Art by Medium: Watercolor

Simka Simkhovitch (Russian/American 1893 - 1949) This came with a small grouping from the artist's family, some were hand signed some were not. These were studies for larger paintings. This is a miniature watercolor and gouache vibrant, colorful bouquet of flowers in a vase. Simka Simkhovitch (Симха Файбусович Симхович) (aka Simka Faibusovich Simkhovich) (Novozybkov, Russia May 21, 1885 O.S./June 2, 1885 N.S.—Greenwich, Connecticut February 25, 1949) was a Ukrainian-Russian Jewish artist and immigrant to the United States. He painted theater scenery in his early career and then had several showings in galleries in New York City. Winning Works Progress Administration (WPA) commissions in the 1930s, he completed murals for the post offices in Jackson, Mississippi and Beaufort, North Carolina. His works are in the permanent collections of the Dallas Museum of Art, the National Museum of American Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art. Born outside Kyiv (Petrograd Ukraine) into a Jewish family who owned a small department store. During a severe case of measles when he was seven, Simcha Simchovitch sketched the views outside his window and decided to become an artist, over his father's objections. Beginning in 1905, he studied at the Grekov Odessa Art School and upon completion of his studies in 1911 received a recommendation to be admitted to the Imperial Academy of Arts. Though he enrolled to begin classes in architecture, painting, and sculpture at the Imperial Academy, he was dropped from the school roster in December because of the quota on the number of Jewish students and drafted into the army. Simchovitch served as a private in the 175th Infantry Regiment Baturyn [ru] until his demobilization in 1912. Re-enrolling in the Imperial Academy, he audited classes. Simka Simkhovitch exhibited paintings and sculptures in 1918 as part of an exhibition of Jewish artists and in 1919 placed 1st in the competition "The Great Russian Revolution" with a painting called "Russian Revolution" which was hung in the State Museum of Revolution. In 1922, Simkha Simkhovitch exhibited at the International Book Fair in Florence (Italian: Fiera Internazionale del Libro di Firenze). In 1924, Simkhovitch came to the United States to make illustrations for Soviet textbooks and decided to immigrate instead. Initially he supported himself by doing commercial art and a few portrait commissions. In 1927, he was hired to paint a screen for a scene in the play "The Command to Love" by Fritz Gottwald and Rudolph Lothar which was playing at the Longacre Theatre on Broadway. Art dealers began clamoring for the screen and Simkhovitch began a career as a screen painter for the theater. Catching the attention of the screenwriter, Ernest Pascal, he worked as an illustrator for Pascal, who then introduced him to gallery owner, Marie Sterner. Simkhovitch's works appeared at the Marie Sterner Gallery beginning with a 1927 exhibit and were repeated the following year. Simkhovitch had an exhibit in 1929 at Sterner's on circus paintings. In 1931, he held a showing of works at the Helen Hackett Gallery, in New York City and later that same year he was one of the featured artists of a special exhibit in San Francisco at the California Palace of the Legion of Honor in Lincoln Park. The exhibit was coordinated by Marie Sterner and included four watercolors, including one titled "Nudes". He is of the generation of Russian Soviet artists such as Isaac Pailes, Serge Charchoune, Marc Chagall, Chana Orloff, Isaac Ilyich Levitan, and Ossip Zadkine. In 1936, Simkhovitch was selected to complete the mural for the WPA Post office project in Jackson, Mississippi. The mural was hung in the post office and courthouse in 1938 depicted a plantation theme. Painted on the wall behind the judge’s bench, “Pursuits of Life in Mississippi”, a depiction of black workers engaged in manual labor amid scenes of white professionals and socialites, was eventually covered over in later years during renovations due to its stereotypical African American imagery. Simka painted what he thought was typical of Jackson. His impression of pre-civil rights Mississippi was evidently Greek Revival column houses, weeping willow trees, working class families, and the oppression of African Americans. He painted African American men picking cotton, while a white man took account of the harvest and a white judge advised a white family, calling it Pursuits of Life in Mississippi. Though clearly endorsed by the government and initially generally well-received, the mural soon raised concerns with locals as the climate toward racial segregation began to change. The main concern was whether depictions that show African Americans in subjugated societal roles should be featured in a courtroom. The following year, his painting "Holiday" won praise at an exhibition in Lincoln, Nebraska. In 1940, Simkhovitch's second WPA post office project was completed when four murals, "The Cape Lookout Lighthouse and the Orville W. Mail Boat", "The Wreck of the Crissie Wright", "Sand Ponies" and "Canada Geese" were installed in Beaufort, North Carolina. The works were commissioned in 1938 and did not generate the controversy that the Jackson mural had. The main mural is "The Wreck of the Crissie Wright" and depicts a shipwreck which had occurred in Beaufort in 1866. "The Cape Lookout Lighthouse and the Orville W. Mail Boat" depicted the lighthouse built in 1859 and the mail boat that was running mail during the time which Simkhovitch was there. The boat ran mail for the area until 1957. "Sand Ponies" shows the wild horses common to the North Carolina barrier islands and "Canada Geese" showed the importance of hunting and fishing in the area. All four murals were restored in the 1990s by Elisabeth Speight, daughter of two other WPA muralists, Francis Speight...

Untitled Fabric Design Gouache on paper, 1920-1935 Signed with the Atelier Stamp verso (see photo) Numbered with the Atelier Litt Archive number verso (see photo) No. 05535 ...

Untitled Fabric Design Gouache on paper, 1920-1935 Signed with the Atelier Stamp verso (see photo) Numbered with the Atelier Litt Archive number verso (see photo) No. 37365 ...

Untitled Fabric Design Gouache on paper, 1920-1935 Signed with the Atelier Stamp verso (see photo) Numbered with the Atelier Litt Archive number verso (see photo) Condition: E...

Untitled Fabric Design Gouache on paper, 1920-1935 Signed with the Atelier Stamp verso (see photo) Numbered with the Atelier Litt Archive number verso (see photo)No. 26190 Con...

Untitled Fabric Design Gouache on paper, 1920-1935 Signed with the Atelier Stamp verso (see photo) Numbered with the Atelier Litt Archive number verso (see photo) No. 24680 Co...

The Tree-Lined Avenue is an original modern artwork realized in the 1930s by the French artist Pierre Segogne (1890-1958). Original mixed colored watercolor and tempera on paper. H...

"NY Street Signs" Mid-20th Century WPA 1938 Modernist Abstract Realism Pop Art Stuart Davis (American, 1892-1964) "Street Signs" Modernist gouache and traces of pencil on paper in t...

Industrial Man Working Mid 20th Century American Scene Social Realism Modern WPA Jo Cain (1904 - 2003) Hammering Nails 39 x 50 ½ inches Gouache on paper c. 19...

This 1930 watercolor by American artist and architect Allen Tucker is framed with museum quality, non-reflective glass and archival matting. It was gifted by the artist to his friend...

Duel is a Pencil Drawing realized by Mino Maccari  (1924-1989) in 1935. Monogrammed on the lower margin. Good condition on a yellowed paper. Mino Maccari (Siena, 1924-Rome, June 1...

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 ...

Rooftop view of the upper West Side Manhattan as it looked in the 1930s. There is a rough indication of a billboard and a glimpse of the Hudson River. The cluster of buildings depic...

Mountain Landscape Northern in France is an original modern artwork realized in the 1930s by the French artist Pierre Segogne (1890-1958). Original colored watercolor on paper. Han...

Femme assise nue avec un bras levé au-dessus de sa tête Seated female nude with an arm raised over her head Ink and watercolor on paper, n.d. Signed in pencil lower right (see photo)...

Charles Evans (1907-1992) Mediterranean Costal Town, 1932. Gouache and watercolor on paper. Sheet measures 8.5 x 10 inches; mounted in frame measuring 8.5 x 10 inches. Signed and dated lower left. Charles Evans was a modernist known for his abstract style of painting. He studied at New York's Art Students League and Parsons School of Design, and later in Paris with Fernand Lger at the Acadmie Moderne. In 1930, Evans and his wife spent a year living in what was Paul Cezanne's studio in Aix-en-Provence, France. The following year, Evans purchased the old silk mill in New Hope and became involved in the area's modernist movement, joining the Independents in 1932. By 1935, he began to work collaboratively with Louis Stone, whom he had met in 1929 while studying with Hans Hofman in Saint Tropez, and with Charles F. Ramsey, teaching art classes and working on the Cooperative Painting Project. Every week, the three were joined by the abstract painter, Lee Gatch, in discussions at Ledger's Inn in Lambertville. In 1948 Evans co-founded the New Hope Gazette with Walter M. Teller. The same year he created set designs for St. John Terrell's Lambertville Music Circus. He also designed sets for the Bucks County Playhouse and Philadelphia's Playhouse in the Park. He later served as Set Designer for the Fred Miller...

This stunning furniture study project drawing was designed by L' Atelier 43 Studio in Lyon, France, in the 1930s. The study features a project for a custom-made interior bar in a typ...

Original Art Deco fashion drawing, ink, and wash on Vellum paper by French artist G. Ferro. The artwork features a stylish male model with a typical Art Deco overcoat. The piece is s...

An original antique watercolor painting by well listed Austrian artist Franz Weidinger. This work is signed and titled lower left and housed in a be...

Mystery Artist Untitled, 1993 Watercolor on paper Sight: 13 x 19 1/4 in. Framed: 25 1/2 x 29 1/2 x 1 1/4 in. Signed and dated lower right

WPA Post Office Mural Study Native American Scene Regionalism Social Realism Louise Emerson Ronnebeck (1901 - 1980) Proposal Sketch for Worland Wyoming Post Office WPA Mural Project Image: 7 x 15 inches Board 14 x 22 inches Watercolor on paper, attached to black/gray cardboard/thick paper c. 1937 Signed lower right Written in Louise's hand on mounting paper in white chalk/pencil: "Sketch for Mural...

The circa 1935 original gouache by Boris Lacroix, titled "Composition Verte," stands as a testament to the artist's mastery of color, form, and expression. Signed in charcoal at the ...

A lovely gouache on cardboard painting featuring an Art Deco singer with a typical stylish outfit. The composition is very vibrant, using the contrast of black and white elements ag...

Raphael DELORME (1886-1962) Study, preparatory work for “La Princesse” Watercolor and pencil on paper Annotated “La Princesse” 30,5 x 22,5 cm Small folds and small stains Born in 18...

Delightful petite abstract work by American abstract artist Vaclav Vytlacil. About this artist: Born in 1892 to Czechoslovakian parents in New York, Vaclav Vytlacil and his parents ...

Raphael DELORME (1886-1962) Study of a woman in profile Watercolor, gouache and pencil on paper Illegible annotation in the lower right corner 31 x 20 cm Small needle holes at the to...

Finely painted American school modernist dock scene by Eleanor Beatrice Acker (Born 1907). Watercolor and gouache on paper. Nicely framed. Signed and dated. Artist biography; Ele...

Two Women and a Child on the Beach at Provincetown Unsigned. Watercolor on paper, c. 1934 A beautiful Provincetown beach scene, included in the catalogue raisonne. Please see Babcoc...

A ca. 1931 delightful watercolor still life at a table; a study in yellow by artist Harold Haydon. Harold Emerson Haydon was born in Fort William, Ont...

Raphael DELORME (1886-1962) Study, preparatory work for “La Princesse” Watercolor and pencil on paper Annotated “La Princesse” 30,5 x 22,5 cm Small folds and small stains Born in 18...

*Dimensions include the frame This French watercolor dating from around 1930 conveys a serene maritime scene that resonates with the aesthetic principles of the Impressionists. The ...

A ca. 1931 charming watercolor forest scene; a study in yellow by artist Harold Haydon. Harold Emerson Haydon was born in Fort William, Ontario, Canad...

A ca. 1931 charming watercolor interior scene; a study in yellow by artist Harold Haydon. Harold Emerson Haydon was born in Fort William, Ontario, Can...

A ca. 1931 delightful watercolor still life at a table; a study in yellow by artist Harold Haydon. Harold Emerson Haydon was born in Fort William, Ont...

A ca. 1931 delightful still life at a table; a study in yellow by artist Harold Haydon. Harold Emerson Haydon was born in Fort William, Ontario, Canad...

3828 Antique English watercolor of Blackpool from Cleveley Lancashire England Image size 9.25x13.25"

MARIE PALMER-SMITH (1899-1997) Silver Cloud Bears artist’s studio stamp on the reverse Gouache on silver paper Unframed in mount 15 by 22.5 cm., 6 by 8 ¾ in. (mount size 29.5 by 3...

Bronx Post Office Mural Study WPA Horse Social Realism Mid 20th Century Modern Jo Cain (1904 - 2003) Couriers of History Bronx Post Office Mural Study Horse in the Sun (with two ad...

Watercolor In 1930, the gifted artist J. Castelli crafted a remarkable aquarelle to commemorate the Centenaire de l'Algérie, marking one hundred years of Algeria's historical and cu...

Art Deco Movie Set 20th Century American Modernism Hollywood WPA Social Realism Arthur Rosenman Ross (1913 - 1981) Art Deco Movie Set, Probably MGM Studios, 1937 17 x 27 inches Gouache on illustration Board Signed Art Ross, ‘37 lower right Provenance: Estate of the artist. BIO Arthur Rosenman Ross was a key figure in automotive design at General Motors during America's "Golden Age" of auto design, the 1930's through the 1950s. He attended the Art Institute of Chicago from age 17, exhibiting a special interest for automotive renderings and the female figure. In 1934, he changed his name from Rosenman to Ross, fearing his Jewish ancestry could prejudice his career prospects. At age 20, he turned down job offers from MGM Studios in Hollywood and Duesenberg to work at General Motors alongside the Legendary Harley Earl in 1935. He was hand picked by Mr. Earl and assigned to GM's War and Camouflage Division in 1937 through WW2. It was during this pivotal period in which he executed some extraordinary military aircraft artworks, likely used between GM and America's military aeronautics companies in design preparation for WW2. General Motors played an important role in helping America's aircraft manufacturers preceding and during the war. Just after the war in 1945, Mr. Ross was rewarded by GM, being made Chief Designer of Cadillac, then two years later becoming Chief at Oldsmobile until his retirement in 1959. He was in large part responsible for some of GM's classic Cadillac designs such as the Cadillac Sixty Special, Fleetwood, LaSalle and GM's first concept car, the extraordinary Buick Y-Job. Mr. Ross was an exceptionally charismatic and vivacious man who quite by chance, befriended His idol, Salvador Dali at GM in 1955. They talked about art, cars and girls late into the evening, according to his son, Carter Ross. He had a gift in rendering the erotic arts...

“Dime a Dance” American Art Deco 20th Century Modernism Pin-Up Social Realism Arthur Rosenman Ross (1913 - 1981) “Dime a Dance”, 1933 Watercolor and Ink on Illustration Board 18” x 10 1/2 inches (sight) Signed Arthur Rosenman, ‘33 L/R 29 1/2”H x 25 1/2 inches ( Framed) Provenance: Estate of the artist. The Drawing is in very good condition. The period frame is solid, but could use some restoration. BIO Arthur Rosenman Ross was a key figure in automotive design at General Motors during America's "Golden Age" of auto design, the 1930's through the 1950s. He attended the Art Institute of Chicago from age 17, exhibiting a special interest for automotive renderings and the female figure. In 1934, he changed his name from Rosenman to Ross, fearing his Jewish ancestry could prejudice his career prospects. At age 20, he turned down job offers from MGM Studios in Hollywood and Duesenberg to work at General Motors alongside the Legendary Harley Earl in 1935. He was hand picked by Mr. Earl and assigned to GM's War and Camouflage Division in 1937 through WW2. It was during this pivotal period in which he executed some extraordinary military aircraft artworks, likely used between GM and America's military aeronautics companies in design preparation for WW2. General Motors played an important role in helping America's aircraft manufacturers preceding and during the war. Just after the war in 1945, Mr. Ross was rewarded by GM, being made Chief Designer of Cadillac, then two years later becoming Chief at Oldsmobile until his retirement in 1959. He was in large part responsible for some of GM's classic Cadillac designs such as the Cadillac Sixty Special, Fleetwood, LaSalle and GM's first concept car, the extraordinary Buick Y-Job. Mr. Ross was an exceptionally charismatic and vivacious man who quite by chance, befriended His idol, Salvador Dali at GM in 1955. They talked about art, cars and girls late into the evening, according to his son, Carter Ross. He had a gift in rendering the erotic arts...

Airacuda Fighter Planes Art Deco Machine Age 20th Century American Modernism Arthur Rosenman Ross (1913 - 1981) Bell YFM-1 Airacuda Fighter Planes 17 1/2 x 26 1/2 inches Gouache, Airbrush and Ink on Illustration Board, 1938 Signed A. Ross lower right Provenance: Estate of the artist. BIO Arthur Rosenman Ross was a key figure in automotive design at General Motors during America's "Golden Age" of auto design, the 1930's through the 1950s. He attended the Art Institute of Chicago from age 17, exhibiting a special interest for automotive renderings and the female figure. In 1934, he changed his name from Rosenman to Ross, fearing his Jewish ancestry could prejudice his career prospects. At age 20, he turned down job offers from MGM Studios in Hollywood and Duesenberg to work at General Motors alongside the Legendary Harley Earl in 1935. He was hand picked by Mr. Earl and assigned to GM's War and Camouflage Division in 1937 through WW2. It was during this pivotal period in which he executed some extraordinary military aircraft artworks, likely used between GM and America's military aeronautics companies in design preparation for WW2. General Motors played an important role in helping America's aircraft manufacturers preceding and during the war. Just after the war in 1945, Mr. Ross was rewarded by GM, being made Chief Designer of Cadillac, then two years later becoming Chief at Oldsmobile until his retirement in 1959. He was in large part responsible for some of GM's classic Cadillac designs such as the Cadillac Sixty Special, Fleetwood, LaSalle and GM's first concept car, the extraordinary Buick Y-Job. Mr. Ross was an exceptionally charismatic and vivacious man who quite by chance, befriended His idol, Salvador Dali at GM in 1955. They talked about art, cars and girls late into the evening, according to his son, Carter Ross. He had a gift in rendering the erotic arts...

La Suisse Normande en Automne by Paulémile Pissarro (1884-1972) Watercolour and pencil on paper 28 x 20 cm (11 x 7 ⁷/₈ inches) Signed and inscribed lower left, Paulémile - Pissarro -...

Les Nénuphars à Sorel by Paulémile Pissarro (1884-1972) Watercolour and crayon on paper 32.5 x 50.3 cm (12 ³/₄ x 19 ³/₄ inches) Signed and dated lower right, Sorel le 8 juillet 1931 ...

Trees Over the Vineyard Watercolor on heavy paper, c. 1930 Signed with the estate stamp verso (see photo) Sheet size: 16 1/2 x 19 1/8 inches Condition: Excellent Illustrated: Marbell...

Signed lower left, 'Jais' for Johannes Knud Ove Jais-Nielsen (Danish, 1885-1961) and dated 1938. A powerful figural work showing a view of Jesus kneeling in the Garden of Gethsemane on the evening before his trial and execution. Born in Denmark, Jais Nielsen initially studied at Kunstnernes Frie Studieskoler under Kristian Zahrtmann and exhibited for the first time at the 1907 Autumn Salon at the Charlottenborg Palace. Nielsen participated in the early and groundbreaking, “Group of Thirteen" Modernist show, where his focus on dynamic figural painting and his bold use of color set him dramatically apart from his contemporaries. From 1907-11, Nielsen's use of 'primitive' Fauve colors would continue to reinforce his break with traditional Danish painting. During this period, he made study excursions to important art centres, including, in 1909, to Berlin. In 1911, he moved to Paris where he settled in the Latin Quarter near the Musée Cluny. His first formal Paris exhibition was at the Salon d’Automne of 1912. During this first Paris period, Nielsen attended meetings of the Section d’Or at the studio of Jacques Villon and, as a result, began to incorporate subtle, yet distinct, Cubist elements into his work.   With the outbreak of World War One, Nielsen returned to Copenhagen, taking with him both his increasing compositional sophistication and a thorough understanding of the principles of Modernism. During this period, ports, dance and circus life became subjects of interest and he painted many canvases in the style of Analytic Cubism, of which he became the earliest and, arguably, the finest Danish exponent. From 1915 onwards, Nielsen also created Cubist sculptures and, from 1922-28, was employed as a sculptor by the Royal Copenhagen porcelain factory. Here, he produced a series of ceramic sculptures on Biblical themes which included the Good Samaritan and several versions of Jacob Wrestling with the Angel...

A wonderful study for an American Veterans Remembrance Day Poster Study (National Poppy Day, American Legion) by Elaine Jeanne Glickman (Ginsburg), created at Ferry Hall in Lake Fore...

Untitled (Fabric Design) Annotated on the verso with the studio address of the artist Signed in ink lower right corner: “Marguerite Gross” Gouache on heavy paper, 1930-1939 In 1930 ...

FERNAND LEGER (1881–1955) Gouache paint on paper, signed with the artist's initials F.L and dated 1938.

Irving Lehman was a New York School artist whose work was influenced by constructivism and cubism. He exhibited at the Whitney, the Brooklyn Museum, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art, and many other institutions. This work shows an abstracted view of New York rooftops...

A tonal, watercolor of a steel mill by artist Harold Haydon. Harold Emerson Haydon was born in Fort William, Ontario, Canada in 1909. Haydon came to Chicago with his family in 191...

A tonal, watercolor of a steel mill by artist Harold Haydon. Harold Emerson Haydon was born in Fort William, Ontario, Canada in 1909. Haydon came to Chicago with his family in 191...

"Lock Ness" Lake Watercolor Landscape on Paper Expansive landscape of Loch Ness by R.C. Lees (Scottish). The viewer looks out over Lock Ness, from a high vantage point. There is a l...

A tonal, watercolor of a steel mill by artist Harold Haydon. Harold Emerson Haydon was born in Fort William, Ontario, Canada in 1909. Haydon came to Chicago with his family in 191...

A tonal, watercolor of a steel mill by artist Harold Haydon. Harold Emerson Haydon was born in Fort William, Ontario, Canada in 1909. Haydon came to Chicago with his family in 191...

Painter is a drawing realized by Alberto Ziveri in 1938. Ink and watercolor on paper. Hand-signed. In good condition.

Paul Emile Lecomte (1877-1950) La Grille (The Gate) Signed lower left Watercolor on paper 27 x 37 cm In quite condition: yellowed by time, some stains Framed: 43 x 53 cm Paul Emile ...

Church Bell is a drawing realized by Alberto Ziveri in the 1930s. Watercolor on paper. Hand-signed. In good conditions.