Stella Leis

Forbes Mill, Los Gatos - Historic Landscape Original Oil on Masonite

mid 20th Century

Mid Century Modern Abstracted Landscape in Oil on Masonite Bold abstracted landscape by Ray Oakvick (American, 1917-1993). Streaks of reddish brown and white create an abstracted la...

Lush landscape of an autumn forest by Evelyn Campbell (Australian, 20th Century). A path runs from the lower right of the composition through an open gap in a wood fence, with a wago...

Beautiful double-sided painting of a California nocturnal seascape on one side and a Sierra mountain scene on one side on the other by William L. Hughes. Signed "W. L. Hughes" bottom...

Cathedral with Green Domes in Acrylic on Masonite The front of a large cathedral by an unknown central California coast artist Maria Pavao Hadsell (Portugal/American, 20th Century). The cathedral has two large towers, each with a large green dome at the top. It resembles St. Stephen's basilica in Passau, Germany. This piece has a loose style, but nonetheless has fine details in the architecture. Maria Pavao Hadsell was born in Portugal and is mostly a self taught artist originally from Portugal. Later she immigrated to the USA and lived in Massachusetts, then she moved to Sunnyvale, California. Studied watercolor in Italy, and with Los Gatos artist William Wray Signed "M Pavao...

"California Summer" Mid Century Plein Aire Landscape in Oil on Masonite Serene landscape by Andrew Bennett (British, 20th Century). A herd of cows are gathered under oak trees in th...

California School - Ranch Road Landscape Oil on Canvas Imapsto oil painting of the California landscape by an unknown California artist working in the style of Sam Hyde Harris, anna Althea Hills...

Dimensions are 18.25" x 22.25" and framed 29.5" x 34" x 2". The painting is signed "philip Reisman" on the lower right recto, and signed and titled verso. Provenance: acquired dire...

A colorful view of Martha's Vineyard by Francis Chapin, from the 1930s. Francis Chapin, affectionately called the “Dean of Chicago Painters” by his colleagues, was one of the city’s most popular and celebrated painters in his day. Born at the dawn of the 20th Century in Bristolville, Ohio, Chapin graduated from Washington & Jefferson College near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania before enrolling at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1922. He would set down deep roots at the Art Institute of Chicago, exhibiting there over 31 times between 1926 and 1951. In 1927 Chapin won the prestigious Bryan Lathrop Fellowship from the Art Institute – a prize that funded the artist’s yearlong study trip to Europe. Upon his return to the United States, Chapin decided to remain in Chicago, noting the freedom Chicago artists have in developing independently of the pressure to conform to pre-existing molds (as was experienced by artists in New York, for example). Chapin became a popular instructor at the Art Institute, teaching there from 1929 to 1947 and at the Art Institute’s summer art school in Saugatuck, Michigan (now called Oxbow) between 1934 – 1938 (he was the director of the school from 1941-1945). A prolific painter, Chapin produced numerous works while traveling in Mexico, France, Spain, Saugatuck and Martha’s Vineyard, where he frequently spent summers and taught at the Old Sculpin Gallery there. Chapin was best recognized for his dynamic and vibrant images of Chicago during the 1930s and 40s. Chapin was a resident of the Old Town neighborhood where he lived and kept his studio on Menomonee Street for many years. Described as a “colorful figure, nearly 6 feet 6 inches tall, and thin, and usually wearing tweeds”, it is easy to imagine Chapin at work observing the busy street life of the city. In addition to his many exhibitions at the Art Institute of Chicago, Chapin’s work was shown during his lifetime at such institutions as the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia; the Corcoran Gallery, Washington, D.C.; the National Academy of Design, New York; the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York and the Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, among others. Francis Chapin’s paintings are represented in the collections the Art Institute of Chicago; the Friedman Collection, Chicago; the Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown; the Denver Art Museum; the Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse; the Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach...

A colorful view of Martha's Vineyard (Depicting Edgartown's main street) by Francis Chapin, from around 1950. Francis Chapin, affectionately called the “Dean of Chicago Painters” by...

A colorful view of Menemsha in Martha's Vineyard by Francis Chapin, from around 1950. Francis Chapin, affectionately called the “Dean of Chicago Painters” by his colleagues, was one...

A view of Oak Bluffs, MA on Martha's Vineyard by Francis Chapin, from around 1950. Francis Chapin, affectionately called the “Dean of Chicago Painters” by his colleagues, was one of...

The Mid-Century mindset As expected, 65 years ago.. people looked at art/painting a little differently. Back then, many artists were concerned with depicting simple and beautiful t...