20th Century Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Blanche Grambs, whose career started with the WPA, was an extremely skilled draftsperson. Her birds are masterful. This charming piece places the yooun...

This appears to be dated 1927. It came in with a piece dated 1929. A very early, rare work. Framed 22.5 x 18. Image 14.5 x 9 A great New York city street scene with an El train (elev...

Title: Mid Century French Elegant Ink Portrait of a Soldier in Uniform Artist: Josine Vignon (French 1922-2022) Medium: Ink on paper Size: 8.75 (height) x 7.5 (width) Stamped: Ve...

Born in New York, Julian Levi spent his early years in Philadelphia. He began his art studies art at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts under Arthur B. Carles, Daniel Garber, and Henry McCarter. On graduation, Levi was awarded a scholarship which he used to travel to Italy and Paris. During his stay in Europe, which lasted five years, from 1920 to 1925, Levi was influenced by Cubism. He was especially drawn to the art of Juan Gris, adopting the gentle color harmonies and precise linear treatments of forms found in Gris's works. In 1924, Levi participated in an important show of Philadelphia modern artists which included works by Charles Demuth, Hugh Breckinridge, Franklin Watkins...

RCA Design Art Deco Streamline Mid Century Modern American Scene Architectural John Vassos (1898-1985) RCA 50 D Transmitter and Control Desk 12 x 19 1/2 (sight) Mixed media on boar...

Expressionist ink and pastel crayon drawing of flowers in vase. Framed in a vintage cobalt blue glass original frame Hand signed and dated Framed it measures 13.5 X 10.5 The actual ...

Into the Woods is an original modern artwork realized by the French artist Gabrielle Kayser in 1948. Original watercolored and china ink on paper. Hand-signed and dated by the ar...

Here for your consideration is an original mixed media fashion illustration by the world renowned fashion artist, Kenneth Paul Block. Signed with initials bottom right. Circa 1965. ...

"Nymph in the Forest" watercolor on paper signed Gaston La Touche. Gaston de La Touche (1854-1913), also known as Gaston La Touche, was a French painter, engraver, illustrator and s...

Family Relations is an original watercolored ink drawing on ivory-colored paper, in the 1920s realized by Luigi Bompard (1879-1953). Hand-signed in pen on the lower margin. In goo...

"Reclining Woman with Fish" Watercolor painting 11 x 14.5in by Shaker El Maadawy signed & dated Shaker El Maadawy graduated from the Faculty of Fine ...

Wonderfully provocative sketch drawing of a gathering of men and women in pencil by outsider artist Mylo Quam (American, 1941-1996). Signed lower right. Presented in giltwood frame with black mat under glass. Image size: 8.25"H x 10.50"W. A long-time Woodstock area resident, Mylo Quam was a self-taught painter and draughtsman whose provocative figural work has been compared to Renaissance painters Sandro Botticelli and Hieronymous Bosch, as well as to twentieth-century artists Egon Schiele and Gustav Klimt. Quam was an avid reader who derived inspiration from such varied arenas as Shakespeare, the occult, the Bible, Eastern and Western mythology, politics, and popular culture. "I look at everything," the artist was quoted as saying in 1990. "I read the comic pages. Anything visual. There's very little I don't think is a subject for art." Born in North Dakota, Quam studied Greek language and other classical subjects at Brandeis, Boston, and New York Universities, and worked as a translator of Greek plays while just 17 years old. After a successful career as an actor that included numerous Off-Broadway performances and a leading role in the 1968 Broadway production of Royal Hunt of the Sun, Quam turned his focus to painting. His first one-man exhibition was at the Boatman Gallery, NYC in 1969 and was followed by twenty solo shows over the course of his career at venues including Gallery A, Flynn Gallery, CFM Gallery, Brewster Gallery, Imperial Gallery, Runyon Winchell Gallery and the Gallery of Erotic Art, all in New York City. Quam's work was also exhibited at the John Pense Gallery in San Francisco, the Clark-Whitney Gallery in Massachusetts, the Barrett House and Desmond Weiss Galleries in Poughkeepsie, and for many years at the Ann Leonard Gallery in Woodstock. Quam's paintings were exhibited internationally, as well, notably in a solo exhibition in Haiti-- the first by an American artist in that country. In addition, he was one of four artists to represent the United States in La Bienalle di Venezia, Italia of 1986. As a young man, Quam designed sets and/or costumes for the Actor's Playhouse in New York City, the Lucas Hovig Ballet Company, and the Opera Municipal de Marseilles, France. He also created illustrations for The Story of O...

Will Barnet is one of America's best loved and known artists of the Post War era. He is highly distinctive for his figurative and narrative work and in some ways he is the Edgar All...

Nude is an original drawing in pencil on paper realized by Jeanne Daour. The state of preservation good except for some foxings and stains. Hand-signed on the lower right. Sheet d...

A. E. Halliwell (1905-1987) The Jewel that is London Airbrush and gouache 26 x 33 cm c.1930 Signed to reverse Provenance: Family of the artist A.E. Halliwell (1905–1986) was a Brit...

Mother & Daughter by Guy Nicod (French 1923 - 2021) watercolour on artist paper, unframed painting : 18.5 x 15.5 inches provenance: artists estate, France condition: very good and so...

Original illustration for a paper doll design, featuring Halloween-themed outfits, including a witch costume, a black cat, and a pumpkin jack-o-lantern. Medium: Watercolor and Ink o...

Manfred Schwartz (American, b. Poland, 1909-1970), Reclining, Charcoal on Paper, with the artist's signature stamped lower left, unframed. 18" H x 24" W. Provenance: From a 35 East 7...

Daniel Garber (American, 1880-1958) Balderstons, c. Early 20th Century Pencil on paper 7 x 9 in. Framed: 12 x 4 x 1/2 in. Titled and initialed lower right: Balderstons, D.G. Proven...

Woman is an original drawing in marker and Watercolor, realized by Leo Guida in the 1960s. The status of preservation Good. The artwork is depicted skillfully through confident and...

Original china ink drawing on paper by George Grosz, representing a typical subject of social and family issues. Provenance: Grosz Foundation (Regist...

Richard McLean ‘Cowboy, 1968’ Framed 30 x 27 inches Pencil on paper 27½” x 22½ inches Richard McLean is one of the most highly regarded American photo-realists. His paintings l...

This collection of drawings is part of our exhibition Charles Goeller: A Wistful Loneliness. 1. Paradise Lost (But His Doom) Crayon on paper, 17 ½ x 12 ½ inches (image), 22 x 15 inc...

John Bowers Lounging Nude 1940s Charcoal on Paper 25"x19", unframed Came from a portfolio from the estate of John Bowers John Henry Bowers September 9, 1921 - January 30, 2017 Joh...

Signed upper right, 'Anne Jenkins' (American, 1923-2023) and dated 1958. An elegant and psychologically penetrating study of a young boy, shown seated and holding a white cat. Born...

This artwork "Landscape with Village" c.1940, is a watercolor on paper by noted Colorado artist Irene Fowler, 1884-1967. It is signed at the lower right corner by the artist. The siz...

Portrait sketch original drawing by Jean-Paul LE VERRIER (1922-1996) studio stamped pencil drawing on paper, unframed Double sided 10.5x 8.25 inches provenance: private collection o...

Lithograph on vélin pur fil des Papeteries du Marais, realized by Cocteau in 1929. Belongs to the suite "25 Dessins d'Un Dormeur", published by H. L. Mermod, Lausanne. Edition of 2...

Nude is an ink drawing realized by Paul Emile Colin in the Early-20th Century. Ink and watercolor. Good condition. Hand monogrammed.

Sketches of a Woman is an Original Pencil Drawing realized by an Unknown artist in mid-20th century. Good condition on a yellowed paper. No signature.

Marie LAURENCIN Lovers, 1953 Original ink and pencil drawing Signed by artist stamp On paper 24.5 x 19.5 cm (c. 9.6 x 7.6 inch) Good condition, one small tear on the right edge an...

This gestural Claes Oldenburg drawing features subdued watercolor hues of green, orange, brown and grey. Pictured is “Ball”, an unbuilt monument conceived of in 1967 with Oldenburg’s wife Coosje van Bruggen. They imagined two ballcocks – the round mechanism in a toilet tank...

A. E. Halliwell (1905-1987) Presents for George, Mary & Gladys Gouache and collage 46 x 33 cm c.1930 Provenance: Family of the artist A.E. Halliwell (1905–1986) was a British artist...

Original watercolor on paper. Hand signed on front by Tarkay. Sheet size 15 x 11 inches. Frame size approx 21 x 17 inches. Artwork is in excellent condition. Certificate of Authenticity included. All reasonable offers will be considered. About the Artist: Itzchak Tarkay (Israeli, 1935–2012) was a painter known for his Post-Impressionist portraits done in watercolor and acrylic. Influenced by the work of both Henri Matisse and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Tarkay’s expressive, use of color lent a dream-like quality to his serigraphs, prints, and paintings. Born in 1935 in Subotica, Serbia, Tarkay and family settled in Israel after Allied forces freed them from a Nazi concentration camp during World War II. The artist went on to study at the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem and later the Avni Institute of Art and Design in Tel Aviv. Later in life, Tarkay mentored younger Israeli artists, including Yaacov Agam and Yuval Wolfson...

The present illustration by husband-and-wife team Alice and Martin Provensen is a study for Leonardo da Vinci's illustrated Book, executed c...

Composition is an original contemporary artwork realized in the 1980s by the Italian Contemporary artist Leo Guida (1992 - 2017). Original drawings in mixed media (watercolor, ink...

Sign by Artist in Lower Right The present work was published as an illustration for Elizabeth Goudge's short story "A Crock of Gold" in the August 1938 issue of Woman's Home Compani...

"Aubergines III" Still Life Watercolor Painting 8" x 12" inch by Inji Efflatoun Stamped by artist's estate. Not Signed. Inji Eflatoun pursued free studies in art. Since 1942, she h...

A fascinating glimpse of holiday life in the early 20th century, this beach scene features characters of various ages enjoying a day at the seaside. Well presented in a gilt effect f...

JOHN DRONSFIELD (1900-1951) Costume Design Watercolour and pen and ink Unframed, in mount only 34 by 24 cm., 13 1/2 by 9 ½ in. (mount size 47.5 by 37 cm., 18 3/4 by 14 1/2 in.) J...

Framed Cuban Artist/Caricaturist Conrado Walter Massaguer presents Hollywood star Adolphe Menjou in a satirical dual portrait. In the foreground, the subject is seen in a dapper top hat, tux, fashionable cigarette and boutonnière, and is shown as being the epitome of being stylishly debonair. To make a larger point about this subject, Massaguer paints a cast shadow of Menjou as a burning red devil who studies his alter ego from above. Keeping with the artist's sarcasm, we see the good and bad in one image. Works by Massaguer are rare and this work is in keeping with his signature style. This work was most likely done on assignment for Life Magazine, Cosmopolitan, The New Yorker or Vanity Fair. Signed upper right. Inscribe lower right. Titled on verso. Unframed, Slight bend to board; toning to board; scattered faint foxing; pin point abrasions to margins, not affecting image. 19-1/2 x 15-1/8 inches board size. Conrado Walter Massaguer y Diaz was a Cuban artist, political satirist, and magazine publisher. He is considered a student of the Art Nouveau. He was the first caricaturist in the world to broadcast his art on television.He was first caricaturist to exhibit on Fifth Avenue. He was the first caricaturist in the world to exhibit his caricatures on wood. He, and his brother Oscar, were the first magazine publishers in the world to use photolithographic printing. Self portrait of Conrado Walter Massaguer, depicted on a carrousel ride, with the devil over his left shoulder and an angel over his right. (1945) He created the magazine Social with his brother Oscar to showcase Cuban artistic talent. The duo later created the magazine Carteles, which became for a period the most popular magazine in Cuba, which was purchased by Miguel Ángel Quevedo in 1953. In his life, he met and drew caricatures of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Walt Disney, Albert Einstein, the King of Spain, and many others.[ In sum total, he was the author of more than 28 thousand caricatures and drawings.Ernest Hemingway once had to refrain himself from punching Massaguer in the face after the artist drew an unflattering caricature of him. The dictator Gerardo Machado, however, did not punch Massaguer for his own unflattering caricature - he had the artist deported. He was one of the most internationally renowned Cuban artists of his day, and his art is still regularly featured in galleries across the Western Hemisphere and Europe. Early life Massaguer was born on October 18, 1889, in Cárdenas, Cuba.[In 1892, his family moved to Havana. When the Cuban War of Independence broke out, Massaguer's family escaped the country. From 1896 to 1908, he lived in Mérida, Mexico. However, during this time, his parents enrolled him in the New York Military Academy, where he stayed during school years. In 1905, after graduating the military academy, he briefly attended the San Fernando school in Havana, where he was tutored by Ricardo de la Torriente and Leopoldo Romañach. In 1906, less than a year later, he returned to the family home in Mexico. Career as artist Early career While living in Yucatán, Mexico, Massaguer published his first caricatures in local newspapers and magazines. These included La Campana, La Arcadia, and the Diario Yucateco. In 1908, he moved back to Havana. After returning to the island in 1908, Massaguer began mingling with Havana's aristocratic circles, forming close friendships with some of the city's most powerful and influential men, as well as winning the favor of many women who were quickly charmed by him. Massaguer, largely self-taught, honed his style using the avant-garde techniques he studied from the European and American magazines that were widely available in Cuba at the time. Cover of the immensely popular Cuban magazine El Figaro, drawn by Massaguer in 1909. This cover depicts two bumbling, incompetent American tourists to the island. He started drawing for El Fígaro, and was featured prominently on the cover in 1909. After two years of refining his craft, Havana announced a poster contest aimed at attracting North American tourists to stay in the city during the winter months. Notable figures like Leopoldo Romañach, Armando Menocal, Rodríguez Morey, Jaime Valls, and others also entered the competition. The jury was particularly impressed by the modern execution and creative solution of one piece, signed by Massaguer, who was relatively unknown at the time. The jury deliberations caused a great controversy.[5] The prize was ultimately awarded to the Galician painter Mariano Miguel, who had recently married the daughter of Nicolás Rivero, the wealthy owner of the conservative newspaper Diario de la Marina. Although Massaguer received only an honorable mention, the fraud scandal caused such an uproar that his name quickly entered the public spotlight, and he became an overnight sensation. In 1910, he became co-owner of the advertising agency Mercurio, with Laureano Rodríguez Castells. At Mercurio, he led the Susini cigar campaign, and earned substantial wealth. Massaguer has been described as a restless man, in both mind and body.After earning enough money from his art to begin traveling, he was almost always doing so. He constantly traveled between New York City and Havana, Mexico and France, Europe and the Americas. In 1911, his reputation among the Havana socialites solidified when he organized his own first public caricature exhibit, and also the first Caricature Salon ever held in the Americas, hosted at Athenaeum of Havana (the Ateneo), and the Círculo de La Habana. Other exhibitors here included Maribona, Riverón, Portell Vilá, Valer, Botet, Barsó, García Cabrera, Carlos Fernández, Rafael Blanco, and Hamilton de Grau. "Messaguer Visits Broadway." Caricatures of theatrical and literary figures. Elsie Janis, Raymond Hitchcock, S. Jay Kaufman (columnist), Ibanez, author of The Four Horsemen, and Frances White In 1912, in the New York American Journal, he published his first Broadway drawings. From 1913 to 1918, he was an editor for Gráfico. Social Main article: Social (magazine) Cover of the magazine Social, July 7, 1923 In 1916, he created the magazine Social with his brother, Oscar H. Massaguer. Social's contributors included Guillén Carpentier, Chacón y Calvo, Enrique José Varona and others.Social has been described as Massaguer's great love in the magazine industry, and was the property that historians say he cared the most about. Social was an innovative magazine, being the first magazine in the world to use a modern printing process called photolithographic printing. Social set cultural trends, not only in the fashion of Cuba, but in art, politics, and Cuban identity.[11] Social catered to a certain aesthetic in Cuba - that of the sophisticated elite socialite - but Massaguer would also use this magazine to ridicule and jibe against that same class of society when he found their personalities worthy of his contempt. In Social, readers could find a variety of content, including short stories, avant-garde poetry, art reviews, philosophical essays, and serialized novels, as well as articles on interior design, haute couture, and fashion. Occasionally, the magazine also featured reports on sports such as motor racing, rowing, tennis, and horse riding.The cultural promotion efforts of both Massaguer and Emilio Roig de Leuchsenring are evident in the magazine. Notably, this period overlaps with their involvement in the Minorista Group, which was then at the forefront of the country's intellectual life.[5] Many contributors were devoted members of the group, leading some experts to consider Social as the cultural voice of the Minoristas. One of the features of Social magazine was its section called "Massa Girls," which was a play on his own name, and pronounced with a glottal 'g' in a similar fashion to the letter in Massaguer.[12] Massaguer drew women as independent and free-thinking, and never drew the woman celebrity as a caricature of herself, but as a free agent surrounded by caricatures.[11] However, Massaguer himself has been described as a womanizer in his personal life, and hesitant to fully embrace every facet of women's liberation. In 1916, he also established la Unión de Artes Gráficas and the advertising agency Kesevén Anuncios.[9] The art critic Bernardo González Barroa wrote: “Massaguer has solved the problem of working hard, living comfortably off what his art produces and not missing any artistic, sporting or social event. His broad, childish laugh, of a carefree individual who carries his luck hidden in a pocket, appears everywhere for the moment, disguising the pranks of pupils that lurk, mock and, finally, flash with satisfaction at finding the characteristic point after having analyzed a soul... Massaguer's personality is beginning to solidify now. He has been the best-known and most popular caricaturist for a long time, but his technique had not reached the security, the mastery of values that he presents in his latest works, which is very natural and explainable”[5] Carteles Main article: Carteles Cover of the magazine Carteles, November 29, 1931 In 1919, Massaguer and his brother created the magazine Carteles.[9] Carteles gained the widest circulation of any magazine in Latin America, and the most popular magazine in Cuba for a time, until that title was claimed by Revista Bohemia. Carteles remained in print until July 1960.This magazine showcased Cuban commerce, art, sports, and social life before the revolution. In 1924, Carteles took a more political turn, with articles criticizing Gerardo Machado's government. it became a prime example of the humor and graphic design employed by artists like Horacio Rodríguez Suria and Andrés García...

Cattle Louis De Mayo, American (1926–2016) Ink on paper, signed in pencil lower right Size: 8.25 x 6.25 in. (20.96 x 15.88 cm) Frame Size: 16.25 x 14.25 inches

Chiura Obata Nasturtiums, circa 1940 Signed and stamped lower left Watercolor on paper 15 x 9 5/8 inches Born in the Okayama prefecture of Japan, Chiura Obata was adopted by his uncle, an artist. As a child he was trained in ink painting, and at 14 he was apprenticed to the painter Murata Tanryo in Tokyo. He also studied with Kogyo Terasaki and Goho Hasimoto. In 1903, Obata moved to San Francisco and began working as an illustrator for The New World and The Japanese American, two of the city's Japanese newspapers. He also did work as a commercial designer. Obata helped establish the East West Art Society in San Francisco in 1921, which sought to promote cross-cultural understanding through art. This goal was reflected in his embrace of the Nihonga style, which fused traditional Japanese sumi-e ink painting with the conventions of western naturalism. He spent much of the 1920s painting landscapes throughout California, and among his favorite subjects were mountain landscapes. In 1927, he visited Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada, creating over a hundred paintings and sketches of the high country. Obata stayed in the USA until the death of his father in 1928. Between 1928 and 1932, he worked in Tokyo as a painter and transformed his California landscape watercolors...

A pair of original red conte crayon drawings in their original frames featuring two young women in period clothing.

John Chetcuti "Fishermen" Original Watercolor c.1950 Watercolor dimensions 11" wide x 7" high The frame measures 18.25" wide x 14.5" high Signed in the lower right corner Good vi...

"My Fair Lady" 1958 West End Theatre Costume Drawing Mid 20th Century Modern Cecil Beaton (1904 – 1980) "My Fair Lady," Pen and ink on paper. ...

Jean Dupas (French, 1882-1964) The Triumph of Venus charcoal on paper signed and dated '33/JEAN DUPAS' (lower right) 25 x 31.1/8 in. (63.5 x 79 cm.) Dupas was born in Bordeaux. He...

Nude of Woman is an original artwork realized by Sergio Barletta in the 1970s. Pen ink drawing on paper. Includes a beautiful gilded frame. Hand signed on the lower margin.

Original on Gouache on paper. Hand signed on front; signed, titled, dated with dedication on verso. Stamped "Composition originale". Frame size 30.5 x 26.5 inches. Artwork is in e...

The present work exhibits a storytelling and illustration art style created before the mass communications age. It was rendered in a flat linear style by the highly talented Maginel ...

A very large, astounding pastel of a beautiful woman in a veil, ex. the prestigious Arthur Roger gallery on Julia Street in New Orleans, which has shown Adrian Deckbar's work in the past (she now shows at Callan Contemporary...

A sweeping view of Tallinn, Estonia by an unknown artist (20th Century). This detailed charcoal landscape drawing shows a panorama of the beautiful coastal city on the Baltic Sea, complete with small figures walking on a pier, boats in the harbor, and the iconic Alexander Nevsky...

Figures is an original modern drawing in pen on paper realized by an Anonymous artist of the early XX century after Gustave Henri de Beaumont (1851-1922). ...

Early 20th century watercolour of a gentleman on horseback with other riders in the background apparently signed or titled 'Count A de Monthaus'. Signed or titled bottom left. Presented in fine period gilt frame under glass. The artist has captured a moment of pause, the gentlemen rider in his fine clothes and bowler hat regarding his surroundings as his fellow riders continue the chase behind him, possibly a 'point to point'. Monthaus has captured the stance of the standing horse as well as the movement of the other horses. He has used white to give light and definition to the costume of the rider and the background. A lovely atmospheric and dynamic watercolour very much of its period and in the spirit of equine portraiture made famous by the likes of Sir Alfred Munnings. Sir Alfred James Munnings, KCVO PRA RI (8 October 1878 – 17 July 1959) was known as one of England's finest painters of horses, and as an outspoken critic of Modernism. Engaged by Lord Beaverbrook's Canadian War...

Frank Nelson Wilcox (American, 1887–1964) Red Cliffs and Hogan, Arizona, 1937 Watercolor on paper Signed and dated lower right 14.5 x 19 inches 18.5 x 24 inches framed Frank Nelso...

Illustrated for the 1949 Four Seasons Calendar, published by Brown and Bigelow. A young girl holds a freshly-picked bouquet of flowers as she strolls alongside a boy who carries he...

Nude is an original drawing in Pencil, realized in the Mid-20th Century by Jean Delpech (1916-1988). Good conditions. Jean-Raymond Delpech (1988-1916) is a French painter, engr...

Nude is an original drawing in pencil realized by an anonymous artist in the early 20th Century. Good conditions except for some foxings. The artwork is depicted through strong str...

Al Hirschfeld (1903-2003) "Beat the Band" 22 x 26 1/2 inches ink on board published in The New York Times, October 11, 1942 The unframed work comes directly from the Al Hirschfeld F...

Original Magazine Illustration for a magazine like Harper's, Vanity Fair, Life, Look, and Judge Shinn was an American realist painter and member of the Ashcan School. He also exhibited with the short-lived group known as "The Eight," Work is framed in an attractive gilt frame Morris Weiss collection...