Charles Ragland Bunnell

Composition in Red and Blue - Abstract Expressionist 1950s Oil Painting

1951

Mid-century modern abstract painting of crystal formations by Margo Hoff (1910-2008) created with acrylic and canvas collage in purple and pink coloring. Wrapped canvas is ready to hang, outer dimensions measure 49 x 49 x 1 ¼ inches. Provenance: Estate of the Artist, Margo Hoff About the Artist: Born Oklahoma 1910 Died New York 2008 A prolific artist, Margo Hoff’s exquisite style evolved throughout her career yet was always rooted in the events, people, and places in her life. The human experience was her sole focus, expressed through her eyes alone. Born in 1910 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Hoff began creating white-clay animals at a young age, giving them to her friends and family. At eleven she contracted typhoid fever and was bedridden for a summer. During her convalescence, she drew and made cutouts, and it was during this time that her bold, artistic imagination came alive. She began formal art training in high school and continued her education at the University of Oklahoma, Tulsa. In 1933 she moved to Chicago and attended the National Academy of Art and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Between 1933 and 1960—her Chicago years—Hoff’s works was deeply rooted in a figurative, regionalist style. She often used elements of magical realism, and many of her paintings have dreamlike qualities. As a child she learned about color by grinding down rocks, plants, and berries. Her color pallet during the Chicago years is indicative of her early-life color experimentation as she consistently used warm, earth tones in her work. Hoff was a born adventurer and traveled extensively. She lived, worked, taught, and painted in Europe, Mexico, Lebanon, Uganda, Brazil, and China. She also showed at the Denver Art Museum’s Annual Western Exhibitions in 1952-54, 56, and 57. In 1957 she showed along side Colorado modernist Vance Kirkland at the Denver Art Museum’s exhibition, Man's Conquest of Space. What was once a focus on the representational, her work began to change after 1957 when she saw Sputnik in its orbit around Earth. At that moment, feet firmly placed on the ground, she was able to imagine herself in space, looking down from the cosmos, and what she saw was an abstracted world. She then had the opportunity to peer into an electron microscope where once again she was looking down into what seemed to be a realm of pure abstraction. These two events profoundly changed her perspective and she began to move from figural painting to abstract, geometric collage. In 1960, Hoff moved to New York City and she began creating collages. Placing the canvas on the ground, and working from all sides, she used strips of painted paper and tissue—and later painted pieces of canvas—glued onto the canvas surface, building layer upon layer, shape against shape, “action of color next to stillness of color.” She believed these simplified, abstracted forms held the spirit of the subject in the same way poetry reduces words to their essence. These pieces range from aerial cityscapes, to dancers in motions, to flora...

Abstract acrylic and fabric collage on canvas in purple, red, green, brown and black, signed by Margo Hoff (1910-2008) painted 1974. Unframed, wrapped canvas measuring 54 x 60 x 3⁄4 ...

Original abstract painting titled "Celebration" dated 1984 by abstract expressionist Chicago artist Margo Hoff (1910-2008). Signed by the artist in the lower right corner. Painted in...

Abstract oil on canvas painting by Werner Drewes painted in vibrant shades of green, blue, and red from 1944. Signed by the artist in the lower right corner of the canvas. Presented ...

Abstract expressionist oil painting on board from 1955 by Charles Bunnell. Abstract shapes in layers of sage green, light blue, brown, gold, and black. Presented in a custom frame, o...

Vintage 1950s mid century modern abstract expressionist painting by Colorado artist, Charles Ragland Bunnell in shades of red, green, white, and black. Presented in the artist's orig...

Mindy Weisel Not Everything is Black and White , 2017 oil on canvas 91 x 91 cm 36 x 36 in Exhibited Mindy Weisel "Meditations on Love", Rosenbach Conte...

Raquel Sanchez Freedom , 2022 oil on canvas 110 x 140 cm 43 x 55 in Influenced by the Impressionist and Modern masters, Raquel's personal style in re...

Women in Abstract Expressionism: Colorful Sunset Inspired Artwork by Texas artist Winter Rusiloski. Details: Winter Rusiloski Cathedral, 2016 Oil on canvas 48 x 45" View works. Wind...

Blue Tarp, oil on canvas, 60 x 50 in. (unframed, gallery-wrapped canvas). Oonju Chun’s large abstract expressionist paintings delightfully employ the basic...

Leap of Faith, Oonju Chun, oil on canvas, 40 x 40 in. (unframed, gallery-wrapped canvas), $4,900 Oonju Chun’s large abstract expressionist paintings deligh...

Sunset Over Mountain, Oonju Chun, oil on canvas, 60 x 50 in. (unframed, gallery-wrapped canvas), $7,200 Oonju Chun’s large abstract expressionist paintings...