1930s Art

Still Life of Gladiolas in a Blue Pot with bird figurine and Samurai portrait by Bonnie Beach Ryan (American, 1901-1940). In 1933, Bonnie Beach Ryan held her first solo show of flower and still life paintings at the Dana Bartlett...

Frida on White Bench, New York, by Nickolas Muray is a colorful portrait of Mexican painter Frida Kahlo. This iconic image features the woman artist sitting on a white bench in fron...

"Balcony" 1938 WPA Print Mid 20th Century American Broadway Theatre Modernism. Silk screen on paper, 15” x 20". Numbered 15/20 lower left. Pencil si...

Original Painting New Yorker Cover Proposal American Scene Modern Santa's Feet Antonio Petruccelli (1907 - 1994) Santas Feet At Midnight New Yorker c...

"Country Stroll" by Galien-Laloue is an Oil on Canvas, French Impressionism painting of the French country side of a dirt road on your wa...

Date: 1938 Medium: Oil on Canvas Signature: Signed Lower Left Dimensions: 27.00" x 25.00" Calendar Illustration

A very nice poster for the SNCF and the trips to Monte-Carlo made by Charles Loupot in 1937, a French poster and graphic designer. It is one of the first poster of the SNCF. In addi...

Modernist painting by Vaclav Vytlacil of "City Scene with Faces". Signed and dated "Vytlacil 32" lower right. Provenance: Estate of the artist #1584; Martin Diamond Fine Art Exhibi...

Waylande Gregory (American, 1905-1971) Polo Player, c. 1930s Ceramic Inscribed signature on bottom 11 x 8.5 inches Waylande Gregory was considered a major American sculptor during the 1930's, although he worked in ceramics, rather than in the more traditional bronze or marble. Exhibiting his ceramic works at such significant American venues for sculpture as the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City and at the venerable Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia, he also showed his ceramic sculptures at leading New York City galleries. Gregory was the first modern ceramist to create large scale ceramic sculptures, some measuring more than 70 inches in height. Similar to the technique developed by the ancient Etruscans, he fired his monumental ceramic sculptures only once. Gregory was born in 1905 in Baxter Springs, Kansas and was something of a prodigy. Growing up on a ranch near a Cherokee reservation, Gregory first became interested in ceramics as a child during a native American burial that he had witnessed. He was also musically inclined. In fact, his mother had been a concert pianist and had given her son lessons. At eleven, he was enrolled as a student at the Kansas State Teacher's College, where he studied carpentry and crafts, including ceramics. Gregory's early development as a sculptor was shaped by the encouragement and instruction of Lorado Taft, who was considered both a major American sculptor as well as a leading American sculpture instructor. In fact, Taft's earlier students included such significant sculptors as Bessie Potter Vonnoh and Janet Scudder. But, Taft and his students had primarily worked in bronze or stone, not in clay; and, Gregory's earliest sculptural works were also not in ceramics. In 1924, Gregory moved to Chicago where he caught the attention of Taft. Gregory was invited by Taft to study with him privately for 18 months and to live and work with him at his famed "Midway Studios." The elegant studio was a complex of 13 rooms that overlooked a courtyard. Taft may have been responsible for getting the young man interested in creating large scale sculpture. However, by the 1920's, Taft's brand of academic sculpture was no longer considered progressive. Instead, Gregory was attracted to the latest trends appearing in the United States and Europe. In 1928 he visited Europe with Taft and other students. "Kid Gregory," as he was called, was soon hired by Guy Cowan, the founder of the Cowan Pottery in Cleveland, Ohio, to become the company's only full time employee. From 1928 to 1932, Gregory served as the chief designer and sculptor at the Cowan Pottery. Just as Gregory learned about the process of creating sculpture from Taft, he literally learned about ceramics from Cowan. Cowan was one of the first graduates of Alfred, the New York School of Clayworking and Ceramics. Alfred had one of the first programs in production pottery. Cowan may have known about pottery production, but he had limited sculptural skills, as he was lacking training in sculpture. The focus of the Cowan Pottery would be on limited edition, table top or mantle sculptures. Two of the most successful of these were Gregory's "Nautch Dancer," (fig. 1) and his "Burlesque Dancer," (fig. 2). He based both sculptures on the dancing of Gilda Gray, a Ziegfield Follies girl. Gilda Gray was of Polish origin and came to the United States as a child. By 1922, she would become one of the most popular stars in the Follies. After losing her assets in the stock market crash of 1929, she accepted other bookings outside of New York, including Cleveland, which was where Gregory first saw her onstage. She allowed Gregory to make sketches of her performances from the wings of the theatre. She explained to Gregory, "I'm too restless to pose." Gray became noted for her nautch dance, an East Indian folk dance. A nautch is a tight, fitted dress that would curl at the bottom and act like a hoop. This sculpture does not focus on Gray's face at all, but is more of a portrait of her nautch dance. It is very curvilinear, really made of a series of arches that connect in a most feminine way. Gregory created his "Burlesque Dancer" at about the same time as "Nautch Dancer." As with the "Nautch Dancer," he focused on the movements of the body rather than on a facial portrait of Gray. Although Gregory never revealed the identity of his model for "Burlesque Dancer," a clue to her identity is revealed in the sculpture's earlier title, "Shimmy Dance." The dancer who was credited for creating the shimmy dance was also Gilda Gray. According to dance legend, Gray introduced the shimmy when she sang the "Star Spangled Banner" and forgot some of the lyrics, so, in her embarrassment, started shaking her shoulders and hips but she did not move her legs. Such movement seems to relate to the "Burlesque Dancer" sculpture, where repeated triangular forms extend from the upper torso and hips. This rapid movement suggests the influence of Italian Futurism, as well as the planar motion of Alexander Archipenko, a sculptor whom Gregory much admired. The Cowan Pottery was a victim of the great depression, and in 1932, Gregory changed careers as a sculptor in the ceramics industry to that of an instructor at the Cranbrook Academy in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Cranbrook was perhaps the most prestigious place to study modern design in America. Its faculty included the architect Eliel Saarinen and sculptor Carl Milles. Although Gregory was only at Cranbrook for one and one half years, he created some of his finest works there, including his "Kansas Madonna" (fig. 3). But, after arriving at Cranbrook, the Gregory's had to face emerging financial pressures. Although Gregory and his wife were provided with complimentary lodgings, all other income had to stem from the sale of artworks and tuition from students that he, himself, had to solicit. Gregory had many people assisting him with production methods at the Cowan Pottery, but now worked largely by himself. And although he still used molds, especially in creating porcelain works, many of his major new sculptures would be unique and sculpted by hand, as is true of "Kansas Madonna." The scale of Gregory's works were getting notably larger at Cranbrook than at Cowan. Gregory left the surface of "Kansas Madonna" totally unglazed. Although some might object to using a religious title to depict a horse nursing its colt, it was considered one of Gregory's most successful works. In fact, it had a whole color page illustration in an article about ceramic sculpture titled, "The Art with the Inferiority Complex," Fortune Magazine, December, 1937. The article notes the sculpture was romantic and expressive and the sculpture was priced at $1,500.00; the most expensive sculpture in the article. Gregory was from Kansas, and "Kansas Madonna" should be considered a major sculptural document of Regionalism. Gregory and his wife Yolande moved to New Jersey in the summer of 1933. And the artist began construction on his new home in the Watchung Mountains of Bound Brook (Warren today) in 1938. His enormous, custom kiln was probably constructed at the start of 1938. Gregory's new sculptures were the largest ceramic sculptures in western art, in modern times. To create these works of ceramic virtuosity, the artist developed a "honeycomb" technique, in which an infrastructure of compartments was covered by a ceramic "skin." Science and atomic energy were a theme in Gregory's most significant work, the "Fountain of the Atom" (fig. 4), at the 1939 New York's World Fair. This major work included twelve monumental ceramic figures at the fairground entrance from the newly constructed railway entrance, giving the work great visibility and prominence. The framework of the fountain itself was of steel and glass bricks. It consisted of a bluish green pool which was sixty five feet in diameter. Above it were two concentric circular tiers, or terraces, as Gregory called them; the first wider than the second. On the first terrace were eight "Electrons," comprised of four male and four female terra cotta figures, each approximately 48 inches high. These relate to the valance shell of the atom. Above them on a narrower terrace, were the much larger and heavier terra cotta figures depicting the four elements, each averaging about 78 inches in height and weighing about a ton and a half. Of the four, "Water" and "Air" were male, while "Earth" and "Fire" were female. This terrace represents the nucleus of the atom. In the center of the fountain, above the "Elements," was a central shaft comprised of sixteen glass tubes from which water tumbled down from tier to tier. At the top, a colorful flame burned constantly. The glass block tiers were lit from within, the whole creating a glowing and gurgling effect. Since the fair was temporary, the figures could be removed after its closing. But the credit for the design of the structure of the fountain belongs to collaborator Nembhard Culin, who was responsible for several other structures on the fair grounds as well. Although Gregory created a figure of "Fire" for the "Fountain of the Atom," he also executed a second, slightly smaller but more defined version which he exhibited at various locations (including Cranbrook, Baltimore Museum, etc.) in 1940-1941, during the second year of the fair (fig.5). Measuring 61 inches in height, "Fire" may be a metaphor for sexual energy, as well as atomic energy. Gregory stated, "Fire is represented by an aquiline female figure being consumed in endless arabesques of flame." Portraiture was also a significant focus of Gregory's sculpture. Gregory produced many commissioned portraits of local people as well as celebrities. He created Albert Einstein's portrait from life (fig. 6, ca. 1940) after Einstein had seen Gregory's "Fountain of the Atom." He also sculpted some of the leading figures in entertainment, including 2 sculptures of Henry Fonda, who became a personal friend. Gregory also sculpted a series of idealized female heads, both in terra cotta and in porcelain. These include "Girl with Olive" (ca. 1932) and "Cretan Girl;"(ca. 1937) both are very reductive and almost abstract works that call to mind Constantine Brancusi's "Mademoiselle Pogany" (1912, Philadelphia Museum of Art). But perhaps one of his most original female heads is "Head of a Child" (fig. 7, ca. 1933), a sensitive white glazed terra cotta portrayal with elaborately crafted braded hair, was originally created as one of a pair. Gregory also produced sculptural works for the Works Progress Administration. The WPA was a work relief project that greatly helped artists during the great depression. Founded by the Federal Government in 1935, an estimated 2500 murals were produced. Among these public works were the iconic post office murals. But, among the painted murals were also sculptural relief murals including Gregory's "R.F.D.," 1938, for the Columbus, Kansas Post Office. But, Gregory's largest WPA relief...

Ricard Opisso - Bar - Colored pencils Measurements drawing 11x13cm. Frame measures 35x37 cm. Son of Alfredo Opisso y Viñas, journalist, historian and critic, and of Antonia Sala y Gil, his sister Regina Opisso, was also a writer. He comes from an enlightened family full of artists. His paternal grandfather was Josep Opisso y Roig, journalist and director of the Diari de Tarragona, father of the also writers Antonia Opisso y Viña and Antoni Opisso y Viña. His maternal great-grandfather was the painter Pere Pau Montaña, his maternal grandfather the fabulist Felipe Jacinto Sala and his maternal uncle, the painter Emilio Sala y Francés. His nephew was Arturo Llorens y Opisso, a writer better known under his pseudonym Arturo Llopis. Although he was born in Tarragona, his family moved to Barcelona when Opisso was only two years old. In modernist Barcelona at the end of the 19th century, Opisso worked as an assistant to Antonio Gaudí in the works of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona since 1892. He was linked to the group Els Quatre Gats, along with Ramón Casas, Manuel Hugué, Isidre Nonell...

**Diogenes.** **Terracotta sculpture, 1939, Giorgio Rossi (1894-1981): Tuscan Sculptor.** **Material:** Hand-modeled terracotta by the artist. **Unique piece.** **Dimensions...

Framed colour map of the West Indies published 1936 w/ border design motif adapted from native West Indian handicraft and indigenous tropical fruits Colorte...

Sculpture Terracotta From Marcel Bouraine (1886-1948)" Original terra cotta sculpture of Marcel Bouraine Naïade of the 1930's Signed Bouraine On the ...

Medium: Oil on Canvas Signature: Signed Lower Left Saturday Evening Post Cover, February 25, 1939

Antique American modernist New York City dock scene. Oil on canvas. In excellent original condition. Handsomely framed in a period modern molding. Excellent condition, ready to...

Max Ernst - Elektra Lithograph 1939 Dimensions: 32 x 24 cm Signed in the plate From XXe siècle Unsigned and unumbered as issued

Le Rêve  is a color lithograph on ivory paper, created by the Italian artist Umberto Brunelleschi (Montemurlo 1879- Paris 1949). Illustration for “Tales and Short Stories” by La Fon...

Medium: Oil on Canvas Signature: Signed Lower Right Saturday Evening Post Cover, April 19, 1930

Paul Klee (after) The Yellow Donkey (Der Gelbe Esel) Year: 1939 Lithograph Size: 14.125x19.6 on 20.6x26 inches Esther Gentle, Reproduction, 1952 Edition: 300 Inscribed in pencil stam...

The pirate in love is a color lithograph on ivory paper, created by the Italian artist Umberto Brunelleschi (Montemurlo 1879- Paris 1949). Illustration for “Tales and Short Stories”...

Lying Woman is an original modern artwork realized by the artist Nino Bertoletti beetween 1930 and 1940. Mixed colored oil on canvas. Hand signed by the artist on the lower margin Nino Bertoletti (Rome, October 26...

Medium: Oil on Canvas Signature: Signed Lower Right Literature: Laurie Norton Moffatt, Norman Rockwell: A Definitive Catalogue, Norman Rockwell Museum...

Lithograph on vélin des Papeteries du Marais paper. Inscription: Unsigned and unnumbered, as issued. Good condition. Notes: From the volume, Verve: Revue Artistique et Littéraire, Vo...

This early silver gelatin print on semi-matte paper with margins was likely printed in the 1930s. This is an extremely rare variant of an image published in "The Four Seasons of Yose...

Windy Night, Stockholm. 1935. Drypoint. Dodgson 457.x. 11 7/8 x 7 5/8 (sheet 15 1/2 x 10 7/8). Edition of 80 in this state (total 93 in 10 states). Illustrated: Guichard, British Etc...

Jim’s of Lambertville is proud to offer this artwork by: Walter Emerson Baum (1884 - 1956) Born in Sellersville, Pennsylvania, Walter Baum was one of the only members of the New Ho...

Medium: original etching. This impression on Canson et Montgolfier wove paper was printed in 1937 in an edition of 500 for the "Paris 1937" portfolio. Printed at the atelier of Jean-...

Anton Schutz, 'Venice, Maria della Salute', etching, c. 1930. Signed and titled in pencil. A superb, richly-inked impression, with skillfully wiped plate tone, on cream wove paper, ...

Aereo pittura di Michele Falanga Futurista Siciliano Aerei colorati verdi e rossi Citta nel cielo notturno L'opera viene venduta con certificato di autenticità dell'archivio Falanga

One of the most famous members of the Humanist photography in France. Signed lower right by the artist. Stamp of the artist's studio on the back.

Clarence Sinclair Bull was one of the great masters of the Hollywood portrait. As head of the stills department at MGM for over thirty years, he helped to pioneer the art and craft o...

Leon Bibel, 'Food Not Cannon', etching, 1937, edition 12 (an early state, probably unique). Signed in pencil. A fine impression, on cream wove paper, with full margins (7/8 to 2 1/8 ...

This dynamic poster was created to promote the Priceless Oil brand around 1930. Native American imagery was often employed to add an exotic or adventurou...

"Barge Toiler" by Max Kalish is a Mid 20th Century modern Depression-Era sculpture from his Labor series. The WPA era work is made of plaster. Max Kalish (1891 – 1945) Barge Toiler 12 x 8”x 4 inches Patinated plaster Signed and monogramed BIO Born in Poland March 1, 1891, figurative sculptor Max Kalish came to the United States in 1894, his family settling in Ohio. A talented youth, Kalish enrolled at the Cleveland Institute of Art as a fifteen-year-old, receiving a first-place award for modeling the figure during studies with Herman Matzen. Kalish went to New York City following graduation, studying with Isidore Konti and Herbert Adams...

Man Ray Femmes # 9, 1930S Gelatin silver print, printed in 1981 by Paolo Vandrasch with the supervision of Juliette Man Ray Photo size 30 x 22 cm Frame size 51.3 x 41.2 x 2.5 cm Edition 17 of 35 Caption label signed in black ink by Paolo Vandrasch and Juliette Man Ray on the verso Framed This beautiful female portraits by Man Ray have an interesting story to tell. The printing technique - the so-called pseudosolarisation – is obtained by illuminating the paper for a fraction of time during the development phase, which gives the faces a mysterious and intriguing quality. This image was made in 1981 under the direction of his wife Juliet from the original negatives in an operation involving three other important Milanese figures: the photographer Mario Carrieri...

Reproduction from a collection of drawings by Flemish and Dutch masters of the XV-XVII Centuries preserved in the Albertina Collection in Vienna, Austria. Published by Campbell Dodgs...

Date: 1937 Medium: Oil on Canvas Dimensions: 36.00" x 24.00" Signature: Signed Upper Left The original painting for the 1937 Heidi movie poster.

The revelation is a color lithograph on ivory paper, created by the Italian artist Umberto Brunelleschi(Montemurlo 1879- Paris 1949). Illustration for “Tales and Short Stories” by L...

The Lovers is a color lithograph on ivory paper, created by the Italian artist Umberto Brunelleschi (Montemurlo 1879- Paris 1949). Illustration for “Tales and Short Stories” by La F...

Three Boys on a Swing, Pitt St. N.Y. by Walter Rosenblum is a black and white photograph documenting three children playing on a swing set in a city park. Gelatin Silver Print 10.5 ...

Very beautiful poster of A. Solon ( 1897 - 1973 ) on the airline Air France and its trips between Marseille, the Balearic Islands and Algiers in 5 hours. One of the first Air France...

Nude Woman in Chair Watercolor, gouache, ink, and pencil on heavy paper, c. 1930-35 Signed with the artist's Estate stamp lower right (see photo) Note: "Matchstick" ink drawing of fe...

Martin Lewis (1881-1962, Shadows, Garage at Night, drypoint, 1928, signed in pencil lower right [also signed in the plate lower right]. Reference: McCarron 69, only state, from the t...

Artist/ School: British School, circa 1930's Title: The Art Class Medium: oil painting on canvas, unframed Size: painting: 28.75 x 23.75 inches Provenance: private collection, E...

Jan Charles Vondrous, 'Piazzetta, Venice', color etching, 1930. Signed, dated, and titled in pencil. Signed and dated in the plate, lower right. A fine impression, on cream, laid pap...

Lithograph realized by Edouard Chimot in 1932. Belongs to the suite "Le Chat", in which the author classifies and represents pubic hairstyles that become progressively more surreal....

Mid Century Island in the San Francisco Bay Landscape by Alexander Nepote Lovely late 1930's Impressionist watercolor of a Bay Area island by listed California artist Alexander Nepo...

This gouache and tempera with pencil is signed in gouache by the artist in the lower right image "Kàdàr Bèla". The paper bears the collector’s mark of Rudolf Bedő and an invetory num...

Mack, Harry F. POCKETS FOR POWDER IN THE MINE. Etching with aquatint, not dated, but circa 1930s. Titled and signed "H. F. Mack" in pencil. 7 7/8 x 6 inches (plate), 10 3/4 x 9 1/4 i...

Jim’s of Lambertville Fine Art Gallery is proud to present this piece by Walter Emerson Baum (1884 - 1956). Born in Sellersville, Pennsylvania, Walter Baum was one of the only membe...

Still Life with Flowers oil on board, c. 1935 Signed lower left on table cloth (see photo) Done while the artist was in Woodstock, New York in the 1930's Provenance: Weyhe Gallery, N...

Juniper, Lake Tenaya Gelatin silver print, 1937 Unsigned Edward Weston Estate stamp verso (see photo) A lifetime printing by Brett Weston, supervised by his father Edward, printed in...

Miçao Kono was a Japanese artist who came to Paris in the early 1920s. He painted in oils and watercolors, and also did a number of etchings. Micao Kono became famous with his nude p...

Elephant trotting by Roger GODCHAUX (1878-1958) Rare sculpture in bronze with a nuanced dark brown patina Signed " Roger Godchaux " on the base Artist's cast, with no foundry mark France circa 1930 height 15 cm length : 25 cm Biography : Roger Godchaux (1878-1958) was a French painter, drawer and animal sculptor. If all domestic and wild bestiary was part of his artistic universe, wild beasts and elephants having been his favorite subjects. As a figurative sculptor, he represented the animal without artifice, in his attitudes of everyday life. From Vendôme Godchaux joined Paris, where he prepared in 1894 admission to the School of Fine Arts. He soon turned to animal art. He became a pupil of Jules Adler...

Jean-Emile Laboureur (1877-1943), Dimanche en Bretagne, etching, 1939, signed in pencil lower left and inscribed “ep d’artite” lower right. Reference: Laboureur 543, second state (of...

NYC 1939 World's Fair Mural Study American Scene WPA Modern Mid 20th Century Eugene Savage (1883 – 1978) 1939 World’s Fair Mural Study 45 x 30 inches Oil on Canvas Signed lower right The painting is part of a 1,000 piece collection of art and objects from the 1939 World’s Fair. The collection as a whole is available. Savage created the mural for the facade of the Communications Building. An image of the completed mural, along with a published postcard, is part of the listing. Note the center top female figure, she resembles the figure in the offered painting. BIO Eugene Francis Savage was born in Covington, Indiana 1883. He underwent various forms of art training in the early years. He was a pupil of The Corcoran Gallery and The Art Institute of Chicago, and was later awarded a fellowship to study in Rome at The American Academy. While under the spell of that ancient city the young artist began to render historic figures that were suitable for the classic style needed for mural painting in the traditional manor. During this period he was able to study and observe Roman and Greek sculpture, although much of the academic training was accomplished by using plaster casts along with the incorporation of live models. This method survived and was used efficiently throughout Europe and the United States. After leaving the Academy, Savage was commissioned to paint numerous murals throughout the United States and Europe. This artist received acclaim for the works he produced while under commissions from various sources. This young master was a contemporary of Mexican muralists David Alfaro Siqueiros (1896-1974), Jose Clemente Orozco (1883-1949) and Diego Rivera (1886-1957). In this period he was to show the influence of his contemporaries in formulating a modern style. Savage also played a vital role in the WPA Federal Art program, and he was a member of The Mural Art Guild.. Savage was elected an associate member of The National Academy of Design in 1924 and a full member in 1926. From 1947, he held a professorship at Yale University where he taught mural painting, and some of his students went on to significant positions. By this time the artist had painted large-scale murals at Columbia, Yale University, Buffalo N.Y., Dallas, Texas, Chicago, Indiana, along with other commissioned works. He also achieved recognition for a series of murals commissioned by the Matson Shipping Line and completed around 1940. For this commission, Savage made many exacting studies of customs and folkways of the Hawaiian natives. However, the award-winning murals were not installed as planned but were put in storage during the war years when the ships were used for troop transportation and were in danger of attack. However the mural images were reproduced and distributed by the shipping company including nine of the mural scenes that were made into lithographed menu covers in 1948. The American Institute of Graphic Arts awarded certificates of excellence for their graphic production, and the Smithsonian Institute exhibited the works in 1949. Today Savages' Hawaiian Art production is held in high regard by collectors of Hawaiian nostalgia. In later years the artist focused his attention on a theme that dealt with the customs and tribal traditions of the Seminole Indians of Florida. He produced many variations of this theme throughout his lifetime, and the pictures were usually modest scale easel paintings, precise and carefully delineated. Many of these pictures incorporate Surrealistic elements and show some minor stylistic influences of the painters Kay Sage...

"Charge of the Revolutionist Cavalry" - 1931 Woodcut On Paper 1931 Black and white woodcut print titled "Charge of the Revolutionist Cavalry" by Leo...

Pair of bookends with Elephants by Ary BITTER (1883-1973) A very fine pair of bronze sculptures with a nuanced dark brown patina Signed " Ary Bitter Sclp " on an original plaque on ...