Items Similar to Vintage Bay Area Figurative Movement -- "Napoleon's Ambition"
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 10
Katherine BarieauVintage Bay Area Figurative Movement -- "Napoleon's Ambition" 1982
1982
About the Item
Stunning abstract Bay Area Figurative Movement piece titled "Napoleon's Ambition" by Katherine Barieu (American, 1917-2010), 1982. Signed and dated lower right corner. Presented in grey painted slat shadow box frame. Image size: 16"H x 16"W. Framed size is 17"H x 17"W x 1.50"D.
Born in 1917, Katherine Barieau was among the artists associated with the University of California at Berkeley in the 1950s. She remained active in the regional art scene throughout the following decades, producing abstract and figurative work in oil, acrylic, watercolor, mixed media and collage.
The daughter of Scottish immigrants, Barieau was raised in Cambridge, MA. She graduated from Wellesley College (BA 1938) and later settled in California. Her art studies culminated with her enrollment in the art department at the University California, Berkeley (MFA 1953).
A quote from a 1992 artist statement reads, "I was caught up in the wave of Abstract Expressionism and influenced by the riches in the Unconscious (I had a Jungian therapist). I have never ceased to experiment with media and searching to find how best to express inner ideas. It was wonderful to be exposed to established and active painters, to have a chance to study with experienced painters, to have friends who were also exploring and involved."
Her teachers included John Haley, James McCray, Glenn Wessels and Felix Ruvolo. Her friends included fellow UC students Paul Wonner, Theophilus Brown and Jerrold Davis - as well as Richard Diebenkorn after this return to Berkeley in 1953. Barieau also studied with the California watercolorist Alexander Nepote, and with the New York School Abstract Expressionists Esteban Vicente and Kyle Morris.
Like many others of her generation in the Bay Area, the artist also worked in a figurative style in the 1950s and later. Over the years, she took interest in a variety of subjects. Her travels in California, Britain, Egypt and elsewhere also influenced her art.
The artist exhibited in New York at the Van Diemen-Lillienfeld Galleries (1958 solo show, and group shows) and at many venues in the San Francisco region, including the Lucien Labaudt Gallery. Her last gallery show (a retrospective) was held in San Francisco in 2009.
Barieau also taught, most notably as instructor of painting and later assistant professor at the California College of Art.
A set of course materials she prepared in 1961 included a statement of advice that captured her own philosophy as an artist: "Do not accept an academic reproduction of the figure on your canvas. Look until you can feel an individual reaction to the relationships of the space. Your expressions of your reaction are related to your sense of personal freedom. Aim for freedom."
- Creator:Katherine Barieau (1917 - 2011, American)
- Creation Year:1982
- Dimensions:Height: 17 in (43.18 cm)Width: 17 in (43.18 cm)Depth: 1.5 in (3.81 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:Very Good: Areas of missing texture and paint repaired (right side of face) and retouched.
- Gallery Location:Soquel, CA
- Reference Number:
About the Seller
5.0
Platinum Seller
These expertly vetted sellers are 1stDibs' most experienced sellers and are rated highest by our customers.
Established in 1986
1stDibs seller since 2014
2,472 sales on 1stDibs
Typical response time: <1 hour
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Soquel, CA
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 14 days of delivery.
More From This SellerView All
- Artists Studio AbstractBy Doris WarnerLocated in Soquel, CADynamic abstract figurative painting by Doris Ann Warner (American, 1925-2010). Signed "Warner" lower right. Unframed. Image size: 30"H x 24"W. Doris Warner first achieved recognit...Category
1960s Abstract Expressionist Figurative Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
- The Lookout, San Francisco Figurative AbstractBy Sally Kissinger WiltLocated in Soquel, CAVibrant and unique Bay Area Figurative School painting by Sally Kissinger Wilt (American, 1936-2004). A Richard Diebenkorn style work depicting a woma...Category
Mid-20th Century Abstract Expressionist Figurative Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
- Woman With Air Guitar and Musicians Figurative AbstractBy Michael William EgglestonLocated in Soquel, CAModernist abstract figurative oil painting of a woman with musicians by San Francisco artist Michael William Eggleston (American, 20th century). Signed with monogram "MWE" and dated ...Category
Early 2000s Abstract Expressionist Figurative Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
- Mid-Century Modern Dancers Figurative Abstract, Bay Area Figurative School 1960sLocated in Soquel, CAMid-Century Modern Dancers Figurative Abstract, Bay Area Figurative School 1960s A gorgeous and colorful mid-century modern figurative abst...Category
Mid-20th Century Abstract Expressionist Figurative Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
- Mid Century Yellow and Blue Large Scale AbstractBy Louis Earnest NadaliniLocated in Soquel, CAStunning and expressive large scale oil painting by mid-century San Francisco artist Louis Earnest Nadalini (American, 1927-1995). Signed "Nadalini" lower right. Unframed. Image size...Category
1950s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil, Wood Panel
- Fauvist Faces AbstractBy Chris HamamotoLocated in Soquel, CACompelling abstract figurative portrait with bold color fields by Southern California artist Chris Hamamoto (American, 20th Century). Signed lower left corner. Unframed, gallery wrapped. Size: 24"H x 20"W x 2"D. Chris, a native of Southern California, has enjoyed creating artwork since childhood. After trying various media, he decided to specialize in painting on canvas and paper with acrylic paints. He is inspired by the works of Monet, Van Gogh, Sergeant, and Diebenkorn. Chris displays and sells his paintings in art festivals throughout California, Arizona, and Nevada. Education: Los Angeles Valley...Category
1990s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
You May Also Like
- Large Scale Gestural Figurative Abstract Expressionist Surrealist Oil PaintingBy Matthew CaroneLocated in Surfside, FLArtist: Matt Carone, signed lower right Dated: 1995 Dimensions: 80.25"H x 56.25"L In a fine wooden black and gold gilded frame. Provenance: Freitas Revilla Gallery. Matt Carone (1930-) South Florida artist and gallerist. The Italian- American New Jersey native took up painting in the 1940s after Hans Hoffman asked him to model in a class in which Nicolas Carone, Matt's brother was a student. He has never stopped painting since that seminal experience in Abstract Expressionism. His work reveals a dynamic gestural vocabulary that’s confident, rich in color and texture, and charged with emotion. Matthew Carone opened his famous, influential gallery on Las Olas Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale in 1959, and in the following decades, he built a roster that included such artists as Wolf Kahn, Leon Kroll, Wifredo Lam, and the great Chilean surrealist Roberto Matta. Meanwhile, Carone quietly continued his own work as a painter, urged on by Matta on his many visits to the area. His works range from pure abstract expressionist painting to figurative expressionism to an almost Surrealist calligraphic abstraction. Carone lived with and posed for Hans Hoffman, and was friends with Roberto Matta, Conrad Marca-Relli, Paul Jenkins, Franz Kline and Wolf Kahn. His paintings, according to Palm Beach Post art critic Gary Schwan, “reveal a spontaneity that recalls the automatic writing of the surrealists. The figures radiate motion, tension and sexual heat in contained spatial constructions.” This painting depicts nude figures reminiscent of the nudes in the famous Pablo Picasso painting Demoiselle D'avignon. His later paintings, perhaps closer to Jackson Pollock or Cy Twombly than Matta’s animated stick figures and skeletal machines, step toward the path of patterned abstraction without venturing onto it. Like Pollock, whose lyrical loops carried the private rhythms of an artist enamored of dance, and Twombly, whose staccato, sketchy lines reflect a different temperament, Carone’s inspirations flow directly from a subconscious informed by a lifetime of association with some of the century’s most important artists and their works. Not only is Carone identified with the pioneer generation of Abstract Expressionists, but also critics have seen affinities with Surrealism in his work, as well as development parallel to those of the CoBrA group.” Earlier paintings by Carone, an accomplished musician and violinist, often suggest ensembles of musical instruments, particularly those with strings. Like the drip paintings of Pollock, these works, with their powerful sense of movement and lyrical compositions, sometimes seem like musical passages captured on canvas or paper. SELECT ONE PERSON SHOWS Boca Raton Museum of Art, Boca Raton, FL Palazzo Panni Museum, Arco di Trento, Italy Fox-Martin Gallery, Housatonic, MA Lurie Galleries, Boca Raton, FL ArtSpace/Virginia Miller Galleries, Coral Gables (Miami), Florida Georgetown College, Georgetown, Kentucky Schramm Galleries, Fort Lauderdale, Florida Granville Galleries, Coral Gables, Florida Coral Ridge Yacht Club, Fort Lauderdale, Florida Museum of Art, Fort Lauderdale, Florida The Gallery, Fort Lauderdale, Florida Gallery 99, Bay Harbour Island, Florida Mercer University, Macon, Georgia P.N.Y.K. Gallery, Kent, Connecticut Simons Rock College of Bard, Great Barrington, Massachusetts Freites-Revilla Gallery, Boca Raton, Florida GROUP SHOWS Museum of Art, Fort Lauderdale, Florida Society of the Four Arts, Palm Beach, Florida Schramm Galleries, Fort Lauderdale, Florida Roko Gallery, New York, New York Loft Gallery, Coral Gables Florida Lowe Art Museum, Coral Gables, Florida Brandeis Art Festival, Palm Beach, Florida Drawing Exhibition, Museum of Art, Fort Lauderdale, Florida Ute Stebich Gallery, Lenox, Massachusetts Florida Pavilion, New York World's Fair, 1965 The Lantern Gallery, Ann Arbor, Michigan The Little Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Tampa Bay Art...Category
1990s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
- Grace - Soft Toned Sensitive Portrayal of Intimate Figures and Graceful NudesBy Gabriele MierzwaLocated in Los Angeles, CATypical of Gabriele Mierzwa's softly toned academically inspired figurative oil paintings is the sensitive portrayal of dynamic, intimate figures. These sensual moments are powerfull...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Expressionist Figurative Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Mixed Media, Oil, Oil Pastel
- Petites Histories / oil on canvasBy Frédéric ChoiselLocated in Burlingame, CAA magnificant abstract painting that bridges figuration, Inspired by living in the cities of France, New York, and San Francisco. French American visual artist Frédéric Choisel tells...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Expressionist Abstract Paintings
MaterialsOil, Canvas
- "One, " contemporary abstract expressionist oil painting on canvas by Alayna RoseBy Alayna RoseLocated in Milwaukee, WI"One" is an original oil painting on canvas by Alayna Rose, signed in the lower left. In this composition, Rose has abstracted the side-profile of a head by filling it with an array ...Category
2010s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
- Departing, Large Figurative Expressionist Painting by George Marshal CohenBy George Marshal CohenLocated in Long Island City, NYAn oil painting by George Marshal Cohen from 1960. An abstract expressionist style painting with dark blue tones and bright yellow accents. Figurative representations of female legs ...Category
1950s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
- Simorgh Descending VI,By Yari OstovanyLocated in Palm Beach, FLYari Ostovany is an American abstract artist of Iranian origins. He has lived in Tehran, Cologne, Los Angeles, San Francisco and in Reno. He is currently based in New York City. His ...Category
2010s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Paintings
MaterialsCotton Canvas, Oil
Recently Viewed
View AllMore Ways To Browse
Vintage Figurative
Vintage Movement
Vintage Department
Bay Area Painting
Bay Area Paintings
San Francisco Bay Area Painting
California Bay Area
Bay Area California Artist
H Bayer
Bay Area Figurative Art
Bay Area Figurative
Bay Area Figurative Painting
San Francisco Vintage Art
Bay Area Figurative Artist
Paintings Of Napoleon
Bay Area Expressionist
Academic Movement Painting
Vintage Acrylic Box