Items Similar to Paris City Scene, Portrait Oil Painting WPA Era 1940s
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 9
Maurice KishParis City Scene, Portrait Oil Painting WPA Era 1940s1963
1963
$5,500
£4,175.51
€4,775.89
CA$7,684.30
A$8,546.62
CHF 4,462.78
MX$104,003.23
NOK 56,996.48
SEK 53,452.64
DKK 35,644.29
Shipping
Retrieving quote...The 1stDibs Promise:
Authenticity Guarantee,
Money-Back Guarantee,
24-Hour Cancellation
About the Item
Genre: Modern
Subject: French Paris Scene
Medium: Oil
Surface: Canvas
Country: United States
The imagery of Maurice Kish (1895-1987), whether factories or carousels, reliably subverts expectations. His vision hovers just around the unraveling edge of things, where what is solid and clear becomes ambiguous. He is fascinated, often delighted, by the falling apart. This unexpected, fresh perspective results in oddly affecting pictures of a now long-gone New York.
Born Moishe in a town called Dvinsk, Russia (what is now Daugavpils, Latvia), Kish came with his family to New York when he was in his teens. The family settled in Brownsville, and for the rest of Kish’s life Brooklyn remained his home, though he moved from one neighborhood to another. He was close to his parents, who recognized his talent and supported his desire to become an artist.
Kish attended the National Academy of Design as well as Cooper Union. His fellow students included many other immigrants and children of immigrants who were particularly receptive to the Modernism coming from Europe. As his career progressed, Kish himself applied different strains of Modernism to different purposes. For him, the story was held above all else.
For years, Kish used the skills he acquired in art school to earn his living at a Manhattan glass factory where he painted floral designs on vases. During the Depression, Kish became a WPA painter in the Federal Art Project (FAP). FAP artists were given a mandate to create works that celebrated labor. The artists tended to be socially progressive, as Kish certainly was. Kish's work from this period, with its dark colors and rolling clouds, reveals the influence of Social Realists like Thomas Hart Benton. Apparent, too, is Kish's interest in the urban monumentality of Charles Sheeler. Kish's structures, however, lack Sheeler's almost dehumanized precision. Rather than the soulless, sleek machines of a typical modern urban dystopia, Kish's factories are shaggy old beasts as worn out as the laborers who troop through their doors. In End of Day's Toil, now at the Smithsonian, the viewer feels some affection for that rambly grandfather of a building all the tired small workers are leaving behind.
Much of Kish's work, for the FAP and elsewhere, undermines received truths in a similar way. Some early works with themes from Yiddish culture are overtly humorous: a painting of a big jolly wedding guest, looking invitingly over her shoulder; a big fiddler on a small roof. Later, the humor becomes more ironic and reflective. In another work, the rather imposing organ grinder of the late 1930s looms above a child, yet his intermediary the cockatoo is bright and appealing, and offers the girl a fortune with his beak. This could read as an allegory for capitalism as easily as a straightforward colorful street scene. A small painting of a snowy day in Washington Square gives a bird's eye view of people bent against the wind walking alone or in pairs. The huge triumphal arch at the middle of it has no connection to their movements or their lives. Kish makes its size and centrality a quiet joke about the futility of grandiose gestures. Like the buildings in his FAP works, the arch has a personality. It is a landmark that looks a bit lost.
A favorite location for Kish was Coney Island. For the laborers of the city, this was a place of great freedom and possibility. There were no bosses! Anyone could go to ride the rides and swim in the sea. For Kish, Coney Island, and especially Luna Park, became a place richly symbolic of workers’ rights. For the dreamlike paintings he set there, Kish looked past the Social Realists to the Expressionists. His colors are brilliant and his lines are wild. These images, joyfully unrestrained, give full voice to an anarchic vision merely hinted at in other works. If the structures of the earlier pictures came further out of the background than expected, these Coney Island structures completely take over the scene.
Kish made several variations on the theme of the carousel as a site of revolution. In the moonlight, the horses have broken from their poles and spin away from the calm center. The workers have come to manic life, have released themselves from the yoke of labor and have abandoned their master, the merry-go-round. They escape to different corners of the pleasure park, dance together and ride the ferris wheel. One horse pretends to be a ticket seller. It is another allegory, one that depicts a worker's holiday paradise in carnival fashion.
A painter who embraced ambiguity, Kish was himself a man who occupied many worlds simultaneously. Even during the period when he had shows at prestigious galleries and belonged to several artists' groups, he identified most strongly as an outsider, a Yiddischer. He wrote poetry in Yiddish throughout his life. In 1968, he published a volume of fifty years of these poems, Di Velt ist Mayn Lid (The World is My Song) in Yiddish, with no English translation, for his peers. Kish also translated English-language poetry into Yiddish and acted as a guide to help other Yiddish writers. Long after the art organizations ceased to provide meaning and fulfillment, Kish was a devoted member of the Yiddish Culture Association.
In addition to painting and poetry, Kish was a dancer who taught during the summers at various Jewish resorts in the Catskills. Small but lithe, he also spent some years as an amateur boxer. Well into his eighties, Kish was proud of the quality of his handball game.
By the 1940s, Kish’s career was going well, but his descriptive style of working began to fall out of fashion, supplanted by a more formal Abstraction. Kish was never able to support himself solely through his art, yet in the midst of all of his other activities, Kish continued to create his distinctive images of an immigrant's New York. He departed far from the mainstream, and in later years, seldom showed his work, preferring to keep it for himself (although he sometimes traded paintings for rent).
Of making art, Kish said, "It is a sacred mission to enrich, to elevate and to make our lives more complete." His works, though frequently playful, encourage a second look at ordinary things. His irreverence elevates by revealing flaws where his audience, all workers and outsiders of a kind, can get a purchase. Kish's art fondly celebrates the beauty of the irregular.
- Creator:Maurice Kish (1895-1987, American)
- Creation Year:1963
- Dimensions:Height: 37 in (93.98 cm)Width: 32.75 in (83.19 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:frame has some wear.
- Gallery Location:Surfside, FL
- Reference Number:Seller: sku6591stDibs: LU38212436072
About the Seller
4.9
Platinum Seller
Premium sellers with a 4.7+ rating and 24-hour response times
Established in 1995
1stDibs seller since 2014
1,784 sales on 1stDibs
Typical response time: <1 hour
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Shipping from: Surfside, FL
- Return Policy
Authenticity Guarantee
In the unlikely event there’s an issue with an item’s authenticity, contact us within 1 year for a full refund. DetailsMoney-Back Guarantee
If your item is not as described, is damaged in transit, or does not arrive, contact us within 7 days for a full refund. Details24-Hour Cancellation
You have a 24-hour grace period in which to reconsider your purchase, with no questions asked.Vetted Professional Sellers
Our world-class sellers must adhere to strict standards for service and quality, maintaining the integrity of our listings.Price-Match Guarantee
If you find that a seller listed the same item for a lower price elsewhere, we’ll match it.Trusted Global Delivery
Our best-in-class carrier network provides specialized shipping options worldwide, including custom delivery.More From This Seller
View AllCharles Chartier 1951 French Cubist Modernist Oil Painting Surreal Paris Village
Located in Surfside, FL
Alex Charles Chartier, French, 1894-1957
Oil painting on board
1951
Quartier Plaisance, Paris village scene
Hand signed and dated '51 lower left.
Dimensions: 21" x 25-3/4", frame...
Category
Mid-20th Century Modern Landscape Paintings
Materials
Oil, Board
Quai De La Tournelle, Paris Street Scene Oil Painting, American Deaf Modernist
By Robert Freiman
Located in Surfside, FL
Paris street scene oil painting in original vintage hand carved frame, showing some wear. Signed l.r. and dated 1953. Inscribed on reverse with title.
28.50 in. by 33.50 in. include frame. Unframed 19.75 in. by 24 in.
Robert Freiman, deaf from birth, was born in March 1917 in New York City. He attended an oral program near his home and later transferred to the Lexington School for the Deaf when he was six. Early in his childhood, his love for drawing, painting and studying became apparent, and as an adult, he continued his studies in New York at the National Academy of Design, Pratt Institute, the Art Students League and the Parsons School of Design. In Paris, France he studied at the Ecole des Beaux Arts. Bob Freiman was especially focused on painting portraits and figures in motion in various mediums, especially the mixed-media combination of watercolor, acrylic and pen. Among his subjects were acrobats, ballet dancers, cyclists and other athletes. He as well focused on abstracts for a time, discovering new media in his works with quick brushwork and expressive movements.
In the latter part of his career, his style became abstract and surreal with images of metaphysical landscapes with architectural elements such as arches, towers, pyramids and castles floating in the air. The famed art critic Pierre Rouve wrote: “It is therefore refreshing to see them revitalized by the colourist wealth and virile handwriting of Robert Freiman, probably the best American water-colorist since John Marin. He worked in Provincetown and Nantucket and regularly exhibited there. He showed at Doll & Richards gallery of Boston alongside John Chetcuti, Lloyd Goodrich, Tod Lindenmuth, William Meyerowitz, Dwight Shepler, Elizabeth O'Neill Verner, Stanley Woodward, Andrew Wyeth, and others. His work bears the influence of the mid century school of Paris in particular Jean Carzou. He was a regular exhibitor at the Sidewalk Art...
Category
Mid-20th Century Expressionist Landscape Paintings
Materials
Oil
Modernist Oil Painting the Shop Window NYC 1940s WPA era
By Maurice Becker
Located in Surfside, FL
the Shop Window New York City, 1940s
17.75X25 sight size.
Maurice Becker (1889–1975) was a radical political artist best known for his work in the 1910s and 1920s for such publica...
Category
Early 20th Century Ashcan School Landscape Paintings
Materials
Oil, Board
1927 Oil Painting Eiffel Tower Paris American Modernist Wpa Artist Morris Kantor
By Morris Kantor
Located in Surfside, FL
Morris Kantor New York (1896 - 1974)
Paris from the Ile St. Louis, 1927 (view of Eiffel Tower)
Oil painting on canvas
Hand Signed lower left.
Provenance: Hirshhorn Museum and Scul...
Category
1920s American Modern Landscape Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Around East River, NYC Bridge, City Scene Oil Painting WPA Era 1940s
By Maurice Kish
Located in Surfside, FL
Genre: Modern
Subject: Marine Landscape
Medium: Oil
Surface: Canvas
Country: United States
Dimensions w/Frame: 20.5" x 24.5"
The imagery of Maurice Kish (1895-1987), whether factories or carousels, reliably subverts expectations. His vision hovers just around the unraveling edge of things, where what is solid and clear becomes ambiguous. He is fascinated, often delighted, by the falling apart. This unexpected, fresh perspective results in oddly affecting pictures of a now long-gone New York.
Born Moishe in a town called Dvinsk, Russia (what is now Daugavpils, Latvia), Kish came with his family to New York when he was in his teens. The family settled in Brownsville, and for the rest of Kish’s life Brooklyn remained his home, though he moved from one neighborhood to another. He was close to his parents, who recognized his talent and supported his desire to become an artist.
Kish attended the National Academy of Design as well as Cooper Union. His fellow students included many other immigrants and children of immigrants who were particularly receptive to the Modernism coming from Europe. As his career progressed, Kish himself applied different strains of Modernism to different purposes. For him, the story was held above all else.
For years, Kish used the skills he acquired in art school to earn his living at a Manhattan glass...
Category
Mid-20th Century Modern Landscape Paintings
Materials
Oil
French Modernist Large Paris Street Oil Painting Expressionist Henry D'anty
By Henri d'Anty
Located in Surfside, FL
Large oil on canvas Paris, France street scene with house and tree.
Hand signed
Framed Dimensions 41 x 48.5 Canvas is 40 X 32 inches
Henri Maurice D'Anty, listed French artist, Henry d'Anty 1910-1998
Born 1910 in Belleville France. Died in December 4 1998.
Educated at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière and the Académie Julian Paris. Painter of the school of Paris. ((painter of de l'Ecole de Paris et Peintre Témoin de son Temps) He participated in numerous exhibitions and was rewarded number of prizes for his work in France and abroad
D'Anty was born in Belleville, and it was here that he came to know the picturesque architectural quality of small sloping streets, sometimes broken by flights of steps, like those of Montmartre. Afterwards he moved to Saint Maurice, where he came under the spell of the banks of the Marne with its blue green reflections, the heavy river barges, sail boats, and the lock with its large dark mass, which all made their impressions, as did a later visit in northern France, long before he thought seriously about painting. But in both eye and mind, he was already storing secret visions and emotions.
During a holiday in Brittany, he discovered an entirely new awareness of colors, or rather of colors of the enchanting, subtle tones which make up the varied atmospheres of the Breton scene. He is linked to both post impressionism and expressionism. He was part of the Ecole de Paris (School of Paris) and showed with Francois Arnal, Franz Priking, Isis Kischka, Roland Dubuc, Bernard Maurice Quentin, Michel Patrix, Roger Bezombes, Lucien Joseph Fontanarosa, Bernard Buffet, Jean Marzelle, Maurice Blond, Isaac Antcher, Francis Bott, Jean Jansem, Alfred Charles Weber...
Category
20th Century Expressionist Landscape Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
You May Also Like
Original French VINTAGE MID CENTURY Oil Painting OF A PARIS STREET SCENE
Located in Cirencester, GB
Artist: Osmond Caine (1914-2004) English
Title: "Rue De Furstenberg Paris"
Medium: oil on board
Size: 77cm x 90cm inc frame
Condition: excellent
Notes: Artist in oil, watercolour and stained glass and teacher, born Manchester, full name George Osmund Caine...
Category
Mid-20th Century Landscape Paintings
Materials
Oil
Rare New York City Oil Portrait by Modernist Artist Lisa Mangor, ca 1940’s
Located in Baltimore, MD
This is a highly stylized portrait of a lady by known and listed artist Lisa Mangor. Ms.Mangor was born in Russia in 1890 and came to New York likely around the beginning of World W...
Category
1940s American Modern Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil
FRANCIS WYNNE THOMAS (1907-1989) Mid 20th Century oil painting ARTIST PORTRAIT
Located in Cirencester, GB
ARTIST: Attributed to Francis Wynne Thomas (1907-1989) British
TITLE: "Portrait Of An Artist"
SIGNED: appears unsigned - later inscribed verso
MEDIUM: oil on canvas
SIZE: 73cm x 6...
Category
Mid-20th Century Post-Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
Oil Painting of A Paris Street Scene By Isaac Lichtenstein. Dated 1924
By Isaac Lichtenstein 1
Located in St Annes, Lancashire
Wonderful post-impressionist oil painting of a Paris street scene by a good artist, Isaac Lichtenstein. Possibly Montmartre district.
Oil on canvas.Old re-lining. No title.
Signed ...
Category
Vintage 1920s French Other Paintings
Materials
Canvas
Polish/ French Mid 20th Century Signed Oi Figures in Paris Busy Street Scene
By Josef Popczyk
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Paris
by Jozef Popczyk, Polish 1890 - 1971
signed oil on board, framed
framed: 7 x 8.25 inches
board: 5.5 x 7 inches
Provenance: private collection, Paris
Condition: very good condi...
Category
Mid-20th Century Post-Impressionist Landscape Paintings
Materials
Oil
City View - Paint by Louis Mazot - Late 20th Century
Located in Roma, IT
City view is an original modern artwork realized by Louis Mazot in the late 20th Century.
Mixed media on board.
Hand signed on the lower margin.
Includes frame 28 x 33 cm
Fair co...
Category
Late 20th Century Modern Figurative Paintings
Materials
Mixed Media
More Ways To Browse
For Rent
Mid Century City Scene Oil Painting
Russian Realist Painting
Cooper Oil Painting
Midcentury Paris Street Painting
Vintage 1940s Paint Colors
Mid Century Painting French City Scene
Portrait Of Maurice
Artist Painting Landscape Wpa
Big Eye Painting
Big Eyed Painting
Mid Century Paris Street Scene
Vintage Spin Art
Vintage Manhattan Glass
Early 20th Century Childrens Portrait
Hart Oil Paintings
Catskills Painting
Dark Floral Oil Painting