Skip to main content

Figurative Paintings

268
to
1,811
6,861
4,913
6,168
684
6,103
5,466
403
2,740
2,589
3,251
1,751
1,685
Overall Height
to
Overall Width
to
2,228
2,122
943
713
651
423
329
200
155
71
31
27
11
6
8,148
4,819
2,670
2,476
2,089
1,541
998
757
661
593
549
546
487
438
368
340
319
293
279
236
932
2,229
29,039
265
269
533
727
581
782
900
1,039
968
432
64
62
58
49
49
11,108
8,624
4,477
4,304
1,526
Figurative Paintings For Sale
Period: 20th Century
Period: 1960s
Ohio Countryside, 20th century farm landscape, Cleveland School Artist
Located in Beachwood, OH
George Gustav Adomeit (American, 1879-1967) Ohio Countryside Oil on artist's board 16 x 20 inches 21.5 x 25.5 inches, framed A major painter of American scene subjects, George Adome...
Category

20th Century American Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Oval Still Life - Oil on Canvas - Mid-20th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Oval Still Life is an artwork realized by an unknown in the mid-20th centry. Oil on canvas mounted on board. 37 x 49 cm ; 53 x 65 cm with frame. Good conditions!
Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas, Board

Harlequin, Circus Performer Modern French Oil Painting
Located in Surfside, FL
Pierre Bosco, (1909- a member of the famous Italian Della Rovere family, was born in Visco, the province of Udine in Italy. At an early age, he develops an interest in art, His eve...
Category

Mid-20th Century Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

French School 20th Century Oil - The Harbour At Dusk
Located in Corsham, GB
A striking scene depicting moored boats in a city harbour. The artist uses a mixture of oil paint and black ink to create a dynamic composition with expressive lines and shapes. The ...
Category

20th Century Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Proud Chimney Sweep Modern Judaica Shtetl Oil Painting WPA Jewish artist
Located in Surfside, FL
Genre: Modern Subject: Klezmer Musicians Medium: Oil Surface: Board, size includes artist decorated frame Country: United States The imagery of Maurice Kish (1895-1987), whether fa...
Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Antique Shop, Classic American Scene by Morton Roberts
By Morton Roberts
Located in Larchmont, NY
Morton Roberts (American, 1927-1964) Antiques, c. 1950 Oil on canvas 12 1/4 x 15 in. Framed: 15 x 17 3/4 x 2 in. Signed lower left: Morton Roberts He was a promising artist, who die...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Sicilian Landscape - Oil on Canvas by Lello Barresi - 1980s
Located in Roma, IT
City landscape is an artwork realized by Lello Barresi in 1980s. Oil on Canvas 67 x 47 cm ; 100 x 80 cm. Good conditions
Category

1980s Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Blue Starry Night Gazing Surreal Figurative
Located in Douglas Manor, NY
5-3522 Starry Night Acrylic on artist board Set in a silvered Frame Image size 12.25x12.25"
Category

1990s Figurative Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

gypsy woman oil on canvas painting
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Josep Serrasanta (1916-1998) - Gypsy woman - Oil on canvas Oil measures 65x50 cm. Frame measures 88x73 cm. Josep Serrasanta was born in Buenos Aires (Argentina) in 1916 - 1998 Valdo...
Category

1980s Post-Impressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

"Swiss Countryside II" Landscape Oil Painting 8" x 12" inch by Inji Efflatoun
Located in Culver City, CA
"Swiss Countryside II" Landscape Oil Painting 8" x 12" inch by Inji Efflatoun circa 1950 Inji Eflatoun pursued free studies in art. Since 1942, she has participated in the exhibiti...
Category

20th Century Post-War Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Cardboard

"Rosemary" Berkeley Figurative School by Patricia Gren Hayes 1980
Located in Soquel, CA
"Rosemary" Berkeley Figurative School by Patricia Gren Hayes 1980 A large scale portrait of a blond woman by Patricia Gren Hayes (b. 1932). The model is in front of a window, with h...
Category

1980s American Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Japanese Theater Blue Dancing Figurative Abstract Painting
Located in Douglas Manor, NY
5-3311 Abstract Figurative Painting Set in a hand painted wood frame Image size 12x15"
Category

1970s Figurative Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Vintage Italian Venetian Court Jester Figurative Painting 1960
Located in Douglas Manor, NY
5-3181a Court jester painting on artist board set in a vintage wood frame
Category

1960s Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

"Unemployed" WPA American Scene Social Realism Mid 20th Century Modern
Located in New York, NY
"Unemployed" WPA American Scene Social Realism Mid 20th Century Modern William Gropper (1898 - 1977) Unemployed 20 x 16 inches Oil on canvas, 1937 Signed lower right Provenance: E...
Category

1930s American Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

At the Winery - Hungarian Art
Located in London, GB
This original painting is hand signed by the artist "Scheiber H" in the lower left corner, and dated "1940" below the signature. Exhibited: Hugo Scheiber - Bela Kadar, Galerie Le Mi...
Category

1940s Figurative Paintings

Materials

Tempera, Gouache

Subway Construction
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This painting is part of our exhibition American Coast to Coast: Artists of the 1930s Subway Construction, c. 1928, oil on board, 19 x 15 ¾ inches, signed upper left, artist and title verso; exhibited: 1) 12th Annual Exhibition of the Society of Independent Artists, The Waldorf Astoria, New York NY, from March 9 to April 1, 1928, no. 864 (original price $250) (see Death Prevailing Theme of Artists in Weird Exhibits, The Gazette (Montreal, Quebec, Canada), March 8, 1928); 2) Boston Tercentenary Exhibition Fine Arts and Crafts Exhibition, Horticultural Hall, Boston MA, July, 1930, no. 108 (honorable mention - noted verso); 3) 38th Annual Exhibition of American Art, Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati, OH, June, 1931 (see Alexander, Mary, The Week in Art Circles, The Cincinnati Enquirer, June 7, 1931); and 4) National Art Week Exhibition [Group Show], Montross Gallery, New York, New York, December, 1940 (see Devree, Howard, Brief Comment on Some Recently Opened Exhibitions in the Galleries, The New York Times, December 1, 1940) About the Painting Ernest Stock’s Subway Construction depicts the excavation of New York’s 8th Avenue line, which was the first completed section of the city-operated Independent Subway System (IND). The groundbreaking ceremony was in 1925, but the line did not open until 1932, placing Stock’s painting in the middle of the construction effort. The 8th Avenue line was primarily constructed using the “cut and cover” method in which the streets above the line were dug up, infrastructure was built from the surface level down, the resulting holes were filled, and the streets reconstructed. While many artists of the 1920s were fascinated with the upward thrust of New York’s exploding skyline as architects and developers sought to erect ever higher buildings, Stock turned his attention to the engineering marvels which were taking place below ground. In Subway Construction, Stock depicts workers removing the earth beneath the street and building scaffolding and other support structures to allow concrete to be poured. Light and shadow fall across the x-shaped grid pattern formed by the wooden beams and planks. It is no surprise that critics reviewing the painting commented on Stock’s use of an “interesting pattern” to form a painting that is “clever and well designed.” About the Artist Ernest Richard Stock was an award-winning painter, print maker, muralist, and commercial artist. He was born in Bristol, England and was educated at the prestigious Bristol Grammar School. During World War I, Stock joined the British Royal Air Flying Corps in Canada and served in France as a pilot where he was wounded. After the war, he immigrated to the United States and joined the firm of Mack, Jenny, and Tyler, where he further honed his architectural and decorative painting skills. During the 1920s, Stock often traveled back and forth between the US and Europe. He was twice married, including to the American author, Katherine Anne Porter. Starting in the mid-1920s, Stock began to exhibit his artwork professionally, including at London’s Beaux Arts Gallery, the Society of Independent Artists, the Salons of America, the Cincinnati Art Museum, the Whitney Studio and various locations in the Northeast. Critics often praised the strong design sensibility in Stock’s paintings. Stock was a commercial illustrator for a handful of published books and during World War II, he worked in the Stratford Connecticut...
Category

1920s American Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

French Modernist Goulash Painting Black And White Still Life Flowers In A Vase
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
by Paul-Louis Bolot (French 1918-2003) signed original gouache painting on thick paper/ card unframed condition: very good and sound; the edges have a few curls and scuffs/ edge tear...
Category

20th Century Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Gouache

Three Poses - Nude Figure Study by Patricia Gren Hayes
Located in Soquel, CA
Three Poses - Nude Figure Study by Patricia Gren Hayes Three nude women serving as models in an art class, showing different expressions by American painter, Patricia Gren Hayes (Ca...
Category

1970s American Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Huge 20th Century French Fauvist Oil Painting Sunny Hot Market Scene & Town
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
The French Market by Michel Kritz (French 1925-1994) oil on canvas, unframed canvas: 24 x 32 inches provenance: private collection, France condition: very good and sound condition
Category

Mid-20th Century Fauvist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Still life with flowers oil on canvas
Located in Pasadena, CA
A beautiful still life with flowers in a post-impressionist style is depicted in an oil painting on canvas. The touch is greasy and the palette of colors is very bright, which is a r...
Category

Early 20th Century French School Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

French Modernist Gouache Painting Of Red Tulips In A Yellow Watering Can
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
by Paul-Louis Bolot (French 1918-2003) signed original gouache painting on thick paper/ card unframed condition: very good and sound; the edges have a few curls and scuffs/ edge tear...
Category

20th Century Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Gouache

Unknown.... Woman at Market, original lithograph
Located in Belgrade, MT
This piece is part of my private collection, it is in very good condition . Limited edition signed by the artist. It is brilliant in colors of yellows and browns.
Category

Mid-20th Century Contemporary Figurative Paintings

Materials

Lithograph

Vintage French Oil Painting Figure Hiking Down The Snowy French Alps
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Artist/ School: Leon Hatot (French 1883-1953) Title: Impressionist oil painting Medium: oil painting on thick paper, stuck on board unframed. Size: painting: 10 x 13 inches Prov...
Category

Early 20th Century Impressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Two Figures. Contemporary Figurative Painting
Located in Brecon, Powys
Early work was impressionistic and hard abstract. Carola later developed a more mature way of working in a colourful exploration of the subject. Colour was her main interest and she...
Category

1990s Impressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Charcoal, Gouache

Reclining Expressionist Nude Female Figure with Yellow, Blue, and Magenta
Located in Soquel, CA
Brightly colored expressionist nude figurative painting of a reclining nude female with bold yellow, blue, and magenta accents by Linda Goodman (American...
Category

1970s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Mixed Media, Oil Pastel, Acrylic, Graphite

Judaica "The Rebbe'" European Hasidic Rabbi Oil Painting
Located in Surfside, FL
Realistic portrait of an older rabbi visiting and blessing a child in a European marketplace. Here the artist conveys a sense of quiet grandeur th...
Category

20th Century Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

French Painting Gloomy Geometric Patterns Portrait Of Elder Man Sat In Chair
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
by Paul-Louis Bolot (French 1918-2003) signed original gouache painting on thick paper/ card unframed double sided condition: very good and sound; the edges have a few curls and scuf...
Category

20th Century Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Gouache

Kennel club oil on canvas painting dogs Spain
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Joan Camo Sentis (1920-2021) - Kennel club - Oil on canvas Canvas measures 60x73 cm. Frameless. Joan Camo Sentis (1920 - 2001) Catalan painter specialized in oil painting on canvas....
Category

1980s Other Art Style Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Vintage Japanese Zen Still Life
By Joseph Corey
Located in Douglas Manor, NY
5-2581 Oil on board Displayed in a faux bamboo wood frame Image size 15.5x19.5"
Category

1960s Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Saint Tropez Yacht Harbor Figurative Landscape Painting
Located in Douglas Manor, NY
5-3313a Acrylic figurative harbor painting Image size 15.5x11.5
Category

1980s Figurative Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Large 1960's Modernist Signed Oil Painting Venice Grand Canal Atmospheric Work
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
The Grand Canal, Venice Alvarez ( Mid 20th Century) signed oil on canvas, framed framed: 25 x 33 inches canvas: 20 x 28 inches provenance: private collection, France condition: very ...
Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

NYC EL American Scene Social Realism Mid 20th Century Modern WPA Era Figurative
Located in New York, NY
NYC EL American Scene Social Realism Mid 20th Century Modern WPA Era Figurative Cecil Bell (1906 – 1970) Street Life Under the EL 22 x 30 inches Oil on canvas, c. 1930s Signed upper...
Category

1930s American Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Landscape - Oil Paint by Raul Viviani - Mid 20th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Landscape is an artwork realized by Raul Viviani (1883-1965). Oil on Board, mid-20th Century. 28 x 32 cm ; 50 x 54 cm with frame. Handsigned in the lower left margin. Good condi...
Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Board, Oil

Femme Fatale
Located in Washington, DC
An original work by Noche Crist (1909- 2004). Titled "Femme Fatale" and signed on reverse. Wonderful work made with cut wood, paint and plaster. Catalogue of an exhibition in 2008 ...
Category

20th Century Figurative Paintings

Materials

Mirror, Plaster, Wood, Acrylic, Pencil

Church Painting by Argentinian Artist Emilio Trad, Signed and Dated 1978
Located in Larchmont, NY
Emilio Trad (Argentinian, b. 1953) Untitled (Church), 1978 Oil on board 18 1/4 x 14 in. Framed: 25 3/4 x 22 1/4 in. Signed lower left: Trad Signed and date...
Category

1970s Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

The Cornish Fisherman Antique English Signed Oil Painting Portrait of Sea Man
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
"The Mate" (Cornish fisherman) by David W. Haddon (British, early 20th century) signed and dated 1914 oil on board, framed framed: 18 x 14 inches board: 16 x 12 inches provenance: pr...
Category

1910s Victorian Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

1970's British Oil Painting Portrait of Lady in White Collar
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Portrait of a Lady by Geza Somerset-Paddon (British 20th century) inscribed and dated verso (1978) oil painting on board, unframed board: 18 x 14 inches inscribed verso condition: ov...
Category

20th Century Impressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Harriet Beecher Stowe Ship in Tokyo Bay near Yokohama by Reg B. Strange
Located in Larchmont, NY
Reg B. Strange Untitled (Harriet Beecher Stowe Ship in Tokyo Bay near Yokohama), 1946 Oil on canvas Framed: 13 5/8 x 17 1/8 x 1 1/8 in. Signed and inscribed lower right One of the f...
Category

1940s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

Modern British Oil Painting Nude Model Art Class Studio Atelier Interior Scene
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
The Art Class by Helen Greenfield (British 20th century) oil painting on board, framed framed: 19.5 x 26 inches board: 17 x 24 inches condition: overall very good, original frame is quite scruffy provenance: all the paintings we have by this artist have come from their studio sale in England Helen was a member of the Leicester Sketch Club, Treasurer of Leicester Society of Artists and a founder member of The Friday Group who were an all-female group...
Category

20th Century Impressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Les Grands Boulevards - Post Impressionist City Landscape Oil by Lucien Adrion
Located in Marlow, Buckinghamshire
Signed figures in landscape oil on canvas circa 1920 by French post impressionist painter Lucien Adrion. The painting depicts people going about their daily lives on the streets of P...
Category

1920s Post-Impressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Vintage French Oil Painting Of Two People Fishing In Grey Summer Day Lake
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Artist/ School: Leon Hatot (French 1883-1953) Title: Impressionist oil painting Medium: oil painting on thick paper, stuck on board unframed. Size: painting: 13 x 20 inches. Pr...
Category

Early 20th Century Impressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Boat trip oil on board painting impressionism Spain spanish seascape
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Joan Vives Maristany (XX) - Boat ride - Oil on panel Oil measures 46x28 cm. Frameless.
Category

1990s Impressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Board, Oil

Popart, 1960s painting of Laurel and Hardy by Welsh artist Jeffrey Morgan
Located in Petworth, West Sussex
Jeffrey Morgan (British, b.1942) Laurel and Hardy Poster paint and pencil 22.3/4 x 15.3/4 in. (57.8 x 40 cm.) An original pop art design for a tin print...
Category

1960s Pop Art Figurative Paintings

Materials

Paint, Pencil

Art Deco Figurative Gouache of A Woman with a Tulip
Located in Douglas Manor, NY
3770 Art Deco gouache figurative figurative painting of a woman and a tulip Set in a hand made wood frame Image size 8.5x11.5"
Category

1930s Figurative Paintings

Materials

Gouache

Judaica Rabbi Portrait Oil Painting American WPA Abstract Expressionist Artist
Located in Surfside, FL
Born in Savannah, Georgia in 1912, abstract expressionist painter Morris Shulman studied at the National Academy of Design, Art Students League and Hans Hofmann School of Art in New ...
Category

1940s American Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Encaustic, Oil, Board

Jeune Femme Au Bouquet
Located in PARIS, FR
Oil on canvas 65 x 54 cm (25.6 x 21.3 in) Unique artwork Golden wooden frame (82 x 71 cm) - (32.3 x 28 in) Signed by the artist Certificate of authenticity
Category

Late 20th Century Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

'Playing with Socks', San Francisco Women's College, San Francisco Art Institute
Located in Santa Cruz, CA
Signed lower right, 'Storer' for Inez May Storer (American, born 1933) and dated 1978. Inez Storer first studied at the San Francisco College for Women, the San Francisco Art Institute and the University of California at Berkeley. She later earned a bachelor's degree at Dominican College in San Rafael and, in 1971, a graduate degree in at California State University in San Francisco. From Inverness, California, north of San Francisco and working from a studio in Point Reyes, Inez Storer creates mixed-media narrative paintings, collages and assemblages in naive-sophisticated style, which she describes as Magic Realism: "I am a visual raconteur. I use paint to tell stories." Most of these stories are explorations of the human condition with characters who seem allegorically to be walking tightropes. She gets many ideas from her studio collection of old postcards, toys, photos and other random items that she often incorporates into her work. Inez Storer is also known for her prints and drawings. Storer was born in Los Angeles to German parents who left that country in 1933 to avoid Hitler. Her father got a job in Hollywood with Billy Wilder as an art director, and her mother was an actress and dancer. Inez spent much time as a child on movie sets. She was raised a Catholic as her parents wanted no one to know her mother was Jewish and uses Catholic imagery in her work. In 1974, she met Andrew Romanoff, a Russian artist who became her second husband. In this marriage, she became a part of Russian royalty because Andrew was the grand nephew of the Czar Nicholas II, Russia's last emperor...
Category

1970s Contemporary Figurative Paintings

Materials

Paper, Oil Pastel, Gouache, Color Pencil, Acrylic

Israeli Folk Art Bright Colorful Naive Jerusalem Vibrant Landscape Painting
Located in Surfside, FL
My life as an artist started in 1976 when I left Kishinev (Bessarabia) for Israel. In my youth I did not have the opportunity to study an regularly, although I learned painting during some two years at the Belle-Arts Academy in Kishinev and one year in Bucarest. My youth was spent during world war 2 when Bessarabia was annexed by the Soviet Union, years of hunger and the need to work very hard to be able to survive. I worked as a retoucher of photographs in a studio. When I arrived in Israeli went to live in Jerusalem and took up painting as my only ocupation, not as in Russia where it was one of my occupations which I had to do sometimes in hiding, stealong time from my everyday jobs. Israel, its colourings, impressed me much: the blue of the sky, the turquoise of the sea, the palette of desert colours. The stones of Israel looked alive and I wished I could paint them all. In 19761 started to expose my work. Since then I participated in a number of exhibitions in groups and alone. Since 1984 I am a member of the Israeli Union of Painters and Sculptors. The last exhibition where I took part was at the Salon des Beaux-Arts in Paris together in a group of Jerusalem artists. Israel has had a Vibrant Folk Art, Naive art scene for a long time now artists like Yisrael Paldi, Nahum Guttman...
Category

20th Century Folk Art Figurative Paintings

Materials

Gouache

'Sketching Wisconsin' original oil painting, Signed
Located in Milwaukee, WI
John Steuart Curry "Sketching Wisconsin," 1946 oil on canvas 31.13 x 28 inches, canvas 39.75 x 36.75 x 2.5 inches, frame Signed and dated lower right Overall excellent condition Presented in a 24-karat gold leaf hand-carved wood frame John Steuart Curry (1897-1946) was an American regionalist painter active during the Great Depression and into World War II. He was born in Kansas on his family’s farm but went on to study art in Chicago, Paris and New York as young man. In Paris, he was exposed to the work of masters such as Peter Paul Rubens, Eugène Delacroix and Jacques-Louis David. As he matured, his work showed the influence of these masters, especially in his compositional decisions. Like the two other Midwestern regionalist artists that are most often grouped with him, Grant Wood (American, 1891-1942) and Thomas Hart Benton (American, 1889-1975), Curry was interested in representational works containing distinctly American subject matter. This was contrary to the popular art at the time, which was moving closer and closer to abstraction and individual expression. Sketching Wisconsin is an oil painting completed in 1946, the last year of John Steuart Curry’s life, during which time he was the artist-in-residence at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. The painting is significant in Curry’s body of work both as a very revealing self-portrait, and as a landscape that clearly and sensitively depicts the scenery of southern Wisconsin near Madison. It is also a portrait of the artist’s second wife, Kathleen Gould Curry, and is unique in that it contains a ‘picture within a picture,’ a compositional element that many early painting masters used to draw the eye of the viewer. This particular artwork adds a new twist to this theme: Curry’s wife is creating essentially the same painting the viewer is looking at when viewing Sketching Wisconsin. The triangular composition of the figures in the foreground immediately brings focus to a younger Curry, whose head penetrates the horizon line and whose gaze looks out towards the viewer. The eye then moves down to Mrs. Curry, who, seated on a folding stool and with her hand raised to paint the canvas on the easel before her, anchors the triangular composition. The shape is repeated in the legs of the stool and the easel. Behind the two figures, stripes of furrowed fields fall away gently down the hillside to a farmstead and small lake below. Beyond the lake, patches of field and forest rise and fall into the distance, and eventually give way to blue hills. Here, Curry has subverted the traditional artist’s self-portrait by portraying himself as a farmer first and an artist second. He rejects what he sees as an elitist art world of the East Coast and Europe. In this self-portrait he depicts himself without any pretense or the instruments of his profession and with a red tractor standing in the field behind him as if he was taking a break from the field work. Here, Curry’s wife symbolizes John Steuart Curry’s identity as an artist. Compared with a self-portrait of the artist completed a decade earlier, this work shows a marked departure from how the artist previously presented and viewed himself. In the earlier portrait, Curry depicted himself in the studio with brushes in hand, and with some of his more recognizable and successful canvases behind him. But in Sketching Wisconsin, Curry has taken himself out of the studio and into the field, indicating a shift in the artist’s self-conception. Sketching Wisconsin’s rural subject also expresses Curry’s populist ideals, that art could be relevant to anyone. This followed the broad educational objectives of UW’s artist-in-residence program. Curry was appointed to his position at the University of Wisconsin in 1937 and was the first person to hold any such position in the country, the purpose of which was to serve as an educational resource to the people of the state. He embraced his role at the University with zeal and not only opened the doors of his campus studio in the School of Agriculture to the community, but also spent a great deal of time traveling around the state of Wisconsin to visit rural artists who could benefit from his expertise. It was during his ten years in the program that Curry was able to put into practice his belief that art should be meaningful to the rural populace. However, during this time he also struggled with public criticism, as the dominant forces of the art market were moving away from representation. Perhaps it was Curry’s desire for public acceptance during the latter part of his career that caused him to portray himself as an Everyman in Sketching Wisconsin. Beyond its importance as a portrait of the artist, Sketching Wisconsin is also a detailed and sensitive landscape that shows us Curry’s deep personal connection to his environment. The landscape here can be compared to Wisconsin Landscape of 1938-39 (the Metropolitan Museum of Art), which presents a similar tableau of rolling hills with a patchwork of fields. Like Wisconsin Landscape, this is an incredibly detailed and expressive depiction of a place close to the artist’s heart. This expressive landscape is certainly the result of many hours spent sketching people, animals, weather conditions and topography of Wisconsin as Curry traveled around the state. The backdrop of undulating hills and the sweeping horizon, and the emotions evoked by it, are emphatically recognizable as the ‘driftless’ area of south-central Wisconsin. But while the Metropolitan’s Wisconsin Landscape conveys a sense of uncertainty or foreboding with its dramatic spring cloudscape and alternating bands of light and dark, Sketching Wisconsin has a warm and reflective mood. The colors of the foliage indicate that it is late summer and Curry seems to look out at the viewer approvingly, as if satisfied with the fertile ground surrounding him. The landscape in Sketching Wisconsin is also revealing of what became one of Curry’s passions while artist-in-residence at UW’s School of Agriculture – soil conservation. When Curry was a child in Kansas, he saw his father almost lose his farm and its soil to the erosion of The Dust Bowl. Therefore, he was very enthusiastic about ideas from UW’s School of Agriculture on soil conservation methods being used on Wisconsin farms. In Sketching Wisconsin, we see evidence of crop rotation methods in the terraced stripes of fields leading down the hillside away from the Curry’s and in how they alternate between cultivated and fallow fields. Overall, Sketching Wisconsin has a warm, reflective, and comfortably pastoral atmosphere, and the perceived shift in Curry’s self-image that is evident in the portrait is a positive one. After his rise to favor in the art world in the 1930’s, and then rejection from it due to the strong beliefs presented in his art, Curry is satisfied and proud to be farmer in this self-portrait. Curry suffered from high blood...
Category

1940s American Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Serene Seago Landscape Oil Painting of Reclining Figure Reading by a Riverbank
Located in London, GB
Edward SEAGO (1910-1974, British) Seated Figure Reading by a River Oil on canvas Stamped signature on reverse Framed 18 ½ x 22 ¾ inches Provenance: Private Estate, Maryland A beaut...
Category

Mid-20th Century Impressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Jewish Klezmer Musicians, Israeli Judaica Impasto Palette Knife Oil Painting
Located in Surfside, FL
Raoul Raymond was born in Bucharest, Romania in 1948 and he immigrated to Israel two years later. In Israel, Mr. Raymond grew fond of the artist's palette, and at an early age, was...
Category

20th Century Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Ozymandias (unique, signed Abstract Expressionist painting by renowned painter)
Located in New York, NY
Ben Wilson Ozymandias, 1989 Oil on masonite board Boldly signed by Ben Wilson on the back 36 × 48 inches Unframed Provenance: acquired from the Estate of Ben Wilson This work is titled "Ozymandias" after the famous sonnet written by Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822). Shelley's poem is one of the most poignant meditations on the fleeting nature of human power and the inevitability of decline. The poem serves as a reminder that time erodes even the most imposing empires and leaders and that the pursuit of lasting fame and control is ultimately futile. Depending on how one views Ben Wilson's Abstract Expressionist painting of "Ozymandias" -- some of the imagery might reveal the head of an angry king and a sickle. Shelley's poem Ozymandias reads: I met a traveler from an antique land...
Category

1980s Abstract Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Masonite, Oil

Riding a Giraffe Surreal Oil Painting 1956
Located in Douglas Manor, NY
3982 Children riding a giraffe oil on board set in a painted oak frame Image size 15.5x19.5"
Category

1950s Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Fiberboard

Christ Expelling Money Changers - British 30's surrealist art religious interior
By Augustus Lunn
Located in London, GB
Painted by "Modern British" artist Augustus Lunn this oil/tempera on board depicts Christ Expelling the Money Changers. He exhibited widely at The Cooling Galleries and The New Engl...
Category

20th Century Surrealist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

New Yorker Magazine Cover Oil Painting New England Porch View Folk Art Americana
By Gretchen Dow Simpson
Located in Surfside, FL
This is a hand painted copy of the New Yorker Magazine cover image from September 25, 1978. It is not signed. I was told it is not by the artist. I am selling it as in the style of Gretchen Dow Simpson...
Category

1970s American Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Illustration Board

WPA Mural Study 1940 American Scene Modern Social Realism Figurative Mid Century
Located in New York, NY
WPA Mural Study 1940 American Scene Modern Social Realism Figurative Mid Century Michael Loew (1907-1985) Detail for Mural (Social Security Building Washington D.C.) 24 x 24 inches ...
Category

1940s American Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Alfred Kunze, Chemnitz 1866 – 1943, German Painter, View of Funchal – Madeira
Located in Bruges, BE
Kunze Alfred Chemnitz 1866 – 1943 German Painter View of Funchal – Madeira, Portugal Signature: Signed bottom right and dated 31 Medium: Oil on canvas Dimensions: Image size 47 x 57...
Category

Early 20th Century Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

'Bouquet of Flowers' Still Life Oil Painting
Located in London, GB
'Bouquet of Flowers', oil on canvas, by Louis Toncini (1980). Painted towards the end of his career, this radiant bouquet of flowers belongs to that part of his body of work which was lighthearted, optimistic and pleasing. It is a captivating still life characterised by Toncini's vibrant colours and textured layers of oil paint deftly applied. The delicate magenta vase...
Category

1980s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Figurative Paintings for Sale

Figurative art, as opposed to abstract art, retains features from the observable world in its representational depictions of subject matter. Most commonly, figurative paintings reference and explore the human body, but they can also include landscapes, architecture, plants and animals — all portrayed with realism.

While the oldest figurative art dates back tens of thousands of years to cave wall paintings, figurative works made from observation became especially prominent in the early Renaissance. Artists like Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and other Renaissance masters created naturalistic representations of their subjects.

Pablo Picasso is lauded for laying the foundation for modern figurative art in the 1920s. Although abstracted, this work held a strong connection to representing people and other subjects. Other famous figurative artists include Francis Bacon and Lucian Freud. Figurative art in the 20th century would span such diverse genres as Expressionism, Pop art and Surrealism.

Today, a number of figural artists — such as Sedrick Huckaby, Daisy Patton and Eileen Cooper — are making art that uses the human body as its subject.

Because figurative art represents subjects from the real world, natural colors are common in these paintings. A piece of figurative art can be an exciting starting point for setting a tone and creating a color palette in a room.

Browse an extensive collection of figurative paintings on 1stDibs.

Recently Viewed

View All