Items Similar to Charles McGee Oil Painting "Squares and Things" African-American 1967
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 6
Charles McGeeCharles McGee Oil Painting "Squares and Things" African-American 19671967
1967
About the Item
"Squares and Things" painted by the eminent artist, Charles McGee, literally breaths his African American heritage and his extraordinary vibrant use of colors. Provenance is The Arwin Galleries on Grand River in Detroit, Michigan - label on verso.
This early painting of McGee's shows his mastery in creating a painting in the style of the French Impressionist Edouard Manet, "Still Life with Melon and Peaches" located in the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, and in the style of Fauvist/Expressionist painter Henry Matisse, "Still Life with Blue Tablecloth", located in the Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg, Russia. McGee makes the well-known genre of still life his own creating an exciting marvelous work incorporating the homely quilt - the powerful symbol of the African American road to safety from slavery - as his main focus. Quilts symbolize warmth, comfort, and as shown by the collection of quilts gathered by the artists in Gee's Bend the designs on the quilts hung outdoors at locations along the Underground Railroad showed fugitives the road north and to safety. "Squares and Things" was first shown at The Arwin Galleries, Inc., Detroit, Michigan, one of the stops along the Underground Railroad.
This piece is signed by the artist, Charles McGee, and is an extraordinary example of his early work before he moved into Abstract Expressionism and his many sculptural works now located throughout Michigan. Several of these works are: "Noah's Ark: Genesis, 1984," on display at the Detroit Institute of Arts, his brilliant 2005 "Progression" a 45-foot wide aluminum sculpture at Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, Michigan, and his stunning 2016 "United We Stand" sculpture at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History . His genius can be seen in sculpture installments throughout the city of Detroit. .
He was born into a family of sharecroppers. While helping his grandfather tend the land, "he observed firsthand the order and harmony that exists within nature." He had no formal schooling until moving to Detroit at age 10, where he found that "everything was on the move and it hasn’t slowed down yet." in 2017 he observed, "I learned something not being in school — because life is school . . .I learn something every time I move. Every time I go around a corner, something new is revealed to me.”
McGee took advantage of the GI Bill to attend classes at the Society of Arts and Crafts, now the College for Creative Studies, Detroit, MI. Other College for Creative Studies (formerly Center for Creative Studies) faculty and graduates include Richard Jerzy, Harry Bertoia, Doug Chaing (currently director of Lucas Film), Stephen Dinehart (game maker, writer, designer connected with The David Lynch Foundation), Tyree Guyton (international artist), Herb Babcock, Jerome Feretti, Kevin Siembieda (writer, designer and publisher of role-playing games), Renee Radell, and Philip Pearlstein.
After retiring from the Corps of Engineers, McGee spent 1968 studying art in Barcelona. Despite not knowing the language at the outset, he immersed himself in the culture and opened himself to a whole new range of experience that would play out in his artwork. "If you free yourself, you have this kind of opportunity to have those experiences, horizons, and new vistas." (per interview with Nick Sousanis author of a book on Charles McGee.)
He returned to Detroit and curated "Seven Black Artists" at the Detroit Artists Market in 1969, which along with McGee himself, included Lester Johnson, Henri Umbaji King, Robert Murray, James Lee, Allie McGhee, Harold Neal, and Robert J. Stull. This immediately led to him opening the artists' collective Gallery 7 at 8232 West McNichols and the Charles McGee School of Art. The gallery ran until 1974 when he closed the school and moved the gallery to the Fisher building where it stayed until 1979. The school functioned entirely as a volunteer organization run by McGee. People rallied around it as a community project, with such teachers as artist George Rogers who worked with the children and Allie McGhee and others, even their supplies came as donations from local institutions. McGee states emphatically that, "People participated because we had created such a dynamic place in the community, people couldn't ignore it."
Nationally, his work has shown at the Brooklyn Museum and Whitney Museum of American Art and in touring exhibitions under the umbrellas of the Smithsonian.
According to the Kresge Foundation, "McGee developed an unwavering loyalty to the city and its residents, and endowed it with much of his artistic energy and artwork 'Detroit really has been a heaven for me,’ McGee explains. ‘It has given me dignity and treated me with respect.’” In 2008, McGee was named the first Kresge Eminent Artist. Administered by the College for Creative Studies, this award honors one Detroit artist each year for professional achievements, cultural contributions, and commitment to the local arts community. In early 2019, Michigan Legacy Art Park announced that McGee would receive its 2019 Legacy Award "in recognition of a lifetime of achievements and influences as an artist, teacher, advocate and global citizen."
- Creator:Charles McGee (1941, American)
- Creation Year:1967
- Dimensions:Height: 49 in (124.46 cm)Width: 37 in (93.98 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:Detroit, MI
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU128615465372
About the Seller
5.0
Vetted Seller
These experienced sellers undergo a comprehensive evaluation by our team of in-house experts.
Established in 2014
1stDibs seller since 2019
95 sales on 1stDibs
Typical response time: 4 hours
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Detroit, MI
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 14 days of delivery.
More From This SellerView All
- Richard Jerzy Watercolor "Red Chair" Interior with Flowers & ChairBy Richard JerzyLocated in Detroit, MI"Red Chair," though an interior scene, is arranged like a still-life with the furniture and objects slightly off-kilter in the creative manner of Marc Chagall's interiors, the Russian-French artist of Belarusian Jewish origin. These non-fixed objects lend a floating energetic atmosphere and the brilliant colors contribute to the liveliness of this warm inviting interior. Richard Jerzy was a well-known watercolor artist from the Detroit, Michigan area. His signature works were figures and still lives, and many famous Michigan families are collectors. "He was probably the most promising, successful, exciting artist in the state of Michigan," said Miriam Parel, a fellow artist and friend for more than 30 years. He grew up on Detroit's east side and developed an interest in painting as a teenager. He attended Detroit's Center (now College) for Creative Studies. Other well- known CCS faculty and graduates are Susan Aaron-Taylor, Harry Bertoia, Doug Chaing, Stephen Dinehart, Tyree Guyton...Category
Late 20th Century American Modern Interior Paintings
MaterialsOil, Board
- "Vernors & Oreos" Treats for Stevie Wonder, Still-Life, Oil, ColorfulLocated in Detroit, MISALE ONE WEEK ONLY “Vernors and Oreos” is a clever colorful piece by Richard Wilson that is full of significant meaning for native Detroiters. The beverage and cookies are specific treats for many people in Detroit and Michigan, but for Stevie Wonder in particular who is also a native Detroiter. The soda is produced and has been manufactured in the city of Detroit since 1862 by the Vernors Co. The story goes that prior to his concerts, Stevie Wonder, always requested that Vernors' Ginger Ale and Oreos be provided in his dressing room. Wilson has a great admiration for Stevie Wonder and as a gift to the city of Detroit he painted a mural of Stevie Wonder on an outside wall of the Music Hall. The “Ginger Ale and Oreos” painting...Category
2010s American Modern Still-life Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
- "I See Color" Figurative Acrylic on Canvas Looking Out Window Black White ColorBy Dennis K. SmithLocated in Detroit, MI"I See Color" is a dramatic psychological study of personal discovery painted in black and white with the face reflected on a window painted in color. Dennis states: It was a time wh...Category
Early 2000s Contemporary Figurative Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Acrylic
- "The Weary Blues" Acrylic Painting of Interior w/Patrons and Music ColorfulBy Dennis K. SmithLocated in Detroit, MI"The Weary Blues" depicts the interior scene of a Blues bar late at night with a number of patrons socializing, drinking and listening to music. The scene is dramatically rendered in...Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Acrylic
- "Flowers in Pink Vase" Oil on Canvas, Still-Life Painting, Rich Pinks & GreensBy Artis LaneLocated in Detroit, MIArtis Lane’s “Flowers in a Pink Vase” fills the canvas with the breathtaking beauty of colors and with the dynamic energy of their movement. The subject of the flower has captured th...Category
1970s Contemporary Still-life Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
- "Pork Chop and Corn" Acrylic on Canvas, Colors, Still-LifeLocated in Detroit, MI"Pork Chop and Corn" is a luscious rendition of a hearty meal that wafts off the canvas with a tempting mental olfactory smell. Bryant Tillman is a popular artist in the Detroit Metropolitan area. He captures objects from life and presents them in unforgettable ways sometimes with philosophical undercurrents. He is comparable to the U.S. Poet Laurette, Billy Collins, who memorializes the common place as metaphors for the deeper values of life. Bryant Tillman has painted for 30 years. He was introduced to art by the late Cass Corridor painter Bradley Jones...Category
2010s Contemporary Still-life Paintings
MaterialsAcrylic, Canvas
You May Also Like
- Basket with FruitBy Marsden HartleyLocated in Miami, FLBold outlines and strong weighty forms coalesce with a compositional delicacy that forms the hallmark of Hartley's work. The work has a long and distinguished provenance and exhibit...Category
1920s American Modern Still-life Paintings
MaterialsOil, Canvas
- Still Life (double-sided)By Alfred Henry MaurerLocated in Concord, MAALFRED MAURER (1868-1932) Still Life (double-sided), n.d. Oil on board 22 x 13 ½ inches Signed verso: A. H. Maurer PROVENANCE Estate of Gaston Lachaise [Salander-O'Reilly...Category
1920s American Modern Still-life Paintings
MaterialsOil, Board
- 'Interior, Ivory and Jade', France, Atherton, California, Hawaii, Large OilBy Judith GaulkeLocated in Santa Cruz, CASigned lower right, 'J. Gaulke' for Judith Gaulke (American, born 1946) and painted circa 1995; additionally titled, verso, 'Biot, France' and signed. Since her first solo show in ...Category
1990s American Modern Interior Paintings
MaterialsOil, Canvas
- Enid Munroe Mid Century Modernist Oil Painting Still Life with Fruit and BreadBy Enid MunroeLocated in Surfside, FLGenre: Modern Subject: Kitchen still life with pineapple, sourdough bread and lemons Medium: oil paint, done in a sgraffito, impasto somewhat brutalist technique Surface: board Country: United States Dimensions: 18 X 24 Being sold unframed Enid Munroe re-establishes the aesthetic worth of ordinary manufactured objects within the basic form language of Cubism. In her painting the artist uses trompe-l'oeil to render her composition, involving realistic imagery in order to create the optical illusion that the depicted objects exist in three dimensions. Enid Munroe is an artist and teacher who is well known regionally for her paintings, works on paper and Gold leaf, silver leaf, trompe l’oeil collage and assemblage series. She has been included in numerous invitational and juried exhibitions both nationally and regionally. Her works are in leading public, corporate and private collections including the Brooklyn Museum and the National Museum of American Art. Munroe cites painter Georgia O’Keeffe as one her influences and sources of inspiration. “Georgia O’Keeffe really helped lift the concept of women as artists,” stated Munroe. Munroe lived and worked in Mexico, Japan and Italy before settling in Connecticut. She is the author of An Artist in the Garden: A Guide to Creative and Natural Gardening (Henry Holt & Co, 1994) and has been active in regional art events including the founding of the annual Pequot Library...Category
20th Century American Modern Still-life Paintings
MaterialsOil, Board
- Modernist Floral Oil Painting Roses, Flowers in Vase WPA Artist Nicolai CikovskyBy Nicolai CikovskyLocated in Surfside, FLframed: 23 x 19.75 image: 15.5 x 11.5 Nicolai S. (Nicola) Cikovsky (1894 - 1984) was active/lived in New York / Russian Federation. Nicolai Cikovsky is known for Shore landscape, figure, still life and portrait painting, printmaking. His mural "Irrigation," and "Gathering Dates" is at the Department of Interior, Washington, D.C. (WPA, GSA) Landscape and figure painter Nicolai S. Cikovsky, 1894-1984, was born in Russia, where he studied at the Vilna Art School, 1910-1914; the Penza Royal Art School, 1914-1918; and Moscow High Tech Art...Category
Mid-20th Century American Modern Still-life Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
- Sunflowers, Large Scale Modernist Floral Bouquet Still-Life by Tarmo PastoBy Tarmo PastoLocated in Soquel, CASunflowers, Large Scale Modernist Floral Bouquet Still-Life by Tarmo Pasto. A stunning large-scale modernist oil on canvas still-life of sunflowers by Dr. Tarmo Pasto (American, 1906-1986). This modern floral bouquet still-life, painted by Pasto in 1973, harkens back to Van Gogh's world famous turn-of-the-century depiction of the same subject. Pasto uses a modern and fresh color palette of dark green, light yellow, lavender, and peach in this vibrant modern sunflower portrayal. Signed "Tarmo Pasto" and dated "73" lower right. Presented in a brown painted wood frame. Image size: 38"H x 30"L. Framed size: 44"H x 36"W x 2"D. Dr. Tarmo Pasto was a psychiatrist and artist, who taught psychology and art through the 1970s at California State College at Sacramento since the schools inception. He also authored a book on art...Category
1970s American Modern Still-life Paintings
MaterialsOil, Canvas
Recently Viewed
View AllMore Ways To Browse
Films Stills
Vintage Things
African America
Life Is A Game
Art By African American
Blue Things
African American Vintage
Vintage African American Art
Retro African American
Retro African American Art
Oil Paintings Of American West
African American Art Signed
Still Life Game
Still Life Of Game
2016 American Modern
Charles Wells Painting
Vintage Film Stills
African American Culture