Mid-20th Century Abstract Paintings

This Modern Abstract Expressionist painting by Stanley Bate is made with oil paint on canvas and features a light, neutral palette with a grid-like pattern throughout the abstract composition. The artist layers paint on the canvas, creating texture among softly blended colors. The painting itself is 24" x 36" and measures 27" x 37" 1.5" framed. It is signed by the artist in the lower right-hand corner of the painting and is framed in a very thin floater frame with a silver face and brown sides. It is 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...

Gloria Dudfield (1922-2015) Untitled c.1960s Mixed media: gouache, pastel and encaustic on newsprint 11"x15.5" unframed Unsigned Gloria (Fischer) Dudfield July 12, 1922 – May 27, 20...

An abstract Mid Century Marina scene with Boats, presenting a vivid use of paint and complex lines and color placement. A strong modernist oil painting depicted in 1955 with sailboat...

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 ...

Remo Farruggio Blue Machine, ca. 1949 Original oil painting on masonite Signed on the front and titled on the back 7 1/2 × 9 1/2 inches Unframed This is mid century modern oil painti...

Abstract Expressionist Sky Composition by Gerard Guegueniat (French 1970's) signed oil painting on board, unframed board: 16 x 20 inches provenance: private collection, France condit...

Diana Kurz Large Red, #3, 1960 Oil on canvas 77 x 69 inches Diana Kurz (born 1936) is an Austrian-born feminist painter. In 1938, Diana Kurz's family fled Austria, first to England...

Clarence Holbrook Carter (American, 1904-2000) Mandala No. 15, 1969 Acrylic on paper Signed and dated verso 27.5 x 22 inches Clarence Holbrook Carter achieved a level of national ar...

Artist: Claude Lagouche (French 1943-2020) Claude Lagouche was born January 2, 1943 in Naves, died January 16, 2020. He quickly gained recognition for his talent and his work, ex...

Here for your consideration is a very well executed early abstract painting by the well known American artist, Syd Solomon. Oil paint on birch ply panel. Signed middle bottom. Signed, titled and dated 1966 verso. The painting was done in East Hampton, New York where Syd Solomon spent his summers. Condition is excellent. Overall framed measurements are 26 by 31.5 inches. Provenance: A Sarasota, Florida collector. Syd Solomon was born near Uniontown, Pennsylvania, in 1917. He began painting in high school in Wilkes-Barre, where he was also a star football player. After high school, he worked in advertising and took classes at the Art Institute of Chicago. Before the attack on Pearl Harbor, he joined the war effort and was assigned to the First Camouflage Battalion, the 924th Engineer Aviation Regiment of the US Army. He used his artistic skills to create camouflage instruction manuals utilized throughout the Army. He married Ann Francine Cohen in late 1941. Soon thereafter, in early 1942, the couple moved to Fort Ord in California where he was sent to camouflage the coast to protect it from possible aerial bombings. Sent overseas in 1943, Solomon did aerial reconnaissance over Holland. Solomon was sent to Normandy early in the invasion where his camouflage designs provided protective concealment for the transport of supplies for men who had broken through the enemy line. Solomon was considered one of the best camoufleurs in the Army, receiving among other commendations, five bronze stars. Solomon often remarked that his camouflage experience during World War II influenced his ideas about abstract art. At the end of the War, he attended the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Because Solomon suffered frostbite during the Battle of the Bulge, he could not live in cold climates, so he and Annie chose to settle in Sarasota, Florida, after the War. Sarasota was home to the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, and soon Solomon became friends with Arthur Everett “Chick” Austin, Jr., the museum’s first Director. In the late 1940s, Solomon experimented with new synthetic media, the precursors to acrylic paints provided to him by chemist Guy Pascal, who was developing them. Victor D’Amico, the first Director of Education for the Museum of Modern Art, recognized Solomon as the first artist to use acrylic paint. His early experimentation with this medium as well as other media put him at the forefront of technical innovations in his generation. He was also one of the first artists to use aerosol sprays and combined them with resists, an innovation influenced by his camouflage experience. Solomon’s work began to be acknowledged nationally in 1952. He was included in American Watercolors, Drawings and Prints at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. From 1952–1962, Solomon’s work was discovered by the cognoscenti of the art world, including the Museum of Modern Art Curators, Dorothy C. Miller and Peter Selz, and the Whitney Museum of American Art’s Director, John I. H. Baur. He had his first solo show in New York at the Associated American Artists Gallery in 1955 with “Chick” Austin, Jr. writing the essay for the exhibition. In the summer of 1955, the Solomons visited East Hampton, New York, for the first time at the invitation of fellow artist David Budd...

Antique modernist tropical street scene oil painting. Oil on canvas, lain to board. Signed. Framed. Measuring 25 by 26 inches overall and 23.5 by 24 painting alone.

Antique American modernist interior easel painting. Oil on canvas, circa 1960. Signed on verso. Housed in a period modern frame.

Clarence Holbrook Carter (American, 1904-2000) Double Ovoids with Blue and Black, 1960s Acrylic on scintilla 15.25 x 12.25 inches A surrealist mid-century figural abstract painting....

Abstract Velvety Black strokes he is known for by Julius Wasserstein (American, 1924-1985). Monogram initials "JW" bottom right. Intialed "JW" lower right corner and signed "Julius ...

Mid-century design for a sculpture, in acrylic, attributed to French artist and sculptor Guy Benoist. The design is not signed but was bought with other si...

French School, circa 1970's Expressionist blaze of colors oil on board, unframed board: 29 x 21 inches provenance: private collection condition: very good and sound condition

French abstract painting incorporating bold lines and shapes in hues of blue, black and white by AF Auvert, circa 1960. Original artwork on paper displayed on a white mat with a ...

Black Mirror by Josine Vignon (French 1922-2022) signed pastel/watercolor on artist paper, unframed painting: 20 x 13 inches good condition provenance: from the artists estate, Fran...

Abstract Expressionist Composition by Jacques COULAIS (1955-2011) oil painting on board unframed: 11 x 7.5 inches condition: excellent provenance: all the paintings we have for sale ...

Monumental Geometric Op Art Oil Painting c.1970s Fantastic original Op Art oil painting. The large size will ensure it's the centerpiece of any r...

Artist/ School: French School, circa 1950's Title: an expressionist painting depicting an elegant lady overlooking a moonlit lake view. Medium: oil on board, framed Framed: 13 x...

Signed verso, 'Barr' for Charles Barr (American, 1929-2019); additionally inscribed and painted circa 1965. From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 2019: CHARLES "CHUCK" BARR Age 89, of Highland Park, graduated from human life on August 11. Although no headlines marked the event, he was a great man. People ranging from fellow Pittsburghers to New York art collectors have known Chuck as a wonderful self-taught artist and creative jazz musician. But above all, everyone touched by his joy knew him as a carrier of the Great Spirit. Ten minutes with Chuck could do more than make your day. It could open your heart to the boundless possibilities that life offers, if only we live from love. Chuck was raised in a working-class musical family in Beechview. Leaving home as a teenager to play tenor sax in a Chicago nightclub alongside brother, Tommy, a pianist, he burned out on the late-night routine. He then spent years trying to fit into so-called normal society, working various jobs in places from Yokohama (with the U.S. Army) to Philadelphia. Around 1969, Chuck returned to Pittsburgh to rediscover his calling and became a local legend. A Post-Gazette article dubbed him the city's "rambling minstrel" for his sax and flute recitals in public. College-trained artists marveled at the dynamic, visually musical paintings...

This stunning abstract Pop artwork was made in 1966, by the well known Italian artist Ermete Lancini. The artwork is a painting and a collage with newsp...

A dramatic, Expressionist Coastal landscape showing a view of white-capped jade green breakers crashing against a rocky shoreline, with a distant mountain painted in shades of scarlet, slate blue, and indigo rising in the background. Signed lower right, "Beamish", titled verso and painted circa 1960. Provenance: The Vincent Price Collection...

Sylvia Rutkoff (1919-2011) Sr11-1 c.1960s “The Cowboy” Oil impasto on Masonite 42x36 period frame Signed on reverse in pencil Collection acquired from family estate

Abstract Expressionist composition signed by Andre Guillou (French 1925-2017) oil on board board: 25.5 x 19.75 inches provenance: the artists estate, France condition: very good and ...

Jim’s of Lambertville is proud to offer this artwork by: Vaclav Vytlacil (1892-1984) He was born to Czechoslovakian parents in 1892 in New York City. Living in Chicago as a youth, he took classes at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, returning to New York when he was 20. From 1913 to 1916, he enjoyed a scholarship from the Art Students League, and worked with John C. Johansen (a portraitist whose expressive style resembled that of John Singer Sargent), and Anders Zorn. He accepted a teaching position at the Minneapolis School of Art in 1916, remaining there until 1921. This enabled him to travel to Europe to study Cézanne’s paintings and works of the Old Masters. He traveled to Paris, Prague, Dresden, Berlin, and Munich seeking the works of Titian, Cranach, Rembrandt, Veronese, and Holbein, which gave him new perspective. Vytlacil studied at the Royal Academy of Art in Munich, settling there in 1921. Fellow students were Ernest Thurn and Worth Ryder, who introduced him to famous abstractionist Hans Hofmann. He worked with Hofmann from about 1922 to 1926, as a student and teaching assistant. During the summer of 1928, after returning to the United States, Vytlacil gave lectures at the University of California, Berkeley, on modern European art. Soon thereafter, he became a member of the Art Students League faculty. After one year, he returned to Europe and successfully persuaded Hofmann to teach at the League as well. He spent about six years in Europe, studying the works of Matisse, Picasso, and Dufy. In 1935, he returned to New York and became a co-founder of the American Abstract Artists group in 1936. He later had teaching posts at Queens College in New York; the College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland, California; Black Mountain College in North Carolina; and the Art Students League. His paintings exhibit a clear inclination toward modernism. His still lives and interiors from the 1920s indicate an understanding of the art of Cézanne. In the 1930s, his works displayed two very different kinds of art at the same time. His cityscapes and landscapes combine Cubist-inspired spatial concerns with an expressionistic approach to line and color. Vytlacil also used old wood, metal, cork, and string in constructions, influenced by his friend and former student, Rupert Turnbull. He eventually ceased creating constructions as he considered them too limiting. The spatial challenges of painting were still his preference. During the 1940s and 1950s, his works indicated a sense of spontaneity not felt in his earlier work. He married Elizabeth Foster in Florence, Italy, in 1927 and they lived and worked in Positano, Italy for extended periods of time. Later on, they divided their time between homes in Sparkill, New York and Chilmark, Massachusetts, where Vyt, as he was affectionately called, taught at the Martha's Vineyard Art...

Very impressive modernist still life by Miguel Guzman. Oil on canvas. Nicely framed. Great color and composition.

Abstract Expressionist Composition by Jacques COULAIS (1955-2011) gouache painting on paper/ card unframed: 10.75 x 8.25 inches condition: excellent provenance: all the paintings we ...

Abstract Expressionist Composition by Jacques COULAIS (1955-2011) gouache painting on paper/ card unframed: 12.75 x 10 inches condition: excellent provenance: all the paintings we ha...

Original oil paint on heavy archival paper abstract by the American artist, Martin Rosenthal. Bold, vibrant colors. Signed lower right by the artist and dated 1967. Condition is ver...

Painted by Dora Masters (American, 1913-2003) circa 1960. Stamped verso with certification of authenticity. Acquired from the artist's son. Dora Masters exhibited widely and with su...

Detailed abstract acrylic painting of a microcosmic underwater realm by an unknown San Francisco Bay area artist (American, 20th Century). Signed indistinctly lower right side. Unfra...

Antique American modernist street scene oil painting. Oil on canvas. Framed. Image size, 29L x 20H.

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 ...

'The Power of Words', oil on board, Berlin School, (circa 1950s-1970s). A thoroughly modern depiction clearly in the style of Italian Futurist, Fortunato Depero (1892-1960). Futurism...

Sewell Sillman Red, circa 1958 Acrylic on masonite 18 x 36 inches Upon attending Black Mountain College in Asheville, North Carolina, Sewell Sillman’s life was arguably altered for...

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...

French modernist artist, circa 1970's signed oil on canvas canvas: 19.5 x 23.5 inches provenance: private collection, France condition: very good and sound condition

David Sharir was born in 1938 in Tel Aviv, Israel and currently resides there. David Sharir, the son of Russian immigrants, was born in Israel. Beginning his study of art in Tel Avi...

Cubist Portrait by Bernard Labbe (French mid 20th century) original watercolour/ gouache painting on artist paper, unframed size: 17 x 7 inches condition: very good and ready to be e...

Dancing Birds by Josine Vignon (French 1922-2022) stamped verso oil painting on board, unframed board: 29 x 20 inches Colors: Grey colors, blue, pink, pi...

Important, large & early (1963) painting by Spokane, WA artist Robert David Gilmore, titled "Metropolis". The painting depicts the interstate highway system. Artwork size: 46 1/2...

Work on wood Unsigned Direct from the artist's studio

Artist/ School: French school, 20th century, signed Title: La Cote d' Azur, Provence coastal seascape with deep blue sea and lovely old French villas on the coastline. Medium: oil...

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

Artist/ School/ Date: Douglas Stuart Allen (American/ French 1923-2021) American born artist from Chicago, retiring to France during his latter ye...

Arnaldo Miccoli (Italian, b. 1938), "The Ventriloquist", Oil on Canvas, signed to lower right, titled and signed to verso, wood frame. Image: 34" H x 26" W; frame: 35.5" H x 27.5" W....

Abstract Expressionist Composition by Jacques COULAIS (1955-2011) oil painting on board unframed: 5 x 5 inches condition: excellent provenance: all the paintings we have for sale by ...

Provence Abstract by Louis Bellon (French 1908-1998) Initialled lower right gouache painting on paper, unframed measurements: 9.5 x 14 inches (overall sheet measures 12.5 x 17.5 inc...

Huguette Ginet-Lasnier (French 1927-2020) signed oil painting on canvas canvas: 15 x 24 inches. All the paintings we have for sale by this artist have come from the artists estate in...

Edward Zutrau Kamakura, 5/19/1963 Signed, dated and titled on verso Oil on linen 38 1/2 x 51 inches Edward Zutrau is among the American artists who worked within the whirlwind of d...

Signed lower right, 'Z. Kavin' for Zena Kavin (American, 1912-2003) and dated 1966. Born in Berkeley, California, Zena Kavin studied at the California School of Fine Arts in San Francisco and, privately, with Kravchenko in Moscow. She lived in Berkeley and in Oakland her entire life, except for four years spent in New Mexico in the late 1930s. In 1949, she married artist Jon Cornin and settled with him in Oakland. Under the peudonym Corka, the Cornins produced cartoons for the Saturday Evening Post and the New Yorker. Kavin worked in various media, including wood engraving, lithography and sculpture. She was a member of the San Francisco Artists Association and exhibited with them as well as at the San Francisco Museum of Art Inaugural (1935), the California–Pacific International Exposition, San Diego (1935), the Golden Gate International Exposition (1939). Her work is held in the permanent collections of the Davis Art Center, the New Mexico Museum of Art and the Oakland Museum of California. Reference: Artists in California 1786-1940, Third Edition, Edan Milton Hughes: Crocker Art Museum, Sheridan Books 2002, Vol. 1, page 610; Who Was Who in American Art 1564-1975: 400 Years of Artists in America, Peter Hastings Falk, Sound View Press 1999, Vol. 2, page 1801; Mallett’s Index of Artists, Supplement, Daniel Trowbridge Mallett, Peter Smith...

Stephen Pace Untitled, 62-11, 1962 Signed and dated lower left Oil on canvas 50 x 64 inches Born in Charleston, Missouri, Stephen Pace grew up in Indiana, where his parents operate...

Abstract Expressionist Composition by Jacques COULAIS (1955-2011) oil painting on canvas unframed: 39.5 x 39.5 inches condition: very good provenance: all the paintings we have for s...

Abstract Expressionist Composition by Jacques COULAIS (1955-2011) oil painting on canvas unframed: 24.5 x 20 inches condition: very good provenance: all the paintings we have for sa...

This Modern Abstract Expressionist painting by Stanley Bate is made with gouache on paper. It features a muted palette and large, textured brush strokes. The painting itself is 13" x 22" and it measures 21.25" x 29.25" x 1" framed. It is signed by the artist in the lower right-hand corner of the painting, and is framed in a black frame with an acid-free mat. Wired and 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...

"The Lady in Red" by Sophie Danielle Rubinstain (French 1922-2018) oil painting on canvas, unframed signed and dated 1963 canvas: 32 x 23.5 inches provenance: the artists estate W...

Abstract Expressionist composition by Andre Guillou (French 1925-2017) signed oil on board stuck on board, mounted mount: 25.5 x 19.75 inches board: 22 x 16 inches provenance: the ar...

Abstract Expressionist composition by Andre Guillou (French 1925-2017) oil on board stuck on board, mounted mount: 25.5 x 19.75 inches board: 19 x 13 inches provenance: the artists ...