Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 7

Bernard Harmon
Modern Man, Expressionist Portrait in Red, White, and Blue

1975

$18,000
£13,534.55
€15,716.89
CA$25,136.62
A$27,878.37
CHF 14,640.36
MX$342,366.26
NOK 185,333
SEK 174,771.50
DKK 117,265.32
Shipping
Retrieving quote...
The 1stDibs Promise:
Authenticity Guarantee,
Money-Back Guarantee,
24-Hour Cancellation

About the Item

"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 seemingly in quiet contemplation. The work is painted predominately in Red, White, and Blue, connecting the portrait to a strong sense of patriotism. The painting is framed in a new, black wood frame. Figurative expressionism in the style of Alice Neel. Bernard Harmon was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1935. Harmon was primarily a portrait painter and a well loved teacher in the Philadelphia area. A graduate of the Philadelphia Museum School and Temples Tyler School of Art, Harmon traveled extensively in Europe and South America. Beloved by many, Harmon taught in the Philadelphia School District for 32 of his 54 years of life. Beginning his career as an art teacher at West Philadelphia High School, in the early 1960s he became one of the district's artists in residence, traveling from school to school to demonstrate for students how an artist works. Returning to the classroom, Harmon joined the art department at Central High School where he taught for 14 years and became an innovator in art curriculum, developing a program offering advanced placement art classes to gifted students. In his final years Harmon became a supervisor, mentoring teachers and overseeing programs in the Philadelphia school systems District #1. During his short life Harmon taught collage preparatory art classes at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, summer classes at the University of the Arts, and a Saturday program for gifted children at Drexel University. Among Harmon's portraits were commissioned by Philadelphia Jazz organist Jimmy Smith and Mayor Richardson Dilworth. Bernard Harmon was active in promoting African American Artist throughout his life time. He organized many early shows such as the "Afro American Artists 1800 - 1969" at the Museum of the Philadelphia Civic Center in 1969. He was considered a Renaissance man by friends and colleagues for his interests not only in art but music and theater as well. He was familiar and friends with many other African American artists such as Doc Thrash, Selma Burke, Paul Keene Jr. , Allen Freelon and Charles Searles. Harmon's work reflects his love of his students and friends. His work has a loose expressionist style that can be related to the work of Alice Kneel . A 2016 exhibition at Gratz Gallery & Conservation Studio was one of the largest offerings of Bernard Harmons work in many years.
  • Creator:
    Bernard Harmon (1935 - 1989, American)
  • Creation Year:
    1975
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 48 in (121.92 cm)Width: 44 in (111.76 cm)Depth: 2 in (5.08 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
    The painting has been cleaned, varnished, and framed. Additional shipping options are available upon request.
  • Gallery Location:
    Doylestown, PA
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU140227265312

More From This Seller

View All
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

Oil, Canvas

Seated Figure, Male Expressionist Portrait by Philadelphia Artist
By Bernard Harmon
Located in Doylestown, PA
"Seated Figure" is a painting by Philadelphia born Expressionist painter Bernard Harmon. The 48" x 35.75" oil on board portrait is painted in energetic and bold brushstrokes, with vi...
Category

1960s Expressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

Boy Waiting, Portrait of a Young Man by Philadelphia Artist
By Bernard Harmon
Located in Doylestown, PA
"Boy Waiting" is an oil on board portrait painting by Philadelphia born Expressionist painter Bernard Harmon of a young man with somber expression, sitting on a chair. This work features a second environmental portrait on verso. The painting is 41.75" x 35.75" in size and is signed "Harmon" on verso. Figurative expressionism in the style of Alice Neel. Provenance: Estate of the Artist; Gratz Gallery & Conservation Studio, Doylestown, Pennsylvania. Bernard Harmon was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1935. Harmon was primarily a portrait painter and a well loved teacher in the Philadelphia area. A graduate of the Philadelphia Museum School and Temples Tyler School of Art, Harmon traveled extensively in Europe and South America. Beloved by many, Harmon taught in the Philadelphia School District for 32 of his 54 years of life. Beginning his career as an art teacher at West Philadelphia High School, in the early 1960s he became one of the district's artists in residence, traveling from school to school to demonstrate for students how an artist works. Returning to the classroom, Harmon joined the art department at Central High School where he taught for 14 years and became an innovator in art curriculum, developing a program offering advanced placement art classes to gifted students. In his final years Harmon became a supervisor, mentoring teachers and overseeing programs in the Philadelphia school systems District #1. During his short life Harmon taught collage preparatory art classes at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, summer classes at the University of the Arts, and a Saturday program for gifted children at Drexel University. Among Harmon's portraits were commissioned by Philadelphia Jazz organist Jimmy Smith and Mayor Richardson Dilworth. Bernard Harmon was active in promoting African American Artist throughout his life time. He organized many early shows such as the "Afro American Artists 1800 - 1969" at the Museum of the Philadelphia Civic Center in 1969. He was considered a Renaissance man by friends and colleagues for his interests not only in art but music and theater as well. He was familiar and friends with many other African American artists such as Doc Thrash, Selma Burke...
Category

1960s Expressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

Self Portrait, Expressionist Figurative Portrait by Philadelphia Artist
By Bernard Harmon
Located in Doylestown, PA
"Self Portrait" is a painting by Philadelphia born Expressionist painter Bernard Harmon. The 47" x 28.5" oil on canvas portrait features Harmon at a young age of about 25 years old. ...
Category

1960s Expressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Resting, Expressionist Portrait of Young Man by Philadelphia Artist
By Bernard Harmon
Located in Doylestown, PA
"Resting" is an interior portrait of a young man resting on a sofa. This work was painted by Philadelphia born Expressionist painter Bernard Harmon. The 24" x 32" oil on board painti...
Category

1960s Expressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

Upright Bass, Expressionist Portrait of Musician by Philadelphia Artist
By Bernard Harmon
Located in Doylestown, PA
"Upright Bass" is a painting by Philadelphia born Expressionist painter Bernard Harmon. The 40" x 34" oil on board group portrait of a musician is painted...
Category

1960s Expressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

You May Also Like

"Man in Red and Blue" Mid 20th Century Portrait Painting Dated 1959
Located in Rochester, NY
Modernist portrait of a young man in rich reds and blues. Signed on reverse H. Friedlander, 1959. Oil on board. Unframed.
Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Portrait of Man in Red, Oil on Board Painting by John F. Leonard
Located in Long Island City, NY
Portrait of Man in Red (30) John F. Leonard American (1921–1987) Date: circa 1965 Oil on Board Size: 24 in. x 20 in. (60.96 cm x 50.8 cm)
Category

1960s Abstract Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

Oil on Canvas Man Portrait Male Model On Red Background 20"x24" by Masri
By Masri Hayssam
Located in Carmel, CA
A Lebanese born, Italian artist ,Masri has developed a style that captures mideastern mood with A Lucien Freud brush touch. His work is varied and known especially in Europe, and in ...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Artist Taking a Break - Figurative painting, man, red, blue
By Alexandru Rădvan
Located in Baden-Baden, DE
Artist Taking a Break, 2021 acrylic on canvas, 78 ⁴⁷/₆₄ H x 47 ¹/₄ W inches 200 x 120 cm The composition presents a deeply introspective figure rendered in textured shades of blue...
Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Self Portrait #1, colorful gestural abstracted portrait
By Tom Bennett
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Oil on paper About Tom Bennett: With quick brushstrokes, Tom Bennett creates representational images of human figures and animals, emphasizing movement in a manner reminiscent of Lucien Freud, Edgar Degas and the photographer Eadweard Muybridge. Elongated and blurry, the horse racing up a hill (Canter Fritz, 2002) and the sinister cat landing a leap (Chien Blanc, 1998) elicit a sense of foreboding enhanced by Bennett’s somber palette; his female figures too reflect a grim sense of humor with their distorted nude bodies. The face of Untitled Figure (1997), for example, is obscured by layers of dark paint. Classically trained as a painter, he initially worked in oil on canvas but discovered that monotype printing enabled him to “literally push the image around,” creating an essential element of motion. To overcome the limited scale of monotypes, however, he switched to painting on slick-surfaced plastic. Tom Bennett’s practice is rooted in the classical tradition where painting and drawing from life is highly regarded. Bennett’s work is heavily influenced by Francis Bacon, Frank Auberbauch and foremost his father, Harry Bennett, who was also an artist. Tom’s time living abroad in Spain and traveling through Eastern Europe and Africa provided the artistic freedom to explore many of the techniques and subject matter that continue to define his practice. Bennett was born and raised in Connecticut. His mediums include monotypes, oil on paper, canvas or styrene board. In a technique that Tom started over 4 years ago, several of his monotypes have been painted over with oil paint using a palette knife, brush, or his fingers to re-purpose the underlying image. These works are a testament to Bennett’s ability to quickly and concisely compose an image with expressive brush strokes, foreshortened figures and expertly rendered light. Tom’s work has been featured in group and solo exhibitions worldwide. Bennett lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. He is currently represented by Tabla Rasa...
Category

2010s American Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Oil, Paper, Monotype

Divine Joanna Flatau Contemporary art portrait painting colour woman red blue
By Joanna Flatau
Located in Paris, FR
Acrylic paint on canvas Unique work Hand-signed lower right by the artist Joanna Flatau was born in Varsaw, Poland. She graduated from Varsaw History of Arts University and from th...
Category

2010s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic