Temple Figurative Paintings

Artist Statement: "I find the behind the scenes action of more interest than the actual rodeo events themselves. Watching the men and women get ready with their horses before they go...

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...

The great art historian Federico Zeri said that painting snow-covered landscapes was one of the most complicated things for an artist. Well, in this landscape of the Piedmont country...

The Road is a unique oil on canvas painting by contemporary artist Valérie de Sarrieu, dimensions are 160 × 160 cm (63 × 63 in). The artwork is signed, sold unframed and comes with a...

“Hold Firm” is a plein air painting by Judd Mercer, created on location in Laguna Beach, California, USA. The piece captures the coastal rock formations and breaking waves along the ...

Auguste-Louis Lepère (French, 1849-1918) Untitled Landscape, c. 1910 Pastel and graphite on paper Signed lower right 14 x 16.5 inches 20 x 22.5 inches, framed Auguste-Louis Lepère w...

The Lonely Road (1940) Tempera on panel 12" x 16" 19 1/2" x 23 1/2" x 1 1/2" framed Hand-signed "Palmer '40" lower center. Provenance: Midtown Galleries, New York, NY (labels verso...

“Shoreline Shade” is a plein air painting by Judd Mercer, created on location in Long Beach, California, USA. The piece captures a sunlit shoreline with tree shadows cast across the ...

Gouache on paper, Paper size: 16 x 25.5 inches Framed size: 27 x 36 inches Signed lower right

Artist Statement I've been working in pastel full-time for the last twenty-nine years and have been teaching workshops for the past fifteen. My artistic influences range from Paleol...

An important and extremely rare pair of Italian landscapes from the Neoclassical period, painted using the refined technique of tempera. They depict views of the Tyrrhenian coast ne...

“Scattered” is a woodland landscape study by Judd Mercer. The painting captures a grove of aspen and birch trees with warm seasonal light filtering through the foliage. This piece wa...