20th Century Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Jean La Forgue (French 1901-1975) signed watercolour on paper, unframed inscribed verso painting: 10.5 x 7 inches provenance: the artists estate, France condition: very good and sou...

A finely detailed study of an elegantly dressed gentleman in 18th-century attire. His silk trousers and jacket are embellished with silver lace. He sits in a rather melancholy manner...

Nan Hoover - Two Women, Year: 1960, Medium: Ink on Paper, signed and dated in pencil, Image Size: 8 x 10.25 inches, Size: 11.5 x 15 in. (29.21 x 38.1 cm)

Date: 1933 Medium: Pencil on Paper Dimensions: 16.00" x 13.00" Signature: Signed and Titled For the Broadway play "Young Sinners" Dianne starred in the play “Young Sinners” in 1933.

Pen and ink, ink wash and pencil on paper, signed and dated (lower right), 38cm x 29cm (65cm x 55cm framed). This penetrating and wonderfully executed self-portrait, is all the mor...

The Lady is a drawing realized in the late 19th Century by Louis Anquetin (1861-1932). Cina ink drawing on paper. Hand-signed on the lower. Good condition with missing pieces of p...

Fabled Vogue Magazine Cover Artist Eduardo Garcia Benito depicts a perfectly posed long-neck flapper with her reflection in a mirror, Her extrav...

'The Kids', pastel on paper (1967), by Raymond Dèbieve. Picasso's influence is undeniable in this artwork yet Dèbieve's own naive artistic style is on display ...

Female Portrait. Paper, watercolors. 38x27 cm., 1949. Published in the book Latvian Soviet Watercolor, 1961, LV Publishing House

Medium: Pastel on Illustration Board Signature: Signed Lower Right Sight Size 20.00" x 28.50;" Framed 32.50" x 41.25" Cover Art for Unidentified Title Pre-code Hollywood starlet Verna Hillie is the subject of this erotically charged pastel portrait, which was the title Reel Movie Fun, a short lived wild and racy publication that merged the world of pin-up and burlesque with the envelope pushing film culture emerging from Hollywood before enforcement of the notorious Hays code put an end to overt expressions of sexuality or immorality on screen. Pastel is dated and signed on the back and the sitter is identified in the artist's hand as seen. Beautifully framed and matted behind glass in a handsome gallery frame and ready to hang. Verna Hillie was a Monograph Pictures star who appeared in The Marx brothers comedy "Duck Soup...

Benjamin II Vautier (1895–1974) was a Swiss-born artist, known for his contributions to both painting and graphic art. He was born into a family with artistic roots, as the son of Ot...

Master portrait artist and illustration legend Bob Peak captures the likeness, dignity and essence of Saudi Arabia's King Faisal for Time Magazine Cover ...

Il disegno, carboncino su carta, è firmato e datato in basso a destra "Colacicchi Firenze 1924". è un tipico esempio di nudo maschile accademico, come si può notare dalla posizione e...

A Sensitive, Finely Rendered 1950s Mid-Century Modern Portrait of a Young Man By Noted Chicago Artist, Harold Haydon (Am. 1909-1994). Artwork size: 12 x 9 1/2 inches. Artwork is un...

Oil on canvas Image size: 24 x 20 inches (61 x 51 cm) Original silver frame With her back turned to us, the viewer look across to a female artist facing us, whose gaze is fixed on t...

Benjamin II Vautier (1895–1974) was a Swiss-born artist, known for his contributions to both painting and graphic art. He was born into a family with artistic roots, as the son of Ot...

Portrait is an original pencil, pastel and watercolor drawing on creamy cardboard, realized in 1927 by Maurice Lourday (1860-1934). Titled on the lower. In very good conditions, ex...

Signed upper right, 'C. Mariani' for Carlo Maria Mariani (Italian, 1931-2021) and dated 1959. Framed dimensions: 22.5 x 1.5 x 17.5 inches A native of Rome, Carlo Mariani first studied there at the Academy of Fine Arts where he was influenced by the prevailing styles of Hyper-Realism and Conceptualism. In 1994, he moved to New York City where he began to paint figural landscapes in a traditional, neo-classical style. The 1990s brought Mariani wide recognition and numerous honors, as he represented Italy three times at the Venice Biennale. Additionally, in 1998, he received the prestigious Antonio Feltrinelli Award for lifetime achievement in painting. Mariani continues to be best known for his refined and painterly, Renaissance technique. He was a central figure in Rome’s avant-garde in the 1970s and is widely regarded as an influential forerunner of 1980's Postmodernism. He achieved an international reputation, beginning in the early 1980s, for his arcane and, often, controversial paintings...

Medium: Drawing Signature: Signed Lower Right Contact for dimensions.

'French Boy in Bloomers', gouache on art paper (circa 1960s-70s), by Raymond Debiève. A young boy emerges from a beach cabana wearing a bloomer bathing costume that was still in use ...

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 ...

African American Artist Vincent D Smith makes a statement about racial justice. In this work from 1972, he depicts three African American prisoners with their faces pushed up agains...

Portrait in primary blues and yellow of perhaps a Persian man. He is in profile set against a decorative yellow background with floral elements. The work...

'Chez Maxim's', pastel and gouache on fine art paper, by André Meurice (circa 1950s - 60s). The artist depicts the glamorous clientele at the entryway to...

Lucien-Victor Guirand de Scevola (1871-1950) Portrait of a boy Signed lower left Pastel on paper 28 x 23 cm Framed : 63 x58 cm Guirand de Scévola is particularly renowned for his...

Set of x 9 figures original watercolour painting on artist paper signed by Marjorie Schiele (1913-2008) *see notes below piece of paper is 14 x 10 inches In good condition provenance...

Celebrity portrait sketch of actress June Knight but James Montgomery Flagg on card stock in two colors. Signed and inscribed lower right. The work is unframed. There is a slight cr...

Rudolf SCHLICHTER (1890-1955) Shirtless man, shouting, circa 1920 India black ink on paper 43,2 x 28,4 cm provenance : artist's family Rudolf Schlichter was born in Calw in 1890. He...

A vibrant and characterful watercolour illustration by Harold Hope Read (1881-1959). Well presented in a complementing green and gilt frame. Unsigned. On laid.

Graphite on paper Signed, c.l. This artwork is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City. Mark Beard, born in 1956 in Salt Lake City, now live...

This work is accompanied by a Photo-certificate and essay from Ralph Jentsch who will include it in his forthcoming catalogue raisonné Signed lower right. Estate stamp on v...

An intense and powerful study of five undernourished and perhaps starving African children partly superimposed and partly integrated into the silhouette of the African continent...

Ruth Cobb (American, 1914-2008) Untitled, c. 20th century Watercolor and mixed media on paper Sight: 19 3/4 x 28 1/2 in. Framed: 33 1/2 x 41 3/4 x 1 3/4 in. Signed lower right Born ...

Portrait is an Original Drawing in Tempera on creamy-colored paper by Mino Maccari in the mid-20th century. Good conditions with some foxing. Hand-signed. Mino Maccari (1898-198...

'Portrait of Smiling Woman', pastel and crayon on art paper, by Raymond Debiève (circa 1970s). Is this a modern version of da Vinci's Mona Lisa? The simi...

Graceful watercolor portrait of an elegant auburn haired female in profile, 1912. Signed "Laure" and dated lower right. Over 100 years old. Original vintage one-of-a-kind artwork on...

We are delighted to offer a captivating watercolor painting by the artist Robert Högfeldt. This charming piece features a group of joyful figures, affectionately referred to as "gubb...

Two elegant and leggy models are rendered and meticulously designed in this illustration for Geoffrey Beene. Miyake's composition is one model as two or two models as one. We see th...

Bertha Corbett Melcher's The Sunbonnet Babies, with their flat, minimalist, semi-abstract, and symbolic style, are an early example of American Modernism/Surrealism by a lesser-known female artist/illustrator. The present work demonstrates a delicate balance between abstraction and representation and between the commonplace and the mysterious. Her signature use of a hat or sunbonnet to hide the identity of her subjects is a big conceptual and visual idea that has been overlooked in the fine art canon. The exact meaning of this is unknown, but 120 years after they were done, it resonates as somewhat surrealistic. Her work is a contradiction. She shows innocent children engaging in everyday activity but are depicted in vail of mystery. Why does she not show the faces of her subjects? Watercolor on paper (each) Six drawings in all on one board. 6-1/8 x 5 inches (15.6 x 12.7 cm) (each) One signed; two initialed; three not signed. Six drawing in all on one board. 6-1/8 x 5 inches (15.6 x 12.7 cm) (each) One signed; two initialed; three not signed The Sunbonnet Babies characters were created by illustration Bertha L. Corbett when she was challenged to create a faceless character who nonetheless was engaging and appealing. The characters were a wild hit and appeared in books, comics, and popular collectibles. They also became a popular motif in quilting. Few of Corbett's original drawings for the babies are known to survive, making this a rare offering. From: Wikipedia Sunbonnet Babies are characters created by commercial artist Bertha Corbett Melcher (1872–1950). Sunbonnet Babies featured two girls in pastel colored dresses with their faces covered by sunbonnets. Sunbonnet Babies appeared in books, illustrations and advertisements between the years of 1900 and 1930. Sunbonnet Babies were later used as a popular quilting pattern also known as Sunbonnet Sue.[1] Melcher created a male version of the Sunbonnet Babies, named the 'Overall Boys' in 1905.[2][3] History Bertha L. Corbett Melcher Sunbonnet Babies were created by Bertha Corbett Melcher (1872–1950).[4] Melcher was born in Denver and moved with her family to Minneapolis in the 1880s. Melcher attended art school in Minneapolis with plans to become a commercial artist.[5] She may have also studied with Howard Pyle.[6] By the 1920s, Melcher had moved to Topanga, California.[7][4] Melcher started drawing the Sunbonnet Babies in 1897. The origin of the signature style of the faces being covered by sunbonnets is contested by different members of Melcher's family and by Melcher herself. In an interview, Melcher's brother said their mother suggested Bertha avoid the difficulty of drawing faces by covering them with sunbonnets.[4] Melcher herself said that covering faces allowed her to communicate with body position.[4] Melcher has also said that the design came about in "answer to a friend’s challenge to convey emotion without a face."[2] Melcher published her first book, The Sun-Bonnet Babies in 1900.[3] Later, she shopped her illustrations to publisher Rand McNally of Chicago, and nine subsequent books were written by Eulalie Osgood Grover and illustrated by Bertha Corbett. In 1905, Melcher wrote The Overall Boys.[3] Many of these books were used as primers and used widely in primary schools in the midwest. Melcher used the sunbonnet babies in advertising and later established the Sunbonnet Babies Company. She started a studio to illustrate and create merchandise of the Sunbonnet Babies.[2] The characters also appeared in a comic strip.[2] Quilting Melcher herself did not originate the use of the sunbonnet babies as quilting pattern. The Sunbonnet Babies quilting pattern appeared in textile art 1910's in the Ladies Home Journal 1911–1912 in a quilt stitched by Marie Webster. The pattern was popular during the Great Depression. In the American South, it was often known as "Dutch Doll" until the 1970s.[3] There was also a quilt pattern based on the "Overall Boys," known by the various names including “Overall Bill, “Overall Andy,” “Sunbonnet Sam,” “Suspender Sam,” “Fisherman Jim."[3] Many patterns for quilts and sewing were designed by Ruby Short McKim and published in nationally syndicated newspapers.[8] Sunbonnet Sue became symbolic of 'female innocence and docility'.[9] Linda Pershing collected accounts from women quilters who depicted 'Sues' doing activities such as smoking, wearing more revealing clothing, and subverting feminine stereotypes.[10] In 1979, the “Seamsters Union Local #500," a group of quilters from Lawrence, Kansas, created “The Sun Sets on Sunbonnet Sue," a quilt depicting the character murdered in a variety of ways.[3] Collectibles Sunbonnet Babies merchandise includes school books, valentines cards, postcards, china, and quilts.[2][5][11] Sunbonnet Babies were adapted into three dimensional porcelain collectibles and pottery made by Royal Bayreuth Company in the early 1900s. The Royal Bayreuth China...

Medium: Pastel and Watercolor Signature: Signed Lower Right Saturday Evening Post Cover, March 13th, 1937.

Swimmer in the Jump with the Kitten by Marco Silombria. Italian Pop art Large scale painting on paper. Mixed tecnique with glitter dust on corners. Created by Italian Pop - Art ar...

Medium: Pastel on Board Signature: Signed Lower Left "Miss Personality", American Art Works original art for a calendar.

Mother and Child is an original China Ink and Charcoal Drawing realized by Mino Maccari in mid-20th century. Good condition on a yellowed check sheed. Hand-signed by the artist wit...

Juventus Football Player - Tribute to UEFA Champions League Victory, 1996 Charcoal on paper, 50 x 72 cm Signed lower right: Silombria '96 This dynamic drawing by Marco Silombria (19...

'Portrait of Jean', pencil on art paper, by French artist, Guillaume Dulac (circa 1920s). An artist known for his exquisite drawings - many are sketches for his larger oil paintings ...

Chaim Goldberg (Polish-American, 1917-2004) Untitled, 20th century Ink and gouache on paper Sight: 11 1/4 x 14 in. Framed: 19 1/2 x 22 1/4 x 7/8 in. Signed lower left: Chaim Goldberg...

Pierre Jacquemon (French-American, 1936-2002) Untitled, c. late 20th century Mixed media with ink, pencil, wash, and metal leaf on paper Sight: 16 1/4 x 12 1/4 in. Framed: 17 1/3 x 1...

Portrait is a modern artwork realized in the Mid-20th Century. China ink. Good conditions.

Medium: Watercolor and Gouache with Graphite on Paper Mounted Signature: Signed Lower Right "I Should Worry." Cover illustration for Judge magazine, pu...

SUSIE Q. SMITH Medium: Newspaper comics Distributed by: King Features Syndicate First Appeared: 1945 Creators: Linda and Jerry Walter 6 X 18.25 Like her contemporaries, Aggie Mack,...

Watercolor portrait of a clown by Marjorie Blake (American, 1920-1994). Signed "Blake" in the lower right corner. Unframed. Marjorie May Gulley Blake w...

Watercolor portrait of a clown on heavy paper by Marjorie Blake (American, 1920-1994). Signed "M. Blake" in the lower right corner. Unframed. Marjorie ...

Ricard Opisso - Beggars - Colored pencils Measurements drawing 21x31cm. Frame measures 39x48 cm. Damaged paper at bottom. Anti-reflective glass. Son of Alfredo Opisso y Viñas, journalist, historian and critic, and of Antonia Sala y Gil, his sister Regina Opisso, was also a writer. He comes from an enlightened family full of artists. His paternal grandfather was Josep Opisso y Roig, journalist and director of the Diari de Tarragona, father of the also writers Antonia Opisso y Viña and Antoni Opisso y Viña. His maternal great-grandfather was the painter Pere Pau Montaña, his maternal grandfather the fabulist Felipe Jacinto Sala and his maternal uncle, the painter Emilio Sala y Francés. His nephew was Arturo Llorens y Opisso, a writer better known under his pseudonym Arturo Llopis. Although he was born in Tarragona, his family moved to Barcelona when Opisso was only two years old. In modernist Barcelona at the end of the 19th century, Opisso worked as an assistant to Antonio Gaudí in the works of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona since 1892. He was linked to the group Els Quatre Gats, along with Ramón Casas...

Apocalypse in 1962? At the height of the Cold War, Life Magazine commissions an illustration that describes the world's end by means other than a nuclear war with Russia. Richard Erdoes brilliantly illustrates the work with his highly stylized painting technique. My favorite part of the work is on the left side showing a group of people packed together as they fall into oblivion. A clear reference would be Hieronymus Bosch's "The Last Judgment " Once Again the World Ends." Illustration published in Life Magazine, Feb. 9, 1962 Signed in lower right image. Unframed Richard Erdoes (Hungarian Erdős, German Erdös; July 7, 1912 – July 16, 2008) was an American artist, photographer, illustrator and author. Early life Erdoes was born in Frankfurt,[1] to Maria Josefa Schrom on July 7, 1912. His father, Richárd Erdős Sr., was a Jewish Hungarian opera singer who had died a few weeks earlier in Budapest on June 9, 1912.[2] After his birth, his mother lived with her sister, the Viennese actress Leopoldine ("Poldi") Sangora,[3] He described himself as "equal parts Austrian, Hungarian and German, as well as equal parts Catholic, Protestant and Jew..."[4] Career He was a student at the Berlin Academy of Art in 1933, when Adolf Hitler came to power. He was involved in a small underground paper where he published anti-Hitler political cartoons which attracted the attention of the Nazi regime. He fled Germany with a price on his head. Back in Vienna, he continued his training at the Kunstgewerbeschule, now the University of Applied Arts, Vienna.[5] He also wrote and illustrated children's books and worked as a caricaturist for Tag and Stunde, anti-Nazi newspapers. After the Anschluss of Austria in 1938 he fled again, first to Paris, where he studied at the Academie de la Grande Chaumiere, and then London, England before journeying to the United States. He married his first wife, fellow artist Elsie Schulhof (d. xxxx) in London, shortly before their arrival in New York City. In New York City, Erdoes enjoyed a long career as a commercial artist, and was known for his highly detailed, whimsical drawings. He created illustrations for such magazines as Stage, Fortune, Pageant, Gourmet, Harper's Bazaar, Sports Illustrated, The New York Times, Time, National Geographic and Life Magazine, where he met his second wife, Jean Sternbergh (d. 1995) who was an art director there. The couple married in 1951 and had three children.[6] Erdoes also illustrated many children's books. An assignment for Life in 1967 took Erdoes to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation for the first time, and marked the beginning of the work for which he would be best known. Erdoes was fascinated by Native American culture, outraged at the conditions on the reservation and deeply moved by the Civil Rights Movement that was raging at the time. He wrote histories, collections of Native American stories...

Miss Twisty is a story of a young girl who leaves the big city to spend time in the country. The book is filled with insight and humor. This work is a deftly rendered black-and-wh...

Very stylish, unique and original 1940's fashion design by French illustrator Geneviève Thomas. The painting, executed in gouache and pencil. The sketch is original, vintage and me...

Benjamin II Vautier (1895–1974) was a Swiss-born artist, known for his contributions to both painting and graphic art. He was born into a family with artistic roots, as the son of Ot...

Untitled- Portrait, 1997 by Celso Castro-Daza Pencil or archival paper Image size: 48 H in. x 36.5 in. W Unframed Drawing on paper is his basic work tool, some are sketches of his...