Signed "Alston" painting: Black African American figures in a Harlem dance hall

View Similar Items

José Jiménez Aranda - "Partida de Tresillo", Late 19th Century Oil on Canvas by José Jiménez Aranda

Gustave Léonard de Jonghe - Afternoon Repose By Gustave Léonard De Jonghe

Erik Ludwig Henningsen - Grandpa and Naughty Boy Danish Master Genre Scene 19th century Signed Framed

Ilona Sapka - Interior - XXI Century, contemporary oil painting, Light & shadow contrasts

Sebastián Llobet Ribas - "Ballet Lessons", 20th Century Oil on Canvas by Sebastián Llobet Ribas, Spanish

Fernando Liger Hidalgo - "Interior of Alcazar of Seville", Early 20th Century oil on canvas by F. Liger

Henrik Nordenberg - A Moment of Quiet Reflection by Düsseldorf School Artist Henrik Nordenberg

Fernando Liger Hidalgo - "Reales Alcázares de Sevilla" Large 20th Century oil on canvas by Liger Hidalgo

Lesley Anne Durks - Parisian Chandeliers, landscape art, original art, interior art, still-life

Lesley Anne Durks - Parisian Chandeliers

Thomas P Anshutz - Sewing By The Hearth: interior scene w/ cat by Thomas Anshutz, student of Eakins

Luisa Albert - "Interior with portrait of a painter" Homage to J.S. Sargent Oil cm. 40 x 70

Want more images or videos?

Request additional images or videos from the seller

1 of 9

Signed "Alston" painting: Black African American figures in a Harlem dance hall
mid 20th-c

About the Item

This is a newly framed, ready to hang original mid-20th century oil painting signed "Alston," lower left. It is likely painted after the Harlem Renaissance artist Charles Alston, who created a series of works in the late 1930s that captured the dynamic nightlife and community culture of African American culture in New York City. This painting incorporates several figures based on drawings by Alston. Looking carefully, one can trace the artist's fine-tuning of the composition, particularly the decision to include 5 figures in the scene instead of 6, which provides insight on the artist's creative process. This painting has been professionally framed in a simple and elegant but hefty burnished gold painted wood frame appropriate to the historical period, and has been newly cleaned by a professional conservation specialist who has determined the painting to be in excellent condition. Charles Henry Alston (1907-1977; Columbia College 1929, Teachers College 1931) was an influential painter during the Harlem Renaissance and the first African American supervisor for the Works Progress Administration. He supervised the WPA murals created at Harlem Hospital, leading a staff of 35 artists and assistants. Alston was also the first African American to teach at both the Museum of Modern Art and the Art Students League and, in 1969, to have been appointed the painter member of the Art Commission of the City of New York. Alston was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, and was related to renowned artist Romare Bearden through his mother's second marriage. He attended Columbia University as an undergraduate and graduate student, receiving a B.A. from Columbia College in 1929 and an M.F.A. from Columbia University's Teachers College in 1931. After graduating he worked at the Harlem Arts Workshop, and when the program required more space, he secured an additional facility at 306 W. 141st St. The space, known as "306," became a center for the Harlem art community. The influence of Mexican muralists José Clemente Orozco, Diego Rivera and David Alfaro Siqueiros, who all used murals to inspire people toward social activism, can be seen in Alston’s work. When Diego Rivera was painting his famous mural at Rockefeller Center, which was destroyed because of its political content, Alston frequently visited the Mexican artist, communicating in French, their only common language. Alston’s gift was not limited to painting. He also worked as a sculptor, and his cartoons and illustrations were published in popular magazines such as The New Yorker and Fortune. During World War II, he worked at the Office of War Information and Public Information, creating cartoons and posters to mobilize the black community to join in the American war effort. He also taught at the City University of New York from 1970 to 1977. His work is in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Detroit Institute of Arts. (Excerpted from Columbia University, "Columbia Celebrates Black History and Culture"

Creation Year:
mid 20th-c
Dimensions:
Height: 22 in (55.88 cm)Width: 29 in (73.66 cm)Depth: 2.5 in (6.35 cm)
Medium:
Canvas,Oil
Movement & Style:
Realist
After:
Charles Alston (1907 - 1977, American)
Period:
Mid-20th Century
Condition:
Newly cleaned by a professional conservation specialist, with very minimal pinpoints of in-painting.
Gallery Location:
Bryn Mawr, PA
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU1416210286162

More Ways To Browse

Wpa African Paintings

Framed Figure Painting

Child Painting

French Academy Paintings