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American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

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Style: American Modern
Whimsical Fishing Illustration Cartoon 1938 Mt Tremblant Ski Lodge William Steig
Located in Surfside, FL
Lighthearted Illustration of Outdoor Pursuits This one of a fisherman signed "W. Steig" Provenance: from Mrs. Joseph B. Ryan, Commissioned by Joe Ryan for the bar at his ski resort, Mount Tremblant Lodge, in 1938. Mont Tremblant, P.Q., Canada Watercolor and ink on illustration board, sights sizes 8 1/2 x 16 1/2 in., framed. In 1938 Joe Ryan, described as a millionaire from Philadelphia, bushwhacked his way to the summit of Mont Tremblant and was inspired to create a world class ski resort at the site. In 1939 he opened the Mont Tremblant Lodge, which remains part of the Pedestrian Village today. This original illustration is on Whatman Illustration board. the board measures 14 X 22 inches. label from McClees Galleries, Philadelphia, on the frame backing paper. William Steig, 1907 – 2003 was an American cartoonist, sculptor, and, in his later life, an illustrator and writer of children's books. Best known for the picture books Sylvester and the Magic Pebble, Abel's Island, and Doctor De Soto, he was also the creator of Shrek!, which inspired the film series of the same name. He was the U.S. nominee for both of the biennial, international Hans Christian Andersen Awards, as a children's book illustrator in 1982 and a writer in 1988. Steig was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1907, and grew up in the Bronx. His parents were Polish-Jewish immigrants from Austria, both socialists. His father, Joseph Steig, was a house painter, and his mother, Laura Ebel Steig, was a seamstress who encouraged his artistic leanings. As a child, he dabbled in painting and was an avid reader of literature. Among other works, he was said to have been especially fascinated by Pinocchio.He graduated from Townsend Harris High School at 15 but never completed college, though he attended three, spending two years at City College of New York, three years at the National Academy of Design and a mere five days at the Yale School of Fine Arts before dropping out of each. Hailed as the "King of Cartoons" Steig began drawing illustrations and cartoons for The New Yorker in 1930, producing more than 2,600 drawings and 117 covers for the magazine. Steig, later, when he was 61, began writing children's books. In 1968, he wrote his first children's book. He excelled here as well, and his third book, Sylvester and the Magic Pebble (1969), won the Caldecott Medal. He went on to write more than 30 children's books, including the Doctor DeSoto series, and he continued to write into his nineties. Among his other well-known works, the picture book Shrek! (1990) formed the basis for the DreamWorks Animation film Shrek (2001). After the release of Shrek 2 in 2004, Steig became the first sole-creator of an animated movie franchise that went on to generate over $1 billion from theatrical and ancillary markets after only one sequel. Along with Maurice Sendak, Saul Steinberg, Ludwig Bemelmans and Laurent de Brunhofff his is one of those rare cartoonist whose works form part of our collective cultural heritage. In 1984, Steig's film adaptation of Doctor DeSoto directed by Michael Sporn was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. As one of the most admired cartoonists of all time, Steig spent seven decades drawing for the New Yorker magazine. He touched generations of readers with his tongue–in–cheek pen–and–ink drawings, which often expressed states of mind like shame, embarrassment or anger. Later in life, Steig turned to children's books, working as both a writer and illustrator. Steig's children's books were also wildly popular because of the crazy, complicated language he used—words like lunatic, palsied, sequestration, and cleave. Kids love the sound of those words even if they do not quite understand the meaning. Steig's descriptions were also clever. He once described a beached whale as "breaded with sand." Throughout the course of his career, Steig compiled his cartoons and drawings into books. Some of them were published first in the New Yorker. Others were deemed too dark to be printed there. Most of these collections centered on the cold, dark psychoanalytical truth about relationships. They featured husbands and wives fighting and parents snapping at their kids. His first adult book, Man About Town, was published in 1932, followed by About People, published in 1939, which focused on social outsiders. Sick of Each Other, published in 2000, included a drawing depicting a wife holding her husband at gunpoint, saying, "Say you adore me." According to the Los Angeles Times, fellow New Yorker artist...
Category

1930s American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

India Ink, Watercolor, Illustration Board

“1960’s Style”
Located in Southampton, NY
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. Presently unf...
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1960s American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor, Archival Paper, Oil Pastel, Acrylic

Paul Gattuso, (Abstraction)
Located in New York, NY
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 ...
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Mid-20th Century American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor

Minister of Exams, colorful male and female figures graffiti elements on black
Located in Brooklyn, NY
RINY artists Audrey Anastasi and C.Dimitri collaborated to create contemporary collage works. Born of the Covid pandemic, the team started working remotely, mailing artwork to each ...
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2010s American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Charcoal, Mixed Media, Archival Paper, Crayon

Agnes Weinrich, Woman Facing Left
Located in New York, NY
Dimensions are for sheet size. The drawing is signed in pencil at the lower left. Agnes Weinrich was one of the artists who settled in Provincetown, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, at the t...
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1920s American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Crayon

"Flower Stand S.F. 1954" - Vintage Illustration
Located in Soquel, CA
"Flower Stand S.F. 1954" - Vintage Illustration This detailed ink drawing by Irene Pattinson (American, 1909-1999), shows a charming San Francisc...
Category

1950s American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, India Ink, Pen

New Orleans Sportin House
Located in Fairlawn, OH
New Orleans Sportin House Pen and ink on paper, 1951 Signed in ink, titled and dated in pencil (see photos) Condition: Corners are pasted to support sheet, some staining in image. Im...
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1950s American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Ink

Eve, female, nature, animals elephant giraffe
Located in Brooklyn, NY
These collages were created first in the presence of a model, working quickly, in charcoal and pastel, and again, later, alone, furiously tearing and pasting images from magazines, v...
Category

2010s American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Mixed Media, Archival Paper

Eve Asleep, nude, female figure graphite drawing archival paper monochromatic
Located in Brooklyn, NY
These recently discovered 1984 oversize nudes on mylar and/or archival papers were created working quickly, from a live model. The series shows the last existing observational drawi...
Category

2010s American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Mixed Media, Archival Paper, Graphite

"Chorus Girl"
Located in Southampton, NY
Watercolor on paper of a chorus or show girl by Ruth Adele Mysel. Mysel grew up in Boston and attended the New England School of Art. She was both a artist and sculptor as well as ...
Category

1940s American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor

"Spa Hair" Minimalist Illustrative Portrait in Ink on Paper by Geraldine Heib
Located in Soquel, CA
"Spa Hair" Minimalist Illustrative Portrait in Ink on Paper In this illustrative portrait by Jerry O'Day (American, 1912), a person is depicted in a continuous line contour style. The fine line detail of the hair gives texture and movement to the piece, with half-closed eyelids, giving the sense of calm and relaxation. Unsigned, but was acquired with a collection of the artist's work. Presented in a new black mat. Mat size: 36"H x 30"W Paper size: 28.5"H x 22.63"W Image size: 25.5"H x 20"W Jerry O'Day is also known as Geraldine Heib. Born in Oakland, California, on June 17, 1912. Geraldine Heib assumed the name Jerry O'Day at an early age. She grew up in Washington and studied in Seattle at the Cornish School of Fine Arts. Upon moving to the San Francisco Bay area in 1938, she further studied with Bufano as a muralist for two years. O'Day wed sculptor David Lemon and had a gallery in a converted cod fishery in Belvedere from 1942 until 1963. At that time, the couple moved to a houseboat in Sausalito, where she remained until her demise on March 30, 1986. Post War California artist, Jerry O'Day studied at the Cornish School of Fine Arts in Seattle; studied with Beniamino Bufano for two years. She lived in the artist's colony at the Cod fishery with artist David Lemon on Belvedere Island in the San Francisco Bay Area from 1942 - 1963. Solo Exhibitions: City of Paris, Rotunda Gallery; Lucien Labaudt Gallery, 1963; Torrance Gallery, San Anselmo, 1955; Marin Art Gallery, Sausalito, 1956; Palace of The Legion of Honor, San Francisco, 1962; East & West Gallery, Fillmore Street, San Francisco; Landmarks Gallery, Marin County, 1991. Selected Group Exhibitions: 65th Annual Painting and Sculpture Exhibition of the San Francisco Art Association at the San Francisco Museum of Art, 1945; Fourth Winter Invitational, California Palace of The Legion of Honor, San Francisco, 1963. Source: David J Carlson...
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Mid-20th Century American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Ink

Large Watercolor Painting John Groth, Men Wrestling, Esquire Magazine WPA Artist
Located in Surfside, FL
John August Groth (American, 1908-1988) "Wrestling Match," Watercolor painting, hand signed upper right and inscribed upper left, "Las Palmas Canary Islands Lucha Canary Wrestling". Framed Size: 21'' x 29'', 53 x 74 cm (sight); 28.5'' x 36.25'', 72 x 92 cm (frame). Depiction of a wrestling match in a city square. John August Groth (1908 - 1988) was an illustrator and art teacher. He gained recognition as a war correspondent-illustrator. He studies at the Art Institute of Chicago and at Art Students League with Todros Geller, Robert Brackman, Arnold Blanch and George Grosz. He was a member: Society of American Etchers; American Newspaper Guild; Society of Illustrators; Associate Member of the National Academy of Design; American Water Color Society. Positions : Art Director at Esquire 1933 - 1937, Parade Publications 1941 - 1944; War Correspondent for Chicago Sun 1944; American Legion Magazine 1945; Artist-Correspondent in Vietnam 1967.Teacher at Art Students LeagueHe was the first art director of Esquire Magazine and taught at the Art Students League, the Pratt Institute, and the Parsons School of Design. In 1940, he was included in an exhibition at MOMA, titled, "PM Competition: The Artist as Reporter." The exhibition included Philip Guston, Reginald Marsh, John Tworkov, John Heliker, Adolf Dehn, and Chet La More. Groth began sketching intently during the Great Depression after studying at the Art Institute of Chicago. Following the advice of an editor, he penned 100 sketches a day for years. He learned to increase his speed by listening to sports on the radio and sketching the action as fast as he could. "I would listen to the games on the radio at night, and sketch the plays. It made me very quick." His break came when Arnold Gingrich, an editor for Esquire magazine, approached him at an art show in Chicago and offered him a position. "The way (Arnold Gingrich) told it," John Groth says, "he found this barefoot, bearded kid in the park, and the next day made him art director of the world's leading men's fashion magazine. But I swear I was wearing shoes." Groth went on to work as a correspondent and illustrator for the Chicago Sun, Collier's, Sports Illustrated, and The Saturday Evening Post. He developed a passion for war zones. He covered six different wars and was one of the first correspondents in Paris after its liberation. "It is only at war that I feel complete... There, you meet all sort of men -- farmers, mechanics, college professors. It rains on them and it rains on you. The shells burst in the air, and you are there, too." He would make a splash when he beat out friend and rival, Ernest Hemingway, into Paris in 1944. Hemingway was writing for the Chicago Tribune and Groth for the Chicago Sun. Groth was in the first jeep into Paris and got the scoop. His headline read, "Yanks are in Paris!" Hemingway would later write about Groth's technique. “None of us understood the sort of shorthand he sketched in. The men would look at the sketches and see just a lot of lines. It was a great pleasure to find what fine drawings they were when we got to see them. Groth went on to illustrate such classic books as: A Christmas Carol, All Quiet on the Western Front, The Grapes of Wrath, The War Prayer, and Gone with the Wind. Deborah Churchman described Groth's work in a 1980 Washington Post article: "Groth's pictures center on the day-to-day life of people caught in terrifying circumstances -- armies occupying cities, soldiers sweeping roads for land mines, bullfighters facing death." Bernie Schonfeld, a photographer for Life Magazine said of Groth, "John is one of the gentlest people in the world, and he always gets himself into the wildest hell hole." He joined the First Congress of American Artists Against War and Fascism in 1936, along with Stuart Davis, Peter Blume...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

“Seated Model in Red Bra”
Located in Southampton, NY
Original graphite and colored pencil drawing on archival paper of a woman seated in a red bra by the well known American artist, Raphael Soyer. Signed lower r...
Category

1950s American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Archival Paper, Color Pencil, Graphite

WPA Post Office Mural Study American Scene Regionalism Social Realism
Located in New York, NY
WPA Post Office Mural Study American Scene Regionalism Social Realism Louise Emerson Ronnebeck (1901 - 1980) Oil Riggers, Mural Study Image: 6 1/2 x 37 inches Watercolor and egg tem...
Category

1930s American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Watercolor, Cardboard

(Wounded Soldiers)
Located in New York, NY
While this is a World War II drawing, the barbed wire recalls the tranches of the First World War. A menacing tank at the upper left dominates the scene. There is a black border and...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Gouache

Still Life with Knife
Located in San Francisco, CA
This artwork "Still Life with Knife" c.1980 is a watercolor on heavy watercolor paper by California artist Charlotte Huntley. It is signed at the low...
Category

Late 20th Century American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor

American flag collage with a 19th C hand colored engraving of a cow
Located in Woodbury, CT
Claude Howard Stuart is an artist working in Europe and America. Watercolor, ink ,acrylic and and even cold wax and oil are the many different mediums that Claude uses on his varied and exciting works. His influences come from all the different places and experiences he has had throughout his life, as well as the varied different art styles he’s studied. Having lived in many different places around the world the styles of art, architecture, traditions and religions have all played into the art he makes.. He studies a period of art and then works with antique, vintage and original pieces to build his collage pictures making each one a unique study of a period, city or style. Claude works on his pieces to bring together a feeling of the period and art movement that is inspiring him. Sometimes Matisse and Picasso and other times old master drawings and abstracts. These set of collage...
Category

2010s American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Mixed Media

Wire Haired Girl and Cat
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Wire Haired Girl and Cat Pen and ink with watercolor, c. 1930 Signed with the Estate stamp "B" Provenance: Estate of the Artist By descent to his son Edward ...
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1930s American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor

Charming Watercolor of a Southern Home
Located in New York, NY
Unknown Artist Untitled (Country Home), 20th Century Watercolor and ink on paper 21 x 29 in. Framed: 28 1/4 x 36 1/16 x 3/4 in.
Category

20th Century American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Ink, Watercolor

Flamenco Dancers
Located in San Francisco, CA
This artwork "Flamenco Dancers" c.1980 is a watercolor on heavy watercolor paper by California artist Charlotte Huntley. It is signed at the lower cent...
Category

Late 20th Century American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor

Alfred Bendiner, Baccaloni in Rosenkavalier
Located in New York, NY
The Italian opera singer, Salvatore Baccaloni (1900-1969) often took comic roles. He worked with several opera companies in Philadelphia between 1951 and 1966. Bendiner was a world t...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Gouache

Beautiful Pastel Fountain Drawing
Located in New York, NY
Pastel on paper 20 1/2 x 28 1/2 in. Framed: 30 1/2 x 38 1/2 in. Signed lower right: ME...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Pastel

Fashion Model Illustration Perhaps for Vogue Magazine
Located in Miami, FL
This high-fashion illustration was most likely created between 1938 and 1940 for an inside editorial in a major newspaper, such as Vogue or McCall's. It showcases Ruth Grafstrom's d...
Category

1930s American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Ink, Watercolor

Blanche Grambs, (Lazy Susan)
Located in New York, NY
In the 1950s and 60s Grambs worked on many commissions. This was probably for a cookbook. The dimensions are for the drawing. The sheet is somewhat larger, 7 x 6 1/2 inches.
Category

Mid-20th Century American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Ink

Bohemian Woman - Rare and Signed Graphite Portrait Drawing on Textured Paper
Located in Soquel, CA
Bohemian Woman - Signed Graphite Portrait Drawing on Textured Paper Portrait of a woman in a Boehme Bandana with exaggerated eyes and a parted smile. A Carbon Pencil and eraser original drawing by Eugene Hawkins (American, b. 1933). Signed and dated upside-down along the bottom edge: "Eugene May 13th 1976" Presented in a new black mat. Mat size: 20"H x 16"W Paper size: 15"H x 11"W Eugene Hawkins (American, b. 1933) is a BIPOC artist known for his detailed portraiture and printmaking. He is listed in Who Was Who in American Art, 1564-1975, and his work was exhibited in the Whitney Museum of American Art. He spent the majority of his life working and exhibiting in Southern California. His work frequently touches upon socio-political subjects, making strong statements about the world. The California African American Museum features Eugene Hawkins's work in the Permanent Collection.Exhibition: 2017 Paperworks: Selections from the Permanent Collection focuses on works on paper produced from 1800?2000 and includes figurative, impressionistic, and abstract styles. The exhibition showcases the radically diverse range of works on paper created by African American and other artists over the last two centuries, and includes drawings, prints, paintings, and collages by Edward Mitchell Bannister...
Category

1970s American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Carbon Pencil

1950s "Upclose Portrait" Mid Century Ink Portrait Drawing Pratt
Located in Arp, TX
Donald Stacy (1925-2008) New Jersey "Upclose Portrait" 1953 Ink on paper 14" x 16.5" unframed Signed and dated in pencil lower right Came from artist estate *Custom framing available...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Ink

1950s "Star Ear" Mid Century Figurative Drawing University of Paris
Located in Arp, TX
Donald Stacy "Star Ear" c.1950s Ink on paper Black wood frame 9.75"x17.25 Signed lower right in pencil Came from artist estate This striking piece of art is an original drawing by r...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Ink

Two Studies of Henriette (Head of the artist's wife & The Artist's wife writing
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Two Studies of Henriette (Left: Head of the artist's wife, Right: The Artist's wife writing a letter) Watercolor and graphite on paper, 1928-1930 Signed in pencil lower right (see photo) Image/sheet size: 9 3/8 x 11 inches Condition: Excellent Colors fresh and unfaded Provenance: Estate of the artist The Orange Chicken...
Category

1920s American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor

Blanche Grambs, Eagle
Located in New York, NY
Blanche Grambs, whose career started with the WPA, was an extremely skilled draftsperson. Her birds are masterful. Here an eagle, a majestic bird-of-pr...
Category

1970s American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor

1950s "Mask" Mid Century Nude Ink Figure Drawing NYC Artist
Located in Arp, TX
Donald Stacy "Mask" c.1950s Ink on paper Black dark wood frame 10.25"x17.25" Unsigned Came from artist estate Introducing an original piece by the American artist Donald Stacy title...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Ink

Glassblowers WPA American Scene Mid- 20th Century Modern Figurative Workers 1932
Located in New York, NY
Glassblowers WPA American Scene Mid- 20th Century Modern Figurative Workers. Dated and signed "32 Harry Gottlieb" lower right. Sight: 13 1/8" H x 18 1/4" W. Harry Gottlieb, painter, screenprinter, educator, and lithographer, was born in Bucharest, Rumania. He emigrated to America in 1907, and his family settled in Minneapolis. From 1915 to 1917, Gottlieb attended the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. After a short stint as an illustrator for the U.S. Navy, Gottlieb moved to New York City; he became a scenic and costume designer for Eugene O"Neill's Provincetown Theater Group. He also studied at the Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts and the National Academy of Design. He was one of America's first Social Realist painters, influenced by that Robert Henri-led movement in New York City where Gottlieb settled in 1918. He was also a pioneer in screen printing, which he learned while working for the WPA. He married Eugenie Gershoy, and the couple joined the artist colony at Woodstock, New York. He lectured widely on art education. In 1923, Gottlieb settled in Woodstock, New York and in 1931, spent a a year abroad studying under a Guggenheim Fellowship. In 1935, he joined the Federal Art Project...
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1930s American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Gouache

Modernist Watercolor Painting "Passages in Darkness" NYC Businessmen
By Elinore Schnurr-Colflesh
Located in Surfside, FL
Schnurr has an art studio in Long Island City, Queens, New York. Over the years she has exhibited widely. Her most recent solo shows were at the H. Pelham Curtis Gallery at the New Canaan Library in New Canaan, Connecticut and the Dougherty Gallery at Crescent Grill in Long Island City, both in 2014; in 2011 she was one of four artists representing the United States in Nordart 2011 at Kunstwerk Carlshutte, Budelsdorf, Germany. Previous solo exhibitions were at the Atlanta Art...
Category

1980s American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor

Rare 1950s Original Syndicated Ink Drawing Cartoon Strip Susie Q Smith Comic Art
Located in Surfside, FL
SUSIE Q. SMITH Medium: Newspaper comics Distributed by: King Features Syndicate First Appeared: 1945 Creators: Linda and Jerry Walter 5.5 X 17.75 Like her contemporaries, Aggie Mac...
Category

1950s American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Ink

Lovely Country House Pastel, Signed
Located in New York, NY
Untitled, c. 20th Century Pastel on paper Sight: 21 1/2 x 31 in. Framed: 24 1/4 x 34 1/2 x 1 1/4 in. Signed lower left
Category

Mid-20th Century American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Pastel

Snow-Covered Red Barn Watercolor by Kathleen Fitzgerald
Located in New York, NY
Kathleen Fitzgerald Untitled (Red Barn), c. Later 20th century Watercolor on paper Sight: 11 1/4 x 10 3/4 in. Framed: 16 x 15 x 3/4 in. Signed lower right: Kathy Fitzgerald "I am Ka...
Category

Late 20th Century American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

Happy Birthday Drawing: Love Barbara Nessim and Gloria Steinem
Located in Miami, FL
In the late 1960s, Barbara Nessim and Gloria Steinem were roommates. This stylised and colorful illustration appears to be a highly personalized birthday card to their friend Mary A...
Category

1960s American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Ink, Watercolor, Archival Paper

[untitled] Street Scene with Fruit Vendor.
Located in New York, NY
Emilio Sanchez (1921-1999) created [untitled] “STREET SCENE WITH FRUIT VENDOR” in circa 1950. This unsigned watercolor and came to us directly from the Sanchez estate. It is stamped on the verso "Estate of Emilio Sanchez." This piece is in good to very good condition and painted to the paper's edge. The paper size is 14.88 x 15.25 inches (37.6 x 38.6 cm). “Best known for his architectural paintings and lithographs, Emilio Sanchez (1921-1999) explored the effects of light and shadow to emphasize the abstract geometry of his subjects. His artwork encompasses his Cuban heritage...
Category

1950s American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor, Graphite

1950s "On Knees 2" Mid Century Figurative Ink University of Paris
Located in Arp, TX
Donald Stacy "On Knees" c.1950s Ink on paper 8.5" x 11" unframed Unsigned Came from artist estate Donald Stacy (1925-2011) New Jersey Studied: Newark School of Fine Art The Art Students League Pratt Graphic Arts Center University of Paris 1953-54 University of Aix-en-Provence 1954-55 Faculty: Art Department of the New School Museum of Modern Art School of Visual Arts Stacy Studio Workshop Exhibitions: Grand Central Moderns George Wittenborn The New School Print Exhibitions, Chicago University of Oklahoma Honolulu Museum Monclair Museum Wisconsin State College Louisiana Art...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Ink

Wire Haired Girl and Cat
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Wire Haired Girl and Cat Pen and ink with watercolor, c. 1930 Signed with the Estate stamp "B" Provenance: Estate of the Artist By descent to his son Edward ...
Category

1930s American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor

Pablo Casals
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Pablo Casals Graphite on paper, 1963 Signed in pencil lower right (see photo) Sheet size: 11 5/8 x 8 inches Condition: glue residue in all four corners of the sheet Drawn from life during an appearance at Carnegie Hall with the Cleveland Orchestra...
Category

1960s American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Graphite

Ink Drawing Man in Suit and Hat with Nude
By Jonathan Shahn
Located in Surfside, FL
Provenance: Hinckley & Brohel Gallery Jonathan Shahn, Born 1938 has been making sculpture, drawings and prints of the human figure since the early 1960s. He teaches at the Art Studen...
Category

20th Century American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Ink

1950s "Topless" Mid Century Figurative Ink Line Drawing
Located in Arp, TX
Donald Stacy "Topless" 1952 Ink on paper 14" x 16.5" unframed Signed in pencil lower right, dated 1952 in pencil lower left Came from artist estate *Custom framing available for addi...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Ink

Vintage Golden Age Syndicated Ink Drawing Cartoon Strip Susie Q Smith Comic Art
Located in Surfside, FL
SUSIE Q. SMITH Medium: Newspaper comics Distributed by: King Features Syndicate First Appeared: 1945 Creators: Linda and Jerry Walter 6.5 X 19.5 Like her contemporaries, Aggie Mack, Candy and Patsy Walker (before her conversion to a superhero), Susie Q. Smith was a female Archie-type — not exactly an imitator, because Archie, who had started only four years earlier, hadn't yet become popular enough to spawn imitators, but part of his genre. She attended high school, where her teachers often seemed unreasonable to her, interacted with the opposite gender in a typically adolescent way, and her parents didn't completely understand her. And she was cute and perky as only a teenage girl can be. Susie was the star of a comic strip distributed by King Features, the biggest of the comic strip syndicates, whose other offerings have ranged from Jackys Diary to Prince Valiant. King launched the strip in both daily and Sunday form in 1945. Daily, she was only in a panel at first, but it expanded into a full, multi-panel strip on February 7, 1953. In a very odd turn of events, in 1953 the Walters chose to leave King Features behind and hitch their wagon at the McNaught Syndicate. The creators were Harold "Jerry" Walter and his wife, Linda. Jerry was also responsible for Jellybean Jones, who has nothing to do with Jughead Jones's young sister, a modern-day addition to the Archie cast of characters. Together, they did The Lively Ones during the 1960s. Though each was capable of doing both major jobs in comic strip production, their usual working method was for Jerry to dream up the ideas and write the dialog, while Linda did the artwork. The Walters also collaborated on a series of Susie Q. Smith comic books for Dell Comics. Instead of reprinting newspaper strips, these ran new stories by the Walters. Between 1951 and '54, four issues were published as part of the Four Color Comics series, where many minor comic strips, including Dotty Dripple, Timmy and Rusty Riley had found a home. It had no other media spin-offs. Susie Q. Smith had a respectable run in the newspapers, but it ended in 1959. Jerry Walter (1915 - 2007) was an abstract expressionist artist whose output of energetic and colorful paintings were the products of the rich artistic milieu of post-war New York City. He was born Harold Frank Walter in Mount Pleasant, Iowa on November 25, 1915. After graduating from Colgate University in 1937, Walter moved to New York City, where he studied drawing and painting at the New School and the Art Students’ League. Before concentrating seriously on his art, he spent several years as a successful copywriter and idea man for the advertising agencies of J. Walter Thompson, McCann Ericson, and BBDO. During this time, he also worked as a syndicated cartoonist. Collaborating with his wife, Linda, his best-known series was Susie Q. Smith, which first appeared in 1945 and described as a “female Archie type.” Very popular, the cartoon was later the subject of a series of comic books published from 1951 to 1954. After serving in the United States Army for three years during World War II, Walter began to paint seriously. He ascribed his earliest artistic influence to Joan Miró, whose Dog Barking at the Moon (1926) he viewed when he was twelve, the year he published his first cartoon. Walter later wrote that jazz, “the first native expression of so-called modernism” was a strong influence on his work. During the later 1940s, Walters spent time at the Research Studio in Maitland, Florida. Founded in 1937 by artist and architect J. André Smith and supported by the philanthropist Mary Curtis Bok, the Research Studio was a lively colony that hosted prominent artists, including Milton Avery, Ralston Crawford, and Doris Lee. While at the Studio, Walter’s work was purchased by Frank Crowninshield. A founding trustee of the Museum of Modern Art and editor of Vanity Fair, Crowinshield was a noted collector; his collection included important works by Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall, Henri Matisse, Edgar Degas, George Bellows, and Pierre Bonnard. Returning to New York after his time at the Studio, Walter became an active member of the New York school of the abstract expressionist movement, and in the summer of 1956, Walter exhibited 13 paintings and a selection of drawings at New York’s Chase Gallery. The adroit manipulation of both color and composition evident in his work shows the influence of Abstract Expressionism, particularly Willem de Kooning, Arshile Gorky, and Hans Hofmann. illustrator and female cartoonist Linda Walter was the talented female mind behind the beloved "Susie Q. Smith" comic strip. She played an instrumental role in shaping the cultural landscape through her vibrant illustrations. Known for the timeless charm of the "Susie Q. Smith" comic strip, Linda's artistry brought joy and laughter to countless readers during the 1950s and continues to resonate with fans across generations. She was part of the Woodstock artists community. from Women in Comics: Linda Walter was the artist of newspaper strip Susie Q. Smith, which was written by her husband, Jerry. It was syndicated by King Features Syndicate and ran from 1945 to 1959. The Walters also contributed original Susie Q. Smith stories to Dell's Four Color comic books from 1951 to 1954. From 1964-1965, they created a singled panel comic called The Lively Ones. Vintage Golden Age of Comics era. The Golden Age of Comic Books describes an era in the history of American comic books from 1938 to 1956. During this time, modern comic books were first published and rapidly increased in popularity. The superhero archetype was created. Between 1939 and 1941 Detective Comics (DC) and its sister company, All-American Publications, introduced popular superheroes such as Batman and Robin, Wonder Woman, the Flash, Green Lantern, Doctor Fate, the Atom, Hawkman, Green Arrow and Aquaman. Timely Comics, the 1940s predecessor of Marvel Comics, had million-selling titles featuring the Human Torch, the Sub-Mariner, and Captain America. Another notable series was The Spirit by Will Eisner. Dell Comics' non-superhero characters (particularly the licensed Walt Disney animated-character comics) outsold the superhero comics of the day. The publisher featured licensed movie and literary characters such as Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Roy Rogers and Tarzan. Additionally, MLJ's introduction of Archie Andrews in Pep Comics #22 (December 1941) gave rise to teen humor comics, with the Archie Comics...
Category

1950s American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Ink

Bull Ring Brass - Mexico City
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Bull Ring Brass - Mexico City Watercolor, pen and ink on paper, 1955 Signed in ink, dated and titled in pencil (see photos) Condition: 1'' repaired tear left edge, along with other minor tears. Tape stains from previous matting visible in the four corners Image/Sheet size: 19 3/8 x 15 5/8 inches Provenance: Acquired directly from the Artist Joseph M. Erdelac, Cleveland, friend and patron of Longstreet Stephen Longstreet (1907-2002) The artist’s own grandchildren attempt to fathom the real life and nature of Stephen Longstreet, prolific author, artist, screenplay writer, and jazz aficionado. Born Chauncy Weiner (sometimes spelled Wiener) in New York City in 1907, Longstreet reinvented himself on a regular basis. Changing his name first to “Henry,” then “Henri,” he started his career as a commercial artist for a department store. In various public biographies he claimed to have studied in New York, London, and Paris, and said he was a student of cartoonist Ralph Barton (1891-1931). Facts that can be documented are that he was art editor for Golfer and Sportsman magazines, and was a contributor to various other magazines including The New Yorker, Saturday Evening Post, Colliers, Life, and Hooey, among others. He wrote sketches for NBC radio and the Rudy Vallee Show. In the 1930s, Longstreet worked and wrote under the names Thomas Burton, David Ormsbee, and Paul Haggard...
Category

1950s American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

India Ink, Watercolor, Pen

Destroyer, American Modern Watercolor Painting by Robert Parker 1964
Located in Long Island City, NY
Executed in an American Modern style reminiscent of Lyonel Feininger, this Robert Andrew Parker watercolor painting depicts a warship at sea. The work is signed and dated lower left....
Category

1960s American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor

Reclining Female Nude
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Reclining Female Nude Charcoal on paper, c. 1933 Signed lower right (see photo) Provenance: Weyhe Gallery, New York (Ganso's dealer 1925-1941) Joseph Mark Erdelac, Cleveland, noted c...
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1930s American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Graphite

Hells Angel on his Hog
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Hells Angel on his Hog Pen and ink on paper, 1969 Signed 'Longstreet' lower right (see photo) Titled and dated upper right Condition: excellent Image/Sheet size: 11 x 8 1/2 inches Pr...
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1960s American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Ink

Rare 1950s Original Syndicated Ink Drawing Cartoon Strip Susie Q Smith Comic Art
Located in Surfside, FL
SUSIE Q. SMITH Medium: Newspaper comics Distributed by: King Features Syndicate First Appeared: 1945 Creators: Linda and Jerry Walter 6.5 X 18 Like her contemporaries, Aggie Mack, Candy and Patsy Walker (before her conversion to a superhero), Susie Q. Smith was a female Archie-type — not exactly an imitator, because Archie, who had started only four years earlier, hadn't yet become popular enough to spawn imitators, but part of his genre. She attended high school, where her teachers often seemed unreasonable to her, interacted with the opposite gender in a typically adolescent way, and her parents didn't completely understand her. And she was cute and perky as only a teenage girl can be. Susie was the star of a comic strip distributed by King Features, the biggest of the comic strip syndicates, whose other offerings have ranged from Jackys Diary to Prince Valiant...
Category

1950s American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Ink

Figure by Window, graphite, pastel, mylar, paper layered drawing, female, nude
Located in Brooklyn, NY
This feminist work of a nude gazing directly at the viewer, features graphite on mylar over cut paper, aligned to amplify the forms while maintaining the delicacy of the drawing. These recently discovered 1984 oversize works on mylar and archival papers were created with a live model. The series shows the last existing observational drawings prior to the artist's switch to working with her non- dominant left hand. As a feminist, Anastasi's main focus is presenting other women. Unlike the often objectified male gaze...
Category

1980s American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Mylar, Pastel, Mixed Media, Archival Paper

Chicken Run female figure with umbrella vintage american car castle tower
Located in Brooklyn, NY
This recent pastel is on toned archival paper suitable for framing under glass.
Category

2010s American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Pastel, Archival Paper

Red Pillow, mixed media pastel acrylic charcoal drawing of female figure, nude
Located in Brooklyn, NY
These recently discovered 1984 oversize pastels on archival papers were created with a live model, working quickly, mostly in pastel. The series show...
Category

1980s American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Archival Paper, Pastel

Estes Park Colorado American Modernist Watercolor Landscape Painting, WPA 1930s
By James Russell Sherman
Located in Denver, CO
Vintage 1930s watercolor and ink painting of Estes Park, Colorado, by American artist James Russell Sherman (1906-1989). This captivating work features a detailed view of storefronts...
Category

1930s American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor

Modernist Judaica Jewish Ink Drawing Painting "New Immigrant" Off the Boat WPA
Located in Surfside, FL
An ink drawing Judaic painting by modern artist Ben-Zion Weinman. It depicts a portrait of an old Jewish man. Coming over from Europe on a ship crossing. The work is signed "Ben-Zion". 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. In 1920 he settled in America, where he found little interest in his writing. He began teaching Hebrew to support himself and then in the early 1930s returned to painting. He used his art to comment on the rise of fascism in Europe, events he felt could not be adequately explored with words. Largely self-taught, Ben-Zion visited the museums of New York City to learn his new trade. His first painting on a large scale, Friday Evening (1933, Jewish Museum, New York), depicts a Sabbath dinner table as recalled from his family home. Ben-Zion supported himself by working odd jobs until the establishment of the Works Progress Administration's Federal Art Project. Under the auspices of the wpa, Ben-Zion thrived and galleries began to show his work. In 1936, after his first one-man show at the Artists' Gallery in New York Ben-Zion was a founding member of “The Ten: An Independent Group” The Ten” a 1930’s...
Category

1940s American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor, Gouache

Man Trimming Tree
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This drawing is part of our exhibition Charles Goeller: A Wistful Loneliness. Crayon on paper, 11 5/8 x 9 inches (image), 14 x 11 inches (sheet), Signed lower right, Matted, but no...
Category

1930s American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Crayon, Paper

A Man's Mother, Saturday Evening Post Original Watercolor Illustration 1940
Located in Long Island City, NY
An original watercolor illustration by Nicholas Riley, American (1900 - 1944) for the Saturday Evening Post 10/19/1940. The painting...
Category

1940s American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor

"18 Cornelia Street" George Morrison, Ojibwe Native Artist, Modernist Work
Located in New York, NY
George Morrison 18 Cornelia Street, 1944 Signed and dated "May 1944" lower left Ink on paper 8 1/4 x 5 1/4 inches Provenance The artist Carl Ashby Estate of the above Private Collec...
Category

1940s American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Ink

1930s Modernist Line Drawing: Native American on Horse, Pinto, Black Ink Artwork
Located in Denver, CO
This original 1933 black-and-white line drawing titled "Pinto" by renowned New Mexico modernist artist Hilaire Hiler (1898-1966) captures a striking Native American figure wearing a feathered bonnet headdress, riding horseback. Rendered in fine ink on vellum, this drawing reflects Hiler’s signature style with clean, fluid lines that embody the modernist movement. The artwork is signed by the artist in the lower right corner, adding authenticity and value. Custom framing options are available to enhance this timeless piece. About the Artist: Hilaire Hiler was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, and raised in Providence, Rhode Island, where he developed an early interest in art. He studied at the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design as a child, before pursuing further education at several renowned institutions, including the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and the University of Paris. Hiler lived in Paris from 1919 to 1934, supporting himself as a jazz musician while continuing his artistic endeavors. After relocating to San Francisco in 1934, Hiler became involved with the Works Progress Administration (WPA), where he painted murals in the Aquatic Park...
Category

1930s American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Ink

Wrestlers, monochromatic sports dramatic black and white
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Monotype on paper Dramatic imagery from Tom Bennett’s series of black and white monotypes, blending surrealistic mindscapes with stark realism About Tom Bennett: With quick brushstr...
Category

2010s American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Monotype

Seated Couple
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Inspiration (Seated Couple) Graphite on paper, c. 1967 Signed twice in pencil by the artist on recto (see photos) Condition: Excellent Image size: 13 x 16 inches Note: Although not t...
Category

1960s American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Graphite

BYE BYE BIRDIE Original 1960 Broadway Musical Costume Drawing Tony Award Elvis
Located in New York, NY
BYE BYE BIRDIE Original 1960 Broadway Musical Costume Drawing Tony Award Elvis Miles White (1915 – 2000) BYE BYE BIRDIE 11 x 8 inches Mixed Media on Paper Signed Lower Right Framed by Bark Affixed to the back are original gold lame fabric swatches. This drawing is available, along with two other original costume drawings from BIRDIE by Miles White, another of Conrad Birdie and one of Chita Rivera. Miles White, a leading Broadway and Hollywood costume designer for decades. created costumes for the original Broadway productions of OKLAHOMA CAROUSEL, BYE BYE BIRDIE and many others. In film he worked on "Around the World in 80 Days" and "The Greatest Show on Earth." He designed Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus, and the Ice Capades for many years. Miles was a close friend for the last 20 years of his life. We live with one of his two Tony Awards and a dozen drawings. BYE BYE BIRDIE is a stage musical with music by Charles Strouse and lyrics by Lee Adams, based upon a book by Michael Stewart...
Category

1960s American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor, Gouache, Pencil

American Modern figurative drawings and watercolors for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic American Modern figurative drawings and watercolors available for sale on 1stDibs. Works in this style were very popular during the 21st Century and Contemporary, but contemporary artists have continued to produce works inspired by this movement. If you’re looking to add figurative drawings and watercolors created in this style to introduce contrast in an otherwise neutral space in your home, the works available on 1stDibs include elements of orange, yellow and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Donald Stacy, Alfred Bendiner, Irene Pattinson, and Frank Wilcox. Frequently made by artists working with Paint, and Watercolor and other materials, all of these pieces for sale are unique and have attracted attention over the years. Not every interior allows for large American Modern figurative drawings and watercolors, so small editions measuring 0.25 inches across are also available. Prices for figurative drawings and watercolors made by famous or emerging artists can differ depending on medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $85 and tops out at $243,750, while the average work sells for $1,200.

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