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

alfred mira
Greenwich Village NYC WPA Mid 20th Century American Scene Ashcan Modern Realism

c. 1930s

$24,000
£18,220.39
€20,840.24
CA$33,531.48
A$37,294.33
CHF 19,473.94
MX$453,832.27
NOK 248,711.90
SEK 233,247.89
DKK 155,538.70
Shipping
Retrieving quote...
The 1stDibs Promise:
Authenticity Guarantee,
Money-Back Guarantee,
24-Hour Cancellation

About the Item

Greenwich Village NYC WPA Mid 20th Century American Scene Ashcan Modern Realism Alfred Mira (1900-1981) Greenwich Village NYC 14 x 17 inches Oil on board, c. 1930s Signed lower right 26 1/2 x 30 framed We are not certain of the exact location depicted in the painting. It could be where Greenwich meets West 13th Street or 11th Street. The site could also be Seventh, Greenwich and West 11th, across from where St Vincent’s used to be. The tower in the right hand corner looks like the top of the (now) Jefferson Square Library. Those spots claim to be the diner in Hopper’s “Nighthawks." BIO - in the artist's words My boyhood days were spent between school and my father's carpentry shop. My interest in both these fields was overshadowed by my insatiable desire to draw. The books from which I was to learn my reading, writing and arithmetic were cluttered with pictures I had drawn on every available blank space. This aroused the wrath of my teachers who showed their unfriendliness. I believe I was allowed to graduate, not because I was an astute student, but because of their desire to be rid of me. I embarked on my studies by obtaining a Job at an interior decorator's studio. My wish, however, was to go to an art school but this was impossible because my parents felt that a fifty-cent daily expenditure was an extravagance for a hobby in which they there was no future. My Salary at the studio was $3.00 a week, which my father granted me the right to save. In 1919 I entered the National Academy of Design. My saving soon dwindled, so I left school and went back to work. I found employment in a Mural Art Studio. When time permitted, I attended the studio class at Beaux Arts School. After three years, I again matriculated at the National Academy in Ivan Olinsky's class. At every opportunity I went outdoors to paint. My friends suggested that I have a studio exhibition with these studies and to my surprise, I sold almost all, so I planned to go to California where the climate and color were most suitable for my purpose. I was joined by a fellow student in this trip, who suggested we hitchhike our way to the coast so that we could stop here and there to paint. So we started our journey. We took the ferry to New Jersey and from there on we exercised our thumbs. One of our "lifters" suggested that we go via Detroit and stop there to paint the portraits of his parents. This was my first commission, and I need not say that I was filled with anxiety and fear. The results of this work brought several other portraits. After a few months, I became so absorbed in my work that I had completely forgotten about California. By this time my companion had become homesick and he induced me to return with him. In 1926, with the money I had earned, I was able to have a good skylight studio, and there I set on a career of earning a living with painting, at the same time attending the studio class at the Art Students League. The lure of the outdoors always attracted me, especially the city streets with their movements, color and depth-they were the things that inspired me and which I painted as they looked and as I felt them. Judging by my style and subjects, my artist friends argued that I was influenced by French Impressionists. While I bare great esteem for the French Masters, I do not claim comparison with them. However, my ultimate goal is to paint exclusively American Impressionism. In 1928, my adventurous spirit took hold of me again and I went to Europe. I arrived in Paris and found that the gay life was not conducive to constructive work, so I went to South France with its sunny skies and mild climate where I was able to accomplish more. After traveling throughout the continent, I was awakened to the realization that the work I had done in Europe did not serve my purposes, and that I was better inspired in Washington Square. Back home in New York, I devoted myself to painting street scenes. In 1929, my first effort to exhibit one of my street scenes was at the National Academy. The critics received this very kindly and I was so encouraged that I attempted other national exhibits that have flattered me in accepting every one of my paintings.
  • Creator:
    alfred mira (1900 - 1981, American)
  • Creation Year:
    c. 1930s
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 26.5 in (67.31 cm)Width: 30 in (76.2 cm)
  • Medium:
    Oil,Board
  • Movement & Style:
    American Realist
  • Period:
    1930-1939
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    New York, NY
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU1156212698582

More From This Seller

View All
NYC EL American Scene Social Realism Mid 20th Century Modern WPA Era Figurative
By Cecil Crosley Bell
Located in New York, NY
NYC EL American Scene Social Realism Mid 20th Century Modern WPA Era Figurative Cecil Bell (1906 – 1970) Street Life Under the EL 22 x 30 inches Oil on canvas, c. 1930s Signed upper...
Category

1930s American Realist Landscape Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

NYC EL American Scene Social Realism Mid 20th Century Modern WPA Era Figurative

Cecil Crosley Bell
NYC EL American Scene Social Realism Mid 20th Century Modern WPA Era Figurative, c. 1939

$25,000
6th Avenue El at 8th St NYC Cityscape American Scene Social Realism Mid-Century
By Max Arthur Cohn
Located in New York, NY
6th Avenue El at 8th St NYC Cityscape American Scene Social Realism Mid-Century Max Arthur Cohn (1903-1998) 6th Avenue El at 8th Street 13 x 18 inches Watercolor on paper, c. 1930 ...
Category

1930s American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

6th Avenue El at 8th St NYC Cityscape American Scene Social Realism Mid-Century

Max Arthur Cohn
6th Avenue El at 8th St NYC Cityscape American Scene Social Realism Mid-Century, c. 1930

$5,500
"6th Avenue El" American Scene Social Realism Mid-20th Century Cityscape Modern
By Max Arthur Cohn
Located in New York, NY
"6th Avenue El" American Scene Social Realism Mid-20th Century Cityscape Modern Max Arthur Cohn (1903-1998) 6th Avenue Elevated 19 1/4 x 13 3/4 inches Watercolor on paper Signed an...
Category

1920s American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

"6th Avenue El" American Scene Social Realism Mid-20th Century Cityscape Modern

Max Arthur Cohn
"6th Avenue El" American Scene Social Realism Mid-20th Century Cityscape Modern, 1929

$5,500
"Streetscape" American Scene WPA Social Realism Mid 20th Century Industrial
Located in New York, NY
"Streetscape" American Scene WPA Era Social Realism Mid 20th Century Industrial Herbert Heyel (American 1907-2000) "Streetscape" 14 x 20 inches Watercolor on paper, c. 1939 Signed l...
Category

1930s American Realist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

"Streetscape" American Scene WPA Social Realism Mid 20th Century Industrial

Herbert Heyel
"Streetscape" American Scene WPA Social Realism Mid 20th Century Industrial, c. 1939

$3,500
Cityscape Mid-20th Century Modern Social Realism American Scene Regionalism WPA
Located in New York, NY
Cityscape Mid-20th Century Modern Social Realism American Scene Regionalism WPA Samuel Thal (1903 to 1964) "Cityscene" 12 x 16 inches Oil on board, c. 1940s Signed verso Framed: 19...
Category

1940s American Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Board, Oil

Cityscape Mid-20th Century Modern Social Realism American Scene Regionalism WPA

Sam Thal
Cityscape Mid-20th Century Modern Social Realism American Scene Regionalism WPA, c. 1940s

$6,500
"Union Square" NYC American Scene Social Realism Modernism WPA Mid-20th Century
By Agnes Hart
Located in New York, NY
"Union Square" NYC American Scene Social Realism Modernism WPA Mid-20th Century Agnes Hart (American, 1912-1979) "Union Square, New York City" Sight: 14 1/2 x 21 1/2 inches Gouache...
Category

1940s American Modern Landscape Paintings

Materials

Gouache, Board

"Union Square" NYC American Scene Social Realism Modernism WPA Mid-20th Century

Agnes Hart
"Union Square" NYC American Scene Social Realism Modernism WPA Mid-20th Century, 1940

$18,000

You May Also Like

Norman Barr, Delancey Street (NYC)
By Norman Barr
Located in New York, NY
Norman Barr recorded his beloved New York City from the Bronx, to Coney Island, to the Fulton Fish Market. In this period he was on the New Deal's Mural ...
Category

Mid-20th Century Ashcan School Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Crayon, India Ink

Norman Barr, Delancey Street (NYC)

Norman Barr
Norman Barr, Delancey Street (NYC), 1940

$750
Ninth Avenue El (New York City), Mid 20th Century Cityscape Oil painting
By John Opper
Located in Beachwood, OH
John Opper (American, 1908-1994) Ninth Avenue El (New York City), c. 1935 Oil on canvas Signed lower left and verso 30.125 x 24 inches The Ninth Avenue El was the first elevated rai...
Category

1930s American Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Ninth Avenue El (New York City), Mid 20th Century Cityscape Oil painting

John Opper
Ninth Avenue El (New York City), Mid 20th Century Cityscape Oil painting, c. 1935

$12,000
New York City View
Located in New York, NY
On verso: NY City View / ARTIST: MIRA
Category

20th Century American Modern Landscape Paintings

Materials

Oil

New York City View

Alfred S. Mira
New York City View

$29,500
1940's American WPA Modernist New York City Watercolor Painting Tenement Market
By Samuel Grunvald
Located in Surfside, FL
The Market, (fauvist painting of NYC scene) 1940's. image is 10X 11.5 inches. Hand signed lower right Lower East Side Tenements Pushcart Market Samuel Grunvald was a Hungarian born American WPA artist known for abstract, landscape and seascape paintings. Arrived in the USA from Hungary in 1921 and settled in New York City where he studied at the Art Students League. Grunvald worked for the Federal Art Project, taught at Colony House in NYC. Member: Art Guild, Watercolor Society, New York Watercolor Club. exhibited at Montross Gallery, NYC, World House Galleries, NYC, Leonard Hutton Gallery, NYC, Associated American Artists Gallery and the A.C.A. Gallery. Gunvald's work spanned many modern American movements from the WPA to Abstract Expressionist painting. He was a member of the American Watercolor Society and the Brooklyn Society of Artists. He exhibited with both of these organizations and at the Brooklyn Museum of Art. He was involved the the WPA being a Federal Arts Project artist. A number of prominent Jewish artists participated in this New Deal program among them Ben Shahn, Joseph Solman, William Gropper, Philip Guston Adolph Gottlieb, Mark Rothko, Milton Avery, Ben Shahn, the Soyers (Isaac, Moses, and Raphael), and many others Grunwald exhibited alongside other popular artists such as Paul Klee, Jean Arp, Max Ernst and Charles Burchfield. He also taught and lectured on art and easel painting, Federal Art Project, NYC. His work is included in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art and The Jewish Museum, New York. Americana. Select Exhibitions A.C.A. Gallery Associated American Artists Gallery, 1936-1955 American Watercolor Society, 1932-1942 New York Watercolor Club, 1935-1937 Humanist Art...
Category

1940s Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor

1940's American WPA Modernist New York City Watercolor Painting Tenement Market

Samuel Grunvald
1940's American WPA Modernist New York City Watercolor Painting Tenement Market, c.1940s

$2,500
Antique American Modernist New York City Street Scene Abstract Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique American modernist signed original oil painting. Oil on canvas, circa 1930. Signed illegibly. Image size 20L x 16H. Housed in a period giltwood frame.
Category

1920s Modern Landscape Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Antique American Modernist New York City Street Scene Abstract Oil Painting

Antique American Modernist New York City Street Scene Abstract Oil Painting, 1900

$796 Sale Price
20% Off
1930's Wintry American Modernist Flat Iron NYC street scene
Located in New York, NY
New York City Wintry Street Scene of the Flat Iron Building from the 1930's by Margit De Corini (1897-1982). Oil on Canvas. Signed lower right. D...
Category

1930s American Impressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

1930's Wintry American Modernist Flat Iron NYC street scene

Margit de Corini
1930's Wintry American Modernist Flat Iron NYC street scene, 1930's

$12,000

More Ways To Browse

Scenes From Vintage America
Mid Century Nyc
California Realism
Modern American Street Scene
Vintage Nyc Street Sign
Watercolor Village Scene
Realism Painting Mid Century
Greenwich Paintings
Greenwich Village
Mid Century Village Scene
Mid Century Painting French City Scene
Paris Street Scene Watercolor
Ashcan New York
American Ashcan
Nyc Impressionist
Ashcan Oil Painting
American Diner
Mid Century Paris Street Scene
View All Popular Figurative Drawings and Watercolors Searches