Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 9

Michael Loew
Mural Study 1933 Depression Era Mid-Century WPA Modern American Scene Drawing

1933

$7,500
£5,674.27
€6,548.98
CA$10,475.41
A$11,646.66
CHF 6,096.32
MX$142,842.41
NOK 77,621.61
SEK 73,284
DKK 48,870.65
Shipping
Retrieving quote...
The 1stDibs Promise:
Authenticity Guarantee,
Money-Back Guarantee,
24-Hour Cancellation

About the Item

Mural Study 1933 Depression Era Mid-Century WPA Modern American Scene Drawing. Study to Scale Mural Sketch for “Evolution of Textile Production” East. All, Textile High School. 1933. Tempera on Board. 8 1/2″ x 13 7/8” Framed 15 1/4” x 20 5/8”. Signed lower mid section. Exhibited. Marilyn Pearl Gallery. We have available more than two dozen paintings and works on paper from the 1930s - 80s that come directly from the Loew estate. Michael Loew (1907 – 1985) was the son of a New York City baker. After high school, he was an apprentice to a stained-glass maker, and from 1926-1929, he studied at the Art Students League. In 1929, he traveled to Paris, North Africa, Germany, and Italy with a group of artists. When he returned to New York City in 1931, the Great Depression hit Loew unexpectedly, and for the next two years he paid his apartment rent with his paintings. In 1935, he found work with the WPA where he painted murals and partnered up with longtime friend Willem de Kooning in 1939 on a mural for the Hall of Pharmacy at the New York World’s Fair. Their friendship lasted for the rest of their lives. In the mid-30’s he painted in Mexico and the Yucatán documenting the construction of a U.S. Naval airbase on Tinian Island. It was from this airbase that the Enola Gay bomber jet would later take off to drop the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. After Pearl Harbor, Loew joined the Navy and served as the battalion artist for the “Seabees” in the Pacific. When he returned in 1946, his painting moved quickly toward abstraction and he studied under Hans Hoffman. The Artists Gallery in New York hosted his first one-man show in 1949, and one year later, he studied with Fernand Leger in Paris. In 1956, he began teaching in the United States. He was a member of the American Abstract Artists group. By 1985 he had been an instructor at the Portland Museum School, University of California at Berkeley, and the School of the Visual Arts, NYC. His works are in the collections of prominent institutions such as the Whitney, Guggenheim, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
  • Creator:
    Michael Loew (1907-1985, American)
  • Creation Year:
    1933
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 16 in (40.64 cm)Width: 21 in (53.34 cm)Depth: 2 in (5.08 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    New York, NY
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU115626738152

More From This Seller

View All
WPA Mural Study 1940 American Scene Modern Social Realism Figurative Mid Century
By Michael Loew
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

WPA Mural Study Mid-Century Modern American Scene Social Realism Workers
By Anton Refregier
Located in New York, NY
WPA Mural Study Mid-Century Modern American Scene Social Realism Workers Anton Refregier (1905-1979) Mural Study, Untitled 7 ¾ x 22 inches (sight) Gouache, pencil, and charcoal on board, c. 1940s Unsigned Provenance: Estate of Seymour Fogel, noted verso Thomas McCormick Gallery...
Category

1940s American Modern Mixed Media

Materials

Charcoal, Gouache, Board, Pencil

WPA Post Office Mural Study American Scene Regionalism Social Realism
By Louise Ronnebeck
Located in New York, NY
WPA Post Office Mural Study American Scene Regionalism Social Realism Louise Emerson Ronnebeck (1901 - 1980) Oil Riggers, Mural Study Image: 6 1/2 x 37 inches Watercolor and egg tem...
Category

1930s American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Watercolor, Cardboard

"Good Health Week" American Scene Modern Social Realism Mid 20th Century WPA Era
By Jo Cain
Located in New York, NY
"Good Health Week" American Scene Modern Social Realism Mid- 20th Century WPA Era Jo Cain (1904 – 2003) Good Health Week – b/w 10 ½ x 15 1/2 inches I...
Category

1930s American Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Ink

WPA Mural Study American Scene Social Realism Mid 20th Century Modern Workers
By Seymour Fogel
Located in New York, NY
WPA Mural Study American Scene Social Realism Mid 20th Century Modern Workers Seymour Fogel (1911-1984) Mural Study, untitled 11 x 49 1/4 inches (sight) Tempera on board Provenance:...
Category

1930s American Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Egg Tempera, Board

Post Office WPA Mural Study American Scene Social Realism Modern 20th Century
By Carlos Lopez
Located in New York, NY
Post Office WPA Mural Study American Scene Social Realism Modern 20th Century Carlos Lopez (1910-1953) "Bounty" WPA Mural Study for Michigan Post Office 19 ½ x 22 ½ inches Oil on B...
Category

1940s American Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

You May Also Like

Sketches of Establishment - Original Drawing by Unknown - Mid 20th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Sketches of Establishment is an Original Pencil Drawing realized by an Unknown artist in mid-20th century. Good condition on a yellowed paper. No signature.
Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Pencil

Plenty - 1930s British Art Deco design for a Mural by Harry Carleton Attwood
Located in London, GB
HARRY CARLETON ATTWOOD (1907-1985) Plenty - Design for Eltham Palace Chalks Framed 20.5 by 12 cm., 8 by 4 ¾ in. (frame size 39.5 by 31.5 cm., 15 ½ by 12 ½ in.) Attwood was born i...
Category

1930s Art Deco Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Chalk

untitled
By Lester Johnson
Located in New York, NY
Lester Johnson untitled charcoal, conte crayon, and spray enamel on board from 1972. Framed.
Category

1970s Other Art Style Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Conté, Charcoal, Spray Paint, Board

untitled
$12,000 Sale Price
20% Off
Sketches of Establishment - Original Drawing by Unknown - Mid 20th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Sketches of Establishment is an Original Pencil Drawing realized by an Unknown artist in mid-20th century. Good condition on a yellowed paper. No signature.
Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Pencil

The Sketch - Original Drawing - Mid 20th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Sketches is an Original Carbon Pencil Drawing realized by an Unknown artist of mid-20th century. The Drawing is in good condition on a yellowed cardboard. No signature. Others ske...
Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Pencil

Modernist Style Painting by American Artist Raymond O'Neill, 1930's-1940's
Located in San Francisco, CA
Art Deco / Modernist style painting titled "Figures in Meditation" by American artist Raymond O'Neill (b.1893 - d.1962.) Oil on board in painted wood ...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Paint