American Realist Portrait Paintings

McLean's consummate skill as a portrait artist, graphic designer and master of composition is on full display in the complex narrative work. This work contains 41 portraits including those of Bette Midler, Jimi Hendrix, and Benny Goodman...

Tempera mixed with gum arabic and alcohol on Renaissance Panel "Robert Riggs was awarded the Gold Medal for Excellence by the New York Art Directors Club for ten consecutive years and received many additional awards." He was elected to the Society of Illustrators' Hall of Fame. His work is in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Philadelphia Museum of Fine Arts and the U.S. Library of Congress. Riggs's compositons are "monumental" Walt Reed Riggs was a Gay Artist...

High drama and fear is exressed on the faces of 5 kids as they anticipate the outcome a scary event. Signed lower left From the Estate of Charles Martignette. Most likey for the Sa...

There is a reason why there are few contemporary painters who can paint a portrait this good. It's hard to do. It's easy to throw some paint or spray a mess of graffiti on canvas. ...

Archivally Matted to 17.75 x 16.75 inches Signed lower left

Joseph Margulies (American, 1896-1984) Untitled (Portrait of a Girl), 20th Century Oil on canvas (or possibly linen?) 29 3/4 x 25 in. Framed: 33 3/4 x 26 x 1 1/2 in. Signed lower rig...

Post Office WPA Mural Study American Scene Social Realism Modern 20th Century Carlos Lopez (1910-1953) "Bounty" WPA Mural Study for Michigan Post Office 19 ½ x 22 ½ inches Oil on B...

As they take center stage, four acrobats are depicted, forming an architectural structure composed of contorted human bodies. The small gallery of onlookers displays a variety of ex...

James Ormsbee Chapin New Jersey 1887 – 1975 Toronto American Painter 'Lady in a Fur Waistcoat' Signature: Signed lower left and dated 1913 Medium: Oil on canvas Dimensions: Image size 100 x 75 cm, frame size 117 x 92 cm Biography: Chapin James Ormsbee, born on July 9, 1887, in West Orange, New Jersey, was a distinguished American painter and illustrator. His contributions to the art world left a lasting impact, and his legacy extended beyond the canvas into the realms of music and family connections. Chapin’s artistic journey began with formal education at Cooper Union and the Art Students League of New York. Seeking further inspiration, he continued his studies at the Royal Academy of Antwerp in Belgium. Early in his career, he garnered recognition by winning the Temple Gold Medal of the Pennsylvania Academy for his compelling portrayals of the Marvin Family. Notably, Chapin created a series of portraits in the 1920s featuring the Marvin family, a body of work that significantly influenced the early history of Regionalist art. His artistic prowess extended beyond portraiture, as evidenced by at least five cover art commissions for TIME magazine during what has been termed the golden age of TIME covers, spanning from 1942 to 1966. Chapin’s artistic creations found homes in the private collections of art enthusiasts and various prestigious institutions, including The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, The Phillips Collection, The Art Institute of Chicago, and The Harvard Art Museums, among others. In 1918, Chapin married Abby Beal Forbes in New York, and they welcomed a son named James Forbes Chapin, who later gained fame as a celebrated jazz drummer. This artistic lineage continued with James’s son, singer-songwriter Harry Chapin. Despite the initial union with Forbes, Chapin later divorced. During the late 1930s, while teaching in California, Chapin encountered Mary Fischer...

"Child Star" Mid Century Portrait of a Boy with Brown Eyes Oil on Canvas Stately portrait of a boy by William Robert Shulgold (Russian-American, 1897-1989). The subject is looking o...

Bernard Gussow 1881 -1957 Bernard Gussow was active/lived in New York, New Jersey / Russian Federation. Bernard Gussow is known for genre, landscape, figure, interior paintings. Ber...

What is she dreaming about? Something in the book that is open in front of her? And who are the other characters in this moody, quiet, lovely scene? Not only a wonderful painting, but really captures that WPA period feel. A pensive painting sure to bring you peace. With frame it measures 33" x 27"; canvas measures 30" x 24". Frame has some weathering (probably original) but is still serviceable. The following is some bio information about the artist I pulled from AskArt: "Born in Swerzen, Russia, Bernard Green came to the US at a young age and settled in the New York City area. He studied art at the National Academy of Design, the Art Students League, the College of the City of New York and NYU, exhibiting at the NAD as early as 1910, where he won a prize both in 1910 and 1913, as well as at the ASL, winning another prize in 1914. Highly accomplished both as painter and etcher, Green continued exhibiting at the NAD throughout the years 1913-1946, at the Pan-Pacific Exposition in California in 1915, and at various galleries and other venues including a solo show at the Roerich Museum in 1930. His style was early 20th-century American Impressionist, and his interests covered a wide range from landscapes and still life to portraiture, including black subjects...

Female artist Louise Lue Osborne paints a classic composition with an interaction of two women and a child soaked in golden late light. The figural gro...

Signed lower right: 'A.Brook '59'. Painted in Sag Harbor, Long Island in 1959. Adeline (Adaline) Glasheen was a writer. She was a friend of the artist and worked in literary circle...

"Unemployed" WPA American Scene Social Realism Mid 20th Century Modern William Gropper (1898 - 1977) Unemployed 20 x 16 inches Oil on canvas, 1937 Signed lower right Provenance: E...

Loti-kee-yah-tede, a Laguna woman who often posed in that same fringed costume and jewelry for photographer Carleton Moon is a Paul Surber acrylic painting on a board in an ornate gold frame from one of those photographs. Loti-kee-yah-tede, was the chief’s daughter of the Laguna Pueblo, when she was photographed wearing Ka-waik clothing with a belt and beaded necklaces by Carl Moon in about 1905. The Laguna Pueblo is located in the semi-arid lands west-central New Mexico, near Albuquerque. From 1905-1906, Moon had a short-lived partnership in Albuquerque with businessman Thomas F. Keleher, called the Moon-Keleher Studio. After the partnership dissolved, Moon continued working, photographing carefully selected Indian “subjects” in a romantic, posed style. His photographs began appearing in magazines and he exhibited at the Museum of Natural History in New York. President Theodore Roosevelt invited Moon to exhibit his Native American photographs...

Create a statement or focal piece for a room. This is a very stylized portrait of a woman dating to the 1940’s. She fills the canvas with her wholesome countenance, hair and period c...

Artist: Raphael Soyer (1899-1987) Title: Girl with Braided Hair Year: Circa 1987 Medium: Oil on canvas Size: 12 x 9 inches; framed size, 19 x 16 inches Condition: Excellent Inscripti...

Among the many accolades I would grant Dean Cornwell, the one that rises to the top would be that he is one of America's greatest portrait painters. With a few strokes, he captures h...

Work on canvas Plaster and gilded wood frame 114 x 95.4 x 10 cm

Prolific Saturday Evening Post Cover Illustrator Pearl L. Hill Worthington paints a stunning portrait of a Ballerina in a tutu with underlighting. She sits on a decorative Chinese ...

Saturday Evening Post Illustrator Thornton Utz captures the peak moment of action in this Noir Crime Drama, Shooting illustration on an interior page in the famed magazine in 1958 —...

Portrait of a Lady, c. 1900 Oil on canvas 36 x 28 1/2 in. Framed: 37 3/4 x 30 1/2 in.

The image of Wide Eyes defines Margaret Keane's signature style. However, not all of her work rises to a high level. This painting has punch and power tempered by sensitivity and com...

Charles E. Willette: 1899-1979. Listed American artist who studied at the Arts Student League in the 1930s with Raphael Soyer and Robert Brackman. This powerfully painted portrait of...

Mid-century female illustrator/artist Gladys Rockmore Davis paints a compelling portrait of a contemplative beauty who looks like Elizabeth Taylor. Frontal and lateral forces work together in this pyramidal composition. The sitter stares down at the viewer creating a frontal tension. Her hypnotic gaze is counterbalanced by the lateral movement of her crossed hands and triggers an emotional response. Gladys Rockmore Davis is both a work-for-hire illustrator and a fine artist- She was an illustrator for clients such as Upjohn, Munsingwear, Elgin Watches, and Johnson & Johnson. Davis had a show at the prestigious Midtown Gallery and Babcock Gallery in New York. She studied at the California School of Fine Arts, Art Institute of Chicago, and Art Students League. William R. French Gold Medal...

This painting features two children with big brown eyes peeking behind red-slatted shutters. The innocence on their faces contrasts with some sense of embarrassment, like if they had...

This dynamic painting is of a match between the world famous boxers Ingemar Johansson and Floyd Patterson. Having fought for the World Heavyweight Championship in 1959 with Johansson...

This brilliantly rendered female portrait by a major American post-war illustrator known for his stunningly glamorous women. Notice how all the elements of the composition work tog...

Leon Kroll (1884 - 1974) Portrait of a Woman, circa 1950 Oil on canvas 20 3/4 x 17 inches Signed lower left Provenance: Private Collection, New York Private Collection, North Caroli...

James Britton Gantt (1911 - 1984) Child in an American Landscape, 1940 Egg tempera on board 17 1/2 x 14 inches Signed and dated lower right Provenance: Private Collection, San Francisco Regarding this painting, the artist's daughter said, "The subject matter of your painting reflects my father's propensity for presenting minority figures with dignity, as well as an admiration for the contributions of hard-working people. The painting's background packs in details reminiscent of the technique he used working on mural projects." Painter, printmaker, muralist. Born in Lawrence, Douglas County, Kansas (some sources wrongly indicate Kansas City), the son of Euphemia Lane Fox Blackburn (1883 – 1929) and Charles Whittle Gantt (1881 – 1952). He was the grandson and namesake of Judge James Britton Grant (1845 – 1912), a former Chief justice of the Supreme Court of Missouri. His father, Charles, though trained as a lawyer, suffered from alcoholism and instead worked for the railroad. James Gantt...

Oil on panel painting by Lewis Lee Tilley (1921-2005) titled "Opera Matinee" from 1948. Image presents two women at an opera, one in pink leans over to the other in blue to whisper i...

Delicate and detailed portrait of Jesus by notable outlaw John Paul Chase (American, 1901-1973). Jesus is looking directly at the viewer with a piercing gaze, holding a glowing sacred heart in his left hand. The other hand is gesturing toward the viewer, palm up, and the stigmata can be seen on his palm. Jesus is wearing a red garment with a blue cloak, the traditional symbolic colors for humanity and the heavens. It appears that this piece was painted over a previous composition. Signed "John Paul Chase" in the lower right. Presented in a mahogany frame with an oval opening. Board size: 31"H x 24"W Oval opening is 28.75" x 22" at widest points John Paul Chase (December 26, 1901 – October 5, 1973) was an American bank robber and Depression-era outlaw, who also became an artist. John Paul Chase was born in San Francisco, California. He left grade school to work on a ranch and later became an assistant machinist in a railroad yard. In 1926, Chase was fired from the railroad and was hired as a chauffeur for a professional gambler in Reno, Nevada. He spent the next few years as a bootlegger in Sausalito, San Rafael and San Francisco but was not involved in major crime until his association with Baby Face Nelson in the early 1930s, possibly in March 1932. It is generally agreed among crime historians that Reno was the most likely place where the two first became partners, Nelson having connections in the local underworld and frequently hid out there while in Chicago and the general Midwest. On October 23, 1933, he and Nelson robbed their first bank together in Brainerd, Minnesota escaping with $32,000. Along the way, they picked up a number of other outlaws including Charles Fisher...

Estate stamp (on back, on original stretcher): Estate of/ Edmund Quincy/ 1903-1997 ///

Signed (lower right): Quincy

Wine Enologist Claude Wolf - Mid Century Portrait A stately mid-century portrait of Claude Wolf (1904-1973), a vintner Enologist by Abel George Warshawsky...

If there ever were a perfect work in the canon of art history, this masterpiece study by Dean Cornwell would be it. Every line has meaning and not a line out of place, as Cornwell d...

Antique Horse Painting "Sysonby"-Equestrian Painting Edward Herbert Miner (American, 1882-1941) Depicting the champion thoroughbred horse Sysonby (1902-1906) Oil on canvas, signed "E H Miner 1905" 24 x 32 inches Ex. Collection of Mr. & Mrs. Walter M Jeffords, a prominent Philadelphia lawyer and racehorse owner, at Sotheby's NY, 2004. Sysonby (1902–1906) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. He won every start easily, except one, at distances from one mile to two and a quarter miles. His superiority as a two and three-year-old was unchallenged during his short career of 15 race starts. Sysonby was regarded by many experts as the best horse to have raced in the United States between the Civil War and World War I. His sole loss in 15 starts came after he was doped by his groom as a bribe; even then, it took another member of the Hall of Fame, Artful, to beat him Foaled in Kentucky, Sysonby was a bay son of the 1885 Epsom Derby winner, Melton, out of the English mare Optime by Orme (by the undefeated Ormonde). The mating of Melton and Optime was arranged by Marcus Daly, who was involved with the Anaconda Copper Mine. Daly died before Optime, stabled in England, foaled. His stock, including the still pregnant Optime, was brought to New York to be auctioned. James R. Keene purchased Optime for $6,600, sending her to his Castleton Stud in Kentucky, which he rarely visited. Apparently Optime's foal, observed in his paddock, was anything but inspiring. Considered unattractive and small, as well as slow, young Sysonby was to be sent back to England for sale. But Keene's trainer, the well-regarded James G. Rowe, Sr., had seen Sysonby in action during some early trials. When it was time for the yearlings to be sent away, Rowe, a leading trainer who had once been a leading jockey (guiding Harry Bassett to his Saratoga Cup win amongst many other successes), covered Sysonby in blankets, convincing Keene he was too ill to make the long ocean journey. In the care of Rowe, Sysonby won everything Rowe entered him in by sizable margins, with the exception of the Futurity Stakes (USA), where he came in an unaccountable third, beaten by the filly Tradition and the filly Artful. Artful ranked 94th in the top 100 U.S. Thoroughbred champions of the 20th century by Blood-Horse magazine). Rowe saw Sysonby's groom exhibiting a large sum of money, and the groom admitted he'd been bribed to drug Sysonby before the race. If not drugged, nothing beat Sysonby. The turf writer Neil Newman ranked Sysonby as one of the three best colts he'd ever seen. The other two were Colin (also trained by Rowe) and Man o' War. Sysonby was the top money earner of 1905. Average winning margin was 4 ¼ lengths. Was ahead at every point of every race, except at the quarter call in the Brighton Junior Stakes, and in the stretch of the Futurity. Sysonby was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs, New York, in 1956. In the list of the top 100 U.S. Thoroughbred champions of the 20th Century by Blood-Horse magazine, he ranks 30th. Eighteen years after Sysonby's death, a December 11, 1924 Daily Racing Form article looking back on his racing career, called Sysonby "One of Greatest Race Horses in History of the American Turf". James Rowe, Sr. was also inducted posthumously into the Hall of Fame as a trainer. Provenance: Walter Morrison Jeffords Sr. (August 8, 1883 – September 28, 1960) was a successful Investment banker and owner/breeder of Thoroughbred racehorses who, in partnership with his wife's uncle, Samuel Riddle, purchased and operated Faraway Farm near Lexington Kentucky where they stood Man o' War. Jeffords is one of only five people to be named an Exemplar of Racing by the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. His former estate is now Ridley Creek...

Most likely for Redbook, Cosmopolitan, Collier's Weekly, Good Housekeeping or Macall's

A wonderful landscape reminiscent of the great American artist Camille Carrot done. The details are masterfully done with beautiful brush work and wonderfully rich and lush color pal...

The Board measures 13.5 x 12.5 Ernest Hamlin Baker is one of America's greatest artist that no one has ever heard of. Take a look at his full body of work. If you haven't noticed, Er...

Artist: Ruby Walker Usher – American (1889-1957) Title: Untitled Year: unknown, circa 1950 Medium: Watercolor on paper Size: 3 3/8 x 4 5/8 inches Framed size: 14.25 x 11.25 inches Si...

Complex and detailed epic scale history painting of an African tribal celebration with an on-looking king. The work has an abundant amount o...

Fletcher Martin (1904-1979). Darkness, 1940. Oil on canvas, 18 x 22 inches; 28.5 x 32.5 inches framed. Signed and dated lower left. Presented in a carved chestnut Heydenryk custom frame of the period. Excellent condition with no damage or conservation. Biography: Birth place: Palisade, CO Death place: Guanajuato, Mexico Addresses: NYC; Woodstock, NY, 1947 and after; Guanajuato, Mexico in 1976 Profession: Painter, lithographer, block printer, muralist, illustrator, teacher Studied: Stickney Mem. Sch. Art Exhibited: Hatfield Gal., Los Angeles, 1932 (solo); LACMA, 1935 ( Van Rensselaer Wilbur Prize), 1939 (prize), 1944; FAP, 1937 (prize); PAFA Ann., 1939-54 frequently (prize 1947); 48 States Comp., 1939 (prize); WMAA, 1940-57; AIC, 1940-45; VMFA, 1941; CI, 1942-44; MoMA, 1942; NAD, 1943, 1949 (Altman Prize); Corcoran Gal. biennials, 1943-53 (6 times); Roberson Mem. Center, Binghamton, NY, 1968 (retrospective); Eve Loring Gal., Cedarhurst, NY & Rudolph Gals., Woodstock, NY, 1970s Member: A.N.A., 1969; Woodstock AA (chmn., 1953-55); Calif. WC Soc.; Am. Artists Cong.; Fnd. of Western Art; AEA (nat. committee,1949-55). Work: MMA; WMAA; MoMA; LOC; Cranbrook Acad. Art; William Rockhill Nelson Gal., Kansas City, KS; LACMA; Denver Art Mus.; Mus. FA, Houston; SFMA; PAFA. Commissions: true fresco, WPA, Hollywood H.S., 1935; oil on canvas, U.S. Secretary Fine Art, Fed. Bldg., San Pedro, CA, 1937; oil on canvas, U.S. Secretary Fine Art, Post Office Bldg., Lamesa, TX, 1938; bas relief sculpture, U.S. Secretary Fine Art, County Court House, Bonner's Ferry, ID, 1939; oil on canvas, U.S. Secretary Fine Art, Post Office Bldg., Kellogg, ID, 1940. Comments: Preferred media: oils, watercolors, print media. Specialty: Western subjects. Illustrator: Tales of the Gold Rush, 1944; Mutiny on the Bounty, 1947; The Sea Wolf, 1961; The Jungle, 1965; Of Mice and Men...

There is a reason why there are few contemporary painters who can paint a portrait this good. It's hard to do. It's easy to throw some paint or spray a mess of graffiti on canvas. That's easy art. Executing a portrait with a great depth of anatomy and structure takes years of academic training. In Riggs's time, there were teachers who knew how to pass on this knowledge. He studied at the Art Students League and the Académie Julian . Today, they are very few and far between. Tempera mixed with gum arabic and alcohol on Renaissance Panel - Robert Riggs was a Gay Artist...

Oil on board Signed lower left Provenance: Everett Oehlschlaeger Galleries, Chicago, IL Exhibited: Everett Oehlschlaeger Galleries, Chicago, IL Ten portraits of plastic toys attach...

This is an original oil on velvet painting created c. 1942. Syd Cockell was an accomplished American illustrator during World War II.

Carol Aus: 1878-1934 Listed artist born in Norway and lived in Chicago. She studied in Paris at Julien Academy. She painted 7 covers for the Saturday Evening Post. She was also we...

Using brilliant compositional devices and late afternoon light, Frank McCarthy captures a man at the precise moment before death. The scene is staged wi...

An original painting by Harry McCormick from circa 1980. In an excellent gold frame. Artist: Harry McCormick, American (1942 - ) Title: Woman in Yellow Dress...

"Riggs openly identified as gay to his friends in the Philadelphia art community, but did not disclose his orientation to his employers." - Woodmere Art Museum Tempera mixed with gum arabic and alcohol on Renaissance Panel "Robert Riggs was awarded the Gold Medal for Excellence by the New York Art Directors Club for ten consecutive years and received many additional awards." He was elected to the Society of Illustrators' Hall of Fame. His work is in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Philadelphia Museum of Fine Arts and the U.S. Library of Congress. Riggs's compositons are "monumental" Walt Reed Riggs was a Gay Artist...

Signed lower left 'H. R. Williams' for Homer Ross Williams (American, 1901-1954), and painted circa 1925. Displayed in a substantial, incised and water-gilded frame of the period. Framed Size: 25 x 20 x 2 inches. A psychologically penetrating, early twentieth century, figural oil painting of a bearded young man...

Tempera mixed with gum arabic and alcohol on Renaissance Panel "Robert Riggs was awarded the Gold Medal for Excellence by the New York Art Directors Club for ten consecutive years and received many additional awards." He was elected to the Society of Illustrators' Hall of Fame. His work is in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Philadelphia Museum of Fine Arts and the U.S. Library of Congress. Riggs's compositons are "monumental" Walt Reed Riggs was a Gay Artist...

"Robert Riggs was awarded the Gold Medal for Excellence by the New York Art Directors Club for ten consecutive years and received many additional awards." He was elected to the Society of Illustrators' Hall of Fame. His work is in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Philadelphia Museum of Fine Arts and the U.S. Library of Congress. Riggs's compositons are "monumental" Walt Reed - work is unframed. - Riggs was a Gay Artist.

Complex and detailed epic scale history painting of an African tribal celebration with an on looking king. The work has an abundant amount o...

Realistic mid century portrait of a boy playing with an antique toy car by Ralph Joosten (American, 1928-2009). Signed "R. Joosten" in the lower left ...

Crockwell is as good as Rockwell. Many would agree with that statement including the editors of the Saturday Evening Post in which both artists were frequent contributors. In fact, ...

Charming hand painted photograph, portrait of a young ballerina as Tinker Bell by an unknown artist (American, 20th Century). Circa 1957. Signed "Studio d'Art Los Altos...