American Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

A charming, vibrant, early Mexican city street scene by famed Chicago Modern artist Francis Chapin (Am. 1899-1965). Titled "Tourists in Taxco", the watercolor was exhibited at the M...

A Charming 1930s Charcoal Study of Three Young Men in a Lake House Window by Noted Chicago Modern Artist, Harold Haydon (Am. 1909-1994). Most likely completed during the summer mont...

Bricklayers House Beautiful Cover Proposal American Scene Modern WPA 1930s Industrial Workers Antonio Petruccelli (1907 - 1994) Brick Layers House Beautiful cover proposal, c. 1939 ...

Provenance The artist; Collection of Henry Dubin, Philadelphia until 2018 Exhibitions Avery Galleries, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, Living Color Modern Life: Hugh Henry Breckenridge and...

A Fine, Modern 1930s Academic Anatomical Figure Study Drawing of a Standing Young Male Nude Model by Notable Chicago Artist, Harold Haydon (Am. 1909-1994). An exceptionally well exe...

Andy Warhol (1928-1987) is arguably the most important American artist of the 20th century. He not only defined Pop Art but had an unrivaled influence on artists and image-making. In recent years there has been new scholarship and increasing commercial interest in Andy Warhol's early works, material created prior to Pop Art. During the 1950's Warhol established himself in New York City as a trendy illustrator contributing to a wide number of fashion publications and retailers. His simple line drawings were modern and gentle, with a subtle but unmistakably gay touch. In a short period of time, he created an aesthetic that was both versatile and distinctively his. Like the consummate artist that he was, Warhol was frequently drawing. The images he created during this era, independent from his fashion commissions, were romantic, hopeful, and unabashedly gay. It is worth emphasizing that Warhol was almost exclusively dedicated to drawing during this period, only creating a handful of paintings - which were intended to be used for window displays. Taschen, the legendary art book publisher, recently released the book Andy Warhol: Love, Sex, and Desire 1950-1962 which celebrates his drawings of the male form from the pre-Pop era. This portrait is a paradigm of Warhol's mastery of line and visionary framing. A man's profile commands the composition as he gazes forward with his hand raised towards his mouth, holding a delicate flower. With the lightest touch, Warhol masterly portrays this male ideal with the details of his chiseled jawline, softened gaze, and timeless elegance. Warhol drawings from the 1950s are marked by a gentle whimsy that embodies Warhol's vivid imagination. With fanciful details such as exaggerated lips and eyebrows, "Young Man with Flower...

This evocative watercolor painting, titled The Way War First Comes (1940), was created by noted American artist Charles Ragland Bunnell (1897-1968) during the Depression era. The pie...

Isadora Duncan Graphite with grey wash on paper mounted to cardstock Signed and dated in pencil lower right (see photo) Provenance: Charlotte Bergman, f...

A Charming, Vintage 1930s Charcoal Drawing of a Saxophone Player, Jazz Musician, by Notable Chicago Modern Artist, Harold Haydon (Am. 1909-1994). A striking and lively figure study ...

nterior (Untitled), 1958, watercolor and ink on paper mounted on cardboard, signed and dated lower right, 11 ½ x 16 ½ inches (sight); 12 x 18 inches (sheet); inscribed lower left “To...

Original Painting. Vanity Fair Illustration Proposal. Art Deco Modern 1930s Antonio Petruccelli (1907 - 1994) Vanity Fair Illustration proposal, c 1930’s 18 X 13 3/4 inches (sight) ...

A Fine 1930s, Art Deco Modern Academic Figure Study Drawing of a Seated Male Nude Model by Notable Chicago Artist, Harold Haydon (Am. 1909-1994). An exceptionally well executed earl...

Andy Warhol (1928-1987) is arguably the most important American artist of the 20th century. He not only defined Pop Art but had an unrivaled influence on artists and image-making. ...

A Large, Dynamic 1950s Mid-Century Modern Watercolor of Lower Manhattan, New York City by Noted Chicago Artist, Francis Chapin (Am. 1899-1965). The image is watercolor, pastel and c...

A Fine 1930s, Modern Academic Pastel Figure Study of a Kneeling Male Nude Model by Notable Chicago Artist, Harold Haydon (Am. 1909-1994). An exceptionally well executed, early 1930...

"500 Calories al mode" The Perfect Meal - Menu - Dessert - Collograph Watercolor The artwork "500 Calories al mode" by Betty Swift, created one of a group show at San Francisco Stat...

A Fine 1930s, Modern Academic Figure Study Drawing of a Standing Male Nude Model by Notable Chicago Artist, Harold Haydon (Am. 1909-1994). An exceptionally well executed, early 1930...

A Fine 1930s, Modern Academic Figure Study Drawing of a Standing Male Nude Model (Back) by Notable Chicago Artist, Harold Haydon (Am. 1909-1994). An exceptionally well executed, ear...

A Fine 1930s, Modern Academic Figure Study Drawing of a Standing Male Nude Model by Notable Chicago Artist, Harold Haydon (Am. 1909-1994). An exceptionally well executed, early 1930...

These recently re-discovered 1984 oversize pastels on archival papers were created working quickly, in pastel. The series shows the last existing obs...

A Fine 1930s, Modern Academic Figure Study Drawing of a Standing Male Nude Model by Notable Chicago Artist, Harold Haydon (Am. 1909-1994). An exceptionally well executed, early 1930...

A Fine 1930s, Modern Academic Figure Study Drawing of a Standing Male Nude Model by Notable Chicago Artist, Harold Haydon (Am. 1909-1994). An exceptionally well executed, early 1930...

A Fine, 1930s Modern Academic Anatomical Figure Study Drawing of a Standing Male Model (Torso) by Notable Chicago Artist, Harold Haydon (Am. 1909-1994). An exceptionally well execut...

A Fine 1930s, Modern Academic Figure Study Drawing of a Standing Male Nude Model by Notable Chicago Artist, Harold Haydon (Am. 1909-1994). An exceptionally well executed, early 1930...

A Fine 1930s, Modern Academic Figure Study Drawing of a Standing Male Nude Model by Notable Chicago Artist, Harold Haydon (Am. 1909-1994). An exceptionally well executed, early 1930...

A Fine 1930s, Modern Academic Figure Study Drawing of a Standing Male Nude Model by Notable Chicago Artist, Harold Haydon (Am. 1909-1994). An exceptionally well executed, early 1930...

A Fine 1930s, Modern Academic Figure Study Drawing of a Standing Male Nude Model by Notable Chicago Artist, Harold Haydon (Am. 1909-1994). An exceptionally well executed, early 1930...

A Fine 1930s, Modern Academic Figure Study Drawing of a Seated Male Nude Model by Notable Chicago Artist, Harold Haydon (Am. 1909-1994). An exceptionally well executed, early 1930s ...

A Fine 1930s, Modern Academic Figure Study Drawing of a Standing Male Nude Model by Notable Chicago Artist, Harold Haydon (Am. 1909-1994). An exceptionally well executed, early 1930...

Leon Dolice Chrysler Building Signed lower right Watercolor on paper 19 x 12 inches The romantic backdrop of Vienna at the turn of the century had a life-long influence upon the yo...

This large scale pastel on toned archival paper is suitable for framing under glass to protect the soft pastel medium . It is signed and dated on the bottom left corner. The subject ...

This is a soft pastel on toned archival paper suitable for framing under glass . The artist has signed and dated the work on the bottom right.

A Fine 1930s Modern Academic Figure Study Drawing, Seated Male Nude Model (Back) by Notable Chicago Artist, Harold Haydon (Am. 1909-1994). An exceptionally well executed early 1930s...

Signed by the artist in pencil, lower right Provenance: Estate of the Artist With the artist's original presentation (Frame and matting) Two similar titles were exhibited in The ...

Charles Demuth was one of the most complex, talented, and deeply sensitive artists of the American modern period. Whether he was painting floral still lifes, industrial landscapes, or Turkish bathhouses, art was, for Demuth, fraught with personal meaning. A fixture of the vanguard art scene in New York, Demuth navigated the currents of Modernism, producing some of the most exquisite watercolors and original oil paintings in twentieth-century American art. Demuth was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, the only child of a well-to-do family. He had an awkward and introverted childhood shaped by a childhood illness, Perthes, a disease of the hip that not only left him permanently lame, but, as part of the “cure,” bedridden for two years in the care of his mother. This long period of incapacitation had a deep impact on Demuth, who came to see himself as an invalid, an outsider who was different from everyone else. It was perhaps during this period of indoor confinement that his keen interest in art developed. Several relatives on his father’s side had been amateur artists, and, following his convalescence, his mother encouraged his artistic pursuits by sending him to a local painter for instruction. The majority of his early pictures are of flowers, a subject for which Demuth maintained a lifelong passion. Following high school, Demuth enrolled at the Drexel Institute of Art in Philadelphia, a school renowned for its commercial arts program. He advanced through the program rapidly, and, in 1905, at the encouragement of his instructors, he began taking courses at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. The two leading teachers then at the Academy were William Merritt Chase and Thomas Anshutz. Anshutz, himself a former student of Thomas Eakins, was well liked by his students, and is best known as the teacher of Robert Henri, John Sloan, and several of the other artists of the Ashcan School. Demuth, too, adopted a similar idiom, working in a controlled, realistic manner while at the Academy, where he remained until 1910. In 1907, Demuth made his first trip to Europe, staying in Paris. He spent time on the periphery of the art scene composed of the numerous American artists there, including John Marin and Edward Steichen. He returned to Philadelphia five months later, and immediately resumed courses at the Academy. Despite his introduction to advanced modern styles in Europe, Demuth’s work of this period retains the academic style he practiced before the trip. It wasn’t until he had summered at New Hope, Pennsylvania, in 1908 and 1911, that his style began to evolve. New Hope was a prominent American Impressionist art colony whose members were largely affiliated with the Pennsylvania Academy. Demuth dropped the conservative tone of his style and adopted a freer and more colorful palette. Although he remained based in Philadelphia, Demuth frequently went to New York during this period. Many of the same American artists of the Parisian art scene Demuth had encountered on his earlier European trip now formed the nucleus of New York’s avant-garde, which centered around Alfred Stieglitz’s 291 gallery. It wasn’t long before Demuth began to apply modernist-inspired strategies to his work. He was particularly influenced by the watercolor work of John Marin, also a former student of Anshutz, whose bold use of color in the medium Demuth freely adapted into looser washes of color. In 1912, Demuth again left for Paris, this time studying in the Académie Moderne, Académie Colorossi, and Académie Julian. In Paris Demuth met the American modernist Marsden Hartley. Hartley, a principal figure in the expatriate art circle, acted as a mentor to Demuth, and introduced him to the wide array of modern styles currently practiced in Europe. Hartley also introduced Demuth to many of the members of the Parisian avant-garde, including Gertrude Stein. Demuth was an aspiring writer, and he spent many hours in conversation with Stein. He wrote extensively during this period, and published two works shortly after his return to America. He also developed an interest in illustrating scenes from literary texts. From 1914 to 1919, Demuth produced a series of watercolors of scenes from books such as Emile Zola’s Nana and Henry James’s The Turn of the Screw. Upon his return to America, Demuth settled in New York. In 1914, Demuth had his first one-man show at Charles Daniel’s gallery, which promoted emerging modern American artists, including Man Ray, Rockwell Kent, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Stuart Davis, and Max Weber. Demuth drew closer to the artistic vanguard in New York, becoming friends with many in the Stieglitz and Daniel circles, including Georgia O’Keeffe, Marcel Duchamp, Carl Van Vechten, and Edward Fiske. New York’s cosmopolitan atmosphere and active nightlife appealed greatly to Demuth. In a sketchy style well suited to watercolor, he painted many vaudeville and circus themes, as well as nightclub, café, and bathhouse scenes. Often with Duchamp, Demuth took part in an urban subculture replete with nightclubs, bars, drugs, and sexual permissiveness, which, for a homosexual artist like himself, allowed room for previously unattainable personal expression. Demuth’s pictures of sailors, bathhouses, and circus performers embody a sensual and sexual undercurrent, expressing the artist’s sense of comfort and belonging in the bohemian subculture of New York. Simultaneously, Demuth deepened his interest in floral pictures, painting these almost exclusively in watercolor. His style evolved from the broad color washes of his earlier pictures to more spare, flattened, and sinuous compositions, inspired by the drawings of Aubrey Beardsley and other artists of the Aesthetic Movement. Demuth’s flower watercolors are moody and atmospheric, sensuous and elegant, introspective and yet full of expressive power. Moreover they are beautiful, and are unequivocally among the finest still lifes in American art. Despite numerous subsequent artistic undertakings that led him in a variety of directions, Demuth never stopped painting flower pictures, ultimately adding fruits and other still-life objects to his repertoire. In 1916, Demuth began to develop a style later known as Precisionism, a form of landscape painting infused with Cubism, in which space is divided into precisely drawn geometric regions of color. Demuth first began to paint the landscape in an appropriated Cubist mode while on a trip with Hartley to Bermuda. In these early landscapes, in which the curvilinear forms of trees intersect the geometrically articulated architectural forms, Demuth explored ideas that shaped the future development of modernism in America. The full realization of Demuth’s explorations came after his return to America in 1917, when he turned his attention to industrial subjects. These works derive from a “machine aesthetic,” espoused by New York artists such as Francis Picabia, Joseph Stella, Albert Gleizes, and Duchamp, by which artists viewed machines as embodying mystical, almost religious significance as symbols of the modern world. Rather than painting the skyscrapers and bridges of New York as did most of his like-minded contemporaries, Demuth returned to his home town of Lancaster, where he painted factories and warehouses in a Precisionist idiom. The titles for these pictures are often contain literary references, which serve as clues for the viewer to aid in the decoding of the artist’s meaning. In 1923, Demuth planned a series of abstract “poster portraits” of his friends and contemporaries in the New York art and literary scene. In these “portraits,” Demuth combined text and symbolic elements to evoke the essential nature of his sitters’ distinguishing characteristics. In this fashion, he painted portraits of such artists as Georgia O’Keeffe, John Marin, and Arthur Dove. His most famous poster portrait, I Saw the Figure 5 in Gold...

Best known as an impassioned supporter and avid collector of modern art, Earl Horter was also an artist himself. Largely self-taught, Horter was a highly skilled draftsman and engrav...

This work was intentionally torn and mended along the curve through the center of the work. It predates the artist's full immersion, years later into torn and re-pasted collages, us...

An original watercolor painting by American artist Wes Olmsted depicting an abstract landscape view.

Dorothy Rivo Gloucester Harbor, c. 1950s Watercolor and ink on paper Framed dimensions: 34 in. H × 30 in. W Contemporary black frame with white archival mat In Gloucester Harbor, Dorothy Rivo captures the gritty beauty of a working port with expressive brushwork and tonal depth. The scene unfolds in loose washes of ochre, rust, and charcoal, where weathered boats float before a jagged row of fishing sheds and coastal structures rendered in gestural lines. Rather than striving for topographic precision, Rivo offers a painterly impression of the harbor—moody, atmospheric, and undeniably alive. The smudged foreground, dripping masts, and clouded sky convey both movement and memory, as if the harbor were emerging from a dream or dissolving into one. Executed in watercolor and ink, this piece shows Rivo's command of mixed media and her deft ability to balance structure with spontaneity. It is a standout example of mid-century American waterfront painting...

Quick Change Watercolor on paper, 1930-1931 Signed lower right: Honore Guilbeau Illustrated in American Art Review, August 2014, page 84 in an article by Dr. M...

A Compelling, 1951 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 unframed, matted/...

These recently re-discovered 1984 oversize pastels on archival papers were created working quickly, in pastel. The series shows the last existing observational drawings prior to the artists 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...

An Intimate, 1930s Modern Charcoal Study of a Seated Young Male Figure by Notable Chicago Artist, Harold Haydon (Am. 1909-1994). Most likely completed circa 1932 at a summer lake ho...

Original Painting New Yorker Cover Proposal American Scene Modern Santa's Feet Antonio Petruccelli (1907 - 1994) Santas Feet At Midnight New Yorker c...

A Stylized, 1930s Art Deco Pastel Landscape Drawing of Two Young Men Planting a Tree by Notable Chicago Modern Artist, Harold Haydon (Am. 1909-1994). Artwork size: 9 x 12 inches, u...

An original watercolor on paper by American modernist Charles E. Burchfield, created in 1916. This work comes in an archival frame presentation and has been authenticated by the Bur...

A Fine 1930s, Art Deco Modern Academic Figure Study Drawing of a Standing Male Nude Model by Notable Chicago Artist, Harold Haydon (Am. 1909-1994). An exceptionally well executed ea...

A Unique, Mid-Century Modern 1960s Chicago Harbor Scene Watercolor by Noted Artist, Rudolph T. Pen. Artwork is formatted in a trapezoid shape, an innovative compositional device for...

"Green Landscape" by Philadelphia born modernist and surrealist painter Leon Kelly, is a framed and matted landscape painting. The 17.5" x 23.5" watercolor and ink on paper is signed...

A Fine, 1930s Modern Academic Figure Study of a Seated Young Male Nude Model (Torso) by Notable Chicago Artist, Harold Haydon (Am. 1909-1994). An exceptionally well executed early 1...

A Very Finely Drawn, 1930s Modern Figure Study of a Standing Female Nude Model (Back) by Notable Chicago Modern Artist, Harold Haydon (Am. 1909-1994). An early composite charcoal d...

A Fine 1930s Modern Academic Figure Study Drawing, Seated Male Nude Model (Back) by Notable Chicago Artist, Harold Haydon (Am. 1909-1994). An exceptionally well executed early 1930s...

A Fine, Modern 1930s Academic Anatomical Figure Study Drawing of a Seated Young Male Nude Model by Notable Chicago Artist, Harold Haydon (Am. 1909-1994). An exceptionally well execu...

American Scene Industrial Modern Lamp Magazine Illustration Mid-Century Antonio Petruccelli (1907 - 1994) Oil Terminal Lamp Magazine, published, c. 1930s. 15 3/4 X 12 inches (image) 18 X 14 inches board Gouache on board Signed lower right unframed BIOGRAPHY: Antonio Petruccelli (1907-1994) began his career as a textile designer. He became a freelance illustrator in 1932 after winning several House Beautiful cover illustration contests. In addition to 24 Fortune magazine covers, four New Yorker covers, several for House Beautiful, Collier’s, and other magazines he did numerous illustrations for Life magazine from the 1930s – 60s. ‘Tony was Mr. Versatility for Fortune. He could do anything, from charts and diagrams to maps, illustrations, covers, and caricatures,’ said Francis Brennan, the former art director for Fortune. Over the course of his career, Antonio won several important design awards, designing a U.S. Postage Stamp Commemorating the Steel Industry and designing the Bicentennial Medal...

Blizzard in Woods Graphite on paper, c. 1945-1963 Unsigned Provenance: Sid Deutsch Gallery, New York Annotated with notes for completing the drawing. Deutsch Gallery has handled Bur...

Dorothy Rivo Untitled (Boats and Peaks) Acrylic on panel Framed dimensions: 22 in. H × 28 in. W Contemporary black frame In Untitled (Boats and Peaks), Dorothy Rivo renders a mariti...

This 1938 watercolor painting by American Modernist artist Turner B. Messick depicts a serene winter landscape, likely set in Colorado. The scene features a bare tree in the foregrou...

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...

Magazine Cover Illustration Mid 20th Century Modern Theatre Broadway Realism WPA Ernest Hamlin Baker (1889 – 1975) “Today Magazine” Cover ...

A Fabulous 1950s Mid-Century Modern Standing Female Nude Figure Study by Notable Chicago Artist, Harold Haydon (Am. 1909-1994). Artwork Size: 18 x 12, unframed, mounted / floated t...