Mid-20th Century Abstract Paintings

French cubist artist, circa 1950’s signed oil painting on canvas, unframed canvas: 21 x 28.5 inches provenance: private collection, France condi...

Alan Davie (1920-2014) Queen Emma June 1968 oil on canvas (triptych) 213.5 x 404 cm signed, dated and titled (on the verso) Price: £300,000 GBP (inc. 20% U...

Antique American oil painting. Oil on canvas. Signed. Framed. Measuring 43 by 33 inches overall and 40 by 30 painting alone.

Mid Century Abstract Stream Painting by Gibbs C.1968 Original oil on panel Dimensions 10" wide x 25" high The rabbet measures 15.5" wide x 30.5" high Please note: The rabbet is i...

An extra-large red abstract composition that invigorates the bystander with its powerful red and black color play. This oil painting is an exquisite example of a mid-century modern a...

Al Dickstein New York school Abstract Geometric work. Came in with small collection of his work including signed letters and a signeed card and some monogrammed pieces.. Signed with monogram and inscribed and signed verso. Showed at New York's Stable Gallery...

Artist/ School: French School, second half 20th century Title: abstract composition Medium: oil on canvas, unframed Canvas: 28.75 x 21 inches Provenance: private collection, Fra...

Vintage American school surreal oil painting. Oil on canvas. Signed verso. Framed. Measuring 24 by 30 overall and 22 by 28 painting alone.

Dynamic mid century cyan abstract by Erle Loran (American, 1905-1999). Signed "Erle Loran" and dated "51" lower right. Presented in silver toned metal frame with mat sans glass. Image size: 21.75"H x 15"W. Framed size: 25"H x 18"W. Erle Loran was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He studied at the Minneapolis School of Art under the direction of Cameron Booth...

Work on canvas Flush frame in silver-colored metal 15,5 x 15,5 x 2,5 cm

Abstract Expressionist Composition by Jacques COULAIS (1955-2011) gouache painting on paper/ card unframed: 12.75 x 9.75 inches condition: excellent provenance: all the paintings we ...

Antique American school modernist mixed media painting. Oil on board with gold leaf assemblage, circa 1930. Unsigned. Image size, 13L x 17H. Housed in a period wood frame most li...

Abstract Expressionist Composition by Jacques COULAIS (1955-2011) gouache painting on paper/ card unframed: 12.75 x 9.75 inches condition: excellent provenance: all the paintings we ...

Experience the bold elegance of Wilma Fiori's original abstract oil painting, a striking composition by the renowned Denver artist (1929-2019). This mid-century modern masterpiece fe...

Signed center right, 'Ide' for Tom Ide (Canadian-American, 1919-1996) and dated 1965. Exhibited: Maxwell Galleries, San Francisco, circa 1965. Ide studied at the Art Institute of Chicago (1951-1955) and moved to San Francisco in 1960, where he became a notable exponent of Bay Area abstract expressionism. He exhibited with success including at Maxwell Galleries (1964 solo), where the present piece was exhibited. Tom Ide's work was included in the 2021 exhibit “East/West Abstraction: Asian American Artists...

Finely painted bright and brilliant cubist winter landscape. Framed nicely and signed lower right. Excellent mid century example.

Selma Moskowitz "Flowers and Bugs" 2/19/1963 Oil paint and paper on paper 25.5"x15.25" unframed Signed and dated lower right in pencil With a career spanning over five decades, Selm...

This Mid-Century modernist mix-media abstract composition is signed by American artist Canthi and dated 1961. The background's yellow and orange hues contrast with the brutalist design's black and brown hues. The composition is ornate with its original vintage black wood...

Abstract Expressionist Composition by Jacques COULAIS (1955-2011) gouache painting on paper/ card unframed: 10.75 x 8.5 inches condition: excellent provenance: all the paintings we h...

Signed lower right, 'Gilberg' for Robert George Gilberg (American, 1911-1970) and dated '58'. Born in Oakland, Robert George Gilberg first studied at the Oakland Art Center during t...

Abstract Expressionist Composition by Jacques COULAIS (1955-2011) gouache painting on paper/ card unframed: 13 x 10 inches Signed condition: excellent provenance: all the paintings w...

This striking vintage 20th-century abstract painting, created by talented Colorado Springs artist Mary Chenoweth, offers a dynamic geometric design highlighted by bold, vibrant circl...

INTERPLAY Mixed Media on canvas Size: 72 x 66 cm (including frame) A large, striking and very well balanced abstract composition, painted in oil with areas of collage. This paintin...

A painting by Alexander Calder. "L'Envolee" is a Post-War abstract painting, gouache and ink on paper in bold colors of reds and blacks by artist Alexander Calder. The artwork is sig...

Mid Century Modern, American Abstract Expressionist Painting on Masonite. This wonderful work in hues of blue comes house in a contemporary natural wood frame presentation.. The ar...

A painting by Alexander Calder. "Directions" is a Post-War abstract painting, gouache and ink on paper in bold colors of reds, blacks, yellows, and oranges by artist Alexander Calder...

French Expressionist artist, circa 1960's oil painting on board, unframed painting: 9.5 x 7 inches provenance: private collection, France condition: very good and sound condition

Al Dickstein New York school Abstract Geometric work. Came in with small collection of his work including signed letters and a signed card and some monogrammed pieces. Signed and inscribed by artist. Showed at New York's Stable Gallery...

Diana Kurz #10 Big Orange and Turquoise, 1962 Signed lower right Oil on canvas 53 x 47 1/2 inches Diana Kurz (born 1936) is an Austrian-born feminist painter. In 1938, Diana Kurz's...

Metchiled Naviasky Refugee from Europe who studied art in England. During the war she became picture editor of famous magazine PIcture Post. Later she taught mysticism in art at t...

Antique American modernist signed abstract oil painting. Oil on canvas. Signed. Framed.

This superb Abstract Expressionist Scottish oil painting is by noted artist William Gear. It was painted in 1957 and is entitled Black/Red Figure no. 2. This abstract composition is ...

Mid Century Modern Yellow, Blue, and Grey Abstract Striking mid century modern abstract with yellow, blue, grey and geometric patterns by Bay Area artist Americo D'Ambrosio (America...

De Hirsh Margules (1899-1965). North on West Street , 1939. Watercolor on Arches wove paper. Signed and dated in pencil by artist lower margin. Sheet measures 15 x 22 inches. Framed measurement: 27 x 34 inched. Incredibly vibrant and saturated color with no fading or toning of sheet. Provenance: Babcock Galleries, NYC De Hirsh Margules (1899–1965) was a Romanian-American "abstract realist" painter who crossed paths with many major American artistic and intellectual figures of the first half of the 20th century. Elaine de Kooning said that he was "[w]idely recognized as one of the most gifted and erudite watercolorists in the country". The New York Times critic Howard Devree stated in 1938 that "Margules uses color in a breath-taking manner. A keen observer, he eliminates scrupulously without distortion of his material." Devree later called Margules "one of our most daring experimentalists in the medium" Margules was also a well-known participant in the bohemian culture of New York City's Greenwich Village, where he was widely known as the "Baron" of Greenwich Village.[1] The New York Times described him as "one of Greenwich Village's best-known personalities" and "one of the best known and most buoyant characters about Greenwich Village. Early Life De Hirsh Margules was born in 1899 in the Romanian city of Iași (also known as Iasse, Jassy, or Jasse). When Margules was 10 weeks old, his family immigrated to New York City. Both of his parents were active in the Yiddish theater, His father was Yekutiel "Edward" Margules, a "renowned Jewish actor-impresario and founder of the Yiddish stage." Margules' mother, Rosa, thirty-nine years younger than his father, was an actress in the Yiddish theater and later in vaudeville. Although Margules appeared as a child actor with the Adler Family[11] and Bertha Kalich, his sister, Annette Margules, somewhat dubiously continued in family theater and vaudeville tradition, creating the blackface role of the lightly-clad Tondelayo (a part later played on film Hedy Lamarr) in Earl Carroll's 1924 Broadway exoticist hit, White Cargo. Annette herself faced stereotyping as an exotic flower: writing about her publicist Charles Bouchert stated that "Romania produces a stormy, temperamental type of woman---a type admirably fitted to portray emotion." His brother Samuel became a noted magician who appeared under the name "Rami-Sami." Samuel later became a lawyer, representing magician Horace Goldin, among others. A family portrait including a young De Hirsh, a portrait of Rosa and Annette together, and individual photos of Rosa and Edward can be found on the Museum of the City of New York website. At around age 9 or 10, Margules took art classes with the Boys Club on East Tenth Street, and his first taste of exhibition was at a student art show presented by the club. By age 11, he had won a city-wide prize (a box camera) at a children's art show presented by the department store Wanamakers. As a young teenager, Margules was already displaying a characteristic kindness and loyalty. Upon hearing that two friends (one of them was author Alexander King), were in trouble for breaking a school microscope, the nearly broke Margules gave them five dollars to repair the microscope . Margules had to approach a wealthy man that Margules had once saved on the subway from a heart attack. Margules didn't reveal the source of the five dollars to King until twenty-five years later. In his late teens, Margules studied for a couple of months in Pittsburgh with Edwin Randby, a follower of Western painter Frederic Remington. Thereafter he pursued a two-year course of studies in architecture, design and decoration at the New York Evening School of Art and Design, while working as a clerk during the day at Stern's Department Store. He was encouraged in these artistic pursuits by his neighbor, the painter Benno Greenstein (who later went by the name of Benjamin Benno). Artistic career In 1922, Margules began work as a police reporter for the City News Association of New York .Margules then considered himself something of an expert on art, and the painter Myron Lechay is said to have responded to some unsolicited analysis of his work with the remark "Since you seem to know so much about it, why don't you paint yourself?" This led to study with Lechay and a flurry of painting. Margules' first show was in 1922 at Jane Heap's Little Review Gallery. Thereafter Margules began to participate in shows with a group including Stuart Davis, Jan Matulka, Buckminster Fuller (exhibiting depictions of his "Dymaxion house") in a gallery run by art-lover and restaurateur Romany Marie on the floor above her cafe. Jane Heap, left, with Mina Loy and Ezra Pound During the 1920s, Margules traveled outside of the country a number of times. In 1922, with the intent of reaching Bali, he took a job as a "'wiper on a tramp steamer where [he] played nursemaid to the engine." He reached Rotterdam before he turned back. He would return to Rotterdam shortly thereafter. In 1927, Margules took a lengthy leave of absence from his day job as a police reporter in order to travel to Paris, where he "set up a studio in Montmartre's Place du Tertre, on the top floor of an almost deserted hotel, a shabby establishment, lacking both heat and running water." He studied at the Louvre and traveled to paint landscapes in provincial France and North Africa. Margules also joined the "Noctambulist" movement and experimented with painting and showing his artwork in low light.Jonathan Cott wrote that: the painter De Hirsch Margulies sat on the quays of the Seine and painted pictures in the dark. In fact, the first exhibition of these paintings, which could be seen only in a darkened room, took place in [ Walter Lowenfels'] Paris apartment. Elaine de Kooning remarked that studying the works of the Noctambulists confirmed Margules' "direction toward the use of primary colors for perverse effects of heavy shadow." It was also in Paris that Margules initially conceived his idea of "Time Painting", where a painting is divided into sectors, each representing a different time of day, with color choices meant to evoke that time of day. In Paris, his social circle included Lowenfels, photographer Berenice Abbott, publisher Jane Heap, composer George Anthiel, sculptor Thelma Wood, painter André Favory, writer Norman Douglas, writer and editor George Davis, composer and writer Max Ewing, and writer Michael Fraenkel. Upon his return to New York in 1929, Margules attended an exhibition of John Marin's paintings. While at the exhibition, he "launched into an eloquent explanation of Marin to two nearby women", and was overheard by an impressed Alfred Stieglitz. The famous photographer and art promoter invited Margules to dine with his wife, the artist Georgia O'Keeffe, and his assistant, painter Emil Zoler. Stieglitz thereafter became a friend and mentor to Margules, becoming for him "what Socrates was to his friends." Alfred Stieglitz Stieglitz introduced Margules to John Marin, who quickly became the most important painterly influence upon Margules. Elaine de Kooning later noted that Margules was "indebted to Marin and through Marin to Cézanne for his initial conceptual approach - for his constructions of scenes with no negative elements, for skies that loom with the impact of mountains." Margules himself said that Marin was his "father and ... academy." The admiration was by no means unreciprocated: Marin said that Margules was "an art lover with abounding faith and sincerity, with much intelligence and quick seeing." Stieglitz also introduced Margules to many other artistic and intellectual figures in New York. With the encouragement of Alfred Stieglitz, Margules in 1936 opened a two-room gallery at 43 West 8th Street called "Another Place." Over the following two years there were fourteen solo exhibitions by Margules and others, and the gallery was well-respected by the press. It was in this gallery that the painter James Lechay, Myron's brother, exhibited his first painting. In 1936, Margules first saw recognition by major art museums when both the Museum of Modern Art and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston purchased his works. In 1942, Margules gave up working as a police reporter, and apparently dedicated himself thereafter solely to an artistic vocation. "The Baron of Greenwich Village"[edit] Margules made his mark not only as an artist, but also as an outsized personality known throughout Greenwich Village and beyond. To local residents, Margules was known as the "Baron", after Baron Maurice de Hirsch, a prominent German Jewish philanthropist. Margules was easily recognizable by the beret he routinely wore over his long hair. Writer Charles Norman said that he "dressed with a flair for sloppiness." He was said to "know everybody" in Greenwich Village, to the extent that when the novelist and poet Maxwell Bodenheim was murdered, Margules was the first one the police sought to identify the body. Margules' letters show him interacting with art world figures such as Sacha Kolin, John Marin and Alfred Stieglitz, as well as with prominent figures outside the art world such as polymath Buckminster Fuller and writer Henry Miller. Most of his friends and acquaintances found Margules a generous and voluble man, given to broadly emotionally expressive gestures and acts of kindness and loyalty. In 1929, he exhibited an example of this loyalty and fellow-feeling when he appeared in court to fight what the wrongful commitment of his friend, writer and sculptor Alfred Dreyfuss, who appeared to have been a victim of an illicit attempt to block an inheritance. The Greenwich Village chronicler Charles Norman described the bone-crushing hugs that Margules would routinely bestow on his friends and acquaintances, and speaks of the "persuasive theatricality" that Margules seemed to have inherited from his actor parents. Norman also wrote about Margules' routine acts of kindness, taking in homeless artists, constantly feeding his friends and providing the salvatory loan where needed. Norman also notes that Margules was blessed with a loud and good voice, and was apt to sing an operatic air without provocation. The writer and television personality Alexander King said I think the outstanding characteristics of my friend's personality are affirmation, emphasis, and overemphasis. He chooses to express himself predominantly in superlatives and the gestures which accompany his utterances are sometimes dangerous to life and limb. Of the bystanders, I mean. King also spoke with affectionate amusement about Margules' pride in his cooking, speaking of how "if he should ever invite you to dinner, he may serve you a hamburger with onions, in his kitchen-living room, with such an air of gastronomic protocol, such mysterious hints and ogliing innuendoes, as if César Ritz and Brillat-Savarin had sneaked out, only a moment before, with his secret recipe in their pockets." Margules was such a memorable New York personality that comic book writer Alvin Schwartz imagined him at the Sixth Avenue Cafeteria in a risible yet poignant debate with Clark Kent about whether Superman had the ability to stop Hitler. Margules' entrenchment in the Greenwich Village milieu can be seen in a photograph from Fred McDarrah's "Beat Generation Album" of a January 13, 1961 writers' and poets' meeting to discuss "The Funeral of the Beat Generation", in Robert Cordier [fr]'s railroad flat at 85 Christopher Street. Among the people in the same photograph are Shel Silverstein...

Artist: Semour Zayon American (1930 - ) Title: Construction Composition (After Kandinsky) Medium: Oil on Board, signed Size: 10 x 9.5 inches Frame: 14 x 11.25 inches

Nicely painted mid century abstract cubist oil painting. Great color and composition. Framed.

Stunning original oil painting by Elvic Steele depicting this surrealist fantasy abstract painting. Elvic Steele is a fascinating English painter. Her works entrance the observer, d...

Original Color Field Oil Painting Multi-Color Geometric Abstract - "Commute" Dramatic multi-color geometric abstract painting by Virginia Sevier Rogers (American, 1917-2015). Vivid ...

Artist: William Littlefield, American (1902 - 1969) Title: Still Life and Abstract Year: 1950 & 1954 Medium: Double-Sided Oil on Masonite, signed and dated both sides Size: 22 x 28 i...

Antique impressionist signed landscape oil painting. Oil on canvas. Signed illegibly. Framed. Image size, 13L x 9.5H.

Diana Kurz Summer Joy, circa 1960 Signed and titled on verso Oil on canvas 70 1/2 x 66 1/4 inches Diana Kurz (born 1936) is an Austrian-born feminist painter. In 1938, Diana Kurz's...

Introducing a captivating post-war modern painting by German artist Ferdinand Spindel. In a stunning abstract composition, this piece features a harm...

This Modern Abstract Expressionist painting by Stanley Bate is made with oil paint and 3-dimensional wooden shapes on canvas. The warm metal grey paint is highly textured, while the ...

Stunning original oil painting by Elvic Steele depicting this surrealist fantasy abstract painting. Elvic Steele is a fascinating English painter. Her works entrance the observer, d...

This stunning vintage 1960s Mid-Century Modern oil on canvas abstract expressionist painting by Walter Blakelock Wilson (1929-2011) showcases a vibrant array of jewel-toned hues. Rich Sapphire blue, emerald green, golden yellow, amber, reddish brown, and hints of gold contrast beautifully with neutral shades of tan, creamy white, olive, and beige. The work also features tones of orange, red, teal blue, gray, camel, and white, all blending seamlessly to create a dynamic, multi-dimensional visual experience. Signed and dated “W.B. Wilson '62”, this masterpiece is presented in an elegant custom gold leaf frame, with outer dimensions of 45 ½ x 37 ½ inches and a canvas size of 43 ¼ x 35 ¼ inches. About the Artist: Walter Blakelock Wilson, born in 1929 in Auburn...

Jack Youngerman October 1, from Betty Parsons Gallery, 1964 India ink on paper, with original Betty Parsons Gallery label Pencil signed and dated '64 on the front; also signed, title...

Signed lower right, 'Buk' for Eduard Buk Ulreich (American, 1889-1966); additionally titled verso 'Consort' and dated 1954 with inscription, 'by the one and only buk, made for Ruth'....

Antique American surreal abstract landscape painting Will Hollingsworth. Oil on canvas, circa 1940. Signed. Displayed in a period modernist fr...

3809 Floating world surreal figurative painting signed on verso Mury

A wonderful mid-century interpretation of prehistoric, Paleolithic cave paintings; done in reddish earth tones and rich in visual texture by Sausalito, California artist Nan Street F...

Antique American signed abstract expressionist oil painting. Oil on canvas. Signed. Framed. Image size, 41.5L x 31.5H.

"Pods" is a captivating abstract oil painting created by 20th-century Denver artist, Edward Marecak (1919–1993). This original mid-century modern composition features a harmonious bl...

Antique Spanish school modernist surreal portrait oil painting. Oil on board. Framed. Measuring 18 by 24 inches overall and 15 by 21 painting alone.

This is an interesting abstract work done with handmade Japanese Kozo or Washi type fiber paper mounted on board. Hand signed and dated in wonderful muted earth tones of fall foliage. Taro Yamamoto (1919 – 1994) belonged to the New York School Abstract Expressionist artists whose artistic innovation by the 1950s had been recognized across the Atlantic, including Paris. New York School Abstract Expressionism, represented by Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Franz Kline and others became a leading art movement of the post World War II era. He was also associated with Action painting Yamamoto was born in Hollywood, California. He lived in Japan from age six to age nineteen. In 1936 he returned to the USA and began studies in cubism at Los Angeles City College. In 1941 he joined the U.S. Army and served during WWII. After being discharged from the service he returned to California where he studied at the Santa Monica City College. 1950-1952 at The Art Students League of New York, under Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Morris Kantor, Reginald Marsh, Byron Browne and Vaclav Vytlacil; 1951-1953 at the Hans Hofmann School of Fine Arts in New York City. In 1952 he won a John Sloan Fellowship from the Art Students League. The next year he traveled to Europe under a Edward G. MacDowell Traveling Fellowship where he studies in Stuttgart, Germany with Willi Baumeister. He also exhibited at Galerie Huit in Paris. In 1954 Yamamoto was invited to a residency at the MacDowell Colony in Peterborough, New Hampshire. There he worked alongside Stuart Davis, Milton Avery, Willem de Kooning, Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko developing his unique abstract expressionist style. Later in his life he devoted himself to a more hard-edge geometric style of painting. He married Gwyneth Cotton, a naturalized English woman, in 1955, and they lived in Wellfleet, Massachusetts. They were active at the Universalist Church of Provincetown. (He descended from a long line of Shinto priests) Yamamoto died in Provincetown in 1994. Selected Solo Exhibitions 1953: Galerie Huit, Paris; 1955: The Art Students League of New York, NYC; 1960-1962: Krasner Gallery, NYC; 1963-1964: 371 Gallery, Provincetown, MA; Selected Group Exhibitions 1951: Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts; 1952: NY Contemporary Gallery, NYC; 1952, 1955, 1956, 1962: Provincetown Art...

Artist/Designer; Manufacturer: Ram Kumar (Indian, 1924-2018) Marking(s); notes: signed; 1961 Materials: oil on canvas Dimensions (H, W, D): 35"h, 27"w image; 45"h, 37"w canvas (work ...

Sleep, Huge French Abstract Portrait, Original Oil Painting Signed By French artist Elisabeth Dujarric, b.1930-2005 Dated '1962' verso Oil painting on canvas, unframed Canvas size: 43.5 x 18 inches Elisabeth Dujarric de la Rivière...

Antique French American modernist still life oil painting by Dimitri Berea (1908 - 1975). Oil on canvas. Signed. Framed. Measuring 30 by 34 inches overall and 18 by 22 painting alone.

This Modern Abstract Expressionist painting by Stanley Bate is made with oil paint on canvas. It features a muted, earth-toned palette with contrasting warm yellow, orange, and red accents throughout. The painting is framed in a floater frame with gold face and black sides. It is 22" x 36" and measures 24" x 38" x 2" framed. This painting is not signed by the artist, but has been authenticated by his estate. It is stamped with the estate seal on the back of the painting, and on the back of the frame. Ready to hang. Stanley Bate was born on March 26, 1903 in Nashville, Tennessee. The Bates were an established Tennessee family, in fact, Henry’s brother William Bate was the governor of Tennessee from 1883-1887 and a United States Senator from 1887-1905. Stanley studied art at the Watkins Institute in Nashville. In the 1920’s Bate moved to New York City to study at the Art Students League under Frederick Bridgman. He soon landed a job with Encyclopedia Britannica, and from 1927-1929 served as art editor. From 1929 until his death in 1972, Stanley was a self-employed artist. He taught art classes at both the Art Students League and the Albany Institute of History and Art and brought in extra income by making illustrations for magazines such as “Outdoor Life” and “Popular Science”. On January 27, 1934 Stanley married Emilie Rossel. Emilie had emigrated from Switzerland to New York in 1923. She found work as a governess to Alfred Vanderbilt and later as an executive secretary for Wall Street investment brokers Kahn, Loeb and Co. Emilie met Stanley in New York in the early 1930’s when she attended one of his art exhibitions with a friend. The couple, who had no children, lived on 34th Street in Manhattan. During this period, Bate was producing and exhibiting his art and joined several artists groups. Stanley and Emilie became part of the New York art scene, dining weekly at the Society of Illustrators Clubhouse. Stanley Bate’s time in New York was pivotal in the formation of his painting style. He lived in New York during the inception of one of the most important Modern Art movements, one that helped New York replace Paris as the center of avant-garde art. This movement, which was called the New York School of artists, was later known as Abstract Expressionism. It was comprised of a loosely associated group of vanguard artists working in New York City during the 1940s and 1950s. The New York School was not defined by a specific style, but instead reflected a fusion of European Modernism and American social relevancy that was depicted in many individual styles. Influences of Surrealism, Cubism, and Modernism can be found in their work, along with an interest in experimenting with non-traditional materials and methods. American art was in the forefront of international avant-garde for the first time. Stanley Bate was undoubtedly exposed to the varied styles and techniques that were emerging during the formative years of the New York School. Mark Rothko and Robert Motherwell were formulating their versions of color field paintings. Joseph Cornell was experimenting with assemblages, collage and the use of different types of textured paints. Jackson Pollock was adhering objects such as buttons and coins into his early works, while Louise Nevelson was using found objects. Helen Frankenthaler added sand to her early paintings. The New York School artists were undermining traditional fine art by using mixed media and non-traditional methods. Stanley Bate absorbed these varied influences and soon his early realistic landscapes and still-lifes were replaced with something entirely new. The influence of Cubism, notably the flat shallow space of the picture plane, is obvious in many of Bate’s paintings. Surrealism is evident in Bate’s use of subjects from myth, primitive art and antiquity, along with the Automatism-like line work in his more linear images. The unfettered experimentation of the New York School is everywhere in Stanley Bate’s work. We see nods to color field, collage, the mixing of textures into paint, mixed media, the inclusion of found objects and thick, luscious impasto. Bate was prolific and experimented in various media including oil, watercolor, lithography, silk screen, wood cut, drawing, collage, ceramics and sculpture. Bate is considered a true Modernist. His work is largely abstract, but sometimes figures and buildings are discernable. He frequently mixed paint, sand and glue together to achieve a textured surface, and then scraped and scratched through this layer to expose some of the underpainting below. His sculpture, which is often whimsical, also reflects the non-traditional methods of the New York School. Bate pioneered the use of enamel and copper in his work. The sculptures are not carved or modeled as was done in the past, but instead are built using mixed media and new materials. In addition to the New York School influence, many of Bate’s works exhibit a strong connection to the Spanish school, especially the work of Antonio Tapies and Modesto Cuixart. These artists were both part of an avant-garde group known as Art Informel, the Spanish equivalent of Abstract Expressionism. These artists likewise worked in mixed media and introduced objects and texture into their work. Many of Bate’s subjects and titles relate to Spanish locations and words. It is likely that Stanley spent time in Spain and found inspiration there. By the early 1940s, Stanley and Emilie had started spending weekends in a barn they purchased in Craryville, New York, a few hours north of Manhattan. The barn had no electricity or plumbing, but when the Bates eventually decided to leave New York and live full time in Craryville, they remodeled the barn, putting a gallery downstairs and a studio and living quarters upstairs. Although the Bates moved out of New York City, Stanley remained part of the New York art scene, exhibiting in New York and elsewhere throughout the 50s and 60s. During his lifetime he was represented by the New York galleries Knoedler and Company, Kennedy Galleries, Rose Fried Gallery and Key Gallery, along with Tyringham Gallery located in Tyringham, Massachusetts. Craryville was Stanley’s home until his death on August 21, 1972. Emilie died 1984...

Clarence Holbrook Carter (American, 1904-2000) Seeing Egg No. 2, 1965 Acrylic and collage on scintilla Signed and dated upper right 30 x 22 inches 34 x 29 inches, framed A surrealis...

Antique American modernist abstract expressionist painting. Oil on board, circa 1940. Image size, 24L x 20H.