Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 18

Carl Holty
Bold German American Abstract Expressionist Color Field Oil Painting Carl Holty

About the Item

Carl Robert Holty (American 1900-1973) Abstract Expressionism Oil on Masonite board. Abstract with greens blues and red, Dimensions 12 x 9-1/2 inches. Framed 17 X 14 inches Hand signed faintly in ink lower left Holty. Provenance: Richard Norton Gallery (bears label verso) Carl Robert Holty (1900–1973) was a German-born American abstract painter. Raised in Wisconsin, he was the first major abstract painter to gain notoriety from the state. Harold Rosenberg described Holty as "a figure of our art history," known for his use of color, shape and form. Carl Holty was born in 1900 in Freiburg, Germany. Shortly after his birth, the family moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where they lived in the German district with his grandparents. The Holty family then moved to the countryside near Green Bay where his father practiced medicine, before returning to Milwaukee around 1906. Holty's grandfather introduced him to art by taking him to visit local art galleries. Around the age of twelve, Holty began taking lessons with a local German painter. As a teenager, he started drawing cartoons and became interested in poster art. He attended Milwaukee University School, graduating high school within two and a half years. In 1919 he went to Marquette University, then joining the Reserve Officers' Training Corps during World War I, with the program ending within the same year. He enrolled at the Art Institute of Chicago, eventually attending classes at the Parsons School of Design. He returned to Milwaukee in 1923 and opened a portrait painting studio. In 1925 Holty married and honeymooned in Europe, living there for the next ten years, first in Munich and then Switzerland. He moved to Paris that year, before returning to the United States in 1935 and living in New York City. He taught at Brooklyn College from 1950 until 1970. During that time he also was a visiting instructor at the Art Students League, Washington University in St. Louis, and University of Louisville. Upon his retirement from Brooklyn College he was awarded the title of professor emeritus. In 1926, while living in Munich, Holty originally planned to attend the Royal Academy, only to train under Hans Hofmann. Hofmann's ideas about space, color, and shape would transform Holty's work, with Holty's work becoming more abstract as time went on. From 1930 to 1935 he lived in Paris, exhibiting his work to good reception. There he met Robert Delaunay and Sonia Delaunay and joined Delaunay's group Abstraction-Création. His work was published in the group's magazine and became associated with Cubism and Neo-Plasticism. His Paris works have been compared to the paintings of Juan Gris and the synthetic Cubism of Pablo Picasso. Upon returning to the United States, he found artist representation in New York City and became involved, once again, with Hans Hofmann and Vaclav Vytlacil as well as Stuart Davis, whom he had known in Paris. Vytlacil invited Holty to participate in discussions which led to the formation of the American Abstract Artists, which Holty would eventually come to chair, retaining his membership until 1944. During this time, he moved away from Cubism and started to experiment with Biomorphism. In the 1930s he used tape to give strong edges to forms, also reworking and overpainting sections, as seen in his work Gridiron (1943–1944). Between 1945 and 1948 he was represented by the Samuel M. Kootz Gallery. He continued to explore shapes and form, and by the 1960s contours had disappeared from his work, being replaced with subtle toned-down colors. Holty served as artist in residence at Georgia State University, University of Florida, University of California at Berkeley, University of Wisconsin and the Corcoran School of Art. He also wrote a book, with Romare Bearden, titled The Painter's Mind, published in 1969. In 1977 the Carl Holty Papers were donated to the Archives of American Art by Charles Byrne. On his role as a Wisconsin artist, Andrew Stevens stated in 1995 that "Holty's zeal for non-objective art was more closely identified with the younger group of American painters in the East. His artworks including his prints are among the first by a Wisconsin artist to come to grips with the tide of abstract art that spread from Europe to America at the beginning of the 20th century." He was included in the portfolio of lithograph works; Various Artists, American Abstract Artists 1937 with Werner Drewes, Ilya Bolotowsky, Balcomb Greene, Ray Eames, Louis Schanker, Esphyr Slobodkina and Byron Browne. Notable exhibitions Carl Holty: The World Seen and Sensed, 1980–81; Milwaukee Art Museum Annual Exhibition of Contemporary Painting, 1945; Whitney Museum of American Art American Painting Today, 1950; Metropolitan Museum of Art Abstract Painting and Sculpture in America, 1951; Museum of Modern Art (Josef Albers, William Baziotes, Alexander Calder, Willem de Kooning, Philip Guston, Marsden Hartley, Jackson Pollock, Isamu Noguchi and Man Ray.) Contemporary American Painting and Sculpture, 1963; Krannert Art Museum
More From This SellerView All
  • American Modernist Abstract Expressionist Oil Painting Carving William Pellicone
    Located in Surfside, FL
    William Pellicone (American 1915-2004) Mixed media, pyrography, oil on wood carving painting. Dated 1958 Title - Enthymeme #14. Oil painting on carved and burnt distressed wood panel. Inscribed verso Enthymeme Wm. Pellicone #14, 9-4-58. Label on reverse with a typed definition for Enthymeme. Dimensions: 27 inches high, 42.5 inches wide. Metal wrap frame. Provenance: from a Shelter Island NY home that was designed by architect Henry J. Gazon - A.I.A. built in 1959. William Pellicone (1915-2004) was an American painter known for his abstract compositions and use of vibrant colors. He was born in New York City and studied at the Art Students League and the Brooklyn Museum Art School. Pellicone's early work was influenced by the Social Realist movement of the 1930s and 1940s, with his paintings often featuring realistic depictions of urban scenes and working-class people. However, in the 1950s he shifted towards abstraction, exploring the interplay of color and form. Pellicone's mature style was characterized by his use of vibrant, saturated colors, often applied in thick layers of paint. His paintings often featured geometric shapes and organic forms, with a strong sense of movement and energy. In addition to his painting, Pellicone was also a respected teacher and arts administrator. He taught at the New York Institute of Technology and the State University of New York, and served as the director of the Islip Art Museum on Long Island. Pellicone's artwork was exhibited widely during his lifetime, and he was the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including a National Endowment for the Arts grant in 1977. Today, his paintings can be found in the collections of museums and galleries around the world, including the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C. and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. William Pellicone (Born 1915) is active/lives in New York. William Pellicone is known for Abstract expressionist, landscape and non-objective art. An American artist, sculptor, architect. He exhibited at Pennsylvania Academy Fine Arts...
    Category

    1950s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Paintings

    Materials

    Wood, Oil

  • Large Modernist French Abstract Expressionist Colorful Bird Painting Roger Lersy
    By Roger Lersy
    Located in Surfside, FL
    Roger Lersy, French (1920 - 2004) Oil on canvas Signed, R. Lersy, dated 1961 lower right Measuring 35 X 31 Matted and framed. sight 26 X 21.5 Roger Lersy was born in Paris, France 1920, in the rough neighborhood surrounding Place Pigalle. His youth was marked by extreme poverty. Lersy studied art and music at the École des Arts Apppliqués. He was a painter, lithographer and musician-composer He belongs to the École de Paris and was a member in the movement of the Young Painting. By 1946, when he first exhibited in Paris, Lersy became one of the founders of the School of Paris’ New Graphic School. Lersy received the Prix des Amateurs d’Art in 1953, the Shell Prize in 1954 and the Grand Prize of the City of Marseilles in 1953. Lersy could be defined as a Baroque expressionist. For Bernard Dorival, Roger Lersy is along with Gabriel Dauchot, Jean Commère and Raymond Guerrier among "the most noted champions of this expressionism which is part of the continuation of Bernard Buffet's miserabilism". Famous works: New Year's Eve , Aubusson tapestry of the Manufacture des Gobelins , Permanent Mission of France to the United Nations , One Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza , New York . Venice , bridges , watercolor, 1963 (theme of the Roger Lersy exhibition, Chicago). The poppy , original lithograph, Imprimerie Bellini, 1978, collection of the Cabinet des estampes , BNF . Still life at the pedestal table , oil on canvas, Jonzac town hall. Lohengrin , oil on canvas, Versailles Administrative Court of Appeal. Portrait of the painter Tony Agostini , drawing. Series Eiffel Tower. Stained glass: Saint-Laurent Church, Longlaville ( Meurthe-et-Moselle ), 29 stained glass windows. Musical works: Stained glasses for clarinet , saxophone, cello and percussion , creation in the church of Longlaville, 1972. Three pieces for two waves Martenot : 1. Scum of dream, 2. Scare and jubilation. Malicious connivance, sheet music Editions A. Leduc, Paris, 1979. Work for trumpet and piano , published by Éditions G. Billaudot, Paris, 1984. Five pieces for piano , scores published by G. Billaudot, Paris, 1989. Five preludes for piano and alto saxophone , scores at Éditions Combre, premiere at Flâneries musicales de Reims , 1993. In memory of Chagall , piece for flute and percussion , recording of Duo Hyksos (Henri Tournier, flute and Michel Gastaud, percussion) in 1995. Preface in black and yellow for horn and piano , score at Éditions Combre, Arc-en-ciel collection, 2000. Soundtracks: Diatomées Note 4 , 19 , film by Jean Painlevé...
    Category

    1960s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Paintings

    Materials

    Oil, Acrylic, Canvas

  • A Glazing Medley, Abstract Expressionist Oil on Canvas Painting
    Located in Surfside, FL
    Inn the manner of the Hans Hofmann School. A great older Abstract Expressionist painting.
    Category

    20th Century Abstract Expressionist Abstract Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Oil

  • Abstract Expressionist Art Latin American Mixed Media Oil Painting Perez Celis
    By Perez Celis
    Located in Surfside, FL
    Perez Celis (American, Argentinian 1939-2008) Oil and mixed media on canvas 1993 Latin abstract expressionism oil painting depicting a color block and drip motif Hand signed and dated to lower left. In gilt gold frame. Approximate dimensions: canvas h. 14", w. 21"; frame h. 24", w. 31", d. 2.25". Celis Pérez (1939 – 2008) was an Argentine artist usually referred to as Pérez Celis. He earned international recognition for his paintings, sculptures, murals and engravings. Pérez was born in San Telmo on the South side of Buenos Aires, and grew up in Liniers, on the opposite end of town. Working as a newsboy during childhood, he learned the basics of drawing and painting via correspondence classes. In 1954 he entered the Manuel Belgrano National School of Fine Arts, and under the guidance of teachers like Leopoldo Presas, Santiago Cogorno, and Libero Badii, Pérez Celis developed his interest in abstraction. He first exhibited at age 17, at Galería La Fantasma. Following his entry into the professional arts world, he began using his name in a reversed form. At the start of his career he has been influenced by Hungarian artist Victor Vasarely during a 1957 retrospective of the latter's works at the National Fine Arts Museum. Some of his later works bear the influence of Gerhard Richter. He married Sarah Fernández in 1959 and relocated to Uruguay for less than a year invited by Carlos Páez Vilaró . Took part in the "Group of 8" – proponents of abstract art among the normally conservative local audiences. "Grupo de los 8", was a movement of Latin American, Uruguayan and Argentine artists formed in 1958 together with Oscar García Reino, Miguel Ángel Pareja, Raúl Pavlovsky, Lincoln Presno, Américo Sposito, Alfredo Testoni and Julio Verdie in order to promote new tendencies in painting. In 1960 they were invited by art critic Rafael Squirru to join the international exhibition at the Buenos Aires Museum of Modern Art (of which he was creator and first director) with artists such as Willem de Kooning, Roger Hilton and Lucio Fontana. He returned to Buenos Aires in 1960, and opened a downtown atelier with the support of Guido Di Tella, his first mecena. Pérez Celis explored geometric art, and builds his first mural, Fuerza América, in 1962. Indigenous patterns and colors would reappear in many of his productions during the 1960s and 1970s, and distinguished him from most other local artists, among whom pop art and figurative art was more influential. His work had a more raw, Art Brut , Brutalist feel to it. He was featured in more than 120 solo shows during his career, notably the Galerie Bellechasse, Anita Shapolsky Gallery New York, (he showed with Agustin Fernandez, Rodolfo Abularach, Giancarlo Puppo and Cuban artist Mario Bencomo) Arteconsult, Boston & Panama, Witcomb, etc. and his art was purchased for many private collections and first-rate museums, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York. He received commissions from the Argentine government, which placed his works in the Ministro Pistarini International Airport, from other governments, and from prominent individuals and businesses. In 1977, following his wife's passing in an automobile accident he remarried and lived in Caracas, Paris, New York City, and Miami in subsequent years. He shared his time between Buenos Aires and New York in 1994, a retrospective of his work was hosted at Biblioteca Nacional visited by more than 300000 persons. He continued exhibiting in Latin America, in the Sanyo Gallery in Tokyo, the Anita Shapolsky Gallery in New York City, and at numerous universities. Among his numerous recognitions in later years was the Alba Award at the 61st Salón Nacional de Artes Plásticas Argentino, and he was proclaimed a Distinguished Citizen of the City of Buenos Aires in 2001. He also created several literary illustrations, notably those for Jorge Luis Borges' Spanish-language translation of Walt Whitman's poem Leaves of Grass. A fan of the Club Atlético Boca Juniors football team, he created two murals in 1997 for the team's La Bombonera Stadium in Buenos Aires: "Idolos" (Idols) and "Mito y Destino" (Myth and Destiny), both Venetian mosaics and bronze sculpture on cement. Museum of Modern Art (MOMA), New York, NY Museum of Modern Latin American Art...
    Category

    1990s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil

  • Signed Castro Abstract Expressionist 1960s Latin American Oil Painting Collage
    Located in Surfside, FL
    'La Multitud Sodomita Rodea la Casa de Lot' Titled and signed in Spanish. it refers to the biblical story of Lot with the Sodomites. It is a very well executed piece signed Castro an...
    Category

    1960s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Paintings

    Materials

    Mixed Media, Oil

  • Geometric Composition, Abstract Oil Painting
    By Robert Neuman
    Located in Surfside, FL
    Robert S. Neuman was born in Kellogg, Idaho, in 1926. After an honorable discharge from the Air Force in 1946, he received his BA in 1949 and his MFA in 1951, both from the California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland. He moved from the Bay Area to the East Coast in 1957 where he began teaching art at SUNY New Paltz, then at Massachusetts College of Art, Brown University, and Harvard University’s Carpenter Center for Visual Arts. He received a Fulbright Fellowship for Painting in 1953 and the John S. Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship in 1956. He has been the subject of countless exhibitions, including five solo shows in 2013. Neuman’s work has been on view at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art, and the Museum of Modern Art, New York. His work is included in public collections including the Carnegie Museum of Art, Yale University Art Gallery, the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, and the Fogg Art Museum of Harvard University. He died in June 2015. During the 1950's, Neuman painted in an Abstract Expressionist style, incorporating the stylistic signifiers of the Bay Area School such as broad surface treatments, a full color palette, and atmospheric light. In the 1960's, Neuman's art evolved into geometric abstraction, fusing form and content that often verged on symbolism. He produced various bodies of works such as the Kandinsky-esque cosmos paintings...
    Category

    Mid-20th Century Abstract Expressionist Abstract Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Oil

You May Also Like
  • Edge
    Located in Austin, TX
    Oil on board. Signed and dated lower right and verso, titled verso. 36.25 x 48 in. 40.5 x 52.25 in. (framed) Framed in contemporary silver, tiered floater frame. Dennis Eugene Norman Burton was a Canadian modernist who was born in Lethbridge, Ontario. He attended the Ontario College of Art from 1952 to 1956, and worked for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) as a graphic designer until 1960. Inspired by a 1955 exhibition of the “Painters Eleven” at Toronto’s Hart House, as well as American Abstract Expressionist artists such as Robert Motherwell, Jack Tworkov, and Willem de Kooning, Burton shifted his focus toward abstraction in the mid-1950s. Burton showed with the famed Isaacs Gallery in Toronto, becoming one of the youngest members on the gallery’s roster. A talented musician, he also played saxophone in the Artist’s Jazz Band in Toronto - a pioneering Canadian free-jazz group...
    Category

    1950s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Paintings

    Materials

    Masonite, Oil, Board

  • The Investigation of the Investigation, abstract oil, bold colorful dots & grey
    By C. Dimitri
    Located in Brooklyn, NY
    Oil, acrylic, resin on masonite
    Category

    2010s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Paintings

    Materials

    Acrylic, Resin, Masonite, Oil

  • Chartres, 1989
    By Ben Wilson
    Located in Quogue, NY
    Born in Philadelphia, Ben Wilson was a New York abstract expressionist painter. His work was exhibited frequently from the mid-thirties through sixties, and less frequently but consi...
    Category

    1980s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Paintings

    Materials

    Masonite, Oil

  • Untitled, 87
    By Ben Wilson
    Located in Quogue, NY
    Born in Philadelphia, Ben Wilson was a New York abstract expressionist painter. His work was exhibited frequently from the mid-thirties through sixties, and less frequently but consi...
    Category

    1960s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Paintings

    Materials

    Masonite, Oil

  • Untitled, 55
    By Ben Wilson
    Located in Quogue, NY
    Born in Philadelphia, Ben Wilson was a New York abstract expressionist painter. His work was exhibited frequently from the mid-thirties through sixties, and less frequently but consi...
    Category

    1960s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Paintings

    Materials

    Masonite, Oil

  • "Crossed Arms" Mid Century Abstract Expressionist NYC Female Artist
    By Sylvia Rutkoff
    Located in Arp, TX
    Sylvia Rutkoff (1919-2011) Sr5-1 c.1960s “Crossed Arms” Acrylic on Masonite 36x42 period frame Unsigned Collection acquired from family estate
    Category

    Mid-20th Century Abstract Expressionist Landscape Paintings

    Materials

    Masonite, Oil

Recently Viewed

View All