American Realist Figurative Paintings

This is an oil on artist board (unframed) by the important Hungarian-born and internationally celebrated Denes de Holesch (1910-1983). Denes de Holesch was an international equestrian artist. His works have been exhibited all over the world, including in New York, Beverly Hills, Boston, Chicago, Paris, Mexico City, Montreal, Tokyo, Sydney, and Madrid. His horse paintings fall into one of seven themes, including polo, cowboys, circus, rodeo, hunt, bull-fight, race-course and running free. His mastery of the subject has been compared to that of Picasso, Delacroix and Franc Marc. 1910 Denes Dezo George de Holesch was born on 9 February, 1910 at Banska-Bystrica, Northern Hungary. He was the third child and youngest son of Hugo de Holesch, an architect and Margit, nee Wagner. Many generations of the de Holesch family had worked as professional architects. He studied at the Hungarian Academy of Fine Arts in Budapest on a scholarship. Early in his career he traveled to China, Japan, Philippines, Java, Bali and Australia, where his reputation grew rapidly. Here he produced portraits in oils, and lithographs of the Chinese, as well as landscape works in oils,depicting the local countryside, and canal, street and city scenes. His exposure to the arts of the Chinese, with their simplicity of line, greatly influenced his later works. In 1939 he established a studio at Lavender Bay near Sydney. In 1940 he exhibited at the Macquarie Galleries in Sydney. In 1944 he married Joyce Greer, the Melbourne concert pianist. In 1945 the couple moved to New York where his interest in horses grew. He held exhibitions at Gallery Wildenstein, Herve, and FAR Gallery. In 1946 Holesch moved to Montreal where he exhibited at the National Gallery of Montreal. In 1947 he moved to Boston where he continued painting portraits and horses. He exhibited there at the Ehrmann and Vose galleries. Later in the year he moved to San Francisco where he was invited to participate in the "Renoir to Picasso" Exhibition held at the Maxwell Gallery.1946 He moved to Montreal, Canada and exhibited at the National Gallery of Montreal. (Frederic Remington and Charles Russell) 1947 Early in the year he moved to Boston and continued painting portraits and horses. In June, he painted the portrait of Harvard Law School Dean, Erwin N. Griswold, and in October his works were exhibited at Margaret Brown's Galerie Intime, Newbury Street, Boston. 1948 He produced a clay sculpture head of Egon Petri, one of a number of clay sculptures that he produced. He also produced a number of wood carvings. His paintings were chosen for inclusion in a Group Exhibition in the National Gallery of San Francisco, and in the important and prestigious 'Renoir to Picasso' Exhibition held at Maxwell's Galleries, 372 Sutter Street, San Francisco. 1953 His works were included in a Group Impressionists Exhibition held at the Ohana Gallery, London 1954 He travelled to New York, where he was commissioned to paint Herbert Gasser, Nobel Prize Winner in Biochemistry. 1955 He returned to England, and then travelled to Paris to exhibit works in the Galerie Marcel Lenoir. 1956 He again returned to New York to work on portrait commissions and for exhibitions of his works, mainly of horses. These exhibitions were held in New York, Boston, San Francisco and late in the year at the Galleries of Frank J. Oehlschlaeger at 107 East Oak Street, Chicago. During this year, visits with his family to Ringling Circus and to a rodeo in Tucson, Arizona must have impressed him greatly, for images of these events soon appeared on his canvases. His work was greatly admired by Hollywood film- stars, such as Ann Rutherford and Burt Lancaster, and David Niven purchased one of the horse paintings to give as his wedding present to Grace Kelly on her marriage to Sovereign Prince Rainier III of Monaco. 1959 The prints of 'Courtship' and 'Chargers' were produced. It has been estimated that close to a million copies of his prints were sold over the next ten years, with 'Courtship' being advertised by Stern's Book Dpt. on 5th Avenue, New York along with prints by Picasso, Degas, Goya, Modigliani, Renoir and Van Gogh. 1960 He moved to Antibes, on the French Riviera in the South-East of France. An exhibition of his works was held in the Galerie des Etats-Unis, Cannes and his works were now permanently exhibited at Galerie Madsen, Rue St. Honore, Paris and Galerie Davis, Place Vendome, Paris. 1961 Known to Picasso, he was invited to attend a special bull-fight held in the South of France, which was organized for Pablo Picasso's 80th birthday. 1975 He moved from Voulangis to Castelfontana in the Dorf Tirol overlooking Merano, Italy. He remained there for close to a year and exhibited his works in a group exhibition in Merano in which works by Salvador Dali and Annigoni were also displayed. 1979 He returned to the old farmhouse at Voulangis. During this time he painted the portrait of Pope John Paul II. 1989 a catalog and biography of Holesch entitled Holesch Horse Paintings 1910-1983 was published by Andrew Mackenzie...

Bernard Lee's (US based) "Eat" is an oil painting that depicts a figure with black feathers Artist Bio/statement: Bernard Lee was born and raised in South...

Bernard Lee's (US based) "Speak" is an oil painting that depicts a figure with a yellow background and doves flying past them Artist Bio/statement: Berna...

American life is captured in this Clyde Singer painting, Mailing the Letter, where he depicts a woman posting her mail in 1986. An accomplished American Scene painter, Singer success...

This painting features two children with big brown eyes peeking behind red-slatted shutters. The innocence on their faces contrasts with some sense of embarrassment, like if they had...

This artwork titled "Winter Sunset" c.1990, is an oil painting (mixed media) on hardboard by German/American artist Frank Kecskes Jr. It is signed at the lower right corner by the ar...

"Pay Day" American Scene Social Realism WPA Era Mid 20th Century Modern Workers Don Freeman (1908-1978) Pay Day 20 x 30 inches Oil on board, c. 1940s Signed lower right BIO Illustr...

Illustrated for the 1949 Four Seasons Calendar, published by Brown and Bigelow. A young girl holds a freshly-picked bouquet of flowers as she strolls alongside a boy who carries he...

Herman Hyneman (1849-1907) Portrait of the Artist's Wife, c. late 19th century Oil on canvas 21 1/2 x 29 1/2 in. Framed: 27 1/2 x 35 1/4 in. The following is from Peter Jung who credits "a friend named Jeff Gold on Long Island." Herman N. Hyneman (1849 - 1907) was born in 1849 to one of the most prominent Jewish families in Philadelphia. Unlike most Jewish families of the time, his embraced and encouraged his artistic talent. In 1874, Hyneman followed his first cousin Moses Ezekiel, National Academy member, to Europe to study. They first went to Germany and then to France where Hyneman began eight years of study with Leon Bonnat, the French Master. In Paris, the twenty-five year old Hyneman resided in a studio building at 75 Boulevard Clichy, with expatriates Frederic Arthur Bridgeman, Charles Sprague Pearce, Milne Ramsey, and Edwin Blashfield. Hyneman was clearly exposed to the works of these more experienced artists, as well as that of Walter Gay. In 1879, one of Hyneman's genre paintings, entitled "Desdemona", was accepted into the Paris Salon. That painting received favorable reviews both in Europe, and later in Philadlephia where it was exhibited alongside the works of other Philadelphia Artists exhibiting at the Salon that included Thomas Eakins, Pearce, Edward May...

Boy with Fish Thomas Kerry, British/American Date: circa 1970 Oil on Board, signed and dedicated verso Size: 24 x 20 inches Frame Size: 29 x 25 inches

The paintings from Willard Dixon's "NEWS series" are generally taken from small black and white newspaper photos from the artist's daily reading of the news. He changes the images somewhat by cropping them, taking things out, adding color, etc. But the image is definitely something seen originally by someone else. “I must say”, says Dixon, “I have rather strong feelings about these images myself. I see them at least in part as an homage to the intrepid photographers on the front lines who are telling truth to the world about what’s actually going on out there.” This is 'Surya', which is hindu for sun; A 48 x 60 inch oil on canvas painting depicting a kaleidoscope of colorful women...

A large (48 x 48 inch) painting of a scene in the art studio by American artist John Winslow (1938 - ).

Artist: Fil Mottola, American (1915 - 2008) Title: Market Place, Taxco Mexico Medium: Oil on Masonite, signed l.r. Size: 30 x 40 inches [76 x 102.5 cm] Framed: 38 x 48 inches [96.5 ...

"See No Evil" is an oil painting. It depicts a woman, the artist, Maryann Lucas covering her eyes with her hands. The two tone composition represents the artist's astrological sign, ...

"No Trespassing" is a 24 x 30 inches, New Hampshire autumn scene of two hunters walking with their dog through the woods. Painted by female, American Realist painter, Molly Luce...

Thomas Darsney’s paintings reveal a palpable tension between the tactile sensuousness of fabric and the subdued brushstrokes of paint made flesh. United by this visual juxtaposition,...

Artist: Sandu Liberman, Romanian/Israeli (1923 - 1977) Title: Woman on a Park Bench Year: Circa 1970 Medium: Oil on Canvas, unsigned Size: 24 x 24 in. (60...

Represented by George Billis Gallery, NYC & LA -- Alex Roulette’s paintings depict false realities. The artist constructs landscapes from numerous source photographs, which he uses a...

In addition to having his work in museums and fine corporate collections, Alabama artist Donny Finley showed for years at prestigious Bryant Galleries on ...

A contemporary female nude hovering a hairs breath over a lily pond, blue butterflies swirling around her, possibly lifting her into the twilight sky with them. Her arms are extende...

In the latter half of the nineteenth century and into the first decade of the twentieth, New York City art aficionados could count on finding recent work of Seymour Joseph Guy hanging on the walls of the city’s major galleries. Primarily a genre artist, but also a portraitist, between 1859 and 1908 Guy showed more than seventy works at the National Academy of Design. From 1871 to 1903 he contributed over seventy times to exhibitions at the Century Club. From 1864 to 1887, he sent about forty pictures to the Brooklyn Art Association. A good number of these works were already privately owned; they served as advertisements for other pictures that were available for sale. Some pictures were shown multiple times in the same or different venues. Guy was as easy to find as his canvases were omnipresent. Though he lived at first in Brooklyn with his family and then in New Jersey, from 1863 to his death in 1910 he maintained a studio at the Artist’s Studio Building at 55 West 10th Street, a location that was, for much of that period, the center of the New York City art world. Guy’s path to a successful career as an artist was by no means smooth or even likely. Born in Greenwich, England, he was orphaned at the age of nine. His early interest in art was discouraged by his legal guardian, who wanted a more settled trade for the young man. Only after the guardian also died was Guy free to pursue his intention of becoming an artist. The details of Guy’s early training in art are unclear. His first teacher is believed to have been Thomas Buttersworth...

John Hanlen (1922-2003). Flower Market, Lima Peru, ca. 1950. Tempera on paper, sheet measures 14.25 x 22.5 inches. Measurement with matting: 18.5 x 26.5 inches. The piece is unfra...

Clyde Singer was a master of capturing the small and significant moments of everyday life. This painting, titled Girl Sitting on Wall, 1956, is one of those perfect scenes that he d...

A realist painting of people in a pool hall. The red pool table is the centerpiece of the painting, seemingly illuminating the space, and particularly t...

Oil on artist's board, 20th century, signed Paul Zimmerman Reminiscent of the Mid Century Social Realist and WPA works of Ben Shahn this captures a group of tenement children of mixe...

George Picken Playground, Carl Schurz Park, 1938 Signed and dated lower left Oil on canvas 28 x 36 inches Provenance: Estate of the artist A native New Yorker, George Picken was born in 1898. His father, an artist and photographer, emigrated from Scotland; his mother came from Wales. They joined other European immigrants settling in New York City’s Hell’s Kitchen. Picken enlisted in the army during World War I and saw action at Verdun. After the war, he stayed in France and like many Americans returning from the vibrant Paris art scene, was inspired by the radical movement known as Impressionism. Upon his return Picken decided to follow in his father’s footsteps and become an artist. George began his studies in 1919 at the Art Students League during Robert Henri, Max Weber, and John Sloan’s tenure. There he took classes in studio art, illustration, and etching through 1923 studying extensively with George Bridgman. The writings of French philosopher Henri Bergson were widely circulated among the artistic community and looking at Picken’s early paintings one cannot help but wonder if as a young artist he was influenced by Bergson’s ideas. Bergson said, "[There are] two profoundly different ways of knowing a thing. The first implies that we move round the object; the second that we enter into it. The first depends on the point of view at which we are placed and on the symbols by which we express ourselves. The second neither depends on a point of view nor relies on any symbol. The first kind of knowledge may be said to stop at the relative; the second, in those cases where it is possible, to attain the absolute.” Picken’s recognition came early with showings of his work while he was a student. His drawings were published in the New Masses, a significant left-wing publication. The New York Public Library honored him with one-man shows in 1924 and 1928 and his work was included in group exhibitions at the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation, the Whitney Studio Club, Montross Gallery, and the Art Students League. During this time Picken married Viola Carton, one of Reginald Marsh’s models, and they lived in Westchester. Later they moved to Yorkville in Manhattan between 82nd street and East End Avenue where they began their family. Picken’s grandson Niles Jaeger recalled that, “Grandpa’s home and studio were in a five-story walk-up apartment, heated only by a coal stove. But there were wonderful views of the East River and the Queensborough Bridge...

This classic Post cover combines the vastness of the American West landscape with the intimacy of iconic Americana: two kids swimming in a rura...

David Fredenthal captures the chaotic rush of men leaving their jobs at the factory. The setting is possibly the Rouge Factory, one of Henry Ford's most important and earliest fact...

Kevin Weckbach's (US based) "Double Shadow" is an original, hand made oil painting that depicts a busy city avenue filled with throngs of bundled walkers casting long shadows on the ...

"Street Scene, Collioure" is a colorful plein air oil painting of town in France. Framed Dimensions: 18 x 14 inches Marc Dalessio was born in 1972...

Wang Kun's "Portrait of Qiang Woman" is an oil painting created in 2023 that depicts a traditional Qiang woman. kun Wang(王琨), was born in Jilin Province of China in 1970. His legs...

This large scale painting by Linda Griggs features the community pool of Lower Manhattan's Hamilton Fish park. oil, wold wax and selective varnish on canvas) 48” x 48” (2025) signe...

"Three Magenta Peonies" is contemporary realist oil painting pink flowers on black background. A classical painting subject and style, with a fresh and intriguing touch. Signed "Personett" lower left corner. Framed in a traditional black frame w gold trim. Framed dimensions: Rachel Personett was born in Hawaii, but raised in Colorado. Being the daughter of a pilot she has always traveled extensively. She has studied part time at the Savannah College of Art and Design, The Angel Academy of Art, and finally settled on the Florence Academy of Art, graduating in 2015. In January 2016 she apprenticed the painter Odd Nerdrum in Norway for eight months. Rachel Personett works strictly from life, and enjoys the challenged of painting the ephemeral. Working from life provides the opportunity to travel around the world painting the ever changing people and landscapes. Artist Statement My mother had studied advertising in college, so she knew a lot about arts and good craftsmanship. She did talks at my elementary school each week and on a different artist. I remember being very moved by the images of Van Gogh and Andrew Wyeth. At the Florence Academy I really liked Sargent, Sorolla, Willard Metcalf, Henri Fantin-Latour and Velazquez. At Odd Nerdrums I gained new respect for Rembrandt and was introduced to other Scandinavian...

Chess Players WPA Depression Era Mid-20th Century American Scene Realism Modern. Signed upper right and verso 8 x 10 inches oil on board. BIO The son of a men's haberdasher, Mervin ...

Bruce Adams is best known as a conceptually based figurative painter who references various (often historical) painting styles. In exploring the act of painting, Adams peels back the...

Bruce Adams often references historical painting themes and styles in order to throw into relief western tropes in figurative art. Here as part of the artist's series Myths and Lies,...

Kevin Weckbach's (US based) "Light Pattern Dance" is an original, hand made oil painting that depicts a busy city sidewalk where passerby walk along the city avenue lined with towering buildings of a bustling neon metropolis. Artist Statement: "Subject matter to me is a vehicle for me to explore how I observe life. My urban influences are an assembly of varied fabrics stitched together to form a tapestry. It is not to resemble a literal story of what it is; moreover, it is a quilt that explains my visual expression. What I find particularly interesting in human intervention in nature is how we are still intertwined with it. Roads, buildings, and farmlands bend with the natural curves of mountains, hills, and streams. City nights are lit up like lightning bugs...

Blue is painted in the style of American Realism. The painting is Representational Figurative art which is a time consuming process especially with portraits and figurative art. T...

"A troubadour was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). The texts of troubadour songs deal mainly with themes of chivalry and ...

BING ZHANG's Subway no. 2, 48 x 36 inches, oil on canvas. Proudly presented by Andra Norris Gallery in California. Bing Zhang’s Subway painting series explores themes of class, labo...

A major oil painting from American Realist painter Sarah Lamb. A unique, antique weathervane in the form of a brass grasshopper is the subject of this still life, set atop a rustic ...

UNION SQUARE Depression Era Oil Painting WPA Realism American Scene Realism NYC Jo Cain (1904 – 2003) "Union Square" 24 x 36 inches Oil on canvas, c.1940s S...

"Villa After Dark" is a realist nocturne painting of Italian farmhouse & dinner party under the lights. Framed. Signed at bottom left. Carl Bretzke is a representational painter who specializes in urban scenes, nocturnes, and plein-air landscapes. He is a member of the Plein Air Painters of America since 2021. Carl's work has been exhibited extensively in Minnesota and California, including the Minneapolis Institute of Art. Carl's work has been described in the Washington Post as "simultaneously intimate and detached…The artist's unadorned style recalls Edward Hopper and The Ashcan school." Carl holds an MD degree from the University of Minnesota Medical School. His undergraduate degree is from the University of Colorado...

This artwork "Seascape" c. 1990 is an oil painting on canvas by noted artist June Nelson, 20th Century. It is signed at the lower right corner by the artis...

Signed lower right: 'A.Brook '59'. Painted in Sag Harbor, Long Island in 1959. Adeline (Adaline) Glasheen was a writer. She was a friend of the artist and worked in literary circle...

A painting of painter, Ben Fenske, his muse, Beatrice, and his dog. Sitting in front of and underneath Fenske's 2009 painting, "The Break Up." The artist comforts the dog with a nice...

Mark Harrison's (UK based) "Crossing" is an oil painting that depicts an arid landscape with clouds and a weathered crossing sign. Sometimes they are silent epic landscapes of the ...

An amazing, magical realism painting by renowned artist, Herbert Laurence Davidson (1930-2018). This painting depicts a young boy’s innocent discovery on the beach of a sand sculptur...

St, Louis River Mural Study American Scene Social Realism Mid 20th Century WPA Jo Cain (1904-2003) The Drama of the St. Louis Great River 23 1/4 x 25 ½ inches Gouache on board c. 19...

"Scouting" is an oil on canvas painting by Frank Tenney Johnson. The framed piece measures 23 3/4 x 27 3/4 x 3 1/4 inches. Johnson was well-known for his work of the American west, particularly for his portrayal of cowboys at night, lit by moonlight. Johnson utilized knives and fingers when painting, so his work is recognizable for its distinctive marks. Provenance: Biltmore Galleries, Scottsdale...

"Painted Ladies" (2025) is a beautiful handmade impressionist still-life oil painting by American realist Greg Gandy, depicting a view over the Victorian rows of San Francisco, the s...

Early realistic neutral toned portrait painting by Belgian artist Julien Buysse. The work features a depiction of the artist as he sits at an easel while working on a canvas. Signed ...

Mark Harrison's (UK based) "Valley of the Rocks" is an oil painting that depicts an arid landscape with clouds and towering rock formations. Sometimes they are silent epic landscap...

'Central Park, Spring Afternoon' 2009 by American artist, Lawrence Kelsey. Oil on panel, 19.5 x 13.5 in. / Handmade gold frame: 24 x 18 in. Depicting a view of Central Park in New Yo...

An oil painting of a tropical landscape. Crystal teal-blue water is surrounded by verdant bushes and palm trees, which cast dappled shadows onto the sand. A few figures splash around...

Gregory Block's (US based) "Apples" is a still life oil painting that depicts a glass bowl of reddish Apples sitting in situ with a knife and halved Apple slices in a dark interior. ...

"Unemployed" WPA American Scene Social Realism Mid 20th Century Modern William Gropper (1898 - 1977) Unemployed 20 x 16 inches Oil on canvas, 1937 Signed lower right Provenance: Estate of the artist Bio Throughout his life, William Gropper used his artistic talents to protest social injustice. Born in New York City, he grew up there in poverty and left high school to work as a dishwasher and delivery boy. He eventually began a career in art and was able to study with Robert Henri and George Bellows from 1912 to 1915. He adopted their realistic painting style, and his own work expressed sympathy for common laborers and outrage at society's ills. In 1919 Gropper established a reputation as a political cartoonist working for the New York Tribune. His blunt, forceful style attracted the attention of other publications, and he provided illustrations and cartoons for a variety of magazines, from the left-wing New Masses to mainstream Vanity Fair. Like many social realist artists of the 1930s, Gropper supported liberal political causes, depicting subjects such as the plight of migrant laborers and striking factory workers. In his first gallery exhibition in 1936 at ACA Galleries, Gropper's work was so well received by critics, collectors, and artists that the following year he had two one-man exhibitions at ACA Galleries. In 1937, Gropper traveled west on a Guggenheim Fellowship and visited the Dust Bowl and the Hoover and Grand Coulee Dams, sketching studies for a series of paintings and a mural he painted for the Department of the Interior. That same year he had paintings purchased by both the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art. Gropper exhibited at the 1939 New York World's Fair, Whitney Museum of American Art (1924-55), Art Institute of Chicago (1935-49), Carnegie International (1937-50), Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (1939-48), and National Academy of Design (1945-48). He was a founder of the Artists Equity Association and member of the National Institute of Arts and Letters. From 1940 to 1945 William Gropper was preoccupied with anti-Nazi cartoons...

"Two Sisters" is a contemporary realist painting of two young women sitting at a bar. One sister looks a bit reserved, her hair down, clasping her hands in...