American Realist Paintings

What makes this work important? It's not that it's a commissioned artwork for a men's 60s pulp adventure magazine depicting the instant a soldier is shot. The big point of the painting is how brilliantly the formal elements are thought out, designed, and executed. John McDermott tells a story using a complex figural composition in an unexpected wide-angle vision. The work is as abstract as it is representation. His use of light is significant because it creates a high-contrast two-color style that bears the mark of its creator. This is a work done by a master artist/illustrator without peers compared to artists living today. If the contemporary art world gave awards for draftsmanship, painting technique, and graphic design .... John McDermott would win the highest accolades. Initialed lower left - unframed John McDermott (August 30, 1919 – April 20, 1977), also known under the pen names J.M. Ryan and Mariner, was an American illustrator and author noted for action and adventure illustrations.[1] McDermott worked as an in-between and effects animator for Walt Disney Studios and as a US Marine combat artist,before establishing himself as a cover illustrator for 1950s paperbacks and pulp magazines such as Argosy, American Weekly, and Outdoor Life. Under his J.M. Ryan pen name, he wrote the novels The Rat Factory (1971), a derogatory satire of Walt Disney and the Disney studio; Brooks Wilson Ltd (1967), on which the 1970 film Loving was based; and Mother's Day (1969) about Ma Barker. Under his own name, he novelized director-writer Bo Widerberg's screenplay for the 1971 film Joe Hill, which would be his final published book. Early life John Richard McDermott was born 30 August 1919 in Pueblo, Colorado, the younger of two sons of Henry McDermott, an oil broker. McDermott was a young child when his father committed suicide.[4] The family eventually moved to Los Angeles where McDermott's mother, Hazel, worked in a beauty parlor. He graduated from Hollywood High School in 1936. Although he had had no formal art education, he took a job as an artist at Walt Disney Animation Studios. Career Disney At Disney, McDermott worked as an in-betweener and effects animator on Brave Little Tailor, Pinocchio, The Reluctant Dragon and Fantasia. His experiences while working at Disney, particularly during the time of the 1941 Disney animators' strike, would later become the basis for his 1969 satirical novel The Rat Factory. McDermott left Disney to fight with US forces during World War II. US Marines McDermott World War II sketch titled "Buddy is Wounded" On September 29, 1942, McDermott enlisted with the US Marine Corps. He served as a "pistol and palette" combat artist assigned to the map-making section. As a sergeant with the III Amphibious Corps, McDermott was involved in battles in the South Pacific theater of war, documenting the Guam, Okinawa and the Guadalcanal Campaigns. McDermott considered his wartime years to be his art education. "In the Marines, as a combat artist, I traveled with the troops and for three years got all the drawing opportunity anyone could want. My work changed enormously during this time and I’m sure it was due to constant drawing, every single day, from life, just putting down what I saw around me. In a few instances it was a dangerous kind of scholarship." According to the Marine Corps history journal Fortitudine, McDermott was so prolific that his contemporary style pen-and-ink sketches became easily recognizable to both Marines, from published work in Leatherneck Magazine, and civilians, from glossy copies supplied by the Marine Corps to the nation's press.His wartime art appears in World War II history books and is displayed at the Pentagon and the National Museum of the Marine Corps. Illustration Following the end of World War II, McDermott moved from California to New York City to work as a freelance illustrator. McDermott made his reputation drawing modern action, war and adventure scenes. His work adorned the covers and inside story pages of popular pulp magazines of the 1950s such as Argosy, Adventure, Blue Book, Outdoor Life and American Weekly. McDermott's illustrations appeared on numerous covers of 1950s paperback novels published by Dell, Fawcett Gold Medal, Bantam Mystery and others. His action graphics were geared toward thriller and detective genres, such as Donald Hamilton's Matt Helm books Murderers' Row and The Betrayers. He also created covers for science fiction comic titles such as Voyage to the Deep[citation needed] and horror-themed paperbacks such as the classic 1955 science fiction novel The Body Snatchers...

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...

Grace Pischner Miller was born in Washington on January 12, 1912. She painted primarily in watercolors. She specialized in landscapes and seascapes of California. Two paintings of "Raggedy Ann...

James Elliott Bama was born in 1926 in New York City. He studied at the Arts Student League and became a very successful illustrator for magazines like ...

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...

Realistic still life painting of persimmons by Texas artist Drexel Caraway McNay (1910-1989). The work features a bowl overflowing with persimmons set against a dark background. Sign...

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

Signed lower right, 'Charles Damrow' for Charles Damrow (American, 1916-1989) and painted circa 1940; additionally signed verso on stretcher, 'Chas. Damrow'. An idyllic, South-weste...

Beautiful American realist view of Pack River in Sandpoint, Idaho by Laura Lindberg (American, 1904-1976). Signed lower right corner "64 L Lindberg". 26 Pack River Laura Lindberg and...

Artist: Raphael Soyer, American (1899 - 1987) Title: Seated Woman Year: circa 1960 Medium: Oil on Canvas, signed l.r. Size: 24 x 20 inches Frame Size: 29 x 25.5 inches

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 ...

Artist: Jan de Ruth, Czech (1922 - 1991) Title: Young Dancer Year: circa 1964 Medium: Oil on Canvas, signed l.l. Size: 44 in. x 18 in. (111.76 cm x 45.72 ...

Artist: Robert G. Harris, American (1911 - 2007) Title: Louisa, Please Come Home (Grace Kelly) Year: 1960 Medium: Acrylic on Canvas, signed l.l. Size: 20 x 28 in. (50.8 x 71.12 cm) F...

From the Glynn and Suzanne Crain Collection, unsigned

The old west depicted in a graphic and dramatic manner. Paperback Novel Cover Painting Original Art (Avon, 1963). Work has a matted image area of 12.5" ...

Artist: Bernard Locca, French (1926 - 1997) Title: Portrait of a Blonde Beauty Year: 1963 Medium: Oil on Canvas, signed l.r. Size: 36 in. x 29 in. (91.44 cm x 73.66 cm) Frame Size: 4...

The artist invents and then captures a moment of a peak drama with soldiers being shot and bombs exploding. It's beautifully rendered. This work was published as a two-page spread...

Hans Weingaertner (1896-1970). Oil on canvas measures 8 x 10 inches; 14 x 16 inches in a frame of the period. Signed lower right. Excellent, clean condition with no damage or restoration. Signed with monogram and dated 1966 en verso. Biography: Birth place: Krailburg, Germany Addresses: Lynhurst, NJ; Belleville, NJ Profession: Painter Studied: Royal Acad., Munich, Germany, and with Ludwig Klein, Moritz Hyman, A. Jank. Exhibited: Soc. Indep. Artists, 1929-40; BM, 1932; New Haven PCC, 1934-39; AIC, 1936; traveling exhib., 1936-37; Corcoran Gal biennial, 1939; Montclair AM, 1938, 1939; New Jersey State Mus., Trenton, 1939; Newark Mus., 1940, 1944; Carnegie Inst., 1941; VMFA, 1946; Penn. State Teachers College, 1944, 1946; PAFA Ann., 1951; WMAA; NAD; CAFA; Salons of Am. Awards: prizes, Montclair AM, 1949, 1950; New Haven PCC, 1950; Newark Art Club, 1951; Bamberger purchase, 1964 Member: Mod. Artists, New Jersey; Soc. Indep. Artists; New Haven PCC; New Jersey AA; Audubon Artists; New Jersey WCS Work: Newark Mus.; Rutgers Univ.; Jefferson H...

Artist: Harry Lane, American (1891 - 1973) Title: Stockbridge Bowl Medium: Oil on Board, signed Size: 22 in. x 32 in. (55.88 cm x 81.28 cm) Frame Size: 28 x 38 inches

"They Say Every Little Gesture Has a Meaning", Playboy cartoon illustration, August 1968 Pen and watercolor on board 12.5 x 9.5 in. (image) Signed...

Artist: Moses Soyer, American (1899 - 1974) Title: Self-Portrait in the Studio Year: circa 1960 Medium: Oil on Canvas, signed l.r. Size: 24 x 20 inches Frame: 32 x 28 inches

Artist: Nathan Wasserberger, Polish/American (1928 - 2012) Title: Blonde Nude Year: circa 1960 Medium: Oil on Canvas, signed l.r. Image: 46 in. x 32 in. (...

Artist: Harry Lane, American (1891 - 1973) Title: Intermezzo Year: circa 1965 Medium: Oil on Masonite, signed l.r. Size: 39 in. x 24 in. (99.06 cm x 60.96 cm) Frame Size: 50 x 34.5 i...

Artist: Moses Soyer, American (1899 - 1974) Title: H.G with Standing Nude Year: circa 1960 Medium: Oil on Canvas Size: 24 x 20 inches Frame: 32 x 28 inches ACA Galleries...

Anne Lyman Powers, American (b.1922), Still Life with Grapes, Pears, and Walnuts, 1961. Signed and dated upper right: "Powers '61". Anne Lyman Powers was born in 1922, and raised in...

Artist: Jan De Ruth, Czech (1922 - 1991) Title: The Early Hours Year: circa 1964 Medium: Oil on Canvas Size: 44 in. x 21 in. (111.76 cm x 53.34 cm) Frame Size: 50 x 27 inches

Artist: Harry Lane, American (1891 - 1973) Title: Barberry Bush Year: circa 1960 Medium: Oil on Board, signed Size: 24 in. x 30.5 in. (60.96 cm x 77.47 cm) Frame Size: 33 x 40 inches

Artist: Jan De Ruth, Czech (1922 - 1991) Title: Seated Nude Year: circa 1960 Medium: Oil on Canvas, signed lower left Size: 36 in. x 24 in. (91.44 cm x...

Artist: Jan De Ruth, Czech (1922 - 1991) Title: Seated Nude with Orange Blanket Year: circa 1965 Medium: Oil on Canvas, signed l.r. Size: 40 x 32 in. (101.6 x 81.28 cm) Frame Size: 4...

A brilliant landscape picturing an autumn day in the Texas Hill Country by master painter of the South West, G. Harvey (Gerald Harvey Jones, Americ...

Thistles by Louis Carl Hvasta (1913-1993) Signed and Dated Lower Right Unframed: 36" x 14" Framed: 41.5" x 22.5" Frame was hand made by the artist. A local Californian Artist, Hvas...