Modern Figurative Paintings

Portrait is an artwork realized by Antonio Feltrinelli, 1930s.  H 160 x 110 cm. Oil paiting on canvas. Hand signed lower left margin. Good conditions! Antonio Feltrinelli (Mil...

A beautiful oil on canvas which has been laid on board by the English artist David William Burley depicting a group of friends playing football in a park. Signed lower right and pres...

'La Napolitaine' by Jean Gagnaud, French mid 20th century signed oil on canvas, framed framed: 20 x 18.5 inches canvas: 15 x 13 inches provenance: private collection, France conditio...

A beautiful Modern British oil on board by Ruth Farrelly which depicts a lady putting her washing out on a line in her garden. Superb quality and striking painting, presented in the ...

Busy City Square French School, mid 20th century indistinctly signed oil on board, framed framed: 15 x 19 inches board: 8 x 12 inches provenance: private collection condition: very g...

Antoon Catrie (Ronsele, Belgium, 1924-1977), ‘Ballerina dancer’, oil on panel – tempera technique like in icons. The work is signed.

To see our other Modern British Art, scroll down to "More from this Seller" and below it click on "See all from this Seller" - or send us a message if you cannot find the artist you want. Angela Stones (1914 - 1995) Still Life with Pineapple Oil on board 41 x 51 cm Signed lower left. A dark, characterful mid-century still life in oils, characterised by Stones' textured brushwork and rich use of colour. Stones was educated at the Chelsea School of Art, and was a member of an artistic dynasty. Her mother Dorothy Bradshaw (1893 - 1983) studied under Jack Merriott – the artist famous for his British Rail posters, and her son, Christopher Assheton-Stones (1947 - 1999), was arguably the foremost pastel artist...

The Labourers French School, mid 20th century oil on canvas, unframed canvas: 24 x 29 inches provenance: private collection, Marseille condition: very good and sound condition

Abstract figurative painting on board. Carl Bredemier label on the reverse. Framed. Oil on board

To see our other Modern British Art, scroll down to "More from this Seller" and below it click on "See all from this Seller" - or send us a message if you cannot find the artist you want. Angela Stones (1914 - 1995) Still Life with Mushrooms Oil on board 41 x 51 cm Signed lower right. A dark, characterful mid-century still life in oils, characterised by Stones' textured brushwork and rich use of colour. Stones was educated at the Chelsea School of Art, and was a member of an artistic dynasty. Her mother Dorothy Bradshaw (1893 - 1983) studied under Jack Merriott – the artist famous for his British Rail posters, and her son, Christopher Assheton-Stones (1947 - 1999), was arguably the foremost pastel artist...

Mixed media, signed bottom left Image size: 9 x 9 1/2 inches (23 x 24.25 cm) Mounted and framed

The Reclining Model French School, mid 20th century signed Labat oil on canvas, unframed board: 18 x 24 inches provenance: private collection, France condition: very good and sound c...

To see our other Modern British Art, scroll down to "More from this Seller" and below it click on "See all from this Seller" - or send us a message if you cannot find the artist you want. Angela Stones (1914 - 1995) Still Life with Coffee Pot and Fruit Oil on board 41 x 51 cm Signed lower right. A mid-century still life in oils, characterised by Stones' textured brushwork, inventive composition, and rich use of colour. Stones was educated at the Chelsea School of Art, and was a member of an artistic dynasty. Her mother Dorothy Bradshaw (1893 - 1983) studied under Jack Merriott – the artist famous for his British Rail posters, and her son, Christopher Assheton-Stones (1947 - 1999), was arguably the foremost pastel artist...

"A Day by the Sea" French School, 20th century oil on canvas, unframed canvas: 29 x 21 inches provenance: private collection, France condition: very good and sound condition

Donald Stacy "Group Meeting" c.1950s Gouache paint on paper 24" x 18'" unframed Unsigned Came from artist's estate Donald Stacy (1925-2011) New Jersey Studied: Newark School of Fin...

The Guildhall, Worcester English School, mid 20th century indistinctly signed verso oil on canvas canvas: 20 x 24 inches provenance: private collection, UK condition: very good and sound condition The Worcester Guildhall was originally built as a meeting place for Worcester merchants around 1227. As with many other guildhalls, it became the centre for civic administration, a role it maintained after the merchant guild had disappeared. The present Worcester Guildhall is a superb Queen Anne building, begun in 1722 by Thomas White, a pupil of Sir Christopher Wren. White was badly paid for his efforts, and he died in poverty in 1738, bestowing the money he was owed on the Worcester Royal Infirmary. The city finally paid its debt in 1753. The exterior of the Guildhall is brick, dressed with stone. White himself is said to have carved the figure of Queen Anne over the entry, as well as those of Charles I and II, a reminder of the city's long history of royal support. The interior is superb, boasting exceptional period decoration. The Tourist Information Centre is now located in the Guildhall. HISTORY In 1227 Henry III granted the citizens of Worcester a royal charter granting them the right to establish a guild of merchants. The guild was responsible for controlling trade in the city, but their meeting place gradually became the main centre of administration for city government and acted as a courthouse. So, in effect, the Guildhall was the town hall, and though the city guilds have long since vanished, the Guildhall name lives on. The medieval guild merchants would not recognise the building that faces onto High Street now. Their guildhall was a large timber-framed building, occupying the same site, with a piazza for shops fronting the street, courts of justice at each end, and a prison to the north of the building. Part of the prison was a cell called 'the peephole', which gained a notorious reputation. There was a gaoler's house, and attached to it an alehouse from which the gaoler sold ale at extremely high prices to any prisoner who could afford the cost. In 1717 the city administration decided on a new Guildhall, and they knew just who to call; upon to build it. Thomas White was not an architect in the way we think of it today, but a stonemason. In 1705 he had carved a statue of Queen Anne to stand in front of the medieval Guildhall and was made a Freeman of the City. The total cost of the fashionable new red-brick building was £3727. The Corporation only put forward £800, and the rest had to be raised by public subscription. The centre section of the new Guildhall was finished by 1724 and has remained almost unchanged since then. The central facade is a wonderful example of early Georgian style, with three bays flanked by Corinthian pillars. Over the entrance is a huge carving incorporating the Hanoverian royal arms. White's earlier statue of Queen Anne was placed in a niche over the door, and on either side were statues of Charles I, depicted holding a church, and Charles II, with an orb and royal sceptre. On the rooftop are figures of Labour, Peace, Justice, Plenty, and Chastisement. North and south wings were added within a few years of the central block. The south wing was used as a judge's lodging when the assizes were taking place, but throughout the rest of the year it housed a coffee shop. The most striking external feature of the Guildhall is a set of iron gates...

Jack Hooper "Figures Laying with Shadows" December 1986 Paint on paper 9.5"x8" unframed Signed and dated in pencil lower left In this modernist masterpiece by Jack Hooper, two abstr...

An Upper East Side of Manhattan New York city scene of bald guy reading newspaper on bench with East River and tugboat in background. The 1970s were the “glory days,” Huffaker says, for himself and a stable of talented illustrators whose work routinely found itself on the covers of the nation’s premier newsmagazines and in the pages of The New York Times. For the better part of that decade, Huffaker was among an elite breed of commercial artists—his hero and fellow Southerner Jack Davis, the legendary Mad Magazine illustrator, among them—working during a remarkable period when art directors routinely turned to illustration to give comic relief to the country’s deeply serious and dark problems. From civil rights and the women’s movement to Vietnam and Watergate, the gas crisis and inflation to the rise of Jimmy Carter, Huffaker mined a deep well of material ripe for his brand of visual wit and caustic satire. He sent his portfolio to children's book illustrator Maurice Sendak, the legendary “Where The Wild Things Are” illustrator to gauge his prospects, and when Sendak replied, “C’mon up, you’ll do all right,” SELECT HONORS: 2 Page-One Awards (from the New York Newspaper Guild), for work in Fortune Magazine and Sports Illustrated. Nominated 3 times for Cartoonist-of-the-Year by the National Cartoonists Society (illustration category). Desi Award of Excellence (Graphic Design Magazine). 20 Award of Merit citations from the Society of Illustrators. One-man show, Society of Illustrators. Illustrators 22 - annual national exhibition for the Society of Illustrators. SELECT MAGAZINE COVERS Time Magazine (6), Sports Illustrated (2), Business Week (12), Forbes, Saturday Review, New York Times Sunday Magazine, The New Republic, Family Weekly, Madison Avenue, New York Daily News Sunday Magazine (2), Junior Scholastic, ACLU, The Nation , and more EDUCATION BA, University of Alabama. Attended Pratt Graphic Center and The Art Students League, New York City. BOOKS WRITTEN AND ILLUSTRATED The Dispensible Man (M. Evans and Co.) and The Bald Book (M. Evans and Co.) BOOKS ILLUSTRATED White Is (Grove Press), The Begatting of a President (Ballantine Books), The Biggest Sneeze (Harper-Collins), H. Phillip Birdsong's ESP (Young Scott Books), Kids Letters to President Reagan (M. Evans), The Worlds Greatest Left-Handers (M. Evans), Does My Room Come Alive at Night (HarperCollins), The Man With Big Ears (HarperCollins), Jake Snake's Race (HarperCollins), and more POLITICAL CARTOONING Political cartoonist at The News and Obsever in Raleigh, NC and syndicated during the early 70's. Today, syndicated in 750 publications 3-times a week with Cagle Cartoons. FINE ART SHOWS Allied Artists of America, Salmagundi Club, Phillips Mill Annual (honorable mention), New Hope Shad Festival (grand Prize), Hunter Museum in Chattanooga ( one -man career retrospective), Santa Fe public library (one--man), Rosenfeld Gallery (Philadelphia), Potter...

Jack Hooper "Woman on Red" 1/2/1970 Gouache, ink and pencil on glossy, red paper 11"x8.5" unframed Signed and dated in ink lower right In the year 1970, Jack Hooper's artistic prowe...

Sterling Strauser "Nude" 1962 Oil on board Framed 13.25 x 7.25 x 1 in Signed and dated in pencil lower right Sterling Strauser was born in Bloomsburg, PA on August 15, 1907. He rece...

Octave Linet (1870-1962) Landscape by the river, signed lower left oil on board on the back a pencil study of the Virgin and Child 25 x 33 cm In good condition In a vintage frame ...

Simon Karczmar, Polish (1903 - 1982) Born in Warsaw, Poland, in 1903, Simon Karczmar studied art in Paris, where he lived for twenty years. Although he left France for Israel in 196...

Sleeping woman  is an artwork realized by Antonio Feltrinelli in 1930s.  Oil on canvas, 110 x 160 cm.  Very good conditions Antonio Feltrinelli (Milan, 1887 - Gargnano, 1942) wa...

This painting is part of our exhibition America Coast to Coast: Artists of the 1930s Refreshment and Intermission, tempera on board, 11 x 19 inches, c. 1930/40s, signed lower middle, exhibited at Groom's one person show at Closson’s Gallery, Cincinnati, OH, March, 1943 (see The Cincinnati Enquirer, March 7, 1943, section 3, p. 4); provenance includes a private Ohio collection; presented in a period gold painted frame About the Painting Refreshment and Intermission is part of a series of paintings of Amish subjects Grooms started in 1938 based on his travels in Pennsylvania. These tempera works reflect the Regionalist impulse to paint local scenes far away from big cities. Focusing on both people and landscape, Grooms' compositions tell the stories of the uniquely American experience of the Amish. “Grooms paints the Amish people with as much understanding of type and appreciation of the plastic quality as any artist who has approached this challenging subject," noted the art critic for The Cincinnati Inquirer when reviewing Grooms' solo exhibition at Closson' Gallery, "In his current show, ‘Refreshment and Intermission,’ is a case in point. Here the absorbed concentration of people eating is described without an ounce of sentimentality. He has made the most of the interest between groups and of the conversations, both humorous and serious. The work has the quaint simplicity of a Lord’s Supper...

Rabin Mondal - Untitled ; Ink on Paper 15 x 22 inches (unframed size) 1993 ( Unframed & Delivered ) Mondal was a clear observant of the various migrant workers who lived along his house in the conjected Howrah Area. They came from far to work and earn their livelihood. He would observe them and was deeply moved by the labour and low rung working class who carried all the heavy load oriented work. He would paint the men and the women , some distressed , some gloomy but with a force that would uplift them to be the heros of the society. Surprisingly Mondal was never depressed himself although he painted people in hard labour and poverty . Style : Mondal`s works are mainly figurative. He paints in bold strokes and creates tableaux, whose themes are universal. The faces of his figures stare at you out of the canvas, strange and pensive, but also strong and defiant. Not yet beaten, surviving by sheer force of spirit. He mostly uses dense pigments in blacks and reds, with only occasional moss green and turquoise colors seeping through. About the Artist & his works : Born : Rabin Mondal (1929 – 2019) was born in Howrah, Kolkata. Education : 1959 : Completed his Art Appreciation Course, Ashutosh Museum, Kolkata University, Kolkata. 1956-58 : Attended Evening Classes, Indian College of Art and Draughtmanship, Kolkata. 1952 : Bachelor of Commerce, Vidyasagar College, Kolkata University, Kolkata. Art Career : The industrial belt of Howrah, with its inherent tendency towards violence, anguish and suffering influenced him deeply, and found its way into his works. So did ugly street battles fought by political parties. Mondal discovered that his artistic temperament was out of keeping with the hostile environment and situation. Besides a debilitating knee injury in his childhood created a sense of isolation in the artist, which also finds expression in his canvas. He says what saved him from sheer madness was his talent in art. In 1949, he joined the Vidyasagar College of Art in Kolkata. At that time, a festival of French artists was being held in the city. It exposed him to the works of French modernist artists. Prior to this, he had no exposure to the international art world. He was only familiar with different schools of Indian art, particularly the Bengal school. As a young painter, Mondal was attracted by Jamini Roy`s folk style and Rabindranath Tagore`s disquieting paintings and drawings. But the show by French artists was virtually a turning point in his artistic career. "This was like opening a window to an astounding, astonishing, unsuspected world," he says. This encounter with avant-garde Western art helped him to later incorporate elements from it in his own work. Art Works : Mondal worked out of his Howrah studio, churning out a series of "kings" and "queens" painted with oil on canvas. These are perhaps Mondal’s best known works, depicting tragic looking figures, seemingly suffering from paranoia and fear, yet ironically termed kings and queens. Some of the highlights of this series were the works Man Acting as King, King Being Appeased, King Making Confession, and King and his Assassin. Mondal also produced a series of "deities", which sometimes seem to merge thematically with his "queens". The artist’s deities are generally depicted with radiate crowns, whereas his kings and queens are not. Other favorite subjects of the artist were the brothel and the harem, which he depicted in canvases such as Event in Red Light Area and Orgy. For someone who hates all forms of pretentiousness, he has done a series of painting on queens and empresses. "Though they belong to the past, queens live in virtual isolation, and I feel sorry for them," he says. "It is this isolation that makes the queen, for me, a fascinating subject." One of the criticisms leveled against him is that his works are not pleasing to the eye. To which he replies, "Painting is for communication and not for decoration." Solo Exhibitions : Rabin has had several solo exhibitions:
 From 1961 - 1973, 1976, 1987, 1993 and 1999 he exhibited solo at various places in Kolkata. In 1974, 1977, 1982, 1983, 1987 and 1991 he showcased solo in several place in New Delhi. From 1978 - 1980 and in 1984 he had solo exhibitions at Birla Academy of Art and Culture in Kolkata. In 1980 he had a solo show at Max Mueller Bhavan, Mumbai. In 1989 and 1990 he exhibited solo in Mumbai. In 1993 he had a solo show at Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai. In 2014 - 2015 and 2016 he exhibited 'Kingdom of Exile: A Retrospective' at Delhi Art Gallery, Mumbai and at DAG Modern, New York. Group Exhibitions : He has participated in several group exhibitions:
 In 1955, 1969, 1970 - 1972, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1983, 1988, 1995, 1998 - 2002 and 2010 he participated in various group exhibitions in Kolkata. From 1963 - 1965, 1971, 1973, 1980 - 1982 and 1985 he exhibited in group shows at Lalit Kala Akademi in New Delhi. In 1964, 1969, 1994 and 1996 he took part in group exhibitions at All India Fine Arts and Crafts Society (AIFACS) and LTG Gallery in New Delhi. In 1968 and 1972 he participated in group exhibitions at Kala Bhavan, Santiniketan. In 1972, 1974, 1976, 1978 - 1980 and 1983 he took part in several group shows at Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai. From 1975, 1979, 1988, 1989, 1992, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2009 and 2010 he participated in multiple group shows in New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangladesh and Bangalore. In 1975 he took part in the 3rd Triennale in New Delhi. In 1984 he participated in the Tokyo Biennale, Japan. From 2003 - 2005, 2010 and 2011 he took aprt in Manifestations I - VI’ at...

Commercial illustration depicting happy California framers for California Prunes. The work is rendered in a charming and highly stylized manner. Unfr...

The Male Nude (half length) by Helen Greenfield (British 20th century) oil painting on artist paper, unframed board: 33 x 23 inches condition: overall very good - some creasing to t...

This is a modernist Judaic painting of a Jewish scene of the Kiddush Levanah prayer. The monthly hebrew blessing on the new moon. It is not dated but I am estimating it to the 1940s...

This artwork "Market Scene" 1968 is an oil painting on canvas by noted Haitian artist Petion Savain, 1906-1973. It is signed and dated at the lower right...

William Schock (American, 1913–1976) The Fisherman, c. 1955 Oil on canvas Signed lower right 26 x 40 inches 34 x 48 inches, framed William Schock was...

Genre: Modern Subject: Abstract Medium: Oil Surface: Canvas Country: United States Sabina Teichman: (1905-1983) Studied at Columbia Univ. (BA, MA), also with Charles J. Martin and A...

Rolando Aguilar was born in the year 1957. He studied at the Municipal School of Plastic Arts of Quetzaltenango. He has presented personal exhibitions and participated in more than 50 collective exhibitions in Quito, Ecuador, Taiwan, Norway, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Canada. He was director of the Regional School of Art "Humberto Garavito", of Quetzaltenango. He has won Gold and Bronze glyphs at the Art Paiz Biennial (1980, 1982 and 1984) and two awards at the Arturo Martínez Contest. Efrain Recinos...

Woman in a Red Hat - Figurative Study Oil on Canvas A reclining figure painting by American painter, Patricia Gren Hayes (b. 1932), shows a person in a black dress and a Russian Fez...

Seated Nude is an artwork realized by Antonio Feltrinelli, in 1930s.  Oil on canvas, 108 x 75 cm. Provenance: Galleria Pesaro, Milan. Good conditions! The nudes and portraits w...

Clarence Holbrook Carter (American, 1904-2000) Night Garden, 1972 Acrylic on scintilla Signed and dated lower right 21.5 x 21.5 inches 24.25 x 24.25 inches, framed Clarence Holbroo...

Amazing Portrait of an Anonymous Countess by Karo Mkrtchryan, 64cmx75cm Framed, Signed and dated,, 1986 Provenance : Estate and Family of the Artist, Glendale, California. Sold with COA signed by the administrator of the estate and certificate of Export from Armenia. A catalog of the artist with the actual painting will be provided to the buyer. Karo Mkrtchyan...

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...

Haren Das - Khatal Etching on Paper 11.8 x 14 inches, 1976 ( Unframed & Delivered ) Born in Dinajpur in present day Bangladesh on 1 February 1921, Das took a diploma in fine art, wi...

Woman and Dog is an original artwork realized by an unknown artist in 1976. Oil on Board. 17,5 x 8,5 cm ; 40 x 35 cm with frame. Hand signed, dated and dedicated on rear. Unread...

Ramkinkar Baij Linocut on Paper 5 x 7 inches & 5 x 7.6 inches ( Unframed Size ) (Set of 2 works) Ramkinkar Baij : Born : 1906 Jugipada, Bankura, West Bengal Died : 1980 Educatio...

Bob Thompson Untitled, 1964 Felt tip pen on printed paper 11 x 20 1/2 inches Provenance: The artist Kathy Komaroff Goodman (gift from the artist) Hollis Taggart, New York Exhibited...

Maurice Newman was active/lived in Massachusetts / Lithuania. Maurice Newman is known for sculpture-abstraction, impressionist landscape painting, diorama. Born in Lithuania, Mauric...

Charles Cobelle (French/American, 1902-1998) Untitled, 20th Century Oil on canvas 24 x 30 in. Signed lower right: Cobelle Born in Alsace-Lorraine, France, and becoming a U.S. citiz...

Artwork measures 48" x 30" and framed 56 ¼" x 38 ¼" x 3" Provenance: John Heller Gallery, NYC, circa 1975 (label verso) The artist's daughter Corbino Galleries, Sarasota, FL (1990)...

Moret by Georges Bousquait (French 20th century) signed oil on canvas, unframed canvas: 18 x 15 inches provenance: private collection, France condition: very good and sound condition

Antique American modernist surreal landscape oil painting. Oil on canvas. Framed. Signed.

Haren Das - Dream Woodcut Edition 12/15 10.6 x 11.6 inches, 1976 ( Unframed & Delivered ) Born in Dinajpur in present day Bangladesh on 1 February 1921, Das took a diploma in fine a...

Genre: Judaic prayer scene Subject: Landscape Medium: watercolor Surface: Paper Country: United States EMANUEL ROMANO Rome, Italy, b. 1897, d. 1984 Emanuel Glicenstein Romano was born in Rome, September 23, 1897. His father Henryk Glicenstein was a sculptor and was living in Rome with his wife Helena (born Hirszenberg) when Emanuel was born his father obtained Italian citizenship and adopted the name Enrico. Emanuel was brought up in Italy, Switzerland, Germany, England and Poland. In 1926 Emanuel and his father sailed for New York. They briefly visited Chicago. Romano's sister, Beatrice, and mother only joined them in New York years later. Romano changed his name on his arrival to America and some have erroneously speculated that this was to avoid antisemitic anti Jewish discrimination. In truth, as the son of a highly-regarded artist, Romano changed his name to ensure that any success or recognition he would later attain, would be the result of nothing other than his own merit as an artist, and not on account of his father's fame. In 1936 Romano was worked for the Federal Art Project creating murals. During and immediately after World War II, Romano created a series of allegorical works depicting graphic holocaust images that were held closely by the family until after his passing. One of these works is now on permanent display in the Florida Holocaust Museum in St. Petersburg Florida. Emanuel's father died in 1942 in a car accident before they could realize their shared dream of visiting Israel. In 1944 Romano, having completed his degree at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and the Art Institute of Chicago, began teaching at the City College of New York. Romano moved to Safed, Israel in 1953 and established an art museum in his father's memory, the Glicentein Museum. COLLECTIONS Indianapolis Museum of Art Metropolitan Museum of Art Boston Fine Arts Museum Fogg Museum Musée Nacional de France Recently his work has been added to the Florida Holocaust Museum collection. His notable works include his holocaust themed allegorical paintings as well as portraits of Marianne Moore, his father and William Carlos Williams...

This superb British 1930's modern art tempera painting is by noted interwar artist Blair Hughes-Stanton. Painted in 1936 it is part of the myth se...

Somnath Hore - Untitled Pen & Ink on Paper, 7 x 5 inches ; dated 07-10-86 Inclusive of shipment mounted not framed, Should you wish to receive the same framed and shipped kindly con...

The Grand Canal, Venice Alvarez ( Mid 20th Century) signed oil on canvas, framed framed: 25 x 33 inches canvas: 20 x 28 inches provenance: private collection, France condition: very ...

Haren Das - Homewards Linocut on Paper Edition 13/15 5 x 14 inches, 1990 ( Unframed & Delivered ) Born in Dinajpur in present day Bangladesh on 1 February 1921, Das took a diploma i...

A striking portrait of a young woman, or girl, in a deep red hat. Her eyes seem to be in a blueish shade, giving her an air of mystery, as she searches out of the frame. Ewart John...

Haren Das - Water Lily Linocut on Paper Edition 3/5 7 x 14 inches, 1990 ( Unframed & Delivered ) Born in Dinajpur in present day Bangladesh on 1 February 1921, Das took a diploma in...

Sakti Burman - Untitled Watercolour on Paper 30 x 20 inches Born : 1935 Kolkata Education : 1956 Government College of Arts and Crafts in Kolkata and the Ecole Nationale des Beaux ...

Genre: Modern Subject: Jewish Wedding Mechutanim Medium: Oil Surface: Board, size includes artist decorated frame Country: United States The imagery of Maurice Kish (1895-1987), whe...

Sakti Burman - Kamdhenu Watercolour on Paper 14 x 20 inches Born : 1935 Kolkata Education : 1956 Government College of Arts and Crafts in Kolkata and the Ecole Nationale des Beaux ...

This painting is part of our exhibition American Coast to Coast: Artists of the 1930s Subway Construction, c. 1928, oil on board, 19 x 15 ¾ inches, signed upper left, artist and title verso; exhibited: 1) 12th Annual Exhibition of the Society of Independent Artists, The Waldorf Astoria, New York NY, from March 9 to April 1, 1928, no. 864 (original price $250) (see Death Prevailing Theme of Artists in Weird Exhibits, The Gazette (Montreal, Quebec, Canada), March 8, 1928); 2) Boston Tercentenary Exhibition Fine Arts and Crafts Exhibition, Horticultural Hall, Boston MA, July, 1930, no. 108 (honorable mention - noted verso); 3) 38th Annual Exhibition of American Art, Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati, OH, June, 1931 (see Alexander, Mary, The Week in Art Circles, The Cincinnati Enquirer, June 7, 1931); and 4) National Art Week Exhibition [Group Show], Montross Gallery, New York, New York, December, 1940 (see Devree, Howard, Brief Comment on Some Recently Opened Exhibitions in the Galleries, The New York Times, December 1, 1940) About the Painting Ernest Stock’s Subway Construction depicts the excavation of New York’s 8th Avenue line, which was the first completed section of the city-operated Independent Subway System (IND). The groundbreaking ceremony was in 1925, but the line did not open until 1932, placing Stock’s painting in the middle of the construction effort. The 8th Avenue line was primarily constructed using the “cut and cover” method in which the streets above the line were dug up, infrastructure was built from the surface level down, the resulting holes were filled, and the streets reconstructed. While many artists of the 1920s were fascinated with the upward thrust of New York’s exploding skyline as architects and developers sought to erect ever higher buildings, Stock turned his attention to the engineering marvels which were taking place below ground. In Subway Construction, Stock depicts workers removing the earth beneath the street and building scaffolding and other support structures to allow concrete to be poured. Light and shadow fall across the x-shaped grid pattern formed by the wooden beams and planks. It is no surprise that critics reviewing the painting commented on Stock’s use of an “interesting pattern” to form a painting that is “clever and well designed.” About the Artist Ernest Richard Stock was an award-winning painter, print maker, muralist, and commercial artist. He was born in Bristol, England and was educated at the prestigious Bristol Grammar School. During World War I, Stock joined the British Royal Air Flying Corps in Canada and served in France as a pilot where he was wounded. After the war, he immigrated to the United States and joined the firm of Mack, Jenny, and Tyler, where he further honed his architectural and decorative painting skills. During the 1920s, Stock often traveled back and forth between the US and Europe. He was twice married, including to the American author, Katherine Anne Porter. Starting in the mid-1920s, Stock began to exhibit his artwork professionally, including at London’s Beaux Arts Gallery, the Society of Independent Artists, the Salons of America, the Cincinnati Art Museum, the Whitney Studio and various locations in the Northeast. Critics often praised the strong design sensibility in Stock’s paintings. Stock was a commercial illustrator for a handful of published books and during World War II, he worked in the Stratford Connecticut...