1930s Art

Ansel Adams and Ed Towler by Wilson D. Ellis (American, 20th Century). Titled "Ansel and Ed Towler 1936" on verso and signed "Wilson D Ellis" with date 7/16/35 under mat. Silver Brom...

Kamei Tobei, 'First Snow of the Year at Kitano (Kitano Hatsu Yuki)', color woodblock print, c. 1930s. Signed Kamei Tobei in black ink, with the artist red seal Eiichi (the artist’s g...

Tyrus Wong Original set illustration from "Gone With The Wind", 1939 Signed lower right Oil on panel 6 x 8 3/4 inches Tyrus Wong’s life embodies a remarkable journey of perseverance, talent, and artistic achievement. Born in China, he immigrated to the United States at the age of nine after being separated from his mother, whom he would never see again. Reunited with his father in Sacramento, Wong later relocated to Los Angeles, where the two lived in modest circumstances within a boarding house in Chinatown. His father nurtured his artistic abilities by encouraging him to practice Chinese calligraphy and helping him secure small painting jobs in the neighborhood. Recognizing his exceptional talent, one of Wong’s teachers recommended him for a summer scholarship at the Otis Art Institute. He became the youngest recipient of the award and later earned a full scholarship, offsetting tuition costs through work performed on campus. After completing his studies in 1930, Wong supported himself through a variety of artistic jobs, including creating advertisements and working at the popular Dragon’s Den restaurant in Chinatown. During the Great Depression, he found employment through the Federal Art Project, producing paintings for government-sponsored programs. His career took a pivotal turn when he joined Walt Disney Studios. There, his atmospheric pastel studies for Bambi impressed Walt Disney and helped shape the film’s distinctive visual style. Wong’s contributions to the film’s backgrounds were instrumental to its success, earning him posthumous recognition as a Disney Legend in 2001. Following labor disputes at Disney, he left the studio before Bambi was released and continued his career at Warner Bros. and Republic Studios, creating concept art for films including Rebel Without a Cause, Around the World in 80 Days, Sands of Iwo Jima, and The Wild Bunch. He retired from the film industry in 1968. Alongside his Hollywood career, Wong remained deeply involved in Southern California’s art community. He exhibited regularly in galleries and museums and participated in artist-run initiatives such as Eleven Associated, a cooperative gallery active during the early 1950s. Best known for his watercolor paintings and ceramics, Wong developed a unique artistic language that blended traditional Chinese brush techniques with modern American aesthetics. Influenced by his teacher Stanton Macdonald-Wright, he combined expressive calligraphic brushwork with depictions of nature and movement. His artistic versatility extended beyond fine art into commercial design, where he created popular Christmas card imagery and dinnerware patterns for Winfield Pottery...

Howard Cook, 'Financial District', lithograph, 1931, edition 75, Duffy 155. A fine, richly-inked impression, on cream wove paper, the full sheet with wide margins (2 3/4 to 5 5/8 inches), in excellent condition. Image size 13 5/16 x 10 3/8 inches (338 x 264 mm); sheet size 23 x 16 inches (584 x 406 mm). Matted to museum standards, unframed. Literature: 'American Master Prints from the Betty and Douglas Duffy Collection', the Trust for Museum Exhibitions, Washington, D.C., 1987. Collections: Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Library of Congress, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Smithsonian American Art Museum. ABOUT THE ARTIST Howard Norton Cook (1901-1980) was one of the best-known of the second generation of artists who moved to Taos. A native of Massachusetts, he studied at the Art Students League in New York City and at the Woodstock Art Colony. Beginning his association with Taos in 1926, he became a resident of the community in the 1930s. During his career, he received two Guggenheim Fellowships and was elected an Academician in the National Academy of Design. He earned a national reputation as a painter, muralist, and printmaker. Cook’s work in the print mediums received acclaim early in his career with one-person exhibitions at the Denver Art Museum (1927) and the Museum of New Mexico (1928). He received numerous honors and awards over the years, including selection in best-of-the-year exhibitions sponsored by the American Institute of Graphics Arts, the Brooklyn Museum, the Society of American Etchers, and the Philadelphia Print Club. His first Guggenheim Fellowship took him to Taxco, Mexico in 1932 and 1933; his second in the following year enabled him to travel through the American South and Southwest. Cook painted murals for the Public Works of Art Project in 1933 and the Treasury Departments Art Program in 1935. The latter project, completed in Pittsburgh, received a Gold Medal from the Architectural League of New York. One of his most acclaimed commissions was a mural in the San Antonio Post Office in 1937. He and Barbara Latham settled in Talpa, south of Taos, in 1938 and remained there for over three decades. Cook volunteered in World War II as an Artist War Correspondent for the US Navy, where he was deployed in the Pacific. In 1943 he was appointed Leader of a War Art Unit...

Raoul Millais (1901–1999) Horses in a Parkland Landscape Oil on canvas, signed lower left Circa 1930 An elegant and highly atmospheric equestrian landscape by the noted British spor...

'Bassets D'Artois a Jambes Droites'. French chromolithograph, published in 1931. Signed by artist in the plate. Printed title lower right of sheet. Plate number top right. From a Fr...

Charles Turzak, 'The Workers (No. 2)', woodcut, edition 50, c. 1935. Signed and numbered 2/50 in pencil. A fine, richly-inked impression, on cream wove Japan paper, with full margin...

Veiled woman is an orignal modern artwork realized by Antonio Feltrinelli in 1930s. Mixed colored oil painting on canvas. Not signed. Antonio Feltrine...

Consigned to American Legacy Fine Arts, Pasadena, California; Private Collection, Pasadena, California; Mutual Savings, Pasadena, California — acquired presumably from the artist via an art consultant; Displayed at Mutual Savings headquarters, Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena, California, c. 1965–1993 A 1955 photo showing Bickerstaff paintings on display at the same Mutual Savings and Loan office in Pasadena can be seen through the online resource at Pasadena Digital History Label on Verso Mutual Savings No. 3107 Description This luminous desert landscape, painted in rich yet delicately modulated tones, depicts California’s Palm Springs Desert with a scattering of smoke trees...

Drawings by Italian Masters of the XV-XVIII Centuries. From a selection of 40 reproductions of the originals preserved in the Albertina Collection in Vienna. With an introduction and...

5149 Antique French Impressionist oil painting landscape Signed lower left Image size 22x18"

This beautiful British 1930's portrait oil painting is by noted artist Frank Owen Salisbury or Frank O'Salisbury as he is also known. Painted in 1934, the composition is a half lengt...

Artist: Harry George Theaker (English, 1873-1954) Title: "Moors, Yorkshire, UK" *No signature found Circa: 1935 Medium: Original Watercolor on watercolor paper Sheet size: 9.75" x 13...

Erik Tryggelin (1878–1962) Sweden Sunset with Fisherman, 19–20 October 1930 signed and dated lower right E. Tryggelin 20/10 1930 inscribed lower left 19/10 oil on canvas laid on ma...

Artist: Bernd Werner Title: Hebrew School Year: circa 1930 Medium: Oil on Canvas, signed Size: 10.5 x 12.5 in. (26.67 x 31.75 cm) Frame Size: 14 x 16 inches

Original etching from the portfolio "Les Métamorphoses d'Ovide"publised by Skira in 1931. Illustration "Avec Remarque". Catalogue Bloch Vol. I n. 128...

'Man Smoking Shisha in Istanbul', watercolour on art paper, by Yves Brayer (1933). So many historic elements grace this stunning depiction by celebrated French artist and world trave...

Kawase Hasui, 'The Beach at Kaiganji in Sanuki Province (Sanuki Kaiganji no hama),' from the series Collected Views of Japan II, Kansai Edition (Nihon fûkei shû II Kansai hen), woodblock print, 1934. A very fine, atmospheric impression, with fresh colors; the full sheet, in excellent condition. Signed 'Hasui' with the artist’s seal 'Kawase', lower left. Published by Watanabe Shozaburo with the Watanabe ‘D’ seal indicating an early impression printed between 1931 - 1941. Stamped faintly 'Made in Japan' in the bottom center margin, verso. Horizontal ôban; image size 9 3/8 x 14 1/4 inches (238 x 362 mm); sheet size approximately 10 5/16 x 15 1/2 inches ( 262 x 394 mm). Collections: Art Institute of Chicago; Austrian Museum of Applied Arts (Vienna); Honolulu Museum of Art; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; National Museum in Warsaw; University of Wisconsin-Madison. ABOUT THE ARTIST “I do not paint subjective impressions. My work is based on reality...I can not falsify...(but) I can simplify…I make mental impressions of the light and color at the time of sketching. While coloring the sketch, I am already imagining the effects in a woodblock print.” — Kawase Hasui Hasui Kawase...

Elegant Female Skier Portrait Alpine Scene circa 1930s Barcelona School Artist: Signed J. Barraguer School: Barcelona School Period: circa 1935–1945 Medium: Oil on canvas Signature: Signed lower right Support stamp: Casa Teixidor, Barcelona (verso) Dimensions: 61 × 50 cm (24 × 19.7 in) Frame: Unframed Condition: Good vintage condition consistent with age. Stable paint surface and fresh original colors. No visible restorations under normal inspection. DESCRIPTION Elegant alpine portrait of a female skier painted in Barcelona during the golden age of European winter tourism imagery, likely between the mid-1930s and early 1940s. The composition captures a refined winter sports aesthetic typical of pre-war Alpine visual culture, where skiing symbolized modernity, elegance and leisure rather than competition. The seated figure, dressed in a vivid blue jacket and striking red scarf, appears poised against a dramatic snowy mountain backdrop rendered with confident, atmospheric brushwork. The artist combines portrait sensitivity with poster-like clarity, creating an image that resonates strongly with the visual language of classic Swiss and French ski resort advertising from the same period. The palette is particularly effective: cool tonal snow fields contrast with warm facial modelling and bold accents of red, producing a balanced decorative presence ideal for interiors. The reverse bears a supplier stamp from Casa Teixidor, Barcelona, a well-known early twentieth-century artists’ material provider, supporting the proposed dating of the work. Today the painting reads both as a refined portrait and as an evocative example of early Alpine leisure imagery, making it especially suitable for mountain interiors, ski lodges, modernist homes or collectors interested in European travel culture of the interwar period. ARTIST BIO J. Barraguer was active in Barcelona during the first half of the twentieth century and worked within a pictorial language that bridges easel painting and illustration associated with the emergence of modern leisure culture in Europe. Artists of this generation frequently contributed to portraiture, decorative painting and tourism-related imagery that reflected the growing popularity of winter sports and Alpine travel between the 1920s and 1940s. Works such as this example demonstrate a confident handling of figure painting combined with a strong awareness of contemporary graphic aesthetics typical of the period. Paintings by Barcelona-based artists working in this hybrid decorative-figurative tradition are increasingly appreciated today for their ability to connect portraiture, design and early travel imagery within a single composition. Comparable in atmosphere to the refined Alpine winter imagery developed in Europe during the interwar period by artists associated with the golden age of ski resort poster design and leisure culture painting. The elegant treatment of the female skier and the stylized mountain backdrop resonate with the visual language found in works by artists such as Emil Cardinaux, Alex Walter Diggelmann, and Roger Broders, whose compositions helped define the iconic imagery of Alpine tourism between the 1920s and 1940s. The painting also shares affinities with the modern figurative approach to leisure subjects seen in Jean Gabriel Domergue, particularly in the refined depiction of fashionable female figures associated with elegance and travel culture of the period. Within the Iberian context, the work relates to the broader tradition of Catalan artists working between easel painting and decorative illustration during the early twentieth century, when winter sports imagery became part of the emerging visual identity of modern European tourism. female skier painting alpine skier portrait vintage ski painting...

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...

Jager Esperanto Fair Foirode Reichenberg 1936 Lithograph Open edition 37 x 24 inches

Antique American modernist equestrian landscape oil painting. Oil on board. Signed illegibly and dated. Framed. Measuring: 18 x 16 inches overall, and 12.5 x 10.5 painting alone. Ex...

'The Church of Saint-Nicolas du Chardonnet, Paris', gouache on art paper by Lucien Génin (circa 1930s). In Paris' 5th Arrondissement the site in which Saint-Nicolas du Chardonnet is ...

Signed watercolour on paper circa 1930 by French post impressionist painter Paul Signac. The piece depicts a view of sail boats in the harbour at Paimpol, a commune in the Côtes-d'Ar...

A very attractive oil on canvas painting by the French Post-Impressionist painter Charles Picart le Doux (1891-1959), a beach scene in Spain, signed and dated 1933. The painting depi...

This beautiful original 1930's modern style poster was created for the opening of the new Alhambra Theater, featuring Maurice Chevalier. The actor is dressed in a black bow tie...

Consigned to the gallery, Pasadena, California; By descent to a private collector, Encino, California; Acquired in 1998 by a private collector, San Carlos, Palo Alto, and Oceanside, California; From the Santa Barbara Historical Society Signed "Carl Sammons" on lower right Description This luminous coastal landscape by Carl Sammons is a striking example of the artist’s signature plein air style, depicting the rolling coastal dunes and lush vegetation of California’s shoreline. Best known for his depictions of Carmel and Monterey, the composition and palette of this work suggest inspiration from the Monterey Peninsula dunes. Sammons’ ability to merge vibrant, clean color with a sense of atmospheric perspective is evident here in the interplay of bright, sunlit sands and the rich greens of windswept foliage. His vibrant yet naturalistic color harmonies, crisp edges, and keen sensitivity to light bring the fleeting beauty of the coastal environment to life. The hazy eucalyptus grove in the background adds a distinctive regional touch, situating the composition firmly within California’s coastal identity. Sammons’ paintings of California’s unique landscapes played a significant role in documenting the natural beauty of the state during the early 20th century. Connection to the Monterey Art Colony By the 1920s and 1930s, Sammons became closely associated with the Monterey art colony, an influential hub for plein air painters such as Armin Hansen (1886–1957), William Ritschel (1864–1949), and Percy Gray...

Tiger Lily Color woodcut, 1939 Unsigned (as usual) Publisher: Takemura Hideo (active Yokohama 1926-1940) Condition: Excellent Image/sheet size: 15 3/8 x 10 7/8 inches Provenance: Robert O. Muller Estate Biography Hodo Nishimura...

Signed impressionist oil on canvas figures in cityscape circa 1930 by sought after French painter Edouard Cortes. The work depicts a bustling evening street scene outside the Cafe Br...

F. Luis Mora (American, 1874-1940) Native American, c. 1930s Ceramic Stamped on bottom, Cowan Pottery 9 x 7 x 5 inches Francis Luis Mora was one of the better-known American artists...

Antique American impressionist sunset river landscape oil painting by Lucien Biva (1878 - 1965). Oil on canvas. Framed. Signed. Measuring: 27 by 30 inches overall, and 18 by 22 pai...

This rare and stunning photograph that shines on many important galleries and museums is for sale. It has been framed by the owner but is now available loose. Hand printed by artist...

Charles Turzak, 'Under the Bridge', color woodcut, edition c. 50, 1934. Signed and titled in pencil. A fine, richly-inked impression, with fresh colors, on cream wove Japan paper; th...

A Colorful, 1930s Modern Autumn-Themed Still Life Painting with a Pumpkin by Notable Chicago Artist, Francis Chapin (Am. 1899-1965). Completed in the vibrant, painterly style for wh...

John Opper (American, 1908-1994) Ninth Avenue El (New York City), c. 1935 Oil on canvas Signed lower left and verso 30.125 x 24 inches The Ninth Avenue El was the first elevated rai...

"Central Park" Mid-20th Century American Scene Drawing NYC Modernism WPA Realism Adolf Dehn (1895-1968) "Central Park" 18 x 19 3/4 inches Watercolor on paper Signed and dated ’45 l...

Spring Snowfall Seattle, 1937, watercolor on paper mounted on panel, signed lower right, 16 ½ x 17 ½ inches (image) 17 x 22 ½ inches (panel), ), title, measurements and Helder’s addr...

Signed and titled oil on canvas figures in cityscape circa 1930 by sought after French impressionist painter Edouard Cortes. The work depicts a bustling evening street sccene on the...

Landscape. 1937, oil on cardboard, 34x40 cm Reinhold Kasparsons (born 13/9/1889 in Cēsis, died 14/1966 in Riga), painter. Born in a craftsman's family. Studied at Nītaure school, a...

Mural Study for "History of Water" American Scene Modernism Social Realism WPA Thomas Hart Benton (American, 1889-1975) "Water Story" (Study for The History of Water) Tempera and o...

untitled (Returning Home with Supplies) Signed in pencil by the artist lower right (see photo) Signed by his printer, Otto Felsing lower left ((see photo) Annotated in pencil: "In kupfer geschnitten von einen Lapplander" Printed by Otto Felsing, one of Germany's master printers of the era One of several engravings Hagemann made based upon actual drawings given to him by Laplanders. Gustav Hagemann was born on February 17, 1891, in Engelnstedt, Salzgitter, Germany. Hagemann attended high school in Wolfenbüttel and studied at the art school, in Kassel, Germany. After graduating as an art teacher, he became a trainee teacher in Torgau in Saxony. He fought in the First World War between 1914-1918. After the war he studied art from 1920...

Antique American oil painting. Oil on canvas. Measuring 18 by 22 inches.

Mokuchu URUSHIBARA Koi Carp, c. 1930 Woodcut after on an ink drawing Signed with the artist's stamp On paper 30 x 24 cm (c. 11.81 x 9.44 in) INFORMATION : Engraving published by Mo...

Sea and Land Abstraction, 1936, oil on canvas board, 16 x 20 inches, signed and dated lower left, exhibited at the 18th Annual Paintings and Sculpture Exhibit at the Los Angeles Muse...

A beautiful early 20th century English impressionist oil on canvas still life depicting sunflowers in a cream jug, by John Sweet. This important work was exhibited at the Royal Acad...

Mokuchu URUSHIBARA Herons, c. 1930 Woodcut after on an ink drawing Signed with the artist's stamp On paper 32.5 x 22 cm (c. 12.59 x 8.66 in) INFORMATION : Engraving published by Mo...

Medium: original lithograph. Printed in Paris in 1930 at the Atelier Desjobert for "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland". This is from the edition of 350 on Rives paper printed under th...

A Fine, Stylish 1930s Modern Figure Study Drawing of a Standing Male Nude Model by Famed Chicago Artist Francis Chapin (Am. 1899-1965). A wonderful, early example of Chapin's figura...

“Jamaican Girl by the Palm Tree, c. 1930” by Will Howe Foote (American, 1874-1965) A fantastic portrait of a young Jamaican woman set against a vibrant palm frond, painted by the re...

Etching on medium stock, cream wove paper, 5 15/16 x 10 3/16 inches (151 x 259 mm), full margins. Signed and titled in pencil, lower margin. A fine and detailed impression in dark bl...

Ex Libris is a woodcut print created by Michel Fingesten in 1937. Hand Signed on the lower right margin. Good conditions. Michel Fingesten (1884 - 1943) was a Czech painter an...

Mokuchu URUSHIBARA Rearing Horse, c. 1930 Woodcut after on an ink drawing Signed with the artist's stamp On paper 26 x 32 cm (c. 10,2 x 12.5 in) INFORMATION : Engraving published b...

Original Versailles, France vintage lithograph French travel poster. Printed by the French National Railroad, SNCF in the 1938's. Printer: Goossens. A poster fit for a king sin...

Pasquale Napolitano (1901-2001) Seted Figure of a Man, ca. 1935. Carved hardwood, measuring 22" h., 9.75" d., 14" w. Signed bottom right side. Natural wood shrinkage cracking on...

Martin Lewis, 'Little Penthouse,' drypoint, edition 84 (including 9 proofs), 1931. McCarron 91. Signed in pencil 'Martin Lewis imp.' Annotated, 'proof on Dard Hunter paper: “Peter Mu...

FRANCES H. GEARHART (1869-1958) STORM LINED c.1936 Color block print, signed and titled in pencil 13 ¼ x 10 1/8, full sheet 14 3/8 x 11 ¼” with deckle edge on her typical fibrous Ja...

Le Corbusier (1887-1965) Couple : The Argument, 1938 Original lithograph Signature printed in the plate Dated in the plate On light vellum 21 x 27 cm (c. 8 x 11 inch) Very good con...

Mokuchu URUSHIBARA Pair of horses playing (red), c. 1930 Woodcut after on an ink drawing Signed with the artist's stamp On paper 28 x 39 cm (c. 11.02 x 15.35 in) INFORMATION : Engr...

Anonymous, UK 1939 Keep Calm and Carry On Ministry of Information Lithographic poster 75 x 50 cm Very rare - we have traced copies in the Imperial War Museum collection but no other...

Antique American modernist portrait oil painting by Salpi Miriam Mavian (Born 1908). Oil on canvas, circa 1930. Signed. Displayed in a giltwoo...