Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 8

Leon Kelly
Secundo Congreso Feminino, Large Canvas Surrealist Female Group Portrait, 1969

1969

About the Item

"Secundo Congreso Feminino " by Philadelphia born modernist painter Leon Kelly, is a large scale, surrealist painting of a group gathering showing women in the nude. The 60" x 42" oil on canvas is signed and dated in the lower right, and titled, signed, dated, and estate numbered on verso. It is unframed and features vibrant colors and heavy impasto in areas. Provenance: Private Collection, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Leon Kelly (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1901 - 1982) was a student and teacher at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, studying under controversial teacher and modernist Arthur B. Carles who greatly impacted and influenced Kelly's career and painting style. Having been awarded the prestigious Cresson Traveling Fellowship, he was able to study in Europe and gained much recognition in the Paris art world. His striking modernist, surrealist, cubist, and abstract paintings in figure genre, landscapes, and still lives have been widely exhibited throughout the United States, including Philadelphia and New York and can be found in numerous national and international, permanent collections, including but not limited to the Philadelphia Museum of Art and The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Kelly was a regular exhibitor at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts Annuals. In the 1920's Kelly created mostly paintings of Cubist style. By the 1940's he moved towards Surrealism and in 1942 earned himself a one-man exhibition by Julien Levy, the most preeminent gallery dealer for European Surrealist painters and the Avant Garde in the 1930's and 40's. Levy was a strong advocate of Kelly's work, exhibited his paintings many times throughout the years, and the two of them remained in close contact even after the closing of the gallery in 1948. Leon Kelly taught at the Academy from 1961 - 1973 and died at age 81, living in isolation on an island off the coast of New Jersey.
  • Creator:
    Leon Kelly (1901-1982, American)
  • Creation Year:
    1969
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 60 in (152.4 cm)Width: 42 in (106.68 cm)Depth: 2 in (5.08 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
    The painting has been cleaned and varnished, it is in excellent condition. Additional shipping options available upon request.
  • Gallery Location:
    Doylestown, PA
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU140227143562
More From This SellerView All
  • Woman at Basin, Picasso Style Portrait of a Female Nude, American Modernist
    By Leon Kelly
    Located in Doylestown, PA
    "Woman by Basin" by Philadelphia born modernist and surrealist painter Leon Kelly, is a framed and matted portrait of a female nude. The 22.5" x 17.75" mixed media on artist board i...
    Category

    1920s American Modern Nude Paintings

    Materials

    Mixed Media

  • Venus Retrieved from the Hands of Death, Surrealist, Nudes, 1959, Oil on Canvas
    By Leon Kelly
    Located in Doylestown, PA
    "Venus Retrieved from the Hands of Death" by Philadelphia born modernist painter Leon Kelly, is a fantasy nude group scene of one female and two male figures. The 49" x 36" oil on ca...
    Category

    1950s Surrealist Nude Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Oil

  • Lunar Encounter with Child, Surrealist Portrait, Oil on Canvas, 1958, Framed
    By Leon Kelly
    Located in Doylestown, PA
    "Lunar Encounter with Child" by Philadelphia born modernist painter Leon Kelly, is a large, brightly colored surrealist portrait of two figures. The 40" x 30" oil on canvas was paint...
    Category

    1950s Surrealist Portrait Paintings

    Materials

    Oil, Canvas

  • Bathers, Modernist Nudes, Oil on Canvas, Signed and Titled
    By Leon Kelly
    Located in Doylestown, PA
    "Bathers" by Philadelphia born modernist painter Leon Kelly, is a fantasy nude scene of two female figures, one with towel in hand, one only depicted as a portrait within the paintin...
    Category

    20th Century American Modern Nude Paintings

    Materials

    Oil, Canvas

  • Young Man, Expressionist Portrait by Philadelphia Artist
    By Bernard Harmon
    Located in Doylestown, PA
    "Young Man" is an oil on canvas portrait painting by Philadelphia born Expressionist painter Bernard Harmon. The painting is 26" x 36" in size, signed on the lower right. Figurative ...
    Category

    1950s Expressionist Portrait Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Oil

  • Modern Man, Expressionist Portrait in Red, White, and Blue
    By Bernard Harmon
    Located in Doylestown, PA
    "Modern Man" is a painting by Philadelphia born Expressionist painter Bernard Harmon. The 40" x 36" oil on canvas portrait features a young African American man posing casually and s...
    Category

    1970s Expressionist Portrait Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Oil

You May Also Like
  • Jazz
    By Sofia Fotiadou
    Located in Spetses, GR
    Heroins & magical creatures, in an elegant ,romantic approach, and a perfect technique all the way to the last detail. The female form, the female face is the muse in most paintings, although we can also find a gender neutral approach, an androgyny as a protagonist with the same always features, such as youth, sensualism, innocence and optimism. Inside these dream-like images overfilled with euphoria, these fragile figures are kind souls with rich inner beauty. Figures that we can relate with if we dig deeper into our souls. Sofia Fotiadou...
    Category

    21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Portrait Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Oil

  • Memories from Past Life - original large painting by Paula Craioveanu
    By Paula Craioveanu
    Located in Forest Hills, NY
    Memories from Past Life - original large art by Paula Craioveanu Original, large, unique painting, oil on canvas, 150x100cm. Shipped rolled in a tube from the artist's studio. Artis...
    Category

    2010s Contemporary Nude Paintings

    Materials

    Oil, Canvas

  • 1950's French Modernist Oil Painting Portrait Sketch of Nude Lady
    By Maurice Delavier
    Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
    The Nude Model by Maurice Delavier (French 1902-1986) stamped verso oil painting on canvas, 16 x 13 inches condition: overall good and original provenance: from a collection of this ...
    Category

    Mid-20th Century Impressionist Portrait Paintings

    Materials

    Oil, Canvas

  • 19th Century French Symbolist Oil Painting Sketch of Artists Nude Model Posing
    Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
    The Artists Model French School, late 19th century oil on canvas, unframed canvas: 20 x 17.5 inches provenance: private collection, France condition: very good and sound condition
    Category

    Late 19th Century Symbolist Portrait Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Oil

  • Nude woman oil on canvas painting
    By Ramon Sanvisens Marfull
    Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
    Oil measures 33x41 cm. Frame 50x58 cm. Catalan painter trained in Olot and the Llotja in Barcelona, ​​where he was a disciple of Lluis Muntané. Through his travels he completes his training. He was in Paris for a year studying Van Gogh, Cezanne and Gaugin. The following year in Holland he studied Franz...
    Category

    1960s Post-Impressionist Nude Paintings

    Materials

    Oil, Canvas

  • ‘Standing Young Woman’ Figurative Nude Female Model Contemporary Original Art
    By Shana Wilson
    Located in Carmel, CA
    Shana’s portraits adorned two covers of Time Magazine. Shana’s work is about the face and eyes. Young face, old face, black or white. Her subjects are confused, lonely, ragged and ...
    Category

    21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Nude Paintings

    Materials

    Oil, Canvas

Recently Viewed

View All