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Large Figurative Paintings

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Size: Large
Hudson River School Landscape with a portrait of a Boy and Dog Original Pastel
Located in Soquel, CA
Portrait of a young boy and his dog in oil pastel on paper on linen by Maurice B. Rosenbaum (American, 1868-1942) An American portrait painter form New York. Notable paintings includ...
Category

1930s Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil Pastel, Pastel, Linen, Stretcher Bars

Childhood
Located in Zofingen, AG
This painting will come to you stretched on a wooden stretcher and completely ready to be placed in the interior. ABOUT THE ARTWORK "In 'Childhood' from my 'Madeleine' series, I exp...
Category

2010s Impressionist Interior Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Childhood
Childhood
$1,234 Sale Price
30% Off
Lunar Moose Ascending - contemporary, figurative, pop-art, acrylic on canvas
Located in Bloomfield, ON
This pop art painting of a moose is by Charles Pachter. One of Canada’s most beloved and important contemporary artists, Charles Pachter’s singular imagery of iconic national symbol...
Category

2010s Contemporary Landscape Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Sardines Painting School of Fish Oil on Canvas Palette Knife Art Impasto
Located in Zofingen, AG
Sardines Painting School of Fish Oil on Canvas Palette Knife Art Impasto Artist draw her inspiration from interaction with underwater world while sc...
Category

2010s Abstract Interior Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas, Cotton Canvas

Pecheurs en Mer (Fishermen at Sea)
Located in San Francisco, CA
This artwork "Pecheurs en Mer (Fishermen at Sea) c.1920 is an oil painting on canvas by noted French artist Rene Lienard De Saint Delis, 1877-1958. It is signed at the lower left corner by the artist. The canvas size is 23,5 x 28.5 inches, framed size is 33.5 x 38.85 inches. Framed in a new wooden gold frame with fabric liner. It is in good condition, Has minor stable non open cracks in the paint due to age, visible under raking light, see pictures 7-8-9 About the artist: Born in 1876 in Saint-Omer, Eugène René is the second of four children of Antoine Albert Liénard of Saint-Delis (1840-1881), officer of the 5 th regiment of dragons and his wife Antoinette Emma Houet (1847 -1920). The birth of our artist is followed by that of his brother Henri (1878-1949), also a painter . The death of the illnesses of Captain Liénard de Saint-Delis led Emma to leave the Pas-de-Calais in 1881 to move to Le Havre with her four children. After high school François-I of Le Havre where another student, Émile Othon Friesz , is his best friend, René de Saint-Delis attended successively the Municipal School of Fine Arts of Le Havre where, with his classmates, besides his brother Henri and Othon Friesz, others who will also become his friends ( Georges Braque , Raoul Dufy , Raimond Lecourt ), he follows the courses of Charles Lhuillier (a "great admirer of Boudin " at the same time as "he places the drawing first and foremost, forbidding his pupils to use color , and the Académie Julian in Paris, where from 1900 to 1904 he was a pupil of William Bouguereau . On January 29, 1906, Le Havre created the Circle of Modern Art, which consisted of artists (among them, René and Henri de Saint-Delis, their aforementioned friends, but also Gaston Prunier...
Category

Early 20th Century Impressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Ganesha, Acrylic on Canvas, Brown Color by Contemporary Artist "In Stock"
Located in Kolkata, West Bengal
Sudipta Kundu - Ganesha Acrylic on Canvas, 36 x 24 inches , rolled and shipped . For framed delivery contact us for the additional costs From Kolkata, West Bengal, INDIA. Paintings...
Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Of Harmony and Turmoil by Gérard Priault - Tropical rainforest painting, nature
Located in Paris, FR
Of Harmony and Turmoil is a unique oil on canvas painting by contemporary artist Gérard Priault, dimensions are 74.5 × 87.5 cm (29.3 × 34.4 in). Dimensions of the framed artwork are ...
Category

2010s Contemporary Landscape Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"ANTIQUE GAMES. Love story." Original conceptual painting. Large .Horizontal
Located in Oslo, NO
In this piece, I've harmoniously blended acrylics, spray paint, and ink to evoke the timeless dance of intimate connection. The vintage vibes and fine art elements coalesce, crafting...
Category

2010s Conceptual Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Ink, Spray Paint, Acrylic

View of Sainte Anastasie France
Located in Lake Worth Beach, FL
View of Sainte Anastasie France. Signed and dated 2001. Robert Mendoze was a French Post Impressionist painter who was born in 1930- 2014. After gradua...
Category

Early 2000s Post-Impressionist Landscape Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Saint Rita Stigmata Italian Religious Painting
Located in Douglas Manor, NY
3805 Italian Religious oil painting of saint Rita the first woman stigmata Image size 21x23
Category

1960s Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Painting of Church in Cornwall on the English South Coast with Figures & Boats
Located in Preston, GB
Painting of Church in Cornwall on the English South Coast with Figures & Boats by British Artist, Michael Kerris (1934-2024) Art measures 32 x 16 inches Frame measures 37.5 x 21.5...
Category

1980s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Cotton Canvas, Oil

Still Life With Oranges In The Basket
Located in Lake Worth Beach, FL
Still Life with Oranges in the basket at night, framed. RAFAEL SALDARRIAGA was born in Medellin, Colombia in 1955. Arrived in the United States in 1993. After living in New Mexico a...
Category

2010s Realist Still-life Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Error 404: Gasoline Not Found
Located in Zofingen, AG
A pastel blue convertible with a bold red top stands out against the vast desert. Beside it, a couple shares a quiet moment, their conversation hinting at an untold story. A weathere...
Category

2010s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Cotton Canvas, Acrylic

Radio City New York NYC Sunset by Contemporary British Urban Landscape Artist
Located in Preston, GB
Radio City New York NYC Sunset by Contemporary British Urban Landscape Artist Angela Wakefield Art measures 31.5 x 31.5 inches Frame measures 36.5 x 36.5 ...
Category

2010s Contemporary Landscape Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Cotton Canvas, Acrylic

Breath of Life - 21st Century. Contemporary, Figurative, Portrait, Modern, Men
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
Shipping Procedure Ships in a well-protected tube from Nigeria This work is unique, not a print or other type of copy. Accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity (Issued by the Gal...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Les petits fleurs - contemporary, figurative painting people walking with flower
Located in Hamburg, DE
"Les petits fleurs" is a 2019 unique oil on canvas painting by German mid-career artist Michael Pröpper. Comes with certificate on back. It depicts people walking...
Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Paintings

Materials

Cotton Canvas, Oil

Highland Cow by Dawne Raulet Contemporary Cow Mixed Media with Black, White
Located in Atlanta, GA
"Highlands Cow" by Dawne Raulet is a striking original painting that beautifully captures the majestic presence of a Highland cow against a rich, dark background. With remarkable det...
Category

2010s Contemporary Animal Paintings

Materials

Mixed Media, Board

North African Traveller with Camel in Landscape Large Orientalist Oil Painting
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Traveller in Landscape French School style, late 20th century oil on canvas, unframed canvas : 36 x 24 inches provenance: private collection, Cornwall, England condition: very good a...
Category

Late 20th Century French School Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Banuso (Safe Space) - 21st Century Contemporary, Expressionist, Men, Earth Tone
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
Shipping Procedure Ships in a well-protected tube from Nigeria This work is unique, this is not a print or other type of copy. Accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity. (Issues b...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Acrylic

Renew - 21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative Portrait, Children Art, Jewellery
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
Shipping Procedure Ships in a well-protected tube from Nigeria This work is unique, not a print or other type of copy. Accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity (Issued by the Gal...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

PASSION #3 - nude male painting by Paula Craioveanu oil on canvas
Located in Forest Hills, NY
"Passion #3" . Composition with Two Male Nudes, oil on canvas, 35.5x19.5in / 90x50cm Part of "Wings of Gods" solo show, April 2024. see pictures from the show. Shipped as it is, stre...
Category

2010s Academic Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Animated biblical scene
Located in Genève, GE
Work on canvas Work re-lined Plaster and gilded wood frame 86 x 105 x 7 cm
Category

Late 18th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Venley
Located in Napa, CA
René Romero Schuler is an American painter and sculptor who creates powerful images that speak to the complexities of the human condition and the spirit that connects all human being...
Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

White Eagle , Native American Indian, Oil Painting , Texas Artist, Western Art
Located in Houston, TX
White Eagle depicts a Native American Indian in this oil painting by Texas artist, William Kalwick.. Native American Indians are known for their bright...
Category

2010s Abstract Impressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Maremma Cheetah - Oil Paint by Adriano Pompa - 2020/2021
Located in Roma, IT
Maremma Cheetah - mixed media on canvas - 2020/21 - 70 cm x 100 cm. Mixed media includes oil colors, acrylic tempera, Indin Ink, Gold Leaf, oil glazes and retouching varnish.
Category

2010s Contemporary Animal Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Les Soeurs (The Sisters), Oil Painting by Charles Levier
Located in Long Island City, NY
Les Soeurs (The Sisters) Charles Levier, French (1920–2003) Date: circa 1965 Oil on Canvas, signed l.r. Size: 24 x 30 in. (60.96 x 76.2 cm) Frame Size: 29.5 x...
Category

1960s Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

“Balancing Act”
Located in Southampton, NY
Original acrylic on canvas painting by the well known Russian/American artist Nahum Tschacbasov. Unsigned. Circa 1982. Artist inventory label verso top right. Estate stamp verso. ...
Category

1980s Post-Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Portrait of Adesuwa - 21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative Portrait, Women
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
Pursuing dreams beyond borders is a journey fraught with complexities and challenges, yet it also offers profound opportunities for growth and transformation. "Finding Solace in Fore...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Ink, Mixed Media, Acrylic

Before the ball. Antique oil on canvas by Charles Baxter
By Charles Baxter
Located in St. Albans, GB
A perfect example of Charles Baxter's work. Two beautiful ladies , one holding a flower, dressed in their best finery. Despite being unsigned, the paint...
Category

Late 19th Century Victorian Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Prunus and Lemon-coloured by Christophe Dupety - Floral painting, yellow, pink
Located in Paris, FR
Prunus and Lemon-coloured is a unique oil on canvas painting by contemporary artist Christophe Dupety, dimensions are 92 × 72 cm (36.2 × 28.4 in). The artwork is signed, sold unframe...
Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

AT THE WINDOW
By Anna Karpowicz-Westner
Located in Three Oaks, MI
This exceptional piece is a shining example of her signature "Looking Out the Window" series. With its vivid palette and masterful interplay of light, the painting invites viewers in...
Category

Early 2000s Contemporary Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Linen, Oil

Antique English Portrait of Georgian Lady circa 1820/30 period Large Oil Canvas
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Portrait of a Noble Lady English School, circa 1820's-1930's period oil on canvas, unframed painting: 35 x 28 inches provenance: private collection, London condition: some old restor...
Category

Early 19th Century Victorian Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

White Whisper by Stephanie Amato, Floral Oil Painting on Canvas
Located in Atlanta, GA
Stephanie Amato – White Whisper – Original Oil Painting on Canvas Experience the serene elegance of White Whisper, a stunning 40 x 30-inch oil on canv...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

'Study of a Young Woman Seated', Large Expressionist Figural Oil, Female, Deco
Located in Santa Cruz, CA
A substantial, American School figural oil of a young woman with dark hair shown seated, wearing a simple white cotton shift and gazing to the viewer's left. A dramatically composed...
Category

1930s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"Abstract Composition" by Armand Rottenberg (French 1903-2000) signed lower
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
"Abstract Composition" by Armand Rottenberg (French 1903-2000) oil painting on board, unframed board: 36 x 28.5 inches Stunning original Cubist painting by the French abstract art...
Category

Mid-20th Century Abstract Expressionist Abstract Paintings

Materials

Oil

Cosmic Woman, Late 20th Century Figurative Abstraction w/ Nude Woman
Located in Beachwood, OH
James Massena March (American, 1953-2021) Cosmic Woman Acrylic on canvas Signed center right, signed and titled verso 30 x 40 inches "My paintings are about space, form and energy. ...
Category

Late 20th Century Abstract Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Women - Oil Paint by Antonio Feltrinelli - 1930s
Located in Roma, IT
Woman is an orignal modern artwork realized by Antonio Feltrinelli in 1930s. Mixed colored oil painting on canvas. Signature on the lower margin. Provenance Galleria Pesaro, Milan...
Category

1930s Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Her Quest - 21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative Impasto, Woman, Pink, Birds
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
Shipping Procedure FREE Shipping Worldwide Ships in a well-protected tube This work is unique, not a print or other type of copy. Accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity (Issued...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

1960's Modernist Signed Oil Very Large Canvas Fisherfolk in Harbour with Boats
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Artist/ School: Wong MOO CHEW - PENGHIDUPAN (Malaysian b. 1942), signed, dated 1967 Title: Fishing Harbour Medium: oil painting on canvas, framed, signed....
Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Abstract Paintings

Materials

Oil

Portrait of man seated at Torah
Located in Genève, GE
Work on canvas
Category

Late 19th Century French School Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Joyline 2 - 21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative, Women Breastfeeding Child
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
Shipping Procedure FREE Shipping Worldwide Ships in a well-protected tube. This work is unique, not a print or other type of copy. Accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity. About Artist Josue M...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

COLOR AND SHAPES
Located in CÓRDOBA, ES
Acrylic on canvas Shipped rolled in a tube 100% hand made painting, unique piece.
Category

2010s Post-Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Acrylic, Permanent Marker

'Classical Seated Female Nude', by Charles G. Bockman, Oil on Canvas Painting
Located in Oklahoma City, OK
This 38 x 32 inch painting, is an oil on canvas titled 'Female Nude,' by artist Charles G. Bockmann. The painting depicts a 3/4th portrait of a nude woman wh...
Category

Early 20th Century Academic Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Onileke Ara (Beaded in Style) 2 -21st Century Contemporary, African Woman, Beads
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
Regal and radiant! 'Onileke Ara (Beaded in Style)' celebrates the beauty and elegance of African culture Shipping Procedure Ships in a well-protected tube from Nigeria. This work is unique, not a print or other type of copy. Accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity. About Artist Bakare Babatunde, born in Ogun State, Nigeria, is a dynamic artist whose journey in the world of art has been shaped by a rich cultural background. Completing his higher education in Lagos State, Nigeria, Bakare earned a Higher National Diploma in Library and Information Science, laying the foundation for a unique artistic perspective. Bakare's artistic evolution began with pencil drawing, a modest start that eventually led him to experiment with various mediums. Among these, oil color, acrylic, and Ankara fabrics on canvas emerged as his favored mediums, allowing him to explore the depth of his creative vision. Primarily focusing on figurative painting and portraiture, Bakare's work delves into the intricacies of human expression and identity. His art becomes a canvas for the narratives of emotions and cultural appreciation. Bakare's artistic journey has been punctuated by notable exhibitions, showcasing his talent on both national and international platforms: Icreate Skill Festival Abuja (2017). Ijakadi Art Exhibition, Kwara State (2020). Kwara State Youth Fair 2.0 Art Exhibition Category (2022). 'Unconditional Love Is Not Beyond Us' An Online Group Exhibition by Constance and Sons...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Conceptual Mixed Media

Materials

Fabric, Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil, Acrylic

Two Girls
Located in Milford, NH
A beautiful full portrait of two girls, possibly the artist's daughters, with spring flowers by British American artist Hamilton Hamilton (1847-1928). Hamilton was born in Oxford, En...
Category

Late 19th Century American Impressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Traditional Italian portrait of a woman in the country, Naples Italy
Located in New York, NY
Signed low left. All of our works are covered by our own guarantee of authenticity which covers the work for its lifetime of ownership with the purchaser. We carry out stringent due...
Category

Late 19th Century Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Landscape, Seascape Oil on Canvas Paint, Ready to hang , Original Art
Located in Agrigento, AG
Landscape Oil on Canvas 100x100 cm Original Art Ready to Hang Certificate of authenticity included. My painting tells of the relationship between man, nature and time, the lands...
Category

2010s Contemporary Landscape Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

10 Million Cat - Original Pop Art Animal Painting by Gary John
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles street artist Gary John exploded onto the international art scene during the Art Basel Miami art fair in 2013. John’s playfully bold work quickly gained attention and he ...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Outsider Art Mixed Media

Materials

Paper, Mixed Media, Acrylic

Sisters in Harmony -21st Century Contemporary, Figurative Portrait, Africa Women
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
Shipping Procedure Ships in a well-protected tube from Nigeria This work is unique, this is not a print or other type of copy. Accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity. About Ar...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Charcoal, Mixed Media, Oil, Acrylic

Poolside, Original Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
A figure lounges by the poolside, one knee raised and arms draped casually over it. The person radiates a relaxed, contemplative mood. With loose brushstrings...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist More Art

Materials

Acrylic

Sky is the Limit (Oil Painting, Impasto, Impressionism, Colorful, Pastel, Cool)
Located in Kansas City, MO
Genevieve Hamel Sky is the Limit Oil on Wood Panel Year: 2024 Size: 36 x 18 x 1.625 inches Signed by hand COA provided *wired and ready to hang Genevieve Hamel’s passions for desi...
Category

2010s Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Wood Panel

Mall, Winter Evening-original impressionism London cityscape oil pianting-Art
Located in London, Chelsea
This exceptional artwork is currently on display and available for sale at Signet Contemporary Art Gallery and online. "Mall, Winter Evening" by Michael Alford is a captivating orig...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Board, Oil

"The Threads of Life", Symbolist Reverie Tapestry of Being Original Oil Painting
Located in Clermont-Ferrand, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
“The Threads of Life” is an original oil painting on linen by Andrée Bars. With poetic sensitivity, this artwork offers a powerful visual metaphor for human existence. Seated at the...
Category

2010s Symbolist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

"Alma Negra". Contemporary, Figurative, expresionism, impresionism, nude
Located in MADRID, ES
"Alma Negra". Contemporary, Realism, figurative, expresionism, impresionism, human figure, nude
Category

2010s Neo-Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Early 20th Century Original Oil Painting In Style of William Merritt Chase
Located in Soquel, CA
Early 20th Century Original Still Life Oil Painting Titled "Fish and Brass" in Style of William Merritt Chase Moody and atmospheric, this still life painting by unknown artist. Titl...
Category

Mid-19th Century Impressionist Still-life Paintings

Materials

Linen, Oil, Stretcher Bars

"Soft Water" woman in white bathingsuit glides through the water
Located in Edgartown, MA
"I throw myself into the water almost every day- it grounds me, the body floats and the mind drifts. The "Swimmer series" has followed me over the years, resurfacing and evolving. P...
Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"Break From Flight, " Oil painting Featuring a bird
Located in Denver, CO
Morgan Cameron’s (US based) “Break From Flight” is an oil painting on panel that depicts a bird perched on a branch with fruit. This painting is unframed, but ready to hang. Abou...
Category

2010s Realist Animal Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

Soul Sister 2 - 21st Century, Contemporary, Portrait, Women, Love, Africa, Face
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
"Soul Sister" embodies the profound bond between kindred spirits, celebrating the deep connections that transcend time and distance. The phrase evokes feelings of warmth, support, an...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Mixed Media

Materials

Canvas, Charcoal, Mixed Media, Acrylic

'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

Canvas, Oil

Early 20th Century Portrait of a Chinese Girl, Cleveland School Artist
By Sandor Vago
Located in Beachwood, OH
Sandor Vago (Hungarian/American 1887-1946) The Chinese Girl, 1925 Oil on canvas Signed lower right 34 x 30 inches 38 x 34 inches, framed Exhibited: Clevela...
Category

1920s Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

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