Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 10

John R. Grabach
“Portrait of a Man”

Circa 1950

About the Item

Powerful oil on board original painting of a portrait of a man’s head by the American National Academy artist John R. Grabach. Signed lower left, “John R.Grabach N.A.” Signed verso as well on board. Circa 1950. Condition is very good. Overall framed measurements in a painted matte black frame with white linen liner are 19 by 16 inches. Provenance: A New England estate. John R. Grabach (1886 - 1981) John Grabach was a highly regarded New Jersey artist, teacher, and author of the classic text, “How to Draw the Human Figure”. He was born in Massachusetts, and with his widowed mother, moved to Newark, New Jersey when he was eleven. Starting out as a die-cutter for a silverware firm, Grabach also designed important works of sterling silver hollow ware and Art Deco glass designs for several high end retail manufacturers. He designed United States stamps for the Treasury Department and holiday greeting cards for several firms. Grabach enrolled in courses at the Art Students League in his spare time, studying under George Bridgeman, Frank Dumond, Kenyon Cox, and H. August Schwabe. Considered a leading figure in the Newark School of Painters, his powerful Ashcan style paintings depicting scenes of New York City and Newark are truly American masterpieces. He captures the expressions and mood of his subjects in those complex compositions on par with any of the highly regarded Ashcan painters of the period. Similar in many ways to his contemporary, George Bellows, Grabach was gifted in portraying the everyday events of working class folks, and translating their ordinary daily routines into something extraordinary to look at. Whether it be his native blue-collar Newark neighborhood, a crew of gruff dockworkers or something as regular and uninteresting as men eating soup, John Grabach had the ability to turn virtually any subject into appealing and worthy art. From the 1920s through the 1960s, Grabach was the subject of numerous one-man exhibitions in prestigious galleries and institutions across the country. In 1980, the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C., honored Grabach with a solo retrospective show of his work. This was an unusual tribute for a still living artist. Grabach was a dedicated and beloved teacher at the Newark School of Industrial Design for many years and among his favorite students was Henry Gasser. Grabach’s work is in the permanent collections of the Smithsonian, the Corcoran Gallery of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Philadelphia Art Alliance, among many others. Source: New Hope for American Art by James Alterman
  • Creator:
    John R. Grabach (1886 - 1981, American)
  • Creation Year:
    Circa 1950
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 12 in (30.48 cm)Width: 9 in (22.86 cm)Depth: 1.75 in (4.45 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    Southampton, NY
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU14114186442

More From This Seller

View All
"Portrait of Dr. Monroe Mufson"
By Joseph Biel
Located in Southampton, NY
Unsigned ; attributed to Joseph Biel Good friend of Dr. Mufson View is from New York University School of Medicine. Overall size with original frame 25.5 x 21 in.
Category

Mid-20th Century American Modern Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

"Portrait of Millen Brand"
By Nahum Tschacbasov
Located in Southampton, NY
Here for your consideration is a museum exhibited oil on canvas work by the Russian/American artist, Nahum Tschacbasov. Signed lower left and dated 1975. The border of this painting...
Category

1970s American Modern Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

"Sasha"
By Nahum Tschacbasov
Located in Southampton, NY
Portrait of the artist's daughter Sasha at 8 years old by the Russian/American artist, Nahum Tschacbasov. Oil on masonite on a wooden stretcher backing. Signed lower right and dated 1938. Sasha later was to become the second wife of the the writer, Saul Bellow. Condition is good with some wear to top left of painting. In original, unrestored condition. Unframed. Nahum Tschacbasov lived in New York City for most of his adult life, arriving in the United States as a young boy in 1907. His numerous one man shows included ACA gallery, Perls Gallery and John Heller...
Category

1930s Modern Portrait Paintings

Materials

Masonite, Oil

"Sasha"
$3,200 Sale Price
24% Off
“Child in White Dress”
By Mary Katherine Sands
Located in Southampton, NY
Circa 1890 Signed verso on stretcher bar Original period gold leaf frame Overall size framed 21 x 18 in
Category

Late 19th Century Post-Impressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

“Child in White Dress”
By Mary Katherine Sands
Located in Southampton, NY
Circa 1890 Signed verso on stretcher bar Original period gold leaf frame Overall size framed 21 x 18 in
Category

1890s Academic Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

“Country Girl”
Located in Southampton, NY
Here for your consideration is a wonderful expressive portrait of a blue eyed country girl by the American artist David Pallock. Signed top right and dat...
Category

1960s Post-Impressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

You May Also Like

Catalan peasant oil on canvas painting spanish
By Luis Graner Y Arrufi
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Oil mesures 36x23 cm. Frameless. Restored.
Category

1930s Modern Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Board, Oil

America impressionist portrait young boy 1937 Modern Figurative Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
A fantastic modern portrait of a young boy. This work is signed what appears to be Paul Sellers and dated 1937, but we have not found information on the artist. The work dated 1936...
Category

1930s American Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

Antique American Modernist Southern School Guitar Musician Framed Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique American modernist oil painting portrait. Oil on canvas board. Signed verso. Framed. Measuring 22 by 26 inches overall and 16 by 20 painting alone.
Category

1930s Modern Landscape Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

Antique American Impressionist Framed Young Woman Portrait Exhibited Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Very finely painted early 1900s American impressionist portrait painting by Alexander Oscar Levy (1881 - 1947). Oil on canvas, lain to board. In excellent original condition. Hand...
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Board

An Ideal Head of a Woman
By Alfred Henry Maurer
Located in Greenwich, CT
In the tradition of Modigliani, Maurer's depictions of women are expressive and lively. America had very few modernists who painted in this manner but Maurer is famous for exactly t...
Category

1920s American Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Gesso, Oil, Board

Portrait. On a yellow background 1950's, oil on cardboard, 49.5x35 cm
Located in Riga, LV
Portrait. On a yellow background 1950's, oil on cardboard, 49,5x35 cm Laimdots Murnieks has said: "I am a sunny artist. The sun and a woman are the center of the world. It is not ...
Category

1950s Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Cardboard

Recently Viewed

View All