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Figurative Paintings For Sale
Color:  Beige
Simka Simkhovitch WPA W/C Painting Gouache American Modernist Bouquet of Flowers
Located in Surfside, FL
Simka Simkhovitch (Russian/American 1893 - 1949) This came with a small grouping from the artist's family, some were hand signed some were not. These were studies for larger paintings. This is a miniature watercolor and gouache vibrant, colorful bouquet of flowers in a vase. Simka Simkhovitch (Симха Файбусович Симхович) (aka Simka Faibusovich Simkhovich) (Novozybkov, Russia May 21, 1885 O.S./June 2, 1885 N.S.—Greenwich, Connecticut February 25, 1949) was a Ukrainian-Russian Jewish artist and immigrant to the United States. He painted theater scenery in his early career and then had several showings in galleries in New York City. Winning Works Progress Administration (WPA) commissions in the 1930s, he completed murals for the post offices in Jackson, Mississippi and Beaufort, North Carolina. His works are in the permanent collections of the Dallas Museum of Art, the National Museum of American Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art. Born outside Kyiv (Petrograd Ukraine) into a Jewish family who owned a small department store. During a severe case of measles when he was seven, Simcha Simchovitch sketched the views outside his window and decided to become an artist, over his father's objections. Beginning in 1905, he studied at the Grekov Odessa Art School and upon completion of his studies in 1911 received a recommendation to be admitted to the Imperial Academy of Arts. Though he enrolled to begin classes in architecture, painting, and sculpture at the Imperial Academy, he was dropped from the school roster in December because of the quota on the number of Jewish students and drafted into the army. Simchovitch served as a private in the 175th Infantry Regiment Baturyn [ru] until his demobilization in 1912. Re-enrolling in the Imperial Academy, he audited classes. Simka Simkhovitch exhibited paintings and sculptures in 1918 as part of an exhibition of Jewish artists and in 1919 placed 1st in the competition "The Great Russian Revolution" with a painting called "Russian Revolution" which was hung in the State Museum of Revolution. In 1922, Simkha Simkhovitch exhibited at the International Book Fair in Florence (Italian: Fiera Internazionale del Libro di Firenze). In 1924, Simkhovitch came to the United States to make illustrations for Soviet textbooks and decided to immigrate instead. Initially he supported himself by doing commercial art and a few portrait commissions. In 1927, he was hired to paint a screen for a scene in the play "The Command to Love" by Fritz Gottwald and Rudolph Lothar which was playing at the Longacre Theatre on Broadway. Art dealers began clamoring for the screen and Simkhovitch began a career as a screen painter for the theater. Catching the attention of the screenwriter, Ernest Pascal, he worked as an illustrator for Pascal, who then introduced him to gallery owner, Marie Sterner. Simkhovitch's works appeared at the Marie Sterner Gallery beginning with a 1927 exhibit and were repeated the following year. Simkhovitch had an exhibit in 1929 at Sterner's on circus paintings. In 1931, he held a showing of works at the Helen Hackett Gallery, in New York City and later that same year he was one of the featured artists of a special exhibit in San Francisco at the California Palace of the Legion of Honor in Lincoln Park. The exhibit was coordinated by Marie Sterner and included four watercolors, including one titled "Nudes". He is of the generation of Russian Soviet artists such as Isaac Pailes, Serge Charchoune, Marc Chagall, Chana Orloff, Isaac Ilyich Levitan, and Ossip Zadkine. In 1936, Simkhovitch was selected to complete the mural for the WPA Post office project in Jackson, Mississippi. The mural was hung in the post office and courthouse in 1938 depicted a plantation theme. Painted on the wall behind the judge’s bench, “Pursuits of Life in Mississippi”, a depiction of black workers engaged in manual labor amid scenes of white professionals and socialites, was eventually covered over in later years during renovations due to its stereotypical African American imagery. Simka painted what he thought was typical of Jackson. His impression of pre-civil rights Mississippi was evidently Greek Revival column houses, weeping willow trees, working class families, and the oppression of African Americans. He painted African American men picking cotton, while a white man took account of the harvest and a white judge advised a white family, calling it Pursuits of Life in Mississippi. Though clearly endorsed by the government and initially generally well-received, the mural soon raised concerns with locals as the climate toward racial segregation began to change. The main concern was whether depictions that show African Americans in subjugated societal roles should be featured in a courtroom. The following year, his painting "Holiday" won praise at an exhibition in Lincoln, Nebraska. In 1940, Simkhovitch's second WPA post office project was completed when four murals, "The Cape Lookout Lighthouse and the Orville W. Mail Boat", "The Wreck of the Crissie Wright", "Sand Ponies" and "Canada Geese" were installed in Beaufort, North Carolina. The works were commissioned in 1938 and did not generate the controversy that the Jackson mural had. The main mural is "The Wreck of the Crissie Wright" and depicts a shipwreck which had occurred in Beaufort in 1866. "The Cape Lookout Lighthouse and the Orville W. Mail Boat" depicted the lighthouse built in 1859 and the mail boat that was running mail during the time which Simkhovitch was there. The boat ran mail for the area until 1957. "Sand Ponies" shows the wild horses common to the North Carolina barrier islands and "Canada Geese" showed the importance of hunting and fishing in the area. All four murals were restored in the 1990s by Elisabeth Speight, daughter of two other WPA muralists, Francis Speight...
Category

1930s American Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Gouache, Board, Watercolor

"The Kite Eaters" Mixed media Painting 59" x 43" inch by Emanuele Tozzoli
Located in Culver City, CA
"The Kite Eaters" Mixed media Painting 59" x 43" inch by Emanuele Tozzoli Mixed media on canvas 59" x 43" inch 150 x 110 cm ABOUT THE ARTIST Born in Italy in 1989, Emanuele discovered painting in the very first years of his life together with his father, Dario, who is also an artist and has been painting and creating sculptures with all types of material for over 40 years. At the age of 7, Tozzoli created his first small sculpture by assembling objects, and painted his first informal abstracts, discovering a side of creative and fascinating art. Deeply attracted by the most intimate nature of artistic research, in the following years, he extended his studies to the field of music, forming adolescence as a sound engineer. From 2007 he began composing electronic music, carrying out his research in the field of sound. In the following years, he studied musical composition and played his productions in clubs in Italy and Europe, also published on various underground record labels. He learned the restoration of antique woodworking...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Neo-Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Mixed Media

"Faces I" Oil on Carton Abstract Painting 28" x 22" inch by Youssef Sida
Located in Culver City, CA
"Faces I" Oil on Carton Abstract Painting 28" x 22" inch by Youssef Sida Signed and dated 1990 Youssef Sida 1922-1994 Born in 1922 in Damietta, and in 1...
Category

20th Century Abstract Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Cardboard

Mid Century Lake Anza Berkeley Bay Area Abstract Expressionist Landscape W/C
Located in Soquel, CA
Brilliantly colorful mid century expressive abstracted landscape of Lake Anza in Berkeley by Bay Area artist Howard Margolis (American, 1927-2015). Signed “Margolis” in lower right c...
Category

Late 20th Century Abstract Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

Toyota
Located in Jersey City, NJ
"Toyota" 2018. Oil and mixed media on newsprint mounted on panel. Pop and Contemporary Pop / Text / Cultural Commentary / Earth Tones / Modes of Transportation
Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Paintings

Materials

Wax, Canvas, Oil, Newsprint

Untitled, Gouache on Paper, Red, Blue, Yelow by Modern Indian Artist "In Stock"
Located in Kolkata, West Bengal
KG Subramanyan Untitled , Gouache on Paper 8 x 11.5 inches 20.3 x 29.2 cm 2007 ( Framed & Delivered ) Style : K G Subramanyan was one of the leading artists who was part of Ind...
Category

Early 2000s Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Paper, Watercolor, Mixed Media

Still Life with Ribbons - Oil Paint by Gianni Cacciarini - 1970s
By Gianni Cacciarini
Located in Roma, IT
Still life with ribbons is a modern artwork realized by Gianni Cacciarini. Mixed colored oil on board.  Hand signed on the lower margin. Includes an elegant frame (with some loss).
Category

1970s Contemporary Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Scottish 20th Century naive oil painting 'Beautiful betsy' with ginger cat
Located in Petworth, West Sussex
Catriona Millar (Scottish, b. 1956) Beautiful Betsy Oil on canvas Signed with initials (lower left) 19.5/8 x 15.5/8 in. (50 x 39.7 cm.) Catriona Millar (born 1956) is a Scottish fig...
Category

20th Century Folk Art Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

British 20th Century oil painting of fishermen on the docks of Falmouth, Cornwal
Located in Petworth, West Sussex
William Atherton Cathcart (20th Century) Sunshine and shadow at Falmouth Oil on board Signed ‘W Atherton Cathcart’ (lower left) 20 x 24 in. (50.8 x 61 cm.)
Category

20th Century Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

Acecho
By Gonzalo Morales
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Oil on Canvas, Signed Dated 2013 14 x 18 Inches
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Pot Carrier with Pink Shawl - Bright Colour Portrait, Women, Texture, Face
Located in London, GB
Nicolle was born in Zimbabwe (Rhodesia as it was then) and grew up in Africa and then travelled the world for some years before settling in the Uk. “My love of colour stems from my ...
Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Chalk, Acrylic

Flower Intrigue-original impressionism figurative oil painting-contemporary Art
Located in London, Chelsea
"Flower Intrigue" by Iryna Yermolova is a mesmerizing abstract floral figurative painting that seamlessly merges the beauty of nature with the grace of the human form. Executed with ...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Aced It, Original Painting, Contemporary Portrait, Food art, Coffee and cards
Located in Deddington, GB
An unapologetic woman plays her ace card with the assured confidence of someone who takes her coffee strong and knows exactly what to do when life gives her lemons. ADDITIONAL INFOR...
Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Paintings

Materials

Panel, Canvas, Acrylic

The Annunciation
Located in BELEYMAS, FR
Jacques STELLA (Lyon, 1596 - Paris, 1657) The Annunciation Oil on alabaster (single old break perfectly restored) H. 25 cm; W. 30 cm Son of François Stellaert, a painter of Flemish ...
Category

1620s French School Figurative Paintings

Materials

Alabaster

Parintins
Located in New Rochelle, NY
Belotti paintings include human figure, colors and movement of Brazilian folklore and culture. The artist invites us to reflect upon these subjects and the stereotypes of modern soci...
Category

2010s Street Art Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Minime
Located in Bonn, NW
Original painting. Oil and acrylic on raw linen canvas and mounted on a high quality stretcher frame. Finished off with a soft glossy varnish. 80 x 100 cm 31.5 x 39.4". The sides ...
Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Acrylic

Antique 19th century English fishing vessels In the English Channel
Located in Woodbury, CT
Antique 19th century English fishing vessels In the English Channel William Henry Williamson was a gifted, London painter of coastal scenes, ...
Category

1880s Victorian Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Whole Table, Oil on Canvas Painting by Nicholas Turner, 2022/2023
Located in Kingsclere, GB
Whole Table, Oil on Canvas Painting by Nicholas Turner B. 1972, 2022/2023 Additional information: Medium: Oil on canvas Dimensions: 80 x 80 cm 31 1/2 x 31 1/2 in Signed; titled and ...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas

Vue de Rouen
Located in LE HAVRE, FR
Gaston Sebire (1920-2001) Vue de Rouen Oil on canvas Size : 65 x 81 cm Signed lower right Provenance : Private Collection, France Very good condition. Original canvas. Frame included...
Category

1960s Post-Impressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"Angel of a long way" , oil pastel, paper, 1995
Located in Brooklyn, NY
oil pastel on paper.
Category

2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings

Materials

Paper, Oil Pastel

"Untitled, " Oil on Paper - Figurative Drawing, Indian Artist, Symbolist Art
Located in Houston, TX
This minimalist oil painting on paper is part of a series, which references a mantra of Amita Bhatt’s, “life is a circus.” Floating in space, the characte...
Category

2010s Symbolist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Paper

Enjoy instability
Located in Long Island City, NY
There is no definitive answer to the message my work seeks to communicate.
I begin my work with mixed feelings between ‘feeling-self’ and ‘conscious-self’.
We cannot logically explai...
Category

2010s Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Les Gilles de Binche - 19th Century Watercolor, Figures Belgian Carnival H Duhem
Located in Marlow, Buckinghamshire
Watercolour on paper circa 1920 by Henri Duhem depicting The Gilles at the Carnival of Binche, Belgium. Signed and titled lower left. This painting is not currently framed but a suit...
Category

Early 20th Century Impressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Watercolor, Paper

Chamonix, le Mont Blanc
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist: Florent Chade (French, 1896-1985) Title: Chamonix, le Mont Blanc Year: Circa 1950 Medium: Oil on canvas board board size: 15 x 18.25 inches Signature: Signed lower ...
Category

Mid-20th Century Impressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Harbour view. Oil on canvas. Signed.
Located in Paris, FR
Charles John de Lacy (1856 – 13 December 1929) was one of the foremost British marine artists of his period. He was especially known for his warship imagery an...
Category

Late 19th Century Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Venezia
Located in Firenze, FI
Title: "Venezia" Media: Oil on canvas size: 50 x 70 cm Sergio Scatizzi Lucca 1918 – Florence 2009 Art and nature are the themes of Scatizzi’s work of a journey through contemporan...
Category

1990s Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Unframed Hand Painted White Tara Thangka on Canvas 24K Gold
Located in TRUMBULL, CT
This unframed hand painted White Tara Thangka can be framed according to your choice and give it a place at your home to promote long life, peace, ...
Category

1990s Other Art Style Figurative Paintings

Materials

Mixed Media

Mid Century Figurative Study of Pair
By Joseph Capozio
Located in Soquel, CA
Compelling figurative study in gouache and pencil by Joesph Capozio (American, 1928-2016). Estate stamp lower right corner with bio on verso. Presented in mahogany wood frame. Framed size: 19"H x 17"W. Capozio was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1927. After serving in World War II, he attended art school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He lived and worked in San Francisco, California; New Orleans, Louisiana; Siesta Key...
Category

1960s American Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Pencil, Gouache

Happiness - Contemporary Acrylic on Canvas Painting, Vibrant colors, Landscape
Located in Warsaw, PL
ABOUT THE ARTIST MARTA RYNKIEWICZ is a Polish contemporary artist (born in 1983). She studied painting with Professor Henryk Czenik and graphic arts with Professor Jerzy Krechowic...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

The Great Flood of Paris - Impressionist Landscape Gouache Painting - Luigi Loir
Located in Marlow, Buckinghamshire
Signed gouache on board impressionist landscape by French painter Luigi Loir. This work depicts the famous flood of Paris in 1910 when the Seine broke its banks in the largest flooding the city had seen in a 100 years. Loir likely painted this work "en plein air" as he encountered this rare natural occurrence. Signature: Signed lower left Dimensions: Framed: 13"x19" Unframed: 5"x11" Provenance: Private French collection He first exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1865 with a Landscape at Villiers-sur-Seine which brought him a certain amount of recognition. He was a regular exhibitor at the Salon des Artistes Français. Obtaining a third-place medal in 1879, and a second-place medal and a gold medal in 1889 at the Exposition Universelle in Paris. He was decorated with the Légion d'Honneur in 1898. Born in Austria to French parents who served the exiled French Bourbon royal family, Luigi Aloys-François-Joseph Loir moved with his family and the Bourbons to the Duchy of Parma in 1847. In 1860 his family returned to Paris following the expulsion of the Bourbons from Parma. But Luigi remained in the city, having enrolled, at the young age of eight, at the Accademia de Belle Arti. He eventually rejoined his family in Paris in 1863. There he studied with the decorative painter and set designer Jean Pastelot, making his Salon debut in 1865. Loir painted mainly views of Paris, in all seasons and at different times of the day or night. Loir was the Paris painter...
Category

Early 20th Century Impressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Board, Gouache

Early 20th Century Landscape with Figures
Located in New Orleans, LA
Early 20th Century Landscape with Figures attributed to Continental School framed: 53.7h x 42.5w inches
Category

Early 20th Century Romantic Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Vases - Drawing by Alfredo Malferrari - 1974
Located in Roma, IT
Vases is a contemporary artwork realized by Alfredo Malferrari. Mixed colored drawing. Hand signed and dated on the lower margin Includes frame Fair conditions
Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Paintings

Materials

Paper

Pebble Beach 1 and 2, Original Painting, Coastal art, Beach, Seaside, Summer
Located in Deddington, GB
Two colourful and lively aerial seascape paintings featuring turquoise waters and beach umbrellas. These paintings were inspired by the north coast of Cornwall and painted in Cornwal...
Category

2010s Impressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Pause
Located in Long Island City, NY
There is no definitive answer to the message my work seeks to communicate.
I begin my work with mixed feelings between ‘feeling-self’ and ‘conscious-self’.
We cannot logically explai...
Category

2010s Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Coffee Espresso #17, Coffee on paper, Cycling, Sports
Located in Deddington, GB
Espresso #17 is an original coffee on paper by artist Eliza Southwood. It features one cyclist painted in coffee, combining cycling culture with the love of a good coffee break. ADD...
Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Paintings

Materials

Paper, Coffee

"Apple tree" pastel cm. 45 x 35 ( frame cm. 60 x 70)
Located in Torino, IT
with frame is cm. 70 x 60 no frame cm. 45 x 35
Category

1980s Impressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Pastel

Come away with me - Contemporary Abstract, Acrylics, Bright colors, Vibrant
Located in Warsaw, PL
ANNA MASIUL-GOZDECKA Graduated from Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts in 2000. She studied painting at prof. Krzysztof Wachowiak`s atelier, photography under the guidance of prof. Rosław S...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Donald McIntyre. Girl and Chapel, North Wales. Modern British. Rural Welsh Life.
Located in Sutton Poyntz, Dorset
Donald McIntyre. English ( b.1923 - d.2009 ). Girl and Chapel, North Wales. Oil on card. Signed with monogram twice lower left. Image size 12 inches x 15.6 inches ( 30.5cm x 39.5cm ...
Category

Late 20th Century Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Cardboard

Seated Woman Oil Painting
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Fascinating figurative painting by Norbert Schlaus (German 1927-2009) depicting a seated woman wearing a hat with fruit. Schlaus was born in Oberhausen, Germany but moved to Californ...
Category

20th Century Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Tulips & Girls
Located in Toronto, ON
Eaton writes "My paintings are constructed slowly and deliberately by building layer upon layer of vibrant acrylic colour. My approach is similar in the way areas are carefully deve...
Category

2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

A Fair Price
Located in Jacksonville, FL
Fabio Fabbi, born in Italy in 1861, stands as an acclaimed Orientalist painter renowned for his devotion to capturing the exotic allure of the Orie...
Category

19th Century Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

The Forest and the Girl
Located in Seoul, SO
This is original work by Okumura Aka, Pen, acrylic on paper mounted on wood panel Okumura Aka ( Japan ) Aka Okumura explores the spiritual aspect of life and death by contrasting ...
Category

2010s Surrealist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Arromanches - La Cale du Musée by Hugues Claude Pissarro dit Pomié, Oil Painting
Located in London, GB
Arromanches - La Cale du Musée by Hugues Pissarro dit Pomié (B. 1935) Oil on canvas 92 x 73 cm (36 x 28 ¾ inches) Dated on reverse October 1998 This work is accompanied by a certifi...
Category

1990s Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Cats Parade
Located in Seoul, SO
This is original work by Wada Chizu acrylic on canvas Chizu Wada’s artistic practice is centered on engaging with the viewer’s perception to unveil the deceptive nature of cute im...
Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Golden Slumber-original impressionism figurative oil painting-contemporary art
Located in London, Chelsea
"Golden Slumber" by Kelly-Anne Cairns is an enchanting portrayal captured in the delicate strokes of impressionistic style. Set against a backdrop of serene blue and golden hues, thi...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Lady on a walk by Sean Durkin, woman, contemporary art, walking
Located in Deddington, GB
original paiting of Lady on a walk by Sean Drukin. Sean uses very toned colours but draws attention to her red scarf and red skirt. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Acrylic paint on Canvas 3...
Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

In a fight by Sean Durkin, man, contemporary art, fighting
Located in Deddington, GB
Original paiting of "In a fight" by Sean Durkin. Sean uses very toned down colours but draws the attention to the men fighting on a lighter background. Additional information: Acryl...
Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Black Dog I by Sean Durkin, dog art, animal painting, impressionist
Located in Deddington, GB
Original painting of Black Dog I. Sean uses very toned down colours but draws the attention to a black dog on a lighter background. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Acrylic paint on Canvas ...
Category

2010s Impressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Still Life - 1950s - Pio Semeghini - Painting - Contemporary
Located in Roma, IT
Hand signed and dated by the artist lower right. Includes a beautiful contemporary wooden gilded frame. In excellent conditions. References: - Catalogo della mostra di Pio Semeghini...
Category

1950s Contemporary Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Wood

Outsider Folk Art Expressionist Rabbi Israeli Painting Signed Hebrew Jewish Star
Located in Surfside, FL
This is a signed portrait painting done in an outsider, folk art, expressionist style. it is signed in Hebrew, also marked with a Jewish star. this is from a collection of works by the same hand. they are all signed. Some have markings to the back of the paper. they have some age to them. They bear similarities to artists as dissimilar as Moshe tamir, Mane Katz and an Israeli version of Purvis Young. In this piece the artist choice of colors is muted yet powerful. Israel has had a Vibrant Folk Art, Naive art scene for a long time now, artists like Yisrael Paldi, Nahum Guttman, Reuven Rubin and even Yefim Ladyzhensky had naive periods. The most well know of the strict naive artists are Shalom of Safed, Irene Awret, Gabriel Cohen, Natan Heber, Michael Falk and Kopel Gurwin. Naïve art is any form of visual art that is created by a person who lacks the formal education and training that a professional artist undergoes (in anatomy, art history, technique, perspective, ways of seeing). Unlike folk art, naïve art does not necessarily evince a distinct cultural context or tradition. Naïve art is recognized, and often imitated, for its childlike simplicity and frankness. Paintings of this kind typically have a flat rendering style with a rudimentary expression of perspective. One particularly influential painter of "naïve art" was Henri Rousseau (1844–1910), a French Post-Impressionist who was discovered by Pablo Picasso. Naïve art is often seen as outsider art that is by someone without formal (or little) training or degree. While this was true before the twentieth century, there are now academies for naïve art. Naïve art is now a fully recognized art genre, represented in art galleries worldwide. Museums devoted to naïve art now exist in Kecskemét, Hungary; Riga, Latvia; Jaen, Spain; Rio de Janeiro, Brasil; Vicq France and Paris. "Primitive art" is another term often applied to art by those without formal training, but is historically more often applied to work from certain cultures that have been judged socially or technologically "primitive" by Western academia, such as Native American, sub saharan African or Pacific Island art (see Tribal art). This is distinguished from the self-conscious, "primitive" inspired movement primitivism. Another term related to (but not completely synonymous with) naïve art is folk art. There also exist the terms "naïvism" and "primitivism" which are usually applied to professional painters working in the style of naïve art (like Paul Gauguin, Mikhail Larionov, Paul Klee). At all events, naive art can be regarded as having occupied an "official" position in the annals of twentieth-century art since - at the very latest - the publication of the Der Blaue Reiter, an almanac in 1912. Wassily Kandinsky and Franz Marc, who brought out the almanac, presented 6 reproductions of paintings by le Douanier' Rousseau (Henri Rousseau), comparing them with other pictorial examples. However, most experts agree that the year that naive art was "discovered" was 1885, when the painter Paul Signac became aware of the talents of Henri Rousseau and set about organizing exhibitions of his work in a number of prestigious galleries. The Earth Group (Grupa Zemlja) were Croatian artists, architects and intellectuals active in Zagreb from 1929 to 1935. The group included the painters Krsto Hegedušić, Edo Kovačević, Omer Mujadžić, Kamilo Ružička, Ivan Tabaković, and Oton Postružnik, the sculptors Antun Augustinčić, Frano Kršinić, and the architect Drago Ibler. Art brut, primitive art, primitive, art naïf, naïve art. Outsider art. A term applied to Yugoslav (Croatian) naive painters working in or around the village of Hlebine, near the Hungarian border, from about 1930. Some of the best known naive artists are Dragan Gaži, Ivan Generalić, Josip Generalić, Krsto Hegedušić, Mijo Kovačić, Ivan Lacković-Croata, Franjo Mraz, Ivan Večenaj and Mirko Virius. Camille Bombois (1883–1970) Ferdinand Cheval, known as 'le facteur Cheval' (1836–1924) Henry Darger (1892–1973) L. S. Lowry (1887–1976) Grandma Moses, Anna Mary Robertson (1860–1961) Nikifor (1895–1968) Poland, Horace Pippin (1888–1946) Jon Serl (1894-1993) United States Alfred Wallis (1855–1942) Scottie Wilson (1890–1972) Gesner Abelard (b. 1922) Jan Balet (1913–2009) Michel Delacroix (b. 1933) France Howard Finster (1916–2001) Ivan Rabuzin (1921–2008) Spontaneous Art Museum in Brussels Art en Marge Museum in Brussels MADmusée in Liege International Museum of Naive Art of Brazil in Cosme Velho, Rio de Janeiro Gallery Jacques Ardies in São Paulo Musée international d'art naïf de Magog in Magog Croatian Museum of Naïve Art in Zagreb Gallery of Croatian Naïve Art...
Category

20th Century Outsider Art Figurative Paintings

Materials

Gouache

Family scene. Oil sketch on cardboard.
Located in Paris, FR
Family scene. Oil sketch on cardboard. This work will be recorded in the catalogue raisonné of the work of the artist currently in preparation. Jules Van Biesbroeck was the son of Jules Evariste van Biesbroeck, a painter of Ghent, but was born in Italy, in Portici, near Naples, while his parents were staying there. (In the 19th century many artists made educational trips to Italy). It was a long visit: the child was two years old by the time the family returned to Ghent.[1] After a short period of practice with his father, van Biesbroeck was enrolled in the Academy of Fine Arts in Ghent. His first painting, "The Shepherd" (French: Le pâtre), was sold at the Triennale in Ghent. In 1888, when he was only 15 years old, he made his debut at the "Salon des Champs-Elysées" in Paris with his monumental work "The Launch of the Argo" (French: Le lancement...
Category

1930s Post-Impressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Burning car
Located in Napoli, IT
Quartz painting on cotton canvas, Lorenzo Maqced – pseudonym of Lorenzo Marroni (Città di Castello, 1993) – who structures this narrative through a variety of iconographies, explor...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Figurative Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Untitled # 13
Located in Buffalo, NY
A contemporary oil painting on linen by American artist A.J. Fries. Artist’s Statement: These works are an extension of a small series of realistic paintings that I did of graves...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Figurative Paintings

Materials

Linen, Oil

Face, Acrylic on paper by Modern Indian Artist Rabin Mondal “In Stock”
Located in Kolkata, West Bengal
Rabin Mondal - Face 14 x 10 Inches Acrylic on Paper 2018 Mondal was a clear observant of the various migrant workers who lived along his house in the conjected Howrah Area. They c...
Category

2010s Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Paper, Acrylic

OLD MASTER Signed L S Lowry " The Five Ways " Oil Painting 20th Century GGF
By Laurence Stephen Lowry
Located in Ferndown, GB
OLD MASTER Signed L S Lowry " The Church Spire" Oil Painting 20th Century NEW COLLECTION Of RARE PIECES OF ART Here we have a unique and rare piece of Art signed Good Detail one o...
Category

Mid-20th Century Impressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Elegant Portrait of Young Lady Paris School Mid 20th Century Listed Artist
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Portrait of an Elegant Lady original pencil drawing on paper signed by Marjorie Schiele (1913-2008) *see notes below piece of paper is 12 x 8 inches In good condition, though with mi...
Category

Early 20th Century American Impressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Crayon, Pencil

Elegant Portrait of Young Lady Paris School Mid 20th Century Listed Artist
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Portrait of an Elegant Lady original pencil drawing on paper signed by Marjorie Schiele (1913-2008) *see notes below piece of paper is 12.5 x 9.5 inch...
Category

Early 20th Century American Impressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Crayon, Pencil

Still life with a pewter pitcher, original oil painting by Pierre Coquet
Located in Montfort l’Amaury, FR
Pierre Coquet - Still life with a pewter pitcher Reference number F445 Framed with a natural oak floated frame 50 x 73 x 2 cm (55 x 78 x 3,5 cm frame included) This work is painted w...
Category

1980s French School 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.

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