Early 20th Century Portrait Paintings

Male Portrait, Signed Gennaro Befanio (Naples, 1866 - Paris, 1937), Dated 1936 Male portrait in oil on canvas, signed in the upper left corner "G. Befanio" and dated 1936. Likely on...

A superb early 20th century French impressionist oil on canvas head and shoulders portrait of an African man wearing a yellow jacket. Excellent quality and condition work, with a pu...

Antique American impressionist seascape signed oil painting. Oil on canvas. Signed. Framed. Image size, 14L x 11H.

This is painting is from the School of Cusco depicting St. Michael the Archangel defeating the devil in battle. It is oil on canvas and is in very goo...

A stunning portrait of Mr John Gilbert. This original oil on canvas was painted by James Peter Quinn in 1929 and was exhibited at The Paris Salon of that year. A fine portrait, it is in excellent condition and framed in the original period frame. This is a fine painting by a noted Australian listed artist. Signed right. Provenance. Exhibited at the Paris salon 1929. Condition. Oil on canvas in very good condition, image size 40 inches by 30 inches. Housed in its original gallery frame, 47 by 37 inches framed. Excellent condition. James Peter Quinn (1869-1951) was born on 4 December 1869 at 60 Bourke Street, Melbourne. He was the third son of John Quinn, restaurant-keeper born in Antigua, West Indies, and his English wife Ann, née Long. Little is known of Quinn's childhood and early education; both parents died when he was young. His guardians apprenticed him to an engraver, but he undertook part-time studies at the school of design, National Gallery of Victoria, under Frederick McCubbin in 1887-89, and at the school of painting under George Folingsby and Bernard Hall in 1890-93. Awarded several student prizes, he won the gallery's travelling scholarship in 1893. Quinn went to London in 1894 but quickly left for Paris where he studied at the Académie Julian, at the Académie des Beaux-Arts under Jean Paul Laurens, and with Colarossi and Delécluse. He returned to London about 1902 and married fellow art-student Blanche Louise Guernier there on 29 September. By 1904 he had exhibited with the Royal Academy of Arts and went on to establish a reputation as a highly successful portrait painter. His finest and most sensitive work was produced before 1910. His family were the subjects of many paintings, including 'Mère et Fils', awarded an honourable mention at the Old Salon, Paris, in 1912. He also painted many self-portraits. His many commissioned works included portraits of Joseph Chamberlain, the Duchess of York and, later, the Duke of Windsor. In 1918-19 he was an official war artist with the Australian Imperial Force in France, and exhibited war paintings at the Grafton Galleries, London. In 1919, with George Coates he was an official artist to the Canadian War Records. He was a council-member of the London Portrait Society, and a member of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters and the Royal Institute of Oil Painters, exhibiting regularly with them and the Royal Academy, and in Paris with the Old and New salons. Quinn's sudden return to Australia in December 1935, alone, followed the death of his gifted artist-son René. He held exhibitions at the Fine Art Society's Gallery, Melbourne, in 1936 and the Royal South Australian Society of Arts Gallery next year. Quinn ostensibly returned as an acclaimed artist, was invited to rejoin the Victorian Artists' Society he had joined first in 1888, and was its president (but for one year) in 1937-50. Yet a coolness existed. Though he had little in common with the modernist painters of the period, his commitment to a tolerant brotherhood of artists found no allies among the aggressively conservative old guard. In 1937 he clashed publicly with (Sir) Robert Menzies who in opening a V.A.S. exhibition denigrated modern art. In spite of the affection felt for him by many artists and students, Quinn was somewhat isolated. He continued to exhibit, winning the Crouch prize, Ballarat Fine Art Gallery, in 1941. In the mid-1940s he taught briefly at the National Gallery school. A lover of good food, wine and conversation, Quinn delighted in mixing with all classes. Frequenting the haunts of journalists, writers and the more Bohemian fringe, he was easily recognizable with his bow tie, grey curly hair and cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth. Survived by one son, he died of cancer on 18 February 1951 at Prahran and was buried in St Kilda cemetery. His war portraits are held by the Australian War...

One of the Crew by David W. Haddon (British early 20th century) signed oil on board , framed framed: 18 x 14 inches board: 15 x 12 inches provenance: private collection, England cond...

Artist: David Alfaro Siqueiros (1896-1974) Mexican Title: Emiliano Zapata Medium: Pyroxylin on Wood Panel, Signed Lower Right Size: Unframed 35” x 49”,...

This early 20th-century portrait of a Polo Pony by the esteemed English artist George Paice is an exquisite representation of equine artistry, showcasing Paice’s remarkable skill in ...

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...

4096 A 1920's oil painting on canvas of an elegant southern lady .Artist unknown. Unframed

MANE-KATZ RABBIS, c. 1935 Oil on canvas 18 H. x 14 W. 1/2 in. (45.5 x 35.8 cm.) Signed PROVENANCE Dominion Gallery, Montreal Christies, New York, November 04, 1982. Lot 177: $11,000 Private Collection, New Jersey, 1982-2021 Estate of the above, 2021. Raised in an orthodox Jewish family in Russia, Mane-Katz was born in the Ukraine and became an early 20th-century artist, known especially for portraits and paintings with Jewish themes. From childhood, he had been influenced by stories of Jewish mysticism, which was reflected in his paintings. He had a peripatetic life between Russia, France, Israel, and America. He first studied art in Kiev at the Beaux Arts Academy, and in 1913, went to Paris where he associated with Chaim Soutine and Marc Chagall and continued his art studies there at the Beaux Arts Academy. During World War I, he tried to join the Foreign Legion but was rejected because he was too short. He went back in Russia again, this time joining the Soviet Revolution but rejected the cause because he was so horrified by Josef Stalin. He worked briefly for the Russian ballets, and in 1921, he returned to Paris where in 1927 he took French citizenship. For the next twelve years, he traveled widely, showing his art work and doing many paintings. In 1939, as World War II was breaking out, he was drafted by the French and then was taken prisoner by the Germans. He escaped and went to the United States and remained there until 1945, exhibiting his paintings at Katia Granoff Gallery and Wildenstein Gallery. After the war, he returned to Paris where he had exhibited in the Salons. In Paris to the end of his career, he worked happily, painting hundreds of portraits of rabbis...

Agnes Louise Agnete Jensen Weie (Danish, 1878-1964) and painted circa 1911. Provenance: ABR auction 170, 1964, catalog #83, 1964 (see photo); Inscribed, verso, '83/170' from auction ...

A stunning portrait oil painting of Violet Ann Gilbert which was painted by James Peter Quinn in 1929 and was exhibited at The Paris Salon of that year. A beautiful portrait of a young woman from the nineteen twenties. In excellent condition and framed in the original period frame. This is a fine painting by a noted listed artist and a great example of an early 20th century portrait painting. Signed lower left. Provenance. Exhibited at the Paris Salon 1929, labels verso. Condition. Oil on canvas in excellent condition, image size 40 inches by 30 inches. Housed in its original gallery frame, framed size is 47 by 37 inches. Excellent condition. James Peter Quinn (1869-1951) was born on 4 December 1869 at 60 Bourke Street, Melbourne, third son of John Quinn, restaurant-keeper born in Antigua, West Indies, and his English wife Ann, née Long. Little is known of Quinn's childhood and early education; both parents died when he was young. His guardians apprenticed him to an engraver, but he undertook part-time studies at the school of design, National Gallery of Victoria, under Frederick McCubbin in 1887-89, and at the school of painting under George Folingsby and Bernard Hall in 1890-93. Awarded several student prizes, he won the gallery's travelling scholarship in 1893. Quinn went to London in 1894 but quickly left for Paris where he studied at the Académie Julian, at the Académie des Beaux-Arts under Jean Paul Laurens, and with Colarossi and Delécluse. He returned to London about 1902 and married fellow art-student Blanche Louise Guernier there on 29 September. By 1904 he had exhibited with the Royal Academy of Arts and went on to establish a reputation as a highly successful portrait painter. His finest and most sensitive work was produced before 1910. His family were the subjects of many paintings, including 'Mère et Fils', awarded an honourable mention at the Old Salon, Paris, in 1912. He also painted many self-portraits. His many commissioned works included portraits of Joseph Chamberlain, the Duchess of York and, later, the Duke of Windsor. In 1918-19 he was an official war artist with the Australian Imperial Force in France, and exhibited war paintings at the Grafton Galleries, London. In 1919, with George Coates, he was an official artist to the Canadian War Records. He was a council-member of the London Portrait Society, and a member of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters and the Royal Institute of Oil Painters, exhibiting regularly with them and the Royal Academy, and in Paris with the Old and New salons. Quinn's sudden return to Australia in December 1935, alone, followed the death of his gifted artist-son René. He held exhibitions at the Fine Art Society's Gallery, Melbourne, in 1936 and the Royal South Australian Society of Arts Gallery the next year. Quinn ostensibly returned as an acclaimed artist, was invited to rejoin the Victorian Artists' Society he had joined first in 1888, and was its president (but for one year) in 1937-50. Yet a coolness existed. Though he had little in common with the modernist painters of the period, his commitment to a tolerant brotherhood of artists found no allies among the aggressively conservative old guard. In 1937 he clashed publicly with (Sir) Robert Menzies who in opening a V.A.S. exhibition denigrated modern art. In spite of the affection felt for him by many artists and students, Quinn was somewhat isolated. He continued to exhibit, winning the Crouch prize, Ballarat Fine Art Gallery, in 1941. In the mid-1940s he taught briefly at the National Gallery school. A lover of good food, wine and conversation, Quinn delighted in mixing with all classes. Frequenting the haunts of journalists, writers and the more Bohemian fringe, he was easily recognizable with his bow tie, grey curly hair and cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth. Survived by one son, he died of cancer on 18 February 1951 at Prahran and was buried in St Kilda cemetery. His war portraits are held by the Australian War...

'Reclining Nude', oil on canvas, by Guillaume Dulac (circa 1920s). A sensuous portrayal by the artist of a young woman reclining on a divan draped with cloth. Inspired perhaps from Ingres' (1780-1867) classic, La Grande Odalisque...

"Micky" by John Young-Hunter (British 1874-1955) signed and dated 1920 oil on canvas, unframed canvas: 50 x 31 inches provenance: private collection, UK condition: very good and soun...

Portrait Of A Bride, circa 1900 circle of George CLAUSEN (1852-1944) Circa 1900 Impressionist portrait of a young bride with a French landscape b...

Lord Nelson British artist, signed and dated lower corner signed oil on canvas, framed dated 1918 framed: 31 x 37.5 inches canvas: 22 x 30 inches provenance: private collection, Engl...

In elegant clothing and a pompous hat, the lady looks out from the side of the picture. The narrow neckline and the sideways positioning create a strict and controlled impression. Th...

Helene Marie Margueite Perdriat (French, 1894-1969) Signed: Helene Perdriat (Lower, Right) " The Catch ", c. 1920 Oil on Canvas 39 1/2" x 32" Housed in a 3" Stepped Frame Over...

Friedrich August Seitz (1902 Staffort - 1944 Belgrade). Half-length portrait of an elderly man with a beard. Oil on canvas, 42 x 34 cm (visible seize), 58 x 50 cm (frame), signed and...

This delightful turn of the century (early 20th century) oil on canvas painting represents an Italian landscape with one of the most famous squares in the world: Piazza San Marco in ...

Merton Grenhagen (American, 1878-1941) Signed: Merton Grenhagen (Lower, Left) " Portrait of Bethy at 4 ", 1927 (Study of Elizabeth Wallen) Oil on Canvas 35" x 29" Housed in a 5"...

Signed and dated oil on canvas portrait by post impressionist painter Maximilien Luce. The painting is of the artist's wife, Ambroisine "Simone" Bouin, seated in a chair with a vase ...

Eduardo León GARRIDO (French, Madrid 1856-1949 Caen) Picture Size: 16 x 13" (41 x 33cm) Outside Frame Size: 22 x 19" (56 x 48cm) Eduardo León Garrido was born in Madrid in 1856. He...

Portrait Blue Miles Davis Portrait of the famous Miles Davis Technique: oil, acrylics and ink on canvas 73x60cm ■■ 28,7x23,6inch ⏩》R E A D Y -- T O -- H A N G《⏪ 🟢 → Original ...

Work on canvas Golden wooden frame 81 x 68 x 3 cm Woman with a chef's hat This striking portrait, typical of Expressionism, depicts a woman in an introspective pose. Vigorous brushst...

This stunning Scottish 1920's self portrait oil painting is by noted Scottish female artist Helen Mackenzie. Painted circa 1929 the composition is the head and shoulders of the artis...

3933 Antique oil on canvas in an ornate period frame Image size 16.5x11"

Oil painting on panel portrait of an American eskimo dog 20Th c. The American Eskimo Dog is a breed of companion dog, originating in Germany. The American Eskimo Dog is a member of ...

Signed lower left "G. Brisgard" (Gustave Joseph Marie Brisgand, 1867 - 1944). This stunning portrait of a supposedly young movie star captures the essence of old school glamor in the film industry (perhaps old Hollywood...). Dressed in a beautiful stage gown, she holds an intricately patterned box close to her heart. What treasures could be inside? Perhaps precious jewelry or heartfelt letters from a special someone. Who knows... One thing is certain, this box holds great value to her. In 1993, this painting was entitled “Le Secret”, it was masterly executed in early 20th century in the manner of Pre-Raphaelites with strong flavor of Art Nouveau though. Size app.: 71 x 52.5 cm (roughly 28 x 20.7 in), frame is 94.5 x 75.5 cm (roughly 37.2 x 29.7 in). Appears to be in very good pristine condition with minimal wear to painting (slight discoloration by spots), ready to hang. Please study good resolution images for cosmetic condition. In person actual painting may appear darker or brighter than in our pictures, strictly depending on sufficient light in your environment. Weight of app. 3.6 kg is going to measure 7 kg packed for shipment. Brisgand's, french painter and pastellist. An academic painter, he specialized in portraits of women (pinups) and female nudes. He was the student of Auguste Allongé...

Sweet and large oil painting "Sisterly love" signed and dated 1902 by August Algermissen The present painting depicts two sisters seated in an interior, the youngest is gleefully lo...

Wonderful antique portrait of a charming young girl c.1910 The painting is created with oils on board. Dimensions 8" x 11.5". The frame measures 13" x 16.5". The painting is in go...

This gorgeous exhibited Scottish Impressionist portrait oil painting is by noted artist Robert McGregor. It was painted in 1918 and exhibited at the Royal Scottish Academy the same y...

This exquisite genre painting showcases a darling slice of life for a young woman in the Belle Epoque era. Dressed in a frilly frock made of detailed lace, and wearing a v shaped pin...

Jerusalem is an original old master artwork realized by Ludwig Viktor Krämer (1861-1949) in 1900. Oil on Canvas, Includes frame 98 x 145 cm Hand signed by the artist and dated 19...

Dame Ethel Walker DBE ARA (1861-1951) Young Man in a Red Tie Oil on canvas 51 x 40.6 cm.; (within frame) 70 x 59.7 cm. Provenance: The Lefevre Gallery, London, stock number X890; Christie’s, London, Modern British Pictures, Watercolours, Drawings and Sculpture, 12 September 1996, lot 58; Bonhams, London, Modern British and Irish Art, 23 November 2022, lot 177; Private Collection, United Kingdom. This focussed composition is dominated by a handsome young man in profile, frowning with a concentrated glare. His slender cheeks meet a jaw brushed with a masculine grey, complimented by the blue of a flower or pocket square, and the shadow of a loose strand of oiled hair that rests across his forehead. The stylistic sophistication shows Walker at her best, ambitiously combining measured figuration with expressive abstraction, as delicious dashes of pigment appear still wet, and dissonant swipes energetically mark the surface of the canvas. With an elegance that borders on the effete, the sitter’s urbane style includes a spearpoint collar, framed by the wide lapels of his suit jacket. Most significantly, the young man’s dandyish fashion is augmented by the conspicuous titular red tie which he wears – an established expression of queerness in the 20th century. Painted by the lesbian artist Dame Ethel Walker, it is likely that the portrait is that of a gay man belonging to London’s queer artistic circles. Indeed, Walker’s male sitters (who constitute but a fraction of her output) are typically conceived as modish, and often wear striking colourful ties. Walker was one of the earliest lesbian artists to overtly explore her sexuality in her works, and an aesthetic fascination with the female form culminated with her glorious large-scale ‘decorations’, exemplified by Decoration: The Excursion of Nausicaa (Tate, N03885). Red neckties had been established in the 20th century as a coded (though appropriately colourful) expression of queerness, not dissimilar to the green carnation of the Wildean aesthetes. The gay writer and musician Mikhail Kuzmin was painted in 1909 in a stark red tie. Two decades later, the Anglo-French physician Havelock Ellis described the red necktie as an emblem amongst queer New Yorkers: ‘[…] there has been a fashion for a red tie to be adopted by inverts [homosexuals] as their badge’ (Ellis, p. 299). The motif permeated fiction, and in Thomas Mann’s 1912 novel Death In Venice, the protagonist Gustav von Aschenbach begins to wear a red necktie after he develops an infatuation with a beautiful young boy staying at his hotel. William Faulkner’s 1929 novel The Sound and the Fury includes an unnamed male character identified throughout by his distinctive red necktie, which is the subject of veiled insinuations against his masculinity. Walker must surely have been familiar with this symbolic importance when she executed the present portrait. Her few portraits of male sitters include colourful neckties almost exclusively, and include numerous examples of red neckties. Indeed, the artist herself preferred to wear a red tie, a declaration which so impressed itself on Virginia Woolf that she noted it in a diary entry after tea with Walker (Bell, p. 282). Walker, who painted Woolf’s sister Vanessa Bell, had once offered to paint Woolf in the nude, as Lilith. Around the same time, Augustus John painted the gay peer Evan Morgan, 2nd Viscount Tredegar, in a loose red necktie or neck scarf. The portrait passed through the Lefevre Gallery, which also represented Walker, and which inventoried the present work. While the sartorial choice may have been incidental, a colourful accessory chosen to enliven the portrait, its prominent inclusion would suggest a personal significance to Walker, the recognition of a shared experience between artist and subject. Dame Ethel Walker was hailed as a leading female artist of her generation, and as late as 2010 was one of only four women artists to have been honoured as a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire. Walker was born in Edinburgh in 1861 to the botanist Arthur Abney Walker, a descendent of the Walker family of iron industrialists, whose estates included Clifton House (Rotherham) and Blythe Hall (Nottinghamshire). She attended school in London after the family moved to Wimbledon, and in 1880 met the fellow artist Clara Christian, with whom she would form an important personal and professional bond. The women’s relationship was later allegorised by the writer George Moore as that of Stella (Christian) and Florence (Walker) in his fictionalised three-volume memoir Hail and Farewell. Walker went on to Putney School of Art and Westminster School of Art, and studied under Frederick Brown, who became a lifelong mentor. Around 1893 Walker took further study at the Slade School of Art, partly under Walter Sickert, and returned in 1912, 1916, and 1921. Although Walker enjoyed painting floral still lifes and seascapes, her best work was portraiture. She worked from her studio at 38 Cheyne Walk for most of her career, and enjoyed a prominent role in London’s artistic milieu. Her sitters included the artists Lucien Pissarro, Orovida Camille Pissarro, Vanessa Bell, and Barbara Hepworth; she painted Nancy Astor, the Countess of Strathcona, the editor Joan Werner Laurie, and author Leo Walmsley. The actors Flora Robson and Elsa Lanchester sat for Walker, as did the young Christopher Robin Milne. Walker herself was photographed by the bisexual photographer and painter Humphrey Spender...

A beautiful 1920's French or possibly German post-impressionist oil on canvas portrait of a fisherman. Excellent quality work painted with quick, sketchy brush strokes against a mott...

Jean La Forgue (French 1901-1975) oil on unstretched canvas, unframed painting: 20 x 16.75 inches provenance: the artists estate, France condition: the painting is on unstretched can...

Nude Model Reading a Book French School, Early 20th Century Oil painting on canvas, unframed Canvas size: 17.5 x 14.75 inches This exquisite nude painting is absolutely beautiful. The pale green backdrop to the painting has faint coral pink flecks...

Portrait of an Elegant Lady in a Red Gown David Junes (French 1874-1938) signed oil on canvas, unframed Canvas : 25 x 14 inches Provenance: private collection, the South of France C...

Oil on canvas by Charles PICART LE DOUX (1881-1959), France, 1924. The Italian girl. Very beautiful work where post-impressionism embellished with a few cubist touches form a harmoni...

Sandor Vago (Hungarian/American 1887-1946) The Chinese Girl, 1925 Oil on canvas Signed lower right 34 x 30 inches 38 x 34 inches, framed Exhibited: Clevela...

Portrait of a Child European School, early 20th century oil on canvas, framed frame: 21 x 18 inches canvas: 15 x 12 inches provenance: private collection, England condition: extensiv...

4070 French oil painting Lady in Waiting by Alfreda Klebe

1920s portrait in oil of a lady of quality by Paul Hercule Hogg. The painting is signed bottom right and is resigned and annotated to the back of the panel. The painting has been var...

Louis Betts The Guitarist, circa 1920 Signed upper left Oil on canvas 27 x 18 inches Louis L. Betts was a painter active in the first half of the twentieth century in the United St...

Portrait of J. Knowles inscribed and dated to label verso oil on canvas, framed in hand painted elaborate frame framed: 25 x 22 inches canvas: 22 x 1...

This superb British musical portrait oil painting is by noted Welsh artist Carey Morris. Painted circa 1925, it is a seated portrait of a white haired gentleman with a large beard, p...

This lovely British Edwardian portrait oil painting is by noted Liverpool artist Robert Edward Morrison. Born on the Isle of Man, Morrison moved to Liv...

Beautiful circular oil on canvas representing the portrait of a Noblewoman dressed in Art Nouveau Style. It includes a contemporary black wooden frame. Very good conditions.

Oil on canvas sold with frame Total size with frame 89x102 cm Hannes FRITZ-MÜNCHEN is an artist born in 1886 and died in 1981

This striking British Edwardian portrait oil painting is by artist Shirley Slocombe. He painted it in 1901 and it is signed and dated lower right. The composition is a bust length po...

Artist/ School: French School early 20th century, signed 'Guy Rose' to the lower left corner. Title: Couple in a rowing boat on a lake within a landscape; v...

Gabrielle Rainer Istvanffy was a Hungarian painter of animal paintings. Her chosen subjects were mostly dogs and cats and mostly white and off-white breeds. This piece is a very pretty and cute painting...

French North African early 20th-century Impressionist, Fishermen coming ashore with their daily catch. André Humbert was born in Paris on the 27th of November. He was a student of t...

American artist Henry R Rittenberg painted this lovely 1920's Art Deco portrait oil painting. The painting is a standing half length portrait of a lady in a black coat with a white fur collar over a red dress and long beads. She has an elegant 1920's short bob hair style and a confident expression. The strong brushwork and range of tones within one colour are superb. A really striking Art Deco portrait oil painting. Signed upper left. Provenance. Dorset estate. Condition. Oil on canvas, 30 inches by 25 inches and in good condition. Frame. Housed in a fine James Bourlet panel silvered frame, 40 inches by 35 inches and in good condition. Henry R Rittenberg (1879-1969) was born in Libau, Latvia and later immigrated to the United States. He studied art at the Bavarian Academy in Germany, and by 1906, was in Philadelphia, where he attended the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art. Rittenberg painted landscapes and still lifes, yet his forte was portraiture. The artist was commissioned to paint a number of portraits of American dignitaries including Attorney General Homer Stille Cummings and a group portrait of President Harry S...

Ora Coltman (American, 1858-1940) Portrait of De Forest Mellon, 1922 Oil on canvas 30 x 25 inches 35.5 x 30.25 inches, framed Ora Coltman was born in 1858 in Shelby, Ohio, but spent...

Artist Edward Cucuel and his wife Clara Lotte von Marcard spent their first two decades together in Germany, mostly in a villa on Lake Ammersee in Holzhausen near Munich. It is the works created in this period, mainly outdoor scenes of young women in fashionable attire of the day, that are most collected and appreciated among his works. It’s easy to see why- they capture an elegance and sense of calm and easy leisure- of long days in gardens or by the water.  This is one of those captured moments with a well-dressed woman watching the sailing yacht...