American Modern Paintings

A Vibrant, 1950s Mid-Century Watercolor of Provincetown, Massachusetts by Famed Chicago Modern Artist, Francis Chapin (Am. 1899-1965). A superb example of Chapin's Post-War landscap...

About this work: “Daguerreotype Dandies, c. 1937” by Tressa Benson (American, 1896-1987). Painted with the charm of a rediscovered family photo, this wonderfully eccentric work by B...

A Colorful, Modern Maine Coastal Scene Painting, "The Island Light House" by Famed Chicago Artist and Printmaker, Charles Turzak (Am. 1899 - 1986). The painting depicts a vibrant, sunlit summertime painting of the historic Pumpkin Island Lighthouse, located near Penobscot, Maine. The painting is acrylic on canvas board, and has a great visual appeal- a perfect complement to any New England coastal home or summer cottage in Maine. Artwork size: 15 x 30 inches, accompanied with the artist's original, hand-painted period frame (Framed size: 18 1/2 x 33 1/2 inches). Titled and dated on artist's label on reverse. Provenance: Estate of the artist. Charles Turzak was one of Chicago’s greatest printmakers of the Art Deco-era. Son of a coal miner, Turzak was born in Streeter, IL in 1899. In 1920, Turzak won the first prize a cartoon contest sponsored by the Purina company and he used his prize money to enroll in the Art Institute of Chicago. Best known as a print maker, in the 1920s & 30s, he created woodcuts of many of Chicago’s most notable buildings, including the Merchandise Mart, Palmolive Building and the Old Water Tower, among others. In 1933, he was commissioned to create woodcuts of many of Chicago’s most iconic buildings to illustrate a guidebook called “All About Chicago” by John and Ruth Ashenhurst” that featured the upcoming Century of Progress Exhibition in Chicago. During the 1933 World’s Fair...

A stylish, vintage, 1940s fashion study featuring elegant designs for women's evening wear by Lilly Daché, Likely an illustration study for a print advertisement for the famed Chic...

A fantastic early painting from Kahn’s iconic barn series depicting Dr. Middleton’s property in West Brattleboro, VT. Here, Kahn turns a familiar rural motif into something hovering ...

A Charming 1940s Mid-Century Modern Watercolor of Pirate's Alley, New Orleans by Arlene S. Ezickson (Am. 1927-2003). Titled "Vieux Carre, New Orleans" the artwork is watercolor and ...

A stylish, vintage, 1940s fashion study featuring an elegant design for a woman's coat, hat and muff, inscribed "Marshall Field & Co". Likely an advertisement illustration study...

An Early Modern 1920s Western Landscape Painting by Notable Chicago Artist, Francis Chapin, "Hillside Corral, Wyoming Dude Ranch". Oil on canvas, signed "Francis Chapin", lower righ...

Colorful acrylic painting of friends relaxing in lounge chairs with wine glasses Acrylic Painting on canvas One of a kind artwork Size: 80 × 80 × 3 cm (unframed) The artwork is tit...

A stylish, vintage, 1940s fashion study featuring an elegant design for a woman's evening gown. Artwork size: 11 x 8 1/2 inches. Colored pencil and pencil on paper. Archivally ma...

A stylish, vintage, 1940s fashion study featuring elegant designs for women's active wear by Hattie Carnegie. Inscription reads: Left - White jersey slack suit Red gaberdine jacke...

A stylish, vintage, 1940s fashion study featuring an elegant design for a woman's jacket dress; Lucien Lelong ”Indiscrete”. Artwork size: 11 x 8 1/2 inches. Archivally matted t...

A fantastic WPA-era painting of a Georgia moonshiner by famed Italian-American artist Athos Menaboni (1895-1990). This work depicts an older man sporting a brown hat, brown jacket, ...

A vibrant, colorful Mid-Century Modern abstract harbor scene of Martha's Vineyard by notable Chicago artist, Francis Chapin (Am. 1899-1965). Depicting a bustling harbor scene with n...

A stylish, vintage, 1940s fashion study featuring an elegant design for a woman's red gown, evening wear. Artwork size: 11 x 8 1/2 inches. Archivally matted to 16 x 12 inches. P...

A quiet, sunlit, vintage 1940s Mexican city street scene (Archway) by famed Chicago Modern artist Francis Chapin (Am. 1899-1965). Depicting a picturesque view of a colorful plaza ar...

Manayunk Fountain & Silverwood Sts, 1938, oil on canvas board, signed and dated lower right, titled and dated verso, 20 x 16 inches Although Florence Prince Ewing’s paintings ex...

Canvas Size: 29 x 24 in. Frame Size: 36.5 x 31 in. Signed, bottom leftt. In this mesmerizing portrait, Joaquín Torrents Lladó demonstrates the virtuoso brushwork and dramatic chiaro...

A lively 1950s Mid-Century Modern Western landscape painting with cowboys wrangling cattle by famed Chicago artist, Francis Chapin. Most likely a working study for a larger painting...

A captivating, 1930s portrait painting of a young woman by famed Chicago artist, Francis Chapin (Am. 1899-1965). A sensitive, skilled portrait of a young female model, most likely h...

A Large, Compelling 1950s Mid-Century Modern Portrait of a Standing Male Nude Model by John Warren Ekstrom (Am. 1929-2020). A unique and well executed studio figurative painting by ...

An Elegant, Stylish Gilded Age Themed Interior Scene / Set Design by notable stage set, costume and fashion designer, Andre Delfau (Fr./Am. 1914-2000). Artwork is gouache on paper, ...

A Charming, 1950s Painting of Lisbon, Portugal by Famed Chicago Modern Artist Francis Chapin (Am. 1899-1965). Depicting a bustling, colorful view of Lisbon's historic Black Horse Sq...

A Bustling 1950s Mid-Century Modern Harbor Scene of Martha's Vineyard by Famed Chicago Artist, Francis Chapin (Am. 1899-1965). A busy harbor scene of sandy shoreline, docks and boat...

Mercedes Matter Reclining Nude, circa 1920 Signed "Mercedes Matter" on the overlap Oil on canvas 32 x 51 inches Known for his use of expressive and uninhibited color, Arthur B. Car...

A charming, vibrant, early Mexican city street scene by famed Chicago Modern artist Francis Chapin (Am. 1899-1965). Depicting a quiet, picturesque view of the rooftops and cathedral...

Donald Vogel’s paintings reflect his interest in seeking beauty in life and in sharing pleasure with his viewers. Vogel entreats us to "rejoice and celebrate each new day, knowing it...

Betsy Podlach (American, born 1964.) Still life with Tin Cup, 1996 17.5 X 16.5 inches. Framed it measures 18.25 X 17.25 Betsy Podlach graduated from Harvard, cum laude, (she studied...

An Exceptional Mid-Century Modern Oil Painting of a Reclining Nude Female Model by Noted Chicago Artist, Rudolph T. Pen. This alluring studio scene, painted in the 1960s, exemplifi...

The Artist's Apartment Mid-Century Fauvist Interior Scene Original Oil on Canvas Vibrant interior scene by Santa Cruz California artist Frances Rinaldo (American, b. 1943). A bright...

A scenic, colorful Modern 1930s summer harbor scene of Saugatuck, Michigan by notable Chicago Modern artist, Francis Chapin. Depicting a lively summer harbor view of the historic S...

shipped in roll Acrylic on canvas Size: 60 x 90 x 2 cm Style: Modern minimalistic and pop art Professional-grade acrylics on canvas Signed by the artist with certificate of authenti...

A lively, colorful 1950s Mid-Century Modern city park scene with a horse & carriage ("Rome Street") by famed Chicago artist, Francis Chapin. Possibly a scene painted near the histor...

GLORIA STUART (1910 – 2010) WATTS TOWERS, 1971 Oil on canvas, signed lower right, 24” x 50 ½”. Gloria Stuart, an Academy Award nominated actress was also a painter, illustrator and printmaker. She most recently portrayed Rose in the blockbuster film “Titanic”. She was a Santa Monica native. In 2013 The Los Angeles Museum of Art, LACMA exhibited a nearly identical painting looking from the south, the same size and frame. Last 5 photos show the example at LACMA. One shows theirs in a distant room with a major Thomas Hart Benton painting in the foreground A VERY IMPORTANT MULTI-LEVELED DOCUMENT OF LOS ANGELES AND HOLLYWOOD CULTURAL HSTORYi The following is from her obituary in the Los Angeles Times upon her death in September 2010 at the age of 100 Gloria Stuart, a 1930s Hollywood leading lady who earned an Academy Award nomination for her first significant role in nearly 60 years — as Old Rose, the centenarian survivor of the Titanic in James Cameron’s 1997 Oscar-winning film — has died. She was 100. .......She devoted much of her time to designing and printing artists’ books (handmade, letter-press printed books in limited editions, with her own artwork and writing). Her work is in the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and other museums. Stuart, a founding member of the Screen Actors Guild who later became an accomplished painter and fine printer, died Sunday night at her West Los Angeles home, said her daughter, writer Sylvia Thompson. Stuart had been diagnosed with lung cancer five years ago. “She also was a breast cancer survivor,” Thompson said, “but she just paid no attention to illness. She was a very strong woman and had other fish to fry.” In July the actress was honored at an “Academy Centennial Celebration With Gloria Stuart” at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. “She was a charming and beautiful leading lady in the ‘30s, and I never understood why her career didn’t go further at that time,” film historian and critic Leonard Maltin, who interviewed Stuart on stage at the event, told The Times on Monday. As for Stuart’s high-profile comeback in “Titanic”: “She was thrilled by the attention that that performance brought her and really wanted to win that Oscar. I thought she hit just the right notes in that performance. She was wry and engaging.” As a glamorous blond actress under contract to Universal Studios and 20th Century Fox in the 1930s, Stuart appeared opposite Claude Rains in James Whale’s “The Invisible Man” and with Warner Baxter in John Ford’s “The Prisoner of Shark Island.” She also appeared with Eddie Cantor in “Roman Scandals,” with Dick Powell in Busby Berkeley’s “Gold Diggers of 1935” and with James Cagney in “Here Comes the Navy.” And she played romantic leads in two Shirley Temple movies, “Poor Little Rich Girl” and “Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm.” But mostly she played what Stuart later dismissed as “stupid parts with nothing to do” — “girl reporter, girl detective, girl nurse” — and “it became increasingly evident to me I wasn’t going to get to be a big star like Katharine Hepburn and Loretta Young.” After making 42 feature films between 1932 and 1939, Stuart’s latest studio contract, with 20th Century Fox, was not renewed. She appeared in only four films in the 1940s and retired from the screen in 1946. By 1974, “the blond lovely of the talkies” had become an entry in one of Richard Lamparski’s “Whatever Happened to” books. Writer-director Cameron’s $200-million “Titanic” changed that. Stuart played Rose Calvert, the 100-year-old Titanic survivor who shows up after modern-day treasure hunters searching through the wreckage of the sunken ship find a charcoal drawing of her wearing a priceless blue diamond necklace. Stuart’s performance as Old Rose frames the 1997 romantic- drama that starred Leonardo DiCaprio as lower-class artist Jack Dawson...

Valley House Gallery is honored to present a selection of paintings from the estate of American artist, John Hartell (1902-1995). John Hartell taught two disciplines at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York: freshman architecture and graduate painting. He was a much-loved professor there from 1930 until his retirement in 1967; one of his most illustrious students is the architect Richard Meier. As an artist, Hartell's first solo exhibition was in 1937 at Kleeman Gallery in New York. He exhibited at Kraushaar Galleries in New York for four decades, beginning in 1943. The Hartell Gallery at Cornell University, under the Sibley Dome, is named for him. In describing John Hartell, the artist Michael Boyd...

A Large, Colorful, 1960s Mid-Century Modern Florida Harbor Scene Painting, "Sail Boats" by Famed Chicago Artist and Printmaker, Charles Turzak (Am. 1899 - 1986). Titled "Sail Boats"...

A charming, vibrant, 1930s Modern Mexican city street scene by famed Chicago Modern artist Francis Chapin (Am. 1899-1965). Depicting a picturesque view of a quiet square in the hist...

Children’s Theater, 1934, watercolor on paper, signed and dated lower right, 10 ¾ x 12 5/8 inches (image) Children’s Theater is a fine example of Berlandina’s modernist approach to ...

A striking, vintage early 1940s fashion study featuring an elegant young woman wearing a stylish hat, suit and clutch. Image size: 11 x 8 1/4 inches. Archivally matted to 16 x 1...

A Large, Colorful, Modernist Art Deco Cubist Painting, "The Dancers" by Famed Chicago Painter and Printmaker, Charles Turzak (Am. 1899 - 1986). A large, vertical composition relating to the artist's notable 1930s woodcut of the same title. The painting is completed in a vividly textured Cubist style, with striking hues of rich greens and yellows, deep blues and rose pinks. The painting is oiI on canvas mounted to Masonite (artist's original mount), and offers a superb visual appeal. A perfect complement to any Mid-Century Modern home or collection. Artwork size: 38 x 24 inches (Framed size: 38 1/4 x 24 1/4 inches). Signed "Turzak" lower right. Provenance: Estate of the artist. Charles Turzak was one of Chicago’s greatest printmakers of the Art Deco-era. Son of a coal miner, Turzak was born in Streeter, IL in 1899. In 1920, Turzak won the first prize a cartoon contest sponsored by the Purina company and he used his prize money to enroll in the Art Institute of Chicago. Best known as a print maker, in the 1920s & 30s, he created woodcuts of many of Chicago’s most notable buildings, including the Merchandise Mart, Palmolive Building and the Old Water Tower, among others. In 1933, he was commissioned to create woodcuts of many of Chicago’s most iconic buildings to illustrate a guidebook called “All About Chicago” by John and Ruth Ashenhurst” that featured the upcoming Century of Progress Exhibition in Chicago. During the 1933 World’s Fair...

Elegant floral still life of a beautiful spring bouquet in an antique ivory soup tureen by Elizabeth Fitzgerald Forbes (Dallam) (American, 1875-1933). Exhibition placard on verso signed "Elizabeth Forbes...

A strong modernist oil painting depicted in 1927 by Russian-American painter Ben Benn. With a highly recognizable modern style, fast brush stroke and expressive use of color, shape, ...

"Sea Cliff" Mid Century Modern Coastal Cliff Seascape in Acrylic on Masonite Expansive seascape by notable California artist Farren Jensen (American, 19...

Donald Vogel’s paintings reflect his interest in seeking beauty in life and in sharing pleasure with his viewers. Vogel entreats us to "rejoice and celebrate each new day, knowing it...

"Untitled" portrays a young female nude in an intimate setting within the artist's studio. This painting is done in the classical vein of full portraiture. The model, however, is not posed quietly, but is engaged with a person or object off the frame, or, perhaps in an interior monologue with herself. Regardless of which, the viewer's attention is not only attracted to the beauty of the model's figure, but the intention of her actions. Charles Pompilius...

A Moody, Captivating 1920s Modern Paris Nocturne Scene of Notre Dame Cathedral by Notable Florida WPA Era Artist, George Snow Hill. Oil on panel, dating circa 1928. Artwork size: ...

A charming, vibrant, early Mexican city street scene by famed Chicago Modern artist Francis Chapin (Am. 1899-1965). Depicting a quiet, picturesque view of the rooftops and cathedral...

A dynamic ca. 1958 Mid-Century Modern painting titled "Refreshment" by Woman Artist, Lucille Leighton. Oil on canvas, in original frame. Artwork size: 22" x 18". Framed size: 27 1...

Minimalist Acrylic Painting Inspired by Everyday Romance Escape the noise of modern life with this minimalist acrylic painting.” Inspired by the slow-living philosophy and the poeti...

Summer Pastoral Contemporary Regionalism Rural Modern American Scene Art Realism Roger Medearis (1920 – 2001) Summer Pastoral (1984) Acrylic on canvas stretched over board 27 × 40 i...

Henrietta Berk Taos Road, circa 1966 Signed lower left Oil on canvas 54 x 47 inches Provenance The artist The Carter Gallery, Los Angeles Phyllis and Stanley Goldberg, Palm Springs,...

shipped in roll Acrylic painting of woman in sunglasses white dress black dots green socks sitting near shopping cart full of fruits Acrylic Painting on canvas One of a kind artwor...

Moving Forms, c. 1947, oil on canvas, apparently unsigned, 23 ½ x 20 inches, exhibited The Twenty-Seventh Annual Exhibition of the Southern States Art League, Virginia Museum of Fine...

A Striking 1930s Modern Surrealist Abstract Drawing by Notable Chicago Artist, Harold Haydon. A bold, early example of Haydon's abstract style of painting, incorporating his skilled...

Peter Max was born in 1937. He is a very well listed and well collected American artist. He has been very prolific in his career, but nevertheless, he is highly sought after and collected, especially recently. This wonderful original acrylic on canvas was most likely painted in the late 1990s or early 2000. It is a favorite subject matter of his the blossoming lady or lady with blossoms. This painting is so vibrant exploding with colors. It measures 10 1/2 inches wide by 10 1/2 inches high. The frame measures 18“ x 18“. He has had Auction results over $70,000 but sells for much more privately and in galleries Once again, this is an original Peter Max acrylic...

"Skating Party" WPA Regionalism American Scene Mid 20th Century Modern Realism Roger Medearis (1920 – 2001) "Skating Party" 20 x 24 inches Tempera on board, 1949 Signed Medearis and...

A dynamic 1930s, WPA era industrial scene watercolor of a steel mill and factory workers by notable Chicago Modern artist, Harold Haydon. A wonderful example of early Twentieth Cent...

Artist: Arnold Grossman (American, 1923-2016) Title: Still Life Year: c.2000 Medium: Oil painting on paper Paper: Thick oil painting paper Size i...

Fisherman Watercolor Comes Framed (see photo) About the Artist: Kenneth B Walsh (1922-1980) In the 1950s, Kenneth Bonar Walsh came to Montauk fr...

A lovely scene of the canals in Annecy, France by renowned American artist Emma Fordyce MacRae (1887-1974). This work highlights the geometric nature of the historic architecture al...