Gerald Wasserman

Colorful Cubist Figurative in Oil on Canvas, Mid 20th Century

"Spirit" a bold and thoughtful cubist oil on canvas was painted in December of 2001 by African American artist William (Bill) Cooper. William Y. Cooper was a writer, painter, muralist, illustrator, and art teacher. He moved to Western New York in 1954 from Birmingham, Alabama, to pursue work, and Buffalo has been his home ever since. In 1975, he received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University at Buffalo; he was also a state certified art teacher. Cooper woked primarily in oils and acrylics, but also creates drawings on paper. He has painted several commissioned murals and has had more than fifteen one-man shows in Western New York and Ghana, West Africa, and has participated in more than twenty-five group exhibitions since he began his professional career in 1969. His paintings and drawings address both his African heritage and his experience as an American through symbolism and metaphor. He observes, “I am an Afrocentric artist. My worldview is rooted in an African frame of reference and a deep, abiding sense of the creator from whence I draw my inspiration, strength, and a sense of who I am. The use of symbols allows me to explore literal ideas.” Among Cooper’s published works are two children’s books, 77 Jackson Street, Rear and Nakai and the Red Shoes, and a novel for adults, The Mopane Tree. Cooper founded the Afrocentric Artists’ Collective and ran the organization from 1979 to 1981. In 2013 he was designated a “Living Legacy” artist by the Burchfield Penney Arts Center, the latest in a series of honors which has also included awards from the Arts Council of Buffalo & Erie County, the New York State Council on the Arts, and Alpha Kappa Alpha...

Beautiful cubist portrait of a woman by unknown Russian artist. Oil on canvas measures 17 x 25 inches. Signed and dated lower right. Label fragments affixed on verso.

Signed lower right, 'Paula Melcher' (American, 20th century) and dated 1956.

Osborne was born in Portsmouth, England in 1919 and died in 2016. He served in WW2 with the Royal Artillery and was a prisoner of war in Italy and Germany for over three years. After the war he pursued his art studies with a grant from the London County Council, and studied at the Camberwell School of Arts and Crafts. After Camberwell, it was his affinity for Irish landscape that brought him in 1950 to live in Donegal, Ireland. In this year he exhibited in the Royal Academy. In 1952 he emigrated to Ontario, Canada with his first wife the late artist Jean Osborne...

The Southern City by Josine Vignon (French 1922-2022) oil painting on canvas, unframed canvas: 29 x 41 inches Very good condition. Provenance: from the artists estate, France Jo...

Predominantly recognized as a self-taught painter, he also worked in architectural murals, sculptures, ceramics, prints and drawings. Vigas is one...