meals Under Humble Surroundings'. ...

'Notre Dame de Paris', gouache on paper, by Lucien Génin (circa 1930s). An absolutely charming and now, historic depiction from the 1930s, of the most famous cathedral in France. It is one of the most widely recognised symbols of the city of Paris and the French nation. As the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Paris, Notre-Dame contains the cathedra of the Archbishop of Paris. Approximately 12 million people visit Notre-Dame annually, making it the most visited monument in Paris. While undergoing renovation and restoration, the roof of Notre-Dame caught fire on the evening of 15 April 2019. Burning for around 15 hours, the cathedral sustained serious damage. The government of France hopes the reconstruction can be completed by Spring 2024, in time for the opening of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. Unlike the actual cathedral, this artwork is in good condition, is newly framed and glazed and signed by the artist in the lower left hand corner. Upon request a video may be provided. About the Artist: After the devastation of the First World War, Lucien Génin (1894 - 1953) left his provincial home in the autumn of 1919 to find his fortune among the lively Parisians in the heart of Montmartre. Génin befriended the painters Frank Will, Gen Paul, Émile Boyer, Marcel Leprin...

'Le Pont Neuf', gouache on fine art paper, by Lucien Génin (circa 1930s). The Pont Neuf is the oldest standing bridge across the river Seine in Paris, France. It stands by the western point of the Île de la Cité, the island in the middle of the river that was, between 250 and 225 BC, the birthplace of Paris. It is called 'The New Bridge' because at the time of its inauguration (built 1578-1607), it embodied a very modern look compared to other bridges which spanned the Seine. Lucien Génin has captured its beauty in this lively depiction from the 1930s. Just before the bridge is a 'Bateau Mouche' an open excursion boat that provides visitors with a view of the city from along the river. The artwork is in good overall condition commensurate with age and medium used. It has been newly frame with anti-reflective glass. Please enjoy the photos accompanying this listing. Signed by the artist in the lower left hand. Upon request a video may be provided. About the Artist: After the devastation of the First World War, Lucien Génin (1894 - 1953) left his provincial home in the autumn of 1919 to find his fortune among the lively Parisians in the heart of Montmartre. Génin befriended the painters Frank Will, Gen Paul, Émile Boyer, Marcel Leprin...