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Modern Figurative Paintings

MODERN STYLE

The first decades of the 20th century were a period of artistic upheaval, with modern art movements including Cubism, Surrealism, Futurism and Dadaism questioning centuries of traditional views of what art should be. Using abstraction, experimental forms and interdisciplinary techniques, painters, sculptors, photographers, printmakers and performance artists all pushed the boundaries of creative expression.

Major exhibitions, like the 1913 Armory Show in New York City — also known as the “International Exhibition of Modern Art,” in which works like the radically angular Nude Descending a Staircase by Marcel Duchamp caused a sensation — challenged the perspective of viewers and critics and heralded the arrival of modern art in the United States. But the movement’s revolutionary spirit took shape in the 19th century.

The Industrial Revolution, which ushered in new technology and cultural conditions across the world, transformed art from something mostly commissioned by the wealthy or the church to work that responded to personal experiences. The Impressionist style emerged in 1860s France with artists like Claude Monet, Paul Cézanne and Edgar Degas quickly painting works that captured moments of light and urban life. Around the same time in England, the Pre-Raphaelites, like Edward Burne-Jones and Dante Gabriel Rossetti, borrowed from late medieval and early Renaissance art to imbue their art with symbolism and modern ideas of beauty.

Emerging from this disruption of the artistic status quo, modern art went further in rejecting conventions and embracing innovation. The bold legacy of leading modern artists Georges Braque, Pablo Picasso, Frida Kahlo, Salvador Dalí, Henri Matisse, Joan Miró, Marc Chagall, Piet Mondrian and many others continues to inform visual culture today.

Find a collection of modern paintings, sculptures, prints and other fine art on 1stDibs.

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Style: Modern
Learning To Love The Face Of an Old Loaf
Located in Brecon, Powys
"To know how to grow old is one of the masterworks of life" M Barnard Oil and gold leaf on board, varnished. signed and dated lower right. Matted
Category

1990s Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Gold Leaf

Contemporary British Oil Painting Man and His Dog Walking On The Rocks, signed
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
The Dog Walk by Ben George Powell, British contemporary artist signed oil on canvas, unframed canvas: 9 x 12 inches provenance: private collection of this artists work, UK The painti...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Winged Woman - China Ink Drawing by Albert Decaris - 1960s
Located in Roma, IT
Winged woman is a fine ink drawing, realized by Albert Decaris (1901-1988) . Good conditions. Albert Decaris was a French artist, engraver and painter. ...
Category

1960s Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Paper, Ink

Arthur Smith Original Painting of Acrobats
Located in New York, NY
Arthur Smith (American, 1897-1972) Untitled (Acrobats), 20th century Oil on board 39 1/8 x 25 1/8 in. Framed: 32 1/4 x 18 in. Signed lower left: A Smith Arthu...
Category

20th Century Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

20th Century French Modernist Gouache Painting Pink And Red Tulips In Clear Vase
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
by Paul-Louis Bolot (French 1918-2003) signed original gouache painting on thick paper/ card unframed condition: very good and sound; the edges have a few curls and scuffs/ edge tear...
Category

20th Century Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Gouache

Artist Self Portrait in an Orange Sweater - Fauvist Portrait
Located in Soquel, CA
Boldly colored portrait of a the artist sketching by California artist Richard "Don" Klopfer (1920-2009). The seated figure is juxtaposed to a fun and vibrant two-toned background of...
Category

Late 20th Century Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Masonite, Acrylic

River Landscape - Oil Painting by Miloslava Vrbova - Mid-20th Century
Located in Roma, IT
River landscape in the bohemian forest is an Oil on Panel realized by Miloslava Vrbova (1909-1991) in the mid-20th century. Framed, good condition.
Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

Seated Female Figure - Oil Paint by Domenico Morelli - 19th century
By Domenico Morelli
Located in Roma, IT
Seated female figure is original oil painting on panel realized by the artist Domenico Morelli (1823-1901). Hand signed overleaf. Stamp "Galleri...
Category

19th Century Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

House Beautiful Cover Proposal. American Scene Social Realism Industrial WPA
Located in New York, NY
House Beautiful Cover Proposal. American Scene Social Realism Industrial WPA Antonio Petruccelli (1907 – 1994) Mixing Mortar 12 1/2 X 14 3/4 inche...
Category

1930s Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Gouache, Board

French Modernist Painting Of Pink And Yellow Flowers In Glass Vase
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
by Paul-Louis Bolot (French 1918-2003) signed original gouache painting on thick paper/ card unframed condition: very good and sound; the edges have a few curls and scuffs/ edge tear...
Category

20th Century Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Gouache

Military Man Portrait Figurative Abstract Oil Painting American Modernist Artist
By Dean Richardson
Located in Surfside, FL
Oil on board, 1978. It depicts an abstracted portrait of a military man in an army uniform with medals. It is signed by the artist verso. Dimensions: sight size-22 inches tall X 19...
Category

1970s Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

1950's Modernist/ Cubist Painting - Busy Figures In Forest
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
French Landscape by Bernard Labbe (French mid 20th century) original gouache on paper stuck on card size: 18 x 25 inches condition: very good and ready t...
Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Gouache

Sunflowers - Oil on Canvas by Vrbova Miloslav Prof. Zinkovy - Mid-20th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Sunflowers is a beautiful oil painting realized by Vrbova Miloslava Prof. Zinkovy (1909-1991).  Oil on panel, 80 x 60 cm. hand signed lower margin. Good conditions
Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Until Morning Comes
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
"Until Morning Comes" is a captivating artwork by Boluwatife Victoria Lawal that depicts a tender and intimate moment between a man and a woman. In this evocative piece, the couple i...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Huge Spanish/ French Oil Painting Elegant Ladies on the Beach Group Portrait
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
The Group Portrait by Maria Tort Xirau (Catalan, 1924-2018) signed lower corner dated 1991 oil painting on canvas, framed canvas: 42 x 52 inches framed: 33 x 43 inches Very good condition. Provenance: from the artists estate, France Maria Tort Xirau ( Figueres , 26 May 1924 – 6 June 2018) was a painter and photographic and cinematographic editor from Emporda. She developed a long professional career in leading photographic studios, in films for The Walt Disney Company and also in advertising claims for companies such as Educa Borràs . The second half of her life was dedicated to painting, exercising a luminous, varied and nostalgic chromatic style in the techniques of oil and watercolor and with exhibitions of her work in Barcelona and Figueres. The Biographical Dictionary of Art Empordà defined Tort Xirau's work as "a painting that is characterized by the strength of the strokes, the vividness and brightness of the chromatic range and exudes mastery of the photographic technique. A mixture of nostalgia and tenderness is evident.". Tort Xirau's paintings were exhibited in the two towns where she spent her life: in 1992 she exhibited his work at the Caixa de Figueres Exhibition Hall. Two years later, she did it at Sala Conex in Barcelona and in 2007 and 2013 the Consortium of Sant Ferran Castle and the Figueres Town Council organized tribute exhibitions. In 2013, she ceded to the council of the city of Figueres her work Mercat de la plaça de l'Ajuntament , watercolored on paper around 1991, which is exhibited in the rest room of the building. On June 6, 2018, she died in Figueres at the age of 94, receiving the apostolic blessing . Two years after her death, part of her paintings were included in the exhibition Paint, create, live. Women artists in the Alt...
Category

1990s Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"History of US Postal Service" American Scene Social Realism WPA Modern Chicago
Located in New York, NY
"History of US Postal Service" American Scene Social Realism WPA Modern Chicago Harold Haydon "History of the U.S. Postal Service" 21 x 25 1/2 inches O...
Category

1930s Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

A dump. Oil on canvas, 100x100 cm
Located in Riga, LV
A dump Oil on canvas, 100x100 cm
Category

Late 20th Century Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Imposture, 2010
Located in Atlanta, GA
Taulé was born in 1945 in Sabadell, Barcelona. His father imparted the taste for painting to Antoni as a boy as the young artist watched him paint. After his primary studies, he began studying architecture in Barcelona and graduated in 1970. In 1965, he arrived in Paris and worked in architectural firms. It was Sartre's Paris, the construction of Unesco, the year of Le Corbusier's death and the end of Chandigarh, the French Cinematheque and Antonioni's films. Since the age of 14, he has never stopped painting and made his first personal exhibition in 1966 at the Academie de Belles Arts in Sabadell. Upon receiving his degree in architecture, he worked on the construction of l’Université autonome de Barcelone for a year. In 1971, he was asked to work on the development of a large shipyard on the small island of Formentera. There he met Laetitia Ney of Elchingen, who he would go on to marry. He devoted himself entirely to painting, and Formentera, like Paris, became one of his favorite places in both his life and to work. His first exhibition in Paris was in 1975 with Mathias Fels, presented to him by Hervé Télémaque—showing many paintings of his young daughter Djamilla, then three years old. The exhibition was titled, Espace hors temps (Space out of Time), with a foreword by Alain Jouffroy. In 1976, Taulé exhibited Contre-Jour (Against Day) at Fabien Boulakia on rue Bonaparte with a preface by Gérald Gassiot-Talabot and in Barcelona at the Aimé Maeght gallery—an exhibition visited by Joan Miró and Alexander Calder. In 1977, he exhibited at the Beaubourg gallery, with then associates Nahon and Trigano. In 1983, he met Jorge Luis Borges and Julio Cortázar, who wrote the novella Fin d’étape (End of Stage) for Taulé That same year, he was named Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters) by Jack Lang...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

1960's French Signed Oil Portrait of Young Lady in Blue Hat Modernist Style
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Henri Laville (1916) 'La femme en bleu', cira 1960's signed oil on canvas, framed framed: 20.5 x 15 inches canvas: 16 x 11 inches provenance: private collection, France condition: v...
Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

French Modernist Signed Oil, Figures in Golden Green Landscape
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Artist/ School: Jostne Gallet Title: ' La Promenade' Medium: signed oil painting on canvas, unframed and inscribed verso. canvas: 28.75 x 21.25 inches Provenance: private collec...
Category

20th Century Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

William Fisher Classic American Illustration on Canvas
Located in New York, NY
William Fisher (American, 1891-1985) Untitled, 20th Century Oil on canvas/illustration 23 3/4 x 29 3/4 in. Framed: 31 x 37 1/4 x 1 in. Signed lower right: William Fisher William Fis...
Category

20th Century Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

The Girl With The Glasses 1960's Stylised Portrait Signed Oil Painting
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
The Girl With The Glasses, Impressionist Stylised Portrait, Signed Oil Painting British School, circa 1969 Initialled and dated '69 by the artist on the lower right hand corner Oil p...
Category

1960s Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

20th Century French Modernist Gouache Painting Figure With Cello
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
by Paul-Louis Bolot (French 1918-2003) signed verso original gouache painting on thick paper/ card unframed condition: very good and sound; the edges have a few curls and scuffs/ edg...
Category

20th Century Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Gouache

'Eros & Jazz', Large Post Impressionist Figural Oil, Beat Movement, Music, Roses
Located in Santa Cruz, CA
Signed lower center, 'Bazil' and dated November, 1974. A substantial and lyrical, Post-Impressionist figural oil showing a blonde woman in an evening gown preparing a rose-arrow as ...
Category

1970s Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"Blue Girl" Modern Abstract Style Modigliani Figure Oil Painting on Canvas
Located in New York, NY
Exploring the purity of the feminine form and the drama of French haute couture, artist Cindy Shaoul creates a dialogue between the figurative and the abstract. Her spirited composit...
Category

2010s Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Circus performance, oil on canvas by French / hungarian artist Marcel Vertes
Located in Petworth, West Sussex
Marcel Vertes (French/Hungarian, 1895 – 1961) ‘Circus performance’ Oil on canvas board Signed `VERTES` (to the reverse) 20 x 24 in. (51 x 61 cm.) Provenance: With the Hammer Gallerie...
Category

20th Century Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

View of Venice - Original Oil on Canvas Late 19th Century
Located in Roma, IT
View of Venice is an original oil on canvas realized in the late 19th Century by a Master of Italian School. On the reverse: label with inscribed “E. Mareis” The painting represent...
Category

Late 19th Century Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Two Women with Traditional Brittany Dress - Original Oil on Canvas, Signed
Located in Paris, IDF
Claude WEISBUCH Two Women with Traditional Brittany Dress Original Oil on canvas Signed upper right Signed and Dated (19)54 on the back On canvas 46 x 55 cm at view (c. 18 x 22 in) ...
Category

1950s Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Duomo of Milan with Pesants- Oil Painting - 18th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Duomo of Milan with peasants is a modern artwork realized by an Italian Artist in 18th century. Mixed colored oil on canvas 40x33cm with frame included. Good conditions.
Category

18th Century Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

French Surrealist Oil Winged Cherubs Flying through Clouds
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Winged Cherubs French School, contemporary oil on canvas, unframed canvas: 8 x 8 inches provenance: private collection, Paris condition: very good and sound condition
Category

Late 20th Century Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

1960s "Hanging on a Bar" Gouache and Pastel Mid Century Female Nude Painting
Located in Arp, TX
Gloria Dudfield Hanging on a Bar 1960's Gouache and Oil Pastel on Paper 17.75"x17" Gloria (Fischer) Dudfield July 12, 1922 – May 27, 2015 Came from a ...
Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Paper, Oil Pastel, Gouache

Madame in the Blossom Garden - Tempera on Paper by Lucie Navier - 1931
Located in Roma, IT
Madame in the blossom garden is an original painting realized by Lucie Navier in the 1931. Original tempera on paper. Very good conditions. Colorful composition representing a f...
Category

1930s Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Tempera

Still Life with Buddha and Pomegranates - Painting by Bruno Croatto - 1944
Located in Roma, IT
In this work we find the image of the Buddha and several pomegranates, symbolizing fertility. The choice of combining objects and materials of different nature becomes an unmistakable feature of his style. A taste for the intrinsic qualities of different materials, specifically chosen for their characteristics of gloss transparency and sphericity, not least, the optical precision with which the different surfaces are rendered. Croatto creates images where reality is transformed into a magical and suspended atmosphere. Bruno Croatto...
Category

1940s Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

1960’s French Pair Portraits Fashion Ladies Original Paintings
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
French School, 1960’s signed pair oil on board, framed framed: 5 x 4 inches board: 4 x 3 inches private collection, France overall very good and sound condition
Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Paco Gorospe Filipino (1939-2002), Abstract Figurative Oil Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA
Paco Gorospe Filipino (1939-2002) Oil on canvas Abstract painting of figures with fishing nets Canvas dimensions: 18.25" x 24.25" (on stretcher, no frame)
Category

20th Century Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Church in Leadville, Colorado, 1930s Framed Landscape Watercolor & Ink Painting
Located in Denver, CO
This rare, original WPA-era painting, Church in Leadville (1938), was created by renowned Colorado and Woodstock modernist artist Jenne Magafan (1916-1952). The watercolor and ink wo...
Category

1930s Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Archival Ink, Watercolor, Archival Paper

Orange-Toned Painting of Standing Figures by Artist Louis Dimitroff, dated 1970
Located in Chicago, IL
An orange-toned painting of standing figures by artist Louis Dimitroff, dated 1970. Artwork size: 24" x 30". Framed size: 25" x 31". Louis Dimitroff was a Gary, Indiana artist f...
Category

1970s Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

NYC Subway Mid 20th Century Modern American Scene Social Realism Contemporary
Located in New York, NY
NYC Subway Mid 20th Century Modern American Scene Social Realism Contemporary David Atkins (1910 – 2012) Subway Train Departure 24 x 30 inches Oil on can...
Category

1960s Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Large French Modernist Cubist Signed Oil - Jockeys on Horseback Parading
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Artist/ School: French School, signed lower corner, late 20th century Title: Parading Jockeys on Horseback Medium: signed oil painting on canvas, framed. canvas: 24.75 x 29 in...
Category

Late 20th Century Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Trip to the Lake - Oil Paint by Pauline Minartz - Early 20th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Trip to the lake is a modern artwork realized by French painter Pauline Minartz. Mixed colored oil painting on paper.
Category

Early 20th Century Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Contemporary British Painting Lady on Garden Steps, Terracotta Pinks & Greens
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Artist/ School: Jill Jackson, British contemporary Title - Lady on steps. Medium: oil on canvas, unframed Painting : 20 x 16 inches Provenance: all ...
Category

Late 20th Century Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Colorado Hill Town with Storm Clouds, 1940s Modernist Landscape, Lush Green
Located in Denver, CO
This WPA-era signed oil painting by Paul K. Smith captures a stormy summer landscape in Colorado, featuring houses and lush trees under dramatic storm clouds. Painted in rich shades ...
Category

1940s Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

20th Century German Modernist Oil Painting Portrait Study of a Man
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Artist: Elisabeth Hahn (German 1924-2021), Elisabeth Hahn was born in Dortmund, Germany, where she began her artistic studies. In 1953, she moved to Paris. She continued her studie...
Category

20th Century Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

1940s Modernist Victor, Colorado Mountain Landscape Painting, Mining Town View
Located in Denver, CO
This original 1942 oil painting, titled "Victor, Colorado", by Martyl Suzanne Schweig (1918-2013), captures the rugged beauty of Colorado’s iconic mining landscape. The painting depicts a ghost town in the foreground with the majestic Rocky Mountains in the background, completed in vibrant shades of green, gold, and brown. Schweig painted this scene during a trip with fellow artist Adolph Dehn...
Category

1940s Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Masonite, Oil

French Modernist Painting Blue And Pink Abstract Of String Musician
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
by Paul-Louis Bolot (French 1918-2003) signed original gouache painting on thick paper/ card unframed condition: very good and sound; the edges have a few curls and scuffs/ edge tear...
Category

20th Century Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Gouache

Lively Hamburg Harbor with Four-Masted Barque and Steamship by F. Harden -1920
Located in Roma, IT
Lively Hamburg harbor with four-masted barque and steamship is an original Modern artwork realized by Friedrich Harden (1861 - 1921) in 1920. Original ...
Category

1920s Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

French Modernist Gouache Painting Wacky Colors Two Musicians On Violins
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
by Paul-Louis Bolot (French 1918-2003) signed original gouache painting on thick paper/ card unframed condition: very good and sound; the edges have a few curls and scuffs/ edge tear...
Category

20th Century Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Gouache

'Lovers beneath a Tree of Doves', New Figurative Movement, Italian Modernist Oil
Located in Santa Cruz, CA
Signed lower left, 'V.M. Di Carlo' for Vittorio Maria Di Carlo (Italian, 1939-2015) and painted circa 1980. Born in San Marco, Maria Vittorio Di Carlo...
Category

1980s Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Still Life with Red Flowers  - Oil Painting by Claude Decamps - 1970s
Located in Roma, IT
Still life with red flowers is an artwork realized by Claude Decamps, mid-20th Century. Oil on canvas.  25 x 20 cm. Hand signed in red in lower margin. Good conditions!
Category

1970s Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Wood, Oil

The Still Life - Oil Painting by Claude Decamps - 1970s
Located in Roma, IT
The Still Life is a painting realized by Claude Decamps in the 1970s Oil painting on cardboard canvas. Hand-signed on the lower. Good conditions. Th...
Category

1970s Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Olympia-Lipa
Located in Zofingen, AG
the picture is written in the style of pop art. This is a very bright work and will look great in any most expensive interior. The heroine of the picture Lipa-Olympia is my respect f...
Category

2010s Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Stillife with musical instruments
Located in Zofingen, AG
Horizontal composition made in oil on linen canvas in the modern style. Warm and bright colors with a predominance of red, black, blue and ochre. Made in several layers with high qua...
Category

2010s Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Lacquer, Oil

"Madam Suburbia #III - Doing Dishes" Figurative in Oil on Canvas
Located in Soquel, CA
"Madam Suburbia #III - Doing Dishes" Figurative in Oil on Canvas African-American woman at her kitchen sink by Patricia Gren Hayes (Canadian/American, b....
Category

1970s Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Salon Rojo by Carlos Nadal - Figurative painting, oil on canvas, Modern art
Located in London, GB
Salon Rojo by Carlos Nadal (1917-1998) Oil on canvas 89 x 116 cm (35 x 45 ⁵/₈ inches) Signed lower right, Nadal Signed, titled and dated on the reverse Executed in 1992 This work is...
Category

1990s Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

The Sculptress
Located in West Hollywood, CA
William Robert Shulgold (1897-1989), studied under Arthur Watson Sparks, head of Carnegie?€™s art department. He specialized in figurative genre subjects, displaying within his paintings a quality and understanding akin to 19th century impressionism...
Category

1930s Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Nude Model - Painting by Antonio Feltrinelli - 1930s
Located in Roma, IT
Nude Model is an orignal modern artwork realized by Antonio Feltrinelli in 1930s. Mixed colored oil painting on canvas. Good conditions. Not signed. Antonio Feltrinelli (Milan, 1...
Category

1930s Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Paint, Oil

French Modernist Vibrant Provence Landscape With Orange Roof Houses, signed oil
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Artist/ School: Huguette Ginet-Lasnier (French 1927-2020), signed lower front Ginet-Lasnier, the wife of the painter Jean Lasnier, was born in the Seine-Maritime region of France an...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Simka Simkhovitch WPA Artist Painting Gouache American Modernist Beach Scene
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. 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 Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Gouache, Board

Modern figurative paintings for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Modern figurative paintings available for sale on 1stDibs. Works in this style were very popular during the 21st Century and Contemporary, but contemporary artists have continued to produce works inspired by this movement. If you’re looking to add figurative paintings created in this style to introduce contrast in an otherwise neutral space in your home, the works available on 1stDibs include elements of blue, orange, yellow, purple and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Antonio Feltrinelli, Sunil Das, Suhas Roy, and Clarence Holbrook Carter. Frequently made by artists working with Paint, and Oil Paint and other materials, all of these pieces for sale are unique and have attracted attention over the years. Not every interior allows for large Modern figurative paintings, so small editions measuring 1 inches across are also available. Prices for figurative paintings made by famous or emerging artists can differ depending on medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $1 and tops out at $743,750, while the average work sells for $2,376.

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