Mid-20th Century Figurative Paintings

This lithograph is part of my private collection. It is limited in edition ,artist signed lower right and is in very good condition. Walter Becker was a German artist. Another impres...

The French City by Michel Kritz (French 1925-1994) oil on canvas, unframed canvas: 32 x 24 inches provenance: private collection, France condition: very good and sound condition

Abstract Portrait French School, mid 20th century oil on board, unframed 36 x 25 inches provenance: private collection, France condition: very good and sound condition though there i...

This exceptional oil on canvas by master Pop artist Roy Lichtenstein is an exceptional and unique example of his early pre-pop work. It is signed by the artist, upper right. After m...

Untitled Riverscape, an original oil on canvas by George Thompson Pritchard, is a piece for the true collector. An impressively calming nature of this plein-air painting draws you in...

An original 1942 oil on board painting by American female artist Catherine Koenig depicting the interior of the Buffalo Art Institute which was home to the legendary Charles Burchfie...

Cynthia Bissell (American, 1924-2000) Changing Bear Maiden, 1962 Oil on canvas Signed and dated lower right 20 x 50 inches 26 x 56 inches, framed Cynthia Bissell was an American art...

Ships is an original painting realized by Bruno Croatto in 1938. Signed and datet by the Artist at bottom left. Includes a wooden frame.

Portrait of a Young Lady by André Félix ROBERTY (1877-1963) oil on canvas, framed Stamped signature with the artists atelier mark framed: 35 x 31 inches canvas: 26 x 21 inches Proven...

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...

French Impressionist Oil on Canvas after a painting by Paul Cézanne titled 'Le Jardinier Vallier' (R950, FWN547). The painting is titled and signed 'élève de beaux arts d' Aix' to th...

A vibrant composition or portrait in a constructivist style by artist Lars Englund (born 1933), signed and dated "LED 56" (1956). This is an early work by the artist in which he has ...

A wonderfully rich beach scene done along the Spaarne Canal, in the city of Haarlem located outside of Amsterdam in the northwest Netherlands. Once a major North Sea trading port sur...

Sam Maitin (1928-2004). Seated Figure, ca. 1970. Charcoal, gouache and decorative paper collage. Measuring 15.5 x 20.5 inches; 22.75 x 27.75 inches framed. Signed lower left. Excellent condition. Period frame original to the piece in mahogany with natural wood grain on sides and 22k gold leaf gilt face. After graduating from Simon Gratz High School, Maitin won a scholarship to the Pennsylvania Museum School of Industrial Art (now the University of the Arts). A painter, printmaker, sculptor, muralist, graphic designer, political activist, and beloved teacher, Maitin headed the Visual Graphics Communication Laboratory at the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg School for Communication from 1965–1972 and served on the board of Woodmere Art Museum from 1995–2004. He received a number of awards, including a 1968 Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship. He created murals and other public art for the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, the University of Pennsylvania, Temple University’s Kornberg School of Dentistry, the Please Touch Museum, and Hahnemann University Hospital, among others. Maitin's work is museum collections in the United States and Europe, including (but not limited to): Philadelphia Museum of Art Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. Museum of Modern Art, New York Tate Gallery, London Bauersche Geisserie, Germany Oakland Museum, California Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts The Currier Gallery of Art...

EVENING REFLECTIONS Oil on board Size: 46 x 56 cm (including frame) A mid-century modernist composition that captures a serene moment of contemplation set in a tranquil landscape se...

This vintage 1950s-1960s oil painting titled 'Old Airfield in Capitola, California' beautifully captures a serene Northern California landscape. The scene depicts a lush countryside with vibrant trees, a charming white house with a green roof, a red tractor...

Antique French Study Sheet signed pencil sketch on artist paper painting: 20.75 x 15 inches provenance: private collection condition: good and sound condition with some damages to age.( Shown in photos.) Description: This fascinating antique sketch...

This mural study is part of our exhibition America Coast to Coast: Artists of the 1930s San Pedro Post Office: History of Writing Mural South, Preliminary Mural Maquette right panel...

FRANCOIS CHABRIER “”AU CAFE" OIL ON CANVAS, SIGNED FRANCE, C.1960 32.5 X 39.5 INCHES Framed 41 x 48 inches. François Chabrier Born 1916 François Chabrier was born in 1916 in Bel...

Detailed still life of roses, books, a statue from The Pirates of Penzance, and an ash tray by Texas artist Willa (Willie) Kay Fall (1891-1976). Signed in the lower right corner. Presented in the original period giltwood frame. Image 36" H x 28"W. Unframed. Frame, 42"H x 33.5"W x 1.5"Signed lower right "W. Kay Fall" Willie (Willa) Kay Fall was 1976 Born in Kaufman, Texas to William K. Irvin an advertising man and Roxanne M. Cole. She Married Cecil G. Fall in 1912 in Kemp, Texas She painted in Texas 1920-19600, New York 1950-60, England 1947 and 1951 Sailed on the RMS Queen Elizabeth...

5050 Heavy impasto figurative oil painting Set in a hand carved 19th century wood frame Image size 17.5x 13.5"

Jean Dominique Van Caulert, (1897-1979), although most often associated with his celebrity portraits and works for the theater, he was also a true symbolist in the tradition of the B...

3981 Children's fantasy figurative oil painting set in a hand painted oak frame Image size 15.5x19.25"

A wonderfully rich beach scene done in Holland in the Mid-20th Century depicting figures in the sand. Some figures are by the water as kids play in the distance with a bicylist as well. The impressionist details are greatly admired as the sun shines on the water beautifully. This painting is signed lower right and comes housed in a simple contemporary silver wood frame with hanging wire on verso. Art measures 23.5 x 31.5 in Framed measures 26.25 x 34 in The Frisian-born artist Henk Gorter...

Georgina Klitgaard Pueblo Indians, Taos, New Mexico Signed lower right Oil on canvas 18 x 24 inches Georgina Klitgaard’s art has sometimes gotten lost in the critical propensity to...

Lively and detailed depiction of a procession of Balinese figures in the Ubud regional style (Cremation Ceremony) by I Dewa Putu Sugi (Indonesian, b. 1931). ...

Frame size 70x61 cm. José Muntané Balaguer (1889 - 1963) Immerse yourself in the spiritual beauty of "Woman Praying," a sublime work by the acclaimed Spanish artist José Muntané Balaguer. This oil on canvas captures the serenity and introspection of faith, showcasing a masterful use of light and shadow reminiscent of great masters such as Joaquín Sorolla, Ignacio Zuloaga, and even the emotional restraint of Diego Velázquez in his most intimate portraits. The painting depicts the purity of a devotional moment, where the female figure seems to transcend the canvas, inviting the viewer to reflect on spirituality and human connection. The meticulous attention to detail and subtlety in expressions place Muntané Balaguer in the tradition of artists who immortalized scenes of everyday life with unique sensitivity, much like Julio Romero de Torres...

Up for sale here is a really impressive early 1900's oil painting by William Clarke Rice, Jr. (1875 - 1928). A great nocturnal view housed in a period giltwood frame. Image size, 2...

Vintage French Oil Painting by Louise Alix (French, 1888-1980) *see notes below provenance stamp to the back oil painting on artist paper stuck on board, unframed measures: 6 high ...

3895 Three farm girls oil wash on board in a gilt frame

Leo Schutzman (1878 - 1962) The Marriage Proposal, circa 1958 Oil on canvas 24 x 20 inches Signed lower left Leo (Kyle) Schutzman (1878-1962) developed ...

Trees is a modern artwork realized by Jean Dreyfus-Stern in the 1930s. Oil on Wooden Panel. Good conditions.

This painting by Jurgen Winter depicts a beautiful figure with a parasol overlooking the scene along the Seine river in Paris France, a popular subject of the times painted by many i...

This charming naivist painting by Swedish artist Olof (Olle) Casimir Ågren (1874–1962) depicts a horse standing gracefully beside a tree. Executed with bold, textured brushstrokes an...

Oil on cardboard. Very good condition except for some minor losses on edges.

'Portrait of a Young Woman', oil on board, by Anna Costa (circa 1960s). This is a beautifully expressive portrait painted by the artist using vibrant colour...

Framed 27 X 24 inches Sight 18 X 15 inches Walter Spitzer (Polish/French, 1927 - ) born in Cieszyn, Poland. A Polish Jewish Holocaust survivor, he made his first drawings in a conc...

Portrait of a Child French abstract artist, circa 1960's circle of Pablo Picasso oil on board, unframed board: 26 x 21 inches provenance: private collection, Luberon Valley, Provence...

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:...

The painting we are selling is a breathtaking mountain view from Hålland in Jämtland, Sweden, created by Ante Karlsson-Stig in 1932. Ante Karlsson-Stig (1885-1967) was a Swedish pain...

5-3086 oil on canvas set in a vintage gilt wood frame

Figure and child by Guy Nicod (French 1923 - 2021) watercolour on artist paper, unframed painting : 8 x 5.5 inches provenance: artists estate, France condition: very good and sound ...

Sur la Plage by Josine Vignon (French 1922-2022) signed lower right oil painting on canvas, unframed canvas: 20 x 25.5 inches Colors: Yellow gold and warm colors, red, blue and ora...

Jules Herve (French, 1887 - 1981) Game of Checkers, circa 1960 Oil on canvas 10 5/8 x 8 5/8 inches Signed lower right; signed on the reverse Jules Rene Herve, an impressionist of ou...

Wonderful mid century Bay Area figurative painting of a reclining nude by Berkeley artist Marjorie Cathcart (American, 1918 - 2014), circa 1964. The woman reclines on a bright red drape, stretching diagonally across the horizontal canvas...

Artist/ School: Wong MOO CHEW - PENGHIDUPAN (Malaysian b. 1942), signed, dated 1967 Title: Fishing Harbour Medium: oil painting on canvas, framed, signed....

Summer Woodland by Josine Vignon (French 1922-2022) signed verso, dated 1954 oil painting on canvas, unframed canvas: 21 x 29 inches Very good condition Provenance: from the artis...

Artist: Pál Fried (Hungarian, 1893-1976) Title: "Hortense (Ballerina)" *Signed by Fried lower left Circa: 1940 Medium: Original Oil Painting on Canvas Framing: Framed in a light gold...

This original 1940s American Modernist gouache painting, "Artists Sketching (California)," captures a dynamic scene of three artists at work against a majestic mountain backdrop. With expressive brushwork and a rich color palette, the piece embodies Frederick E. Shane’s signature blend of realism and modernist abstraction. Signed, titled, and dated by the artist in the lower margin, this remarkable artwork reflects the era’s Regionalist influence and the artist’s keen eye for capturing creative moments in the natural landscape. The painting is professionally housed in a custom archival frame, ensuring long-term preservation. Frame dimensions: 25.5 x 37.5 x 1.5 inches. Image size: 20.25 x 29.75 inches. Provenance: Estate of the Artist, Frederick Shane About the Artist: Frederick E. Shane (1906-1992) A celebrated Missouri Regionalist painter and printmaker, Frederick E. Shane was known for his compelling genre scenes, landscapes, seascapes, and portraits in a variety of media, including oil, watercolor, gouache, tempera, and lithography. While fundamentally a realist, Shane often incorporated elements of abstraction, expressionism, and surrealism, adding depth and emotion to his compositions. During the summers of 1925-26, Shane studied under Randall Davey at the Broadmoor Academy in Colorado Springs, an institution founded in 1919 by philanthropists Spencer and Julie Penrose. Shane remained closely connected to the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, the Academy’s successor, throughout the 1940s and early 1950s, participating in Artists West of the Mississippi exhibitions and forming lasting friendships with key figures like Boardman Robinson and Adolph Dehn...

Hugh M. Poe (American, 1902-1973) Night Riders, 1962 Oil on artist's board Signed lower right 20 x 25 inches 26.75 x 31.75 inches, framed Hugh M. Poe was an American portrait painte...

GLOWING SILHOUETTE Size: 33.5 x 21 cm (including frame) Oil on Board A small yet striking mid-century semi-abstract figurative composition, executed in oil onto board. The painting...

This mural study is part of our exhibition America Coast to Coast: Artists of the 1930s Industry and Commerce, 1936, tempera on panel, 16 ½ x 39 ½ inches, signed verso “John Ballator, Portland Ore.” provenance includes: J.C. Penney Company, represented by Russell Tether Fine Arts Assoc.; presented in a newer wood frame About the Painting Industry and Commerce is a prime example of WPA Era muralism. Like a Mediaeval alter, this mural study is filled with icons, but the images of saints and martyrs are replaced with symbols of America's gospel of prosperity through capitalism. Industry and Commerce has a strong narrative quality with vignettes filling the entire surface. Extraction, logistics, design, power generation, and manufacturing for printing, chemicals, automobiles and metal products are all represented. To eliminate any doubt about the mural's themes, Ballator letters a description into the bottom of the study. Ballator also presents an idealized version of industrial cooperation, as his workers, lab-coated technicians and tie-wearing managers work harmoniously toward a common goal in the tidy and neatly designed environments. Although far from the reality of most industrial spaces, Ballator's study reflects the idealized and morale boosting tone that many mural projects adopted during the Great Depression. About the Artist John R Ballator achieved success as a muralist, lithographer, and teacher during the Great Depression. Born in Oregon, he studied at the Portland Museum Art School, the University of Oregon and at Yale University where he received a Bachelor of Fine Art. In 1936, Ballator was commissioned to paint a mural panel for the new Department of Justice Building in Washington DC, an important project that spanned five years with several dozen artists contributing a total of sixty-eight designs. Ballator completed murals for the St. Johns Post Office and Franklin High School, both in Portland, Oregon. He also contributed to the 1938 murals at Nathan Hale School in New Haven, Connecticut. During the late 1930s, Ballator taught art for several years at Washburn College in Topeka, Kanas, where he completed a mural for the Menninger Arts & Craft Shop before accepting a professorship at Hollins College...

Oil on canvas by Louis BERTHOMME SAINT-ANDRE, France, 1940s. Young Red-haired Woman. with frame: 74x63 cm - 29.1x24.8 inches ; without frame: 61x50 cm - 24x19.7 inches. Format 12F. ...

Title: Original Oil Painting of Reflective Gentleman in Tuxedo with a Martini Glass Artist: Roland Pichard Medium: Oil on oil paper, mounted on card Size: 13.75 (height) x 10.75 (...

Portrait of a clown in three quarter view, with expressive brushstrokes and use of color by Marjorie Blake (1920-1994). Unsigned, but was purchased with...

"3rd Avenue EL" NYC American Scene Ashcan WPA Modern 20th Century Social Realism Bernard Gussow (1881-1957) 3rd Avenue El 28 1/8 x 30 1/4 inches Oil on canvas Signed lower left Fram...

Rare Mid Century Judaic figure of a Jewish rabbi at prayer. signed A. Einstein.

LARGE FINE 20th Century Piece Maritime Battle Scene British oil painting in a Gold Gilt Frame FINE RARE MARTINE PAINTING ORIGINAL 20th Century OLD MASTER STYLE OIL PAINTING GOLD GILT FRAME By Similar $10,000 Premier Collection NEW COLLECTION Of RARE PIECES OF OLD HISTORY Good condition for age , (see pictures) Description Born in 1940 Anthony Brandrett...