American Modern Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

"Seated Cat" is an original charcoal drawing by Sylvia Spicuzza. The artist stamped her signature lower right and wrote the title in charcoal lower left. This piece is a study of a b...

A Large, 1950s Mid-Century Modern Ink Drawing of Quebec City by Rudolph Pen. Artwork is formatted in a trapezoid shape, an innovative composition device for which the artist's work ...

This original vintage painting by Charles Ragland Bunnell (1897-1968), titled Quitting Time from Bunnell's Black and Blue Series from 1941, exemplifies his unique Abstract Structure ...

Steinberg's Holiday Magazine Cover, " The North of Jersey " is similar to his famous New Yorker Cover "View of the World from 9th Avenue”. ...

Pastel on toned paper *ABOUT Stephen Basso Stephen Basso's highly original pastels and oil paintings are romantic, yet thought provoking fantasies. His whimsical works are alive ...

Winold Reiss (1886-1953), who scholars increasingly recognize as a pivotal figure in early 20th-century American art, is known for his evocative portraits that capture the spirit and...

Francis Chapin was one of the most celebrated painters in Chicago during his lifetime. When he was a young art student, Valley House founder, Donald Vogel, painted with "Chape" on th...

A Striking, 1960s Mid-Century Modern Watercolor of European City Rooftops, Painted from a City Bus. Rudolph Pen was fond of these innovative city rooftop compositions completed whil...

This stunning mixed-media painting by German-American artist Bert Van Bork (1928–2014), titled Walpi #9 (Hopi Village on First Mesa, Arizona), is a vibra...

A Charming, 1930s Modernist Portrait Study of a Seated Young Male Bather by Notable Chicago Artist, Harold Haydon (Am. 1909-1994). Most likely completed at a summer lake house in Al...

Substantial and period mid-century modern American Scene watercolor of the Oakland, California countryside by Erle Loran (American, 1905-1999), 1944. Signed lower right "Earl Loran...

Frank Nelson Wilcox (American, 1887-1964) Fisherman's Island, Boothbay, Maine, c. 1925 Watercolor on paper Signed lower left 15 x 20 inches 20.75 x 25.75 inches, framed Frank Nelson Wilcox (October 3, 1887 – April 17, 1964) was a modernist American artist and a master of watercolor. Wilcox is described as the "Dean of Cleveland School painters," though some sources give this appellation to Henry Keller or Frederick Gottwald. Wilcox was born on October 3, 1887 to Frank Nelson Wilcox, Sr. and Jessie Fremont Snow Wilcox at 61 Linwood Street in Cleveland, Ohio. His father, a prominent lawyer, died at home in 1904 shortly before Wilcox' 17th birthday. His brother, lawyer and publisher Owen N. Wilcox, was president of the Gates Legal Publishing Company or The Gates Press. His sister Ruth Wilcox...

Title: French Gouache Portrait Study of Navajo Hopi and Apache Figures by Emile GALLOIS (1882-1965, French) Signed: Yes Medium: Original gouache painting on thick unframed paper, Siz...

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...

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...

A Fine 1940s, Mid-Century Modern Academic Portrait Figure Study of a Handsome Young Male Model by Notable Chicago Artist, Harold Haydon (Am. 1909-1994). An exceptionally well execut...

A Striking Mid-Century Modern Portrait of a Handsome Young Black Man by Noted Chicago Artist, Harold Haydon (Am. 1909-1994). A wonderful executed studio figure study portrait depict...

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...

Frank Nelson Wilcox (American, 1887-1964) Moraine Valley, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, c. 1950 Watercolor on paper 19 x 24 inches Frank Nelson Wilcox (October 3, 1887 – April 17, 1964) was a modernist American artist and a master of watercolor. Wilcox is described as the "Dean of Cleveland School painters," though some sources give this appellation to Henry Keller or Frederick Gottwald. Wilcox was born on October 3, 1887 to Frank Nelson Wilcox, Sr. and Jessie Fremont Snow Wilcox at 61 Linwood Street in Cleveland, Ohio. His father, a prominent lawyer, died at home in 1904 shortly before Wilcox' 17th birthday. His brother, lawyer and publisher Owen N. Wilcox, was president of the Gates Legal Publishing Company or The Gates Press. His sister Ruth Wilcox was a respected librarian. In 1906 Wilcox enrolled from the Cleveland School of Art under the tutelage of Henry Keller, Louis Rorimer, and Frederick Gottwald. He also attended Keller's Berlin Heights summer school from 1909. After graduating in 1910, Wilcox traveled and studied in Europe, sometimes dropping by Académie Colarossi in the evening to sketch the model or the other students at their easels, where he was influenced by French impressionism. Wilcox was influenced by Keller's innovative watercolor techniques, and from 1910 to 1916 they experimented together with impressionism and post-impressionism. Wilcox soon developed his own signature style in the American Scene or Regionalist tradition of the early 20th century. He joined the Cleveland School of Art faculty in 1913. Among his students were Lawrence Edwin Blazey, Carl Gaertner, Paul Travis, and Charles E. Burchfield. Around this time Wilcox became associated with Cowan Pottery. In 1916 Wilcox married fellow artist Florence Bard, and they spent most of their honeymoon painting in Berlin Heights with Keller. They had one daughter, Mary. In 1918 he joined the Cleveland Society of Artists, a conservative counter to the Bohemian Kokoon Arts Club, and would later serve as its president. He also began teaching night school at the John Huntington Polytechnic Institute at this time, and taught briefly at Baldwin-Wallace College. Wilcox wrote and illustrated Ohio Indian Trails in 1933, which was favorably reviewed by the New York Times in 1934. This book was edited and reprinted in 1970 by William A. McGill. McGill also edited and reprinted Wilcox' Canals of the Old Northwest in 1969. Wilcox also wrote, illustrated, and published Weather Wisdom in 1949, a limited edition (50 copies) of twenty-four serigraphs (silk screen prints) accompanied by commentary "based upon familiar weather observations commonly made by people living in the country." Wilcox displayed over 250 works at Cleveland's annual May Show. He received numerous awards, including the Penton Medal for as The Omnibus, Paris (1920), Fish Tug on Lake Erie (1921), Blacksmith Shop (1922), and The Gravel Pit (1922). Other paintings include The Trailing Fog (1929), Under the Big Top (1930), and Ohio Landscape...

Dink Siegel (American, 1910-2003) That's a Wrap, Playboy cartoon, August 1973 Mixed media on board 11.25 x 8.5 in. Signed lower right

This compelling graphite drawing on paper by Verona Burkhard (1910–2004) showcases a dynamic figure on horseback, rendered with expressive linework and a keen sense of movement. Likely created as a preliminary study for a larger mural, this untitled composition reveals Burkhard’s skill in capturing form, gesture, and energy through the subtle control of graphite. Executed with a confident hand, the sketch offers insight into the creative process of one of America’s notable WPA muralists, making it a rare and collectible piece of American art history. The drawing is presented in a custom archival frame for long-term preservation and elegant display. Framed dimensions: 29 ¾ x 22 ¾ inches, image size: 23 ½ x 16 ¼ inches About the Artist: Verona Lorraine Burkhard Verona Burkhard was an accomplished American artist, muralist, and educator, best known for her vibrant contributions to the WPA (Works Progress Administration) mural program and for shaping the Western Colorado art community. Born in 1910, Burkhard studied at the Art Students League in New York under Boardman Robinson and at Columbia University with Frank Mechau...

Dramatic imagery from FILM NOIR series of black and white monotypes, blending surrealistic mindscapes with stark realism About Tom Bennett: With quick brushstrokes, Tom Bennett crea...

A Very Finely Drawn 1930s Figure Study of a Young Male Nude Model (Torso Study) by Notable Chicago Modern Artist, Harold Haydon (Am. 1909-1994). An early charcoal drawing by Haydon...

Charcoal, pastel lace Audrey Anastasi states: "The paper doll series was created first in the presence of a live model, working quickly, in charcoal an...

A Charming, Picturesque 1945 Landscape Watercolor of Calais, Vermont, The Artist's Studio, by noted Chicago Artist, Harold Haydon (Am. 1909-1994). For many years, Haydon and his wif...

Lee Hall (1934-), Connecticut Summer Fragments, a portfolio of watercolor, 29 in all, each about 5 ¼ x 7 ¼ inches, on hand made paper attached to a backing, i...

Oil Tanks, Alameda Street, Los Angeles, c. 1930-33, watercolor on paper, 14 ¼ x 21 ¼ inches (image), inscribed verso: “watercolor by Ruth Zimmerman 1912 – 1968 / Practice work for sc...

Fireman Textile Fabric Design 1920s American Scene Modern Working Men Art Deco Antonio Petruccelli (1907 - 1994) Firemen Textile design, c. 1929 19 1/4 ...

A Unique, 1960s Mid-Century Modern, European City View Watercolor by Noted Chicago Artist, Rudolph T. Pen. Artwork is formatted in a trapezoid shape, an innovative compositional dev...

This work by John Marin depicts an image of lower Manhattan which was Marin's more iconic subject matter. The work has a stellar provenance as well. Provenance: Kennedy Galleries Richard York Gallery ACA Galleries...

Boogie Woogie II, 1993 Peter Ambrose (American, b. 1953) Charcoal on Paper Signed and Dated Lower Right Titled Lower Left 41 x 29 inches 46.25 x 34.25 inches with frame BORN 1953 New York, NY EDUCATION 1977 MFA, The School of Art Institute of Chicago 1975 BFA, Carnegie Mellon University 1974 Yale University, Summer School of Art and Music TEACHING EXPERIENCE 1983 Visiting Artist, 2-D, 3-D Design and Graduate Advisor, Carnegie Mellon University 1995-96 Independent Study in Exhibition installation, art handling, restoration, Saint Louis University 1998 Adjunct faculty, Sculpture, Saint Louis University SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS 1999 Elliott Smith...

A Fabulous Mid-Century Female Nude Studio Figure Study By Noted Chicago Artist, Harold Haydon (Am. 1909-1994). Depicting a Seated Nude, the drawing is ink and watercolor on paper an...

Title: French Gouache Painting of Acoma Pueblo Corn Dance in New Mexico by Emile GALLOIS (1882-1965, French) Signed: Yes Medium: Original gouache painting on thick unframed paper, Si...

Winold Reiss (1886-1953), who scholars increasingly recognize as a pivotal figure in early 20th-century American art, is known for his evocative portraits that capture the spirit and...

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

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

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 Fine 1930s, Art Deco Modern Academic Figure Study Drawing of a Seated Male Model by Notable Chicago Artist, Harold Haydon (Am. 1909-1994). An exceptionally well executed early 193...

"Rail Yard" Urban Industrial WPA American Scene Drawing NYC Mid-Century. Initialed "JS" upper right Solman was a pivotal figure in the development of 20th century American art. He ...

A Very Finely Drawn 1930s Modern Portrait Figure Study of a Young Male Model by Notable Chicago Modern Artist, Harold Haydon (Am. 1909-1994). An early charcoal drawing by Haydon sh...

ABOUT Stephen Basso Stephen Basso's highly original pastels and oil paintings are romantic, yet thought provoking fantasies. His whimsical works are alive with boundless imaginat...

Watercolor and pencil on buff wove watercolor paper, 10 x 8 inches (255 x 203 mm). In good condition with overall minor toning. Some watercolor paint splatters on the verso, contem...

Andy Warhol is arguably the most important American artist of the 20th century. In the 1950s, he was an in-demand and celebrated illustrator working for New York's toniest publications (like Harper's Bazaar) and elegant shops (such as Bonwit Teller), in addition to many smaller independent fashion companies. In the mid-1950s Warhol became synonymous with shoes after creating a successful campaign for shoe retailer Miller & Sons. Although Warhol had a parallel art practice, primarily focused on drawing, surpassing the designation of “commercial artist” proved difficult. Consider that this era was the height of popularity for the Abstract Expressionist painters. Despite the prevailing aesthetic, Warhol continued to be dedicated to making elegant or playful line drawings. This untitled illustration is an intimate example of Warhol at his best in the 1950's. It is ambiguous whether this was created for a client, or whether Warhol was inspired by an encounter in real life. With the lightest touch, the artist renders a glamorous woman's profile as she holds a young child in her arms. Unique to this drawing is the subtle presence of the child, who rests gently against the woman's chest in a tender embrace yet is almost entirely abstract. This maternal exchange represents an unexpected deviation from Warhol's typical subject matter, possibly serving as a tribute to his own mother, Julia Warhola, whom he admired deeply. This elegant drawing is a marvellous precursor to Warhol's Pop Art era when he became transfixed by images and representation of women. Questions about this piece? Contact us. Visit our Toronto gallery on Thursdays or by appointment. Untitled "Woman in Blue...

Turkey in the Trees, c. 1922 Watercolor on paper Signed lower right 22 x 29 inches Frank Nelson Wilcox (October 3, 1887 – April 17, 1964) was a modernist American artist and a mast...

Abstract watercolor composition bearing the influence of the earlier color-block compositions of Paul Klee. Pawel August Kontny, (Polish-German-American artist) He was born in Laura...

A Dynamic, Avant-Garde, Mid-Century Modern Abstract Female Figure Study by Harold Haydon (Am. 1909-1994). A striking, black & white figural studio ink drawing on paper depicting an...

This mural depicting ancient myths was designed for the Hotel Ambassador, a skyscraper at 345 Park Avenue, NYC; the building was converted to the Sheraton East in 1958. It was demolished in 1966. It could only be mid-century American! Signed, titled, and annotated, 'Scale 2" = 1' in ink. Edward Laning is largely known as a mural artist. His series The History of the Printed Word is installed at the New York Public Library at 42nd Street, New York City, and Building of the Transcontinental Railroad Mural, is in the Railroad Museum, Ogden, Utah. Laning was briefly a student of Kenneth Hayes Miller at the Art Students League, New York. They were lifelong colleagues and had studios on Union Square near friends Isabel Bishop, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Reginald Marsh, and Raphael Soyer. As a group they were the Fourteenth Street School...

A Charming 1930s Charcoal Study of Three Young Men Reading by a Lakehouse Window by Notable Chicago Artist, Harold Haydon (Am. 1909-1994). Most likely completed during the summer mo...

William Sommer (American, 1867-1949) Tyrannus, c. 1935 Watercolor and pen and ink on paper Signed lower right 7.5 x 9.5 inches 16 x 18 inches, framed William Sommer is seen as a ke...

Abraham Walkowitz, Untitled (Figurative Abstraction of Isadora Duncan #7), pencil, 1918. Signed and dated in pencil, bottom center. A fine, spon...

A captivating Mid-Century watercolor of an old Chicago house (with a female figure standing in the window) by Chicago artist George Yelich. The watercolor bears its original frame. ...

Signed by artist "M. O'KEEFE 2013" at lower left. Media is graphite on clay-coated panel. Overall dimensions including the frame are 18 x 15 inches.

West Virginia native Grace Martin Taylor, artist for the brightly colored pastel (TownView), attended the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and the Art S...

Francesco Spicuzza (American, 1883-1962) Untitled Landscape, 20th century Pastel on paper Sight size: 24 x 30 in. Framed: 26 1/4 x 32 3/8 in. Signed lower right: Spicuzza Italian-born Francesco Spicuzza was primarily a Wisconsin painter who did portraits, still-lives and local landscapes. He spent the first part of his life in near-poverty to become a painter. An eternal optimist, in 1917, the artist reported: "I am happy and my only ambition now is to paint better and better until I shall have reached the measure of the best of which I am capable." (Spicuzza, 1917, p. 22). His predilection for beach scenes germinated early: reportedly, the five-year-old boy first drew the outlines of his father's fishing boat in the sand on the seashore near their home in Sicily. After setting himself up as a fruit peddler in Milwaukee, Spicuzza's father sent for his family when Francesco was eight years old. For the following six years the boy was unable to attend school because of his job in his father's fruit and vegetable business. The poor lad suffered a caved-in shoulder from carrying a heavy wooden crate. The young Spicuzza was aided by moral and financial support from a sympathetic Milwaukee businessman named John Cramer, publisher and editor of the Evening Wisconsin, who raised Spicuzza's salary as a newspaper assembler so that he could attend school. In 1899 or 1900, Spicuzza began studying drawing and anatomy under Robert Schade (1861-1912), a painter of panoramas who had been trained in Munich under Carl Theodor von Piloty. Spicuzza was also taught by Alexander Mueller (1872-1935), a product of the Weimar and Munich academies. Mueller realized Spicuzza was a colorist and encouraged that orientation (Madle, 1961). Spicuzza found it beneficial to accept an apprenticeship in a lithographic studio for $8 a week, which demanded most of his time. During the St. Louis Universal Exposition in 1904, still a struggling student, Spicuzza attended the fair, thanks to Cramer. It was not long before Spicuzza received a twenty-five dollar portrait commission, and this inaugural success led to new commissions and allowed him to continue as a painter. The earliest influences in his work appear to be from Edward H. Potthast and Maurice Prendergast, though Spicuzza never mentioned either artist. Already in August 1910, Spicuzza was described in a newspaper as "one of the most talented of Milwaukee's rising workers." He undoubtedly received lasting inspiration from his one summer study period in 1911 with John F. Carlson at the Art Students League's Summer School in Woodstock, New York. Certainly Spicuzza would have picked up spontaneity in handling the brush from Carlson. Although he executed numerous still-lives and an occasional religious work, Spicuzza is best known for his Milwaukee beach scenes populated with frolicking bathers in multi-colored attire, not unlike the images of Potthast, who used a similar technique. Many of these are small, preparatory works on canvas board executed between 1910 and 1915. Frequently with even greater animation than Potthast, Spicuzza produced moving images of youthful energy and uninhibited child's play. These beach genre scenes reflect the attitude of American impressionists who depicted the more pleasant side of life. Spicuzza manipulated a successful balance of rich pigment applied in varying degrees of impasto texture with subtle nuances of hue. Working all'aperto, he sought "the soft enticing shades of yellow, blue, green, pink and lavender . . . to get the effects of bright glistening summer air." (L.E.S., n.d.). As a painter whose color not only derived from direct observation but also from a personal theory of color symbolism, Spicuzza traded the linear approach of lithography for dynamic patches of brilliant color. Like Prendergast, he would often tilt the angle of the picture plane to bring the viewer's position above the scene. Spicuzza was unable to enter the 1913 Armory Show or the Panama-Pacific International Exposition two years later but he did submit work to the annual exhibitions of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and those of the Art Institute of Chicago. His first important award was the bronze medal presented by the St. Paul Institute in 1913, which was followed by the silver medal two years later. Before long, Spicuzza had acquired a greater sense of security in his profession and was described by a writer in International Studio (April 1917) as "an independent artist with an assured future. His pastels and water-colours are poetic and joyous bits of nature with a genuine out-of-door feeling." In 1918, his Spirit of Youth, exhibited at the National Academy of Design, sold for $112.50. Four years later, the artist achieved his greatest local recognition by winning the gold medal from the Milwaukee Art Institute. Spicuzza spent a great deal of time painting en plein air and by 1925 he began summering at Big Cedar Lake, near West Bend, Wisconsin to gather his subject matter. Easter Morning (1926) owes something to the Symbolist movement, with its figure of Christ appearing over a seascape. During the difficult era of the Depression, patrons came to Spicuzza's aid and during the 40s, he taught housewives, businessmen and students at the Milwaukee Art Institute, the Milwaukee Art Center, and in his private studio. In the following decade, although his kind of art was no longer popular in the "make-it-or-break-it" New York gallery world, Spicuzza enjoyed regular patronage and sales. His beach scenes became more static and he would experiment with modernist techniques. Spicuzza died at the age of seventy-eight. Sources: L.E.S., "Do Colors Change a Person's disposition? Experiments of a Milwaukee Artist...

A strong portrait, and a piece of history. It was confidently sketched in 1923, during the heyday of the "Lost Generation" in Paris, at the Closerie des Lilas - Ernest Hemingway's favourite haunt and home-from-home in the City. This historical café is where Hemingway first read The Great Gatsby with his friend F. Scott Fitzgerald and where he wrote most of The Sun Also Rises...

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 1940s Noire Inspired City Street Scene, Lower Wacker Drive, Chicago, Urban Realism by Noted Chicago Modern Artist, Harold Haydon (Am. 1909-1994).. A boldly executed charcoal study...

A life drawing by a well known book illustrator and long-term resident of the Chelsea Hotel in the 1930s. Caswell, Edward Gin giving Doris a hair cut Black crayon on lightweight, br...

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 ch...