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Expressionist Portrait Paintings

EXPRESSIONIST STYLE

While “expressionist” is used to describe any art that avoids naturalism and instead employs a bold use of flattened forms and intense brushwork, Expressionist art formally describes early-20th-century work from Europe that drew on Symbolism and confronted issues such as urbanization and capitalism. Expressionist artists experimented in paintings and prints with skewed perspectives, abstraction and unconventional, bright colors to portray how isolating and anxious the world felt rather than how it appeared. 

Between 1905 and 1920, Austrian and German artists, in particular, were inspired by Postimpressionists such as Paul Gauguin and Vincent van Gogh in their efforts to strive for a new authenticity in their work. In its geometric patterns and decorative details, Expressionist art was also marked by eclectic sources like German and Russian folk art as well as tribal art from Africa and Oceania, which the movement’s practitioners witnessed at museums and world’s fairs.

Groups of artists came together to share and promote the themes now associated with Expressionism, such as Die Brücke (The Bridge) in Dresden, which included Erich Heckel, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner and Karl Schmidt-Rottluff and investigated alienation and the dissolution of society in vivid color. In Munich, Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider), a group led by Wassily Kandinsky and Franz Marc, instilled Expressionism with a search for spiritual truths. In his iconic painting The Scream, prolific Norwegian painter Edvard Munch conveyed emotional turmoil through his depiction of environmental elements, such as the threatening sky.

Expressionism shifted around the outbreak of World War I, with artists using more elements of the grotesque in reaction to the escalation of unrest and violence. Printmaking was especially popular, as it allowed artists to widely disseminate works that grappled with social and political issues amid this time of upheaval. Although the art movement ended with the rise of Nazi Germany, where Expressionist creators were labeled “degenerate,” the radical ideas of these artists would influence Neo-Expressionism that emerged in the late 1970s with painters like Jean-Michel Basquiat and Francesco Clemente.

​​Find a collection of authentic Expressionist paintings, sculptures, prints and more art on 1stDibs.

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Style: Expressionist
Large Figurative Expressionist Oil Painting Rediscovered New York City Artist
Located in Surfside, FL
Jonah Kinigstein (b. 1923) is an American Postwar & Contemporary painter. He works in a figurative expressionist style. His works are featured in the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the National Academy of Design, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York. He lives in New York City. Jonah Kinigstein was trained at Cooper Union Art School, The Grande Chaumiere in Paris; and Belle Arte in Rome. He has been a Fulbright Fellow. He has holdings at MOMA, the Ain Herod Museum in Tel Aviv; Smithsonian; the Albright-Knox Gallery and the Nelson Gallery of Art. He lived and worked in Brooklyn New York. Kinigstein was inducted as an Academician into the National Academy of Design in 1997. Exhibits include: Young Americans at the Whitney Museum of American Art; the National Academy of Arts and Letters; ACA Gallery; Rittenhouse Gallery; the Washington Irving Gallery; and the Pindar Gallery. Contemporary American Painting and Sculpture (CAPS) '59, University of Illinois, Arthur Okamura, Fred Farr, Jonah Kinigstein, Lawrence Calcagno, Reuben Tam...
Category

20th Century Expressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

John Begg Jr., Expressionist Portrait by Joseph Solman
Located in Long Island City, NY
In the mid-1960s Joseph Solman (American, 1909 - 2008) was commissioned to create portraits of the Begg family. This is a portrait of John Begg Jr., the son of the mid-century nuclear family...
Category

1960s Expressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Masonite, Oil

Modernist Orchestra Musical Gouache Painting Boston Expressionist
Located in Surfside, FL
Very vibrant, dynamic orchestra scene reminiscent of the work of Mopp (Max Oppenheim) David Aronson, (1923-2015) son of a rabbi, was born in Lithuania in 1923 and immigrated to America at the age of five. He settled in Boston, Massachusetts where he studied at the school of the Museum of Fine Arts under Karl Zerbe, a German painter well known in the early 1900s. Aronson later taught at the school of the Museum of Fine Arts for fourteen years and founded the School of Fine Art at Boston University where he is today a professor emeritus. An internationally renowned sculptor & painter, Aronson has won acclaim for his interpretation of themes from the Hebrew Talmud and Kabala. His best known works include bronze castings, encaustic paintings, and pastels. His work is included in many important public and private collections, and has been shown in several museum retrospectives around the country. He is considered to be one of the most important 20th century American artists. At twenty-two David Aronson had his first one-man show at New York's Niveau Gallery. The next year, six of his Christological paintings were included in the Fourteen Americans exhibition at Manhattan's Museum of Modern Art where Aronson’s work was included alongside abstract expressionists Arshile Gorky, Robert Motherwell and Isamu Noguchi. In the 1950s, Aronson turned more toward his Jewish heritage for the inspiration for his art. Folklore as well as Kabalistic and other transcendental writings influenced his work greatly. The Golem (a legendary figure, brought to life by the Maharal of Prague out of clay to protect the Jewish community during times of persecution) and the Dybbuk (an evil spirit that lodges itself in the soul of a living person until exorcised) frequently appear in his work. In the sixties, Aronson turned to sculpture. His work during this period is best exemplified by a magnificent 8’ x 4’ bronze door which now stands at the entrance to Frank Lloyd Wright's Johnson Foundation Conference Center for the Arts in Racine, Wisconsin. In the seventies and eighties, Aronson continued his work in pastel drawings, paintings, and sculptures, often exploring religion and the frailties of man's nature. During this time, in addition to a traveling retrospective exhibition and many one-man shows in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Boston at the Pucker-Safrai Gallery on Newbury Street, Aronson won many awards and became a member of the National Academy of Design in New York. Two years ago he retired from teaching to work full-time in his studio in Sudbury, Massachusetts. included in the catalog Contemporary Religious Imagery in American Art Catalog for an exhibition held at the Ringling Museum of Art, March 1-31, 1974. Artists represented: David Aronson, Leonard Baskin, Max Beckmann, Hyman Bloom, Fernando Botero, Paul Cadmus, Marvin Cherney, Arthur G. Dove, Philip Evergood, Adolph Gottlieb, Jonah Kinigstein, Rico Lebrun, Jack Levine, Louise Nevelson, Barnett Newman, Abraham Rattner, Ben Shahn, Mark Tobey, Max Weber, William Zorach and others. Selected Awards 1990, Certificate of Merit, National Academy of Design 1976, Purchase Prize, National Academy of Design 1976, Joseph Isidore Gold Medal, National Academy of Design 1976, Purchase Prize in Drawing, Albrecht Art Museum 1975, Isaac N. Maynard Prize for Painting, National Academy of Design 1973, Samuel F. B. Morse Gold Medal, National Academy of Design 1967, Purchase Prize, National Academy of Fine Arts 1967, Adolph and Clara Obrig Prize, National Academy of Design 1963, Gold Medal, Art Directors Club of Philadelphia 1961, 62, 63, Purchase Prize, National Institute of Arts and Letters 1960, John Siimon Guggenheim Fellowship 1958, Grant in Art, National Institute of Arts and Letters 1954, First Prize, Tupperware Annual Art Fund Award 1954, Grand Prize, Third Annual Boston Arts Festival 1953, Second Prize, Second Annual Boston Arts Festival 1952, Grand Prize, First Annual Boston Arts Festival 1946, Traveling Fellowship, School of the Museum of Fine Arts 1946, Purchase Prize, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts 1944, First Popular Prize, Institute of Contemporary Art 1944, First Judge's Prize, Institute of Contemporary Art Selected Public Collections Art Institute of Chicago Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Bryn Mawr College Brandeis University Tupperware Museum, Orlando, Florida DeCordova Museum Museum of Modern Art Print Collection, New York Atlanta University Atlanta Art...
Category

20th Century Expressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Gouache, Board

Portrait of a Gentleman, Large Modernist Oil Painting
Located in Surfside, FL
BENJAMIN KOPMAN (1887 - 1965) Painter, Illustrator and printmaker Benjamin Kopman was born in Vitebsk, Russia and emigrated to the United States with his family in 1903. It was a cen...
Category

Mid-20th Century Expressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Celebrate Life 9
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
Shipping Procedure FREE Shipping Worldwide Ships in a well-protected tube from Nigeria This work is unique, not a print or other type of copy. Accompanied by a Certificate of Authent...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Woman portrait. 1955, oil on canvas, 50.5 x 40.6 cm
Located in Riga, LV
Woman portrait. 1955, oil on canvas, 50.5 x 40.6 cm Provenance Bonhams
Category

1950s Expressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Mother, Oil Painting by Chaim Goldberg
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Chaim Goldberg, Israeli (1917-2004) Title: Mother Medium: Oil on Canvas, signed in English lower left and Hebrew lower right Size: 24 x 20 inche...
Category

1970s Expressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Boy Waiting, Portrait of a Young Man by Philadelphia Artist
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

1957 Vintage Mid Century Modern Portrait Oil Painting - Behind the Mask
Located in Bristol, GB
BEHIND THE MASK Size: 43 x 35 cm (including frame) Oil on board A bold and enigmatic mid-century figurative portrait, executed in oil onto board and dated 1957. The composition dep...
Category

Mid-20th Century Expressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

John Begg Sr., Expressionist Portrait by Joseph Solman
Located in Long Island City, NY
In the mid-1960s Joseph Solman (American, 1909 - 2008) was commissioned to create portraits of the Begg family. This is a portrait of John Begg Sr., the patriarch of the mid-century ...
Category

1960s Expressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Girls at the Gate, Oil Painting by Wellington Virgolino de Sousa
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Wellington Virgolino de Sousa, Brazilian (1929 - 1988) Title: Meninas No Portao (Girls at the Gate) Year: 1974 Medium: Oil on board, signed lower Size...
Category

1970s Expressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

'Father' Portrait Oil On Canvas by Duan Zhaonan
Located in Carmel, CA
Artist Duan Z. Born in 1955 in Yunnan, renowned Chinese Opera Figure Painter, Educator, Playwright, and Producer. Mr. Duan serves as Director of the Chinese Dramatic Literature Soci...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

‘Cleansing Actress Series No. 5’ Diptych Portrait Oil On Canvas By Duan
Located in Carmel, CA
Artist Duan Z. was Born in 1955 in Yunnan, China, and is a renowned Chinese Opera Figure Painter, Educator, Playwright, and Producer. Mr. Duan serves as Director of the Chinese Dramatic Literature Society and Chairman of the American Chinese Culture Artists Association. Since 1986, Mr. Duan has been written about in more than twenty regular columns under the title “Duan’s Opera Figure Painting Column” on Chinese Newspapers and Magazines in the US and China. He has published thousands of Opera Figurative paintings. He has been featured in more than two hundred reports and interviews from television, radio, newspapers, and magazines such as American Art Collector and British Art Review. His work is collected by civic institutions, and private patrons across the United States, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and National Level Museums in China. 'Cleansing Actress Series No. 5' by Duan is a captivating diptych-style portrait that transcends time and tradition. This remarkable artwork pays homage to the beauty and mystique of old Chinese artistic styles while introducing a modern twist. In this piece, the enigmatic woman emerges as if from a bygone era, her visage a blend of art and theatricality. The striking contrast of black and white imbues her portrait with an air of timelessness, while hints of vibrant orange and fiery red add a contemporary touch. Adjacent to her, an old Chinese vase...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Expressionistic Portrait, "Dreaming"
Located in San Diego, CA
This is a one of a kind original expressionistic painting by San Diego artist Stefan Talian. Its dimensions are 40" x 40" x 1.5". It is unfra...
Category

2010s Expressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Elderly Rabbi 20th Century Judaica Portrait
Located in Surfside, FL
The artist depicts the portrait of an older Rabbi from a profile view in the manner of Samuel Rothbort. The artist's brush work is expressive, while the subject matter has a high deg...
Category

20th Century Expressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Large Israeli Expressionist Orientalist Oil Painting Draped Child Kibbutz Art
Located in Surfside, FL
William (Sunny) Weintraub, Israeli (Born 1926) Oil on masonite William Weintraub (He was also known as Shlomo Weintraub and nicknamed Sonny Weintraub) Genre: Impressionist Subject: Portrait Medium: Oil Surface: Canvas Dimensions: framed 24 X 32.5 canvas 19 X 27 In an ever-changing art world that embraces one movement after the next, the timeless art of portraiture can become lost. Portraiture is often associated with the royal paintings of centuries-old French kings, European nobility, and other wealthy individuals from art history's past. However, styles like Social Realism and Dutch genre painting spotlighted...
Category

Mid-20th Century Expressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Board

Untitled Original Figurative Young Women With Black Robe Chinese Art Painting
Located in Carmel, CA
Artist Duan Z. Born in 1955 in Yunnan, renowned Chinese Opera Figure Painter, Educator, Playwright and Producer. Mr. Duan serves as Director of Chinese...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Paper, Pigment

'Portrait Of An Old Woman' Contemporary, Natural, Oil/ Canvas By Leviathan
Located in Carmel, CA
David Leviathan, an Israeli born artist who worked mainly in Holland, is widely known amongst European art collectors. His works are exhibited in several museums in Holland and Fran...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Chassidic Rabbi, Judaica Expressionist Painting
Located in Surfside, FL
In this painting, Nussbaum depicts a Rabbi as his subject; a recurrent figure in his body of work. The artist uses gestural marks and vibrant blue colors in this composition. Nussba...
Category

20th Century Expressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Gouache

'Portrait of a Man' Contemporary Abstract Oil On canvas By Leviathan
Located in Carmel, CA
David Leviathan, is widely known amongst European art collectors. His works are exhibited in several museums in Holland and France. Leviathan's recent works touches the core of life. Indeed Leviathan's work is difficult to digest, it is affirmative and committed to a very great degree, "the whole truth and nothing but the truth." Leviathan is dealing with Abstract painting. White, green, yellow, or red canvases inhabit many layers of paint, imprisoning in them qualities of inner light. 'Portrait of a Man' oil on canvas by Leviathan Represented by American Art Gallery...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Patterns and Stripes, Expressionist Portrait by Philadelphia Artist
Located in Doylestown, PA
"Patterns and Stripes" is a painting by Philadelphia born Expressionist painter Bernard Harmon. The 40" x 34" oil on board portrait of two figures is painted in a muted color palette. The painting is framed in a new, gold frame and signed "Harmon" on verso. 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...
Category

1970s Expressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

‘Enlightened’ Abstract Portrait - Mixed Media 40"x30" by Masri
Located in Carmel, CA
Enlightened by Masri is a stunning abstract-portrait that depicts a man's upward transcendence into a state of enlightenment. The thick, textured, and vibrant palette strokes of or...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

'Portrait Of An Old Man’ Contemporary Natural Colors Oil On Canvas By Leviathan
Located in Carmel, CA
David Leviathan, an Israeli born artist who worked mainly in Holland, is widely known amongst European art collectors. His works are exhibited in several museums in Holland and Fran...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

'The Painter' by Masri - Artist Self Portrait - 2004 Oil on Canvas
Located in Carmel, CA
Masri is a passionate Italian, US-based artist whose work has been exhibited in USA, the UK, Germany, Lebanon, Italy and Norway. His work is varied and known especially in Europe, an...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

'White Face Red Lips' Opera Singer Portrait in China Original Contemporary O/c
Located in Carmel, CA
Artist Duan Z. Born in 1955 in Yunnan, renowned Chinese Opera Figure Painter, Educator, Playwright and Producer. Mr. Duan serves as Director of Chinese...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Portrait Of A Young Model Work On Paper
Located in Lake Worth Beach, FL
Portrait Of A Young Model Work On Paper Rutsch is always "scribbling and scrabbling." He is an artist of the purest breed—an artist who has no choice but to paint. He is a chosen traveler of the depths of existence; a man who follows a longing to explore his inner self and relate his findings with the energy and identity of the universe. The celebrated Austrian artist approaches painting and sculpture as he lives life—with the eyes of a child and the hand of a poet. Constantly in the quest for rhythms of form and vibrations of color, he catches those "sparks in the shadow" and evidences their fullest reality and beauty in his creations. Each of his paintings is a careful construction as it is a spontaneous act of love. While he might attribute certain artistic expressions to "coincidence," his inspiration comes from such diverse sources as: memories, dreams, sounds, numbers, telephone poles and drift wood. Rutsch has an affinity to vibrant colors, strong contours and rich brush strokes which are apparent in his oils, mixed media works and ink drawings. He has a sensitivity to the unusual, the discarded and a fondness for the ugly as well as the chaotic. These, he often transforms into poignant welded steel abstractions. Rutsch has an aversion to politics, citing dates and expounding upon honors achieved. There is no talk about 'profound symbolism' in his work and as Carlo McCormick writes in the introduction to Rutsch's monograph, "Meaning is not a seed that Rutsch plants, nurtures and then harvests. It is what grows wild in a volcanic swamp of fossilized, decaying and new-born fancies—as an afterthought and aftershock." Alexander Rutsch is not concerned with interpretations; he is, however, passionate about the process of making art and surrenders his entire being as an instrument to the act of creation. The geometry of his imagination overflows with figures, profiles and penetrating strong eyes—windows to a deeper place. Their vitality and sensuality pulsate through the "dreamscapes" of Rutsch's created worlds. At times romantic, yet always wild with energy, human forms and experiences are essential to the artist's vocabulary. The son of opera singers and a singer himself, Rutsch speaks of "the art of painting as the art of silence" and the job of the painter "to dedicate himself to the silence." He adds though, "that this silence is the greatest existing sound in the universe." One wonders why then, if painting is "the art of silence," that Rutsch's paintings scream with sound. Sometimes melancholy, sometimes sensual, sometimes dissonant and sometimes whispering, the rhythms are always rich in the celebration of life and our shared humanity. Painter, sculptor and poet, Rutsch's oeuvre over the past four decades is tremendous. Celebrated and collected especially in Vienna, Paris, Brussels and New York, he studied with renowned teachers like Boeckl and Dorowsky and collaborated with such geniuses as Salvador Dali. Having left Vienna in the fifties, Rutsch moved to Paris and took the city's art scene by storm. There, Picasso was so enthralled with a portrait Rutsch has done of him that, in a state of great excitement, he countersigned it. Biography Alexander Rutsch was born in Russia in 1916 but raised in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. After studying voice in Austria he became an opera singer like his parents, but after WWII, Rutsch's love for visual expression propelled him to change careers. He was a painter, sculptor, philosopher, musician, singer and poet. His life as a romantic is reflected in his work, as he sought to perfect his soul and humanity, "I paint my dreams," said Rutsch. "My dreams are color and life. They soar in my head like millions of symphonies. I can never stop building dreams." In 1952, after studying under Josef Dobrowsky, Josef Hoffmann and Herbert Boeckl at the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts, Alexander Rutsch received a scholarship to study in France. There he made contacts and began collaborations with his contemporaries, Picasso and Dali. Rutsch said of his experiences with Picasso, "Picasso played a short but important moment in my life in Paris that affected my entire artistic future. I learned from him that it is not important if art is not aesthetically finished. It can be raw, uncooked, rough. If an artist feels he has said it—it is not important to polish or finish it. Because of Picasso, I learned that if I don't feel the need to finish—I don't have to." In 1954 he exhibited his work at the Salon Artistique International de Saceux and won first prize for abstract painting, the first of may awards received during his prolific career. During the 13 years he lived in Paris, Rutsch exhibited in many prominent galleries there and throughout Europe. In 1958, The City of Paris awarded him the prestigious Arts, Science and Letters Silver Medal. In 1966, Jean Desvilles presented his prize winning film "Le Monde de Rutsch" at the Cannes Film Festival and the Venice Biennial. In 1968 Rutsch moved to Pelham, New York where he continued to work in his studio and exhibit in galleries and museums worldwide. Rutsch's work, as seen through his mastery of many art forms—sculpture, painting, print-making, and drawing, and a wide variety of other media has been described as "vibrating showers of lines, bold geometries, wounded anatomically rambling scrap-wood skeletons...
Category

1980s Expressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Watercolor, Charcoal, Oil Pastel

Beasts on a red background Joanna Flatau Contemporary art painting animal humour
Located in Paris, FR
Acrylic paint on canvas Unique work Hand-signed by the artist lower right Joanna Flatau was born in Varsaw, Poland. She graduated from Varsaw History of Arts University and from th...
Category

2010s Expressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

"Untitled" Contemporary Expressionist Self-Portrait by Masri
Located in Carmel, CA
Masri is a passionate Italian, US-based artist whose work has been exhibited in USA, the UK, Germany, Lebanon, Italy and Norway. His work is varied and known especially in Europe, an...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Jazz, Expressionist Portrait of Woman with Violin by Philadelphia Artist
Located in Doylestown, PA
"Jazz" is a figurative painting by Philadelphia born Expressionist painter Bernard Harmon from 1968. The 34" x 40" oil on board portrait features a young African American woman playi...
Category

1960s Expressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

"Papagena's Dream" Oil Painting 20" x 39" inch by Andrey Remnev
Located in Culver City, CA
"Papagena's Dream" Oil Painting 20" x 39" inch by Andrey Remnev ARTIST BIO: "My birth place is Yakhroma town, in the vicinity of Moscow. It is situated on high hills, from where broad Bruegelian vistas are open. The uneven terrain with significant differences of high and low; a canal between the Moskva river and the Volga; small rivers, woods and villages; a nearby ancient town of Dmitrov, which is equal to Moscow in age; ships cruising the canal and trains outdistancing them – all this I saw from my window since my early years. It was a view that embraced all the diversity of the world. This is why I can say that the impressions of my childhood and youth – beautiful nature and remarkable people – are the most important ones. In the museum of Moscow's St. Andronic Monastery I copied the best examples of the old Russian painting of the 15th-17th centuries. My own style evolved from the ancient icon...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Divine Joanna Flatau Contemporary art portrait painting colour woman red blue
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 Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Young Woman Portrait Mixed Media On Paper
Located in Lake Worth Beach, FL
Young Model Expressionist Portrait Rutsch is always "scribbling and scrabbling." He is an artist of the purest breed—an artist who has no choice but to paint. He is a chosen traveler of the depths of existence; a man who follows a longing to explore his inner self and relate his findings with the energy and identity of the universe. The celebrated Austrian artist approaches painting and sculpture as he lives life—with the eyes of a child and the hand of a poet. Constantly in the quest for rhythms of form and vibrations of color, he catches those "sparks in the shadow" and evidences their fullest reality and beauty in his creations. Each of his paintings is a careful construction as it is a spontaneous act of love. While he might attribute certain artistic expressions to "coincidence," his inspiration comes from such diverse sources as: memories, dreams, sounds, numbers, telephone poles and drift wood. Rutsch has an affinity to vibrant colors, strong contours and rich brush strokes which are apparent in his oils, mixed media works and ink drawings. He has a sensitivity to the unusual, the discarded and a fondness for the ugly as well as the chaotic. These, he often transforms into poignant welded steel abstractions. Rutsch has an aversion to politics, citing dates and expounding upon honors achieved. There is no talk about 'profound symbolism' in his work and as Carlo McCormick writes in the introduction to Rutsch's monograph, "Meaning is not a seed that Rutsch plants, nurtures and then harvests. It is what grows wild in a volcanic swamp of fossilized, decaying and new-born fancies—as an afterthought and aftershock." Alexander Rutsch is not concerned with interpretations; he is, however, passionate about the process of making art and surrenders his entire being as an instrument to the act of creation. The geometry of his imagination overflows with figures, profiles and penetrating strong eyes—windows to a deeper place. Their vitality and sensuality pulsate through the "dreamscapes" of Rutsch's created worlds. At times romantic, yet always wild with energy, human forms and experiences are essential to the artist's vocabulary. The son of opera singers and a singer himself, Rutsch speaks of "the art of painting as the art of silence" and the job of the painter "to dedicate himself to the silence." He adds though, "that this silence is the greatest existing sound in the universe." One wonders why then, if painting is "the art of silence," that Rutsch's paintings scream with sound. Sometimes melancholy, sometimes sensual, sometimes dissonant and sometimes whispering, the rhythms are always rich in the celebration of life and our shared humanity. Painter, sculptor and poet, Rutsch's oeuvre over the past four decades is tremendous. Celebrated and collected especially in Vienna, Paris, Brussels and New York, he studied with renowned teachers like Boeckl and Dorowsky and collaborated with such geniuses as Salvador Dali. Having left Vienna in the fifties, Rutsch moved to Paris and took the city's art scene by storm. There, Picasso was so enthralled with a portrait Rutsch has done of him that, in a state of great excitement, he countersigned it. Biography Alexander Rutsch was born in Russia in 1916 but raised in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. After studying voice in Austria he became an opera singer like his parents, but after WWII, Rutsch's love for visual expression propelled him to change careers. He was a painter, sculptor, philosopher, musician, singer and poet. His life as a romantic is reflected in his work, as he sought to perfect his soul and humanity, "I paint my dreams," said Rutsch. "My dreams are color and life. They soar in my head like millions of symphonies. I can never stop building dreams." In 1952, after studying under Josef Dobrowsky, Josef Hoffmann and Herbert Boeckl at the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts, Alexander Rutsch received a scholarship to study in France. There he made contacts and began collaborations with his contemporaries, Picasso and Dali. Rutsch said of his experiences with Picasso, "Picasso played a short but important moment in my life in Paris that affected my entire artistic future. I learned from him that it is not important if art is not aesthetically finished. It can be raw, uncooked, rough. If an artist feels he has said it—it is not important to polish or finish it. Because of Picasso, I learned that if I don't feel the need to finish—I don't have to." In 1954 he exhibited his work at the Salon Artistique International de Saceux and won first prize for abstract painting, the first of may awards received during his prolific career. During the 13 years he lived in Paris, Rutsch exhibited in many prominent galleries there and throughout Europe. In 1958, The City of Paris awarded him the prestigious Arts, Science and Letters Silver Medal. In 1966, Jean Desvilles presented his prize winning film "Le Monde de Rutsch" at the Cannes Film Festival and the Venice Biennial. In 1968 Rutsch moved to Pelham, New York where he continued to work in his studio and exhibit in galleries and museums worldwide. Rutsch's work, as seen through his mastery of many art forms—sculpture, painting, print-making, and drawing, and a wide variety of other media has been described as "vibrating showers of lines, bold geometries, wounded anatomically rambling scrap-wood skeletons...
Category

1980s Expressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Charcoal, Oil Pastel, Watercolor, Archival Paper

First pressure Julien Wolf Contemporary art painting expressionnist colour
Located in Paris, FR
OIl paint on canvas Hand-signed on the back by the artist “At first glance, we are invited to a colorful carnival. Everything is movement here! As if Julien Wolf had tried to captur...
Category

2010s Expressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Girl at Desk, Expressionist Portrait of Young Woman by Philadelphia Artist
Located in Doylestown, PA
"Girl at Desk" is an oil on board portrait painting by Philadelphia born Expressionist painter Bernard Harmon of a young woman, presumably a student, sitting by her desk. This work features a second portrait on verso of an elegant older woman. The painting is 40" x 36" in size and is signed "Harmon" on verso. 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...
Category

1970s Expressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

"The Actor" by Celi Jr. - Expressionist Portrait of a Tired Man in a Black Suit
Located in Carmel, CA
Rizaldy Celi Jr. (American, Filipino-Vietnamese, born 1983) "The Actor" 2025 Oil Paint, Canvas, Stretcher Bars The artist signed the back of the painting. In "The Actor", Rizaldy Ce...
Category

2010s Expressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Stretcher Bars

Marilyn smiles
Located in Zofingen, AG
This exuberant composition captures a blend of vivid emotions and iconic imagery. Using a vibrant palette of oils, I aimed to evoke a sense of joy and nostalgia, merging abstract and...
Category

2010s Expressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Cardboard

"Muse of Mystery", Encaustic, Oil, and Paper on Wood
Located in Detroit, MI
Celebrating our common colors as well as our diversity is Linden Godlove’s latest series of encaustics, “The Muses.” The paintings are modeled after icons, with a direct gaze that hearkens a response to their spirit, to find company in their character. This particular piece is the "Muse of Mystery" and is part of a set of nine that are sold separately from one another. Encaustic painting is an ancient art form (some early icons are encaustic), where hot wax is mixed with pigment and resin, and painted while liquid. Throughout the process, everything is repeatedly fused with fire and sometimes things melt in an unintended direction. Linden’s process involves repeatedly carving parts out and filling them back in, so the works are splayed out in a loose application of hot liquid, then cut back, then washed over with brushes of hot wax again. It’s a combination of chaos and control. The series draws inspiration from women all over the globe, as originally photographed by Mihaela Noroc for her book The Atlas of Beauty. A portion of the proceeds from these sales will go towards her project. While internationally influenced, the pieces were painted, scraped, and carved at the artist’s hundred year old Detroit...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Wood, Paper, Encaustic, Oil

"Muse of Vitality", Encaustic, Oil, and Paper on Wood
Located in Detroit, MI
Celebrating our common colors as well as our diversity is Linden Godlove’s latest series of encaustics, “The Muses.” The paintings are modeled after icons, with a direct gaze that hearkens a response to their spirit, to find company in their character. This particular piece is the "Muse of Vitality" and is part of a set of nine that are sold separately from one another. Encaustic painting is an ancient art form (some early icons are encaustic), where hot wax is mixed with pigment and resin, and painted while liquid. Throughout the process, everything is repeatedly fused with fire and sometimes things melt in an unintended direction. Linden’s process involves repeatedly carving parts out and filling them back in, so the works are splayed out in a loose application of hot liquid, then cut back, then washed over with brushes of hot wax again. It’s a combination of chaos and control. The series draws inspiration from women all over the globe, as originally photographed by Mihaela Noroc for her book The Atlas of Beauty. A portion of the proceeds from these sales will go towards her project. While internationally influenced, the pieces were painted, scraped, and carved at the artist’s hundred year old Detroit...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Wood, Paper, Encaustic, Oil

"Muse of Confidence", Encaustic, Oil, and Paper on Wood
Located in Detroit, MI
Celebrating our common colors as well as our diversity is Linden Godlove’s latest series of encaustics, “The Muses.” The paintings are modeled after icons, with a direct gaze that hearkens a response to their spirit, to find company in their character. This particular piece is the "Muse of Confidence" and is part of a set of nine that are sold separately from one another. Encaustic painting is an ancient art form (some early icons are encaustic), where hot wax is mixed with pigment and resin, and painted while liquid. Throughout the process, everything is repeatedly fused with fire and sometimes things melt in an unintended direction. Linden’s process involves repeatedly carving parts out and filling them back in, so the works are splayed out in a loose application of hot liquid, then cut back, then washed over with brushes of hot wax again. It’s a combination of chaos and control. The series draws inspiration from women all over the globe, as originally photographed by Mihaela Noroc for her book The Atlas of Beauty. A portion of the proceeds from these sales will go towards her project. While internationally influenced, the pieces were painted, scraped, and carved at the artist’s hundred year old Detroit...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Wood, Paper, Encaustic, Oil

"Muse of Insight", Encaustic, Oil, and Paper on Wood
Located in Detroit, MI
Celebrating our common colors as well as our diversity is Linden Godlove’s latest series of encaustics, “The Muses.” The paintings are modeled after icons, with a direct gaze that he...
Category

2010s Expressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Wood, Paper, Encaustic, Oil

Boxing Ring. Boxed Knocked to Floor with 10 Count, Red and Black, Esquire Mag
Located in Miami, FL
Illustration legend Bob Peak depicts a boxer that has fallen to the matt and is being given the 10-count by the referee. Peak captures that peak moment of drama and then exaggerates...
Category

1960s Expressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Fashion Girl, Expressionist Portrait of a Woman by Philadelphia Artist
Located in Doylestown, PA
"Fashion Girl" is an oil on board portrait painting by Philadelphia born Expressionist painter Bernard Harmon of a stylishly dressed woman sitting on a chair. This work features a se...
Category

1970s Expressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

Snap Peas, Expressionist Portrait of Young Woman by Philadelphia Artist
Located in Doylestown, PA
"Snap Peas" is an interior portrait of a young woman working at her kitchen table, painted by Philadelphia born Expressionist painter Bernard Harmon. The 24" x 36" oil on board painting from 1955 is signed "Harmon" in the lower left and it 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...
Category

1950s Expressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

Seated Figure, Male Expressionist Portrait by Philadelphia Artist
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

Pattern Skirt, Expressionist Portrait of a Woman by Philadelphia Artist
Located in Doylestown, PA
"Pattern Skirt" is an oil on board interior portrait of a young woman sitting, painted by Philadelphia born Expressionist artist Bernard Harmon. The painting is 39 1/2" x 36" in size...
Category

1970s Expressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

Coach André Bard - Julien Wolf, 21st Century, Contemporary figurative painting
Located in Paris, FR
Oil on canvas Signed Unique work
Category

2010s Expressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Ride Joanna Flatau Contemporary art portrait painting colour woman dog smoking
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 Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Girl with Ribbon in Hair, Expressionist Portrait by Philadelphia Artist
Located in Doylestown, PA
"Girl with Ribbon in Hair" is a painting by Philadelphia born Expressionist painter Bernard Harmon. The 40" x 35.75" oil on board portrait is painted in a vibrant color palette and l...
Category

1970s Expressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

Gloutorama - Julien Wolf, 21st Century, Contemporary Expressionist Drawing
Located in Paris, FR
Pastel and charcoal on paper 2020 Signed Unique work Julien Wolf is a French painter born in 1981 in Strasbourg, France. In 2007, he graduated from the DNSEP Art section at the St...
Category

2010s Expressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Paper, Charcoal, Oil Pastel

"The Muse" by Masri - Colorful Vibrant Female Portrait Painted with Bare Hands
Located in Carmel, CA
Masri (Lebanese, born 1965) "The Muse" 2023 Acrylic paint, Oil paint, Paper The artist signed the bottom right of the painting. Masri’s The Muse is a breathtaking exploration of dua...
Category

2010s Expressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Paper, Oil, Acrylic

Will Be The Wolf
Located in Lake Worth Beach, FL
Will Be The Wolf. Monika Dalek Polish contemporary artist. She graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Lodz. Diploma defended 2008 at the Faculty of Visual...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Acrylic, Canvas

Watercolor Portrait of a Soldier in a Large Black Frame
Located in Pasadena, CA
In this watercolor portrait, framed in a large black frame, the viewer is captivated by the three-quarter head depiction of a middle-aged soldier. Th...
Category

Mid-20th Century Expressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Swedish Abstract Figurative Oil Painting 2013 - Friday Evening
Located in Bristol, GB
FRIDAY EVENING Size: 33 x 24 cm Oil on canvas A striking figurative abstract composition, titled ‘Friday Evening’ and dated 2013 on reverse. Bold outlines and rich colours intertwi...
Category

2010s Expressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

"Farmer" Portrait Oil Painting 16" x 12" inch by Shaaban Zaki
Located in Culver City, CA
"Farmer" Portrait Oil Painting 16" x 12" inch by Shaaban Zaki circa 1930 Signed. Shaaban Zaki came from a lower-middle-class family who was mostly government employees, but he was...
Category

20th Century Expressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Wood, Oil

Self Portrait. Original Oil Painting Austrian 19th Century
Located in London, GB
Joseph Weidner Austrian 1801 - 1870 Self Portrait Oil on canvas, signed lower left Image size: 23 x 19 inches (58.5 x 48.5 cm) Original gilt swept fra...
Category

1860s Expressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

"Portrait Boy" Oil Painting 14.5" x 20" inch (1930) by Shaaban Zaki
Located in Culver City, CA
"Portrait Boy" Oil Painting 14.5" x 20" inch (1930) by Shaaban Zaki signed & dated Shaaban Zaki came from a lower-middle-class family who was mostly government employees, but he wa...
Category

20th Century Expressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

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

Oil, Canvas

Self Portrait, Expressionist Figurative Portrait by Philadelphia Artist
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

Portrait
Located in Atlanta, GA
Eugène Lavieille began his career engraving works by Jean-François Millet and Charles Emile Jacque and was, by 1841, studying with the greatest French landscape painter of the centur...
Category

19th Century Expressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Isa, Génie, Catou, Patoche and Didine - Julien Wolf, 21st Century, Painting
Located in Paris, FR
Oil on canvas 2018 Signed on the back Unique work
Category

2010s Expressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Expressionist portrait paintings for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Expressionist portrait paintings available for sale on 1stDibs. Works in this style were very popular during the 21st Century and Contemporary, but contemporary artists have continued to produce works inspired by this movement. If you’re looking to add portrait paintings created in this style to introduce contrast in an otherwise neutral space in your home, the works available on 1stDibs include elements of orange, red, purple, blue and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Bernard Harmon, Julien Wolf, Shana Wilson, and Masri Hayssam. Frequently made by artists working with Paint, and Fabric and other materials, all of these pieces for sale are unique and have attracted attention over the years. Not every interior allows for large Expressionist portrait paintings, so small editions measuring 3.5 inches across are also available. Prices for portrait paintings made by famous or emerging artists can differ depending on medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $1 and tops out at $190,000, while the average work sells for $3,000.

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