1940s Art

Original vintage World War Two poster Silence - The Enemy is Watching for your confidences / Silence, l'Ennemi guette vos confidences - Design by Paul Colin (1892-1985) features two ...

This stunning Scottish Abstract Expressionist oil painting is by noted Scottish artist William Gear. Painted in 1949 it is an early and significant painting which dates to the early part of his career. Entitled Abstract Landscape with Red and Green it was painted during Gear's time in Paris and involvement with COBRA. Mostly red and green shapes are incased in black on a vivid yellow background. A really pleasing composition to the eye and perfectly housed in an ebonised frame, it is an excellent example of Gear's work. Signed and Dated '49 lower right. Inscribed, titled and dated verso. Provenance: Cornish collection. Condition. Acrylic on canvas 25 inches by 20 inches and in good condition. Frame. Housed in an ebonised frame, 30 inches by 25 inches and in good condition. Few British painters have played an active role in the modern abstract movement of post-war Europe. William Gear was the most passionate and committed exception. He continued the tradition of the Edinburgh-Paris axis established by J.D. Fergusson, Samuel Peploe and others, spending vital years between 1947 and 1950 living and working in Paris. Significantly, in recent years, he received the greatest acclaim in France, Germany and the Netherlands. He was born in 1915 in Methil, Fife, into a mining family; the particular landscape of "pitheads, the sea, rocks, castles, trees, storms and poverty" marked his earliest identity with a place and probably remained the most influential to his art. Years later he recalled as a schoolboy visiting the local art gallery in Kirkcaldy and seeing 12 colourful still-lifes by Peploe. Art-history lessons during student years at Edinburgh College of Art, in particular Byzantine classes under David Talbot Rice, also influenced his concern for structure. This had as much to do with the formal language of painting as sheer delight in the medium itself. Gear never missed an opportunity to show people the merits of a well-constructed painting. On a travelling scholarship in 1937, he chose to study with Fernand Leger, described by Gear as "a keystone for me, seldom abstract, rather a degree of abstraction". The Second World War interrupted these formative years and, by 1940, Gear had joined the Royal Corps of Signals. Dispatched to the Middle East, he still had the discipline to paint - mostly works on paper of damaged landscapes - with exhibitions in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Cairo as well as Siena and Florence. His naturally robust and tenacious temperament was profoundly affected by visiting Bergen-Belsen, and this certainly influenced the later experiments with the black armature. As the British officer in Celle, working for the Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives Section of the Control Commission, he focused on securing the safety of the Berlin Art Collection in Schloss Celle, and organised an important series of modern art exhibitions, including the rejected work of Karl Otto Gotz...

Presenting a charming and decorative composition painted in 1943 by Danish artist Evan Wulff. This stilleben painting unveils a rustic table adorned simply with a wine bottle and two...

Lucien Boucher 🇫🇷 (1889 - 1971), a multifaceted artist known for his prowess as a painter, engraver, poster designer, and draftsman, left an indelible imprint on his era through his remarkable works. His journey into the world of art began with ceramics, studying at the renowned Sèvres School. However, the tumultuous events of World War I redirected his path. In 1914, Boucher was sent to the frontlines, where he experienced captivity as a prisoner of war. It was during this trying period that he discovered his innate talent for drawing. Initially recognized for his caricatures in the humorous weekly magazine he eventually ventured into designing posters and flyers, most notably for Air France. One of Boucher's most captivating creations is his 1948 poster...

Original vintage World War Two travel poster - Back to the Good Old Days! ...National needs come first! Travel only when you must! - issued by the Great Indian Peninsula Railway (GIP...

Ex Libris - Dr. Jur. Jeanne Ronse is an Artwork realized in 1943 by the Artist André Vlaanderen (1881-1955). Woodcut B./W. print on paper. Signed on plate on the right corner. The ...

Ex-Libris - Flowers is an Artwork realized in 1947 by the Czech Artist  Frantisek Kobliha (1877-1962). Woodcut B./W. print on ivory paper. Signed on plate and dated on back. The wor...

Original vintage sport themed travel poster - Come to Britain for Golf - Artwork by the notable British painter Rowland Hilder (1905-1933) featuring four men playing golf alongside a...

Carl Johansson (1863-1944) Sweden A Tranquil Landscape View, 1943 oil on wood panel signed and dated Carl Johansson 1943 - panel dimensions: 41 cm x 55 cm (16.14 inches x 21.65 inc...

This early 20th-century oil painting by Spanish artist César Fernández Ardavín (1883-1974) depicts a cheerful young woman before a mirror. Buoyant and playful, she sits casually on ...

Ex Libris - Irma A Slàvek Formanovi is an Artwork realized in 1947, by the artist  Frantisek Kobliha (1877-1962).                                                     Woodcut print on...

Joséphine Beaudouin (1909-2005) Poetry of the Bird, surrealist painting, 1948 Oil on canvas Signed "Joséphine Beaudouin" and dated "1948" lower left 13,7 x 10,6 inch Born in Albi in 1909, Josephine Beaudouin (née Cals) showed an early interest in drawing. At the age of twelve, she moved to Paris where her mother, Jeanne Ramel-Cals, ran a literary salon that was frequented by art world figures such as Ambroise Vollard. In 1925, while her first drawings appeared in the magazine Crapouillot, the young artist entered the School of Decorative Arts where she studied fresco painting. She married the architect Eugène Beaudouin in 1928, with whom she traveled throughout Europe. Beaudouin, a member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts, designed a series of buildings that were precursors of modern architecture in France (Clichy, Maison du Peuple; Antony, Résidence universitaire Jean Zay). Josephine Beaudouin exhibited at the Salon des Indépendants, the Salon des Tuileries, the Salon d'Automne and the Salon des Artistes Décorateurs. The work of the one that Jean Cocteau described as "bewitching" is full of mystery. Her work bears the stamp of an extraordinary personality. Indeed, Josephine Beaudouin developed a penchant for dreams at a very early age and took refuge in the works illustrated by Gustave Doré. Her technical virtuosity and overflowing imagination were praised by the critics of her time who unanimously greeted her Marmorées (ill.1). Named by René Barotte, these are paintings made on marble slabs from 1955. The artist exploits the infinite resources of the veins of this support which inspires him poetic compositions with unusual subjects. Marked by surrealism, she returns to the fantastic by delivering a prodigious creation of the mind made of dreamed cities and trompe-l'oeil. The 1948 painting that we propose probably represents a red-billed chough. The bird is a recurring theme in the work of Josephine Beaudouin, as in her life. An avid ornithologist, she kept an aviary in her Parisian home where many island birds were kept. She also built up a collection of stuffed birds. Still on this theme, the writer Claude Aveline (1901-1992), author of the poem L'Oiseau-Qui-N'Existe-Pas, invited several visual artists to freely interpret what this bird could be. The first series of works was produced between 1956 and 1963. In 1957, Joséphine Beaudouin delivered a work with a pen of great finesse, now preserved at the Centre Pompidou (ill.2). Several renowned artists also responded to the invitation of the poet such as Jean Cocteau and Ossip Zadkine. The precision of the graphics of our painting testifies to an attentive observation of the anatomy of the birds. The artist paints with great delicacy: the technique is impeccable, the drawing is careful, the material is smooth, the details are represented with great finesse and mastery. Bibliography : Fernand Pouillon...

"Dinner Jazz" by Slim Aarons 1949: American Jazz trumpeter and singer Louis Armstrong (1898 - 1971) enjoys a plate of spaghetti in Rome. Unframed Paper S...

Ex-Libris  - H J De Kost is an Artwork realized in 1946 by the artist Wim Zwiers.  Etching print on ivory paper. Hand signed on the right margin and dated on the back.  The work is...

André Masson ( 1896-1987) Pencil study with annotations on the right side, acquired by the previous owner from Luis Masson son of Andrè Masson

Original vintage PanAm travel poster - Fly to Britain by Clipper Pan American World Airways The System of the Flying Clippers - featuring colourful artwork depicting a Royal Coldstre...

Original vintage travel poster for Royal Leamington Spa issued by British Railways featuring a great design by Claude Henry Buckle (1905-1973) depicting the Jephson Gardens Victorian...

This superb Post Impressionist Slade School female full length seated nude portrait oil painting is by female artist E A Jay. Painted in the 1940'...

Original vintage winter sports poster for the Swiss alpine resort of Kandersteg Schweiz Suisse Switzerland located in the Bernese Oberlan...

Hand signed and numbered. Third state, edition of 10 plus some artist proofs, signed. Hand signed and numbered in pencil. Very good condition. Reference Catalogue Raisonné: "George...

'Market Day in Piazza Grande, Locarno, Switzerland', oil on board, by unknown artist (1947-48). Locarno is an utterly charming Italian-speaking resort located on the northern shore o...

Albert Daniel Rutherston 1881-1953, British artist, painter and draughtsman, he designed posters and theater sets also illustrating books.

This superb Post Impressionist Slade School female full length seated nude portrait oil painting is by female artist E A Jay. Painted in the 1940'...

Ex-Libris  - J M Casas y Ros is an Artwork realized in 1940 s., by the artist Juan Estiarte.  Woodcut print on ivory paper. Signed on plate on the upper left.  The work is glued on...

Francis PICABIA Nice Weather : Nude with Loving Birds, 1948 Original lithograph Printed signature in the plate On paper 56 x 45 cm (c. 22 x 18 in) REFERENCES : Francis Picabia : S...

Hand signed, dated and titled. Passepartout included. Good condition.

Original vintage World War Two Propaganda poster Share Sugar - It's war-scarce its war-necessary - Design features a box of sugar on a yellow background with bold black lettering. Is...

This stunning Scottish Abstract oil painting is by much noted artist William Gear. It was painted in 1949, not long after Gear de mobbed in 1947, moved to Paris and established a one room studio at 13 Quai des Grands Augustins, hence the title Interieur, Forme Blanche. At the same time, Gear was introduced to CoBrA, allowing him to exhibit in important early CoBrA shows in Copenhagen and in Amsterdam in 1949. The same year saw an exhibition at the Betty Parsons Gallery in New York, alongside Jackson Pollock. Gear remained in Paris until the early fifties. This bold abstract mixes blocks of solid colour with more geometric lines and is an excellent and important example of his period in Paris. Signed and dated '49 lower left. Provenance: Private London collection. Condition. Oil on canvas, 24 inches by 20 inches and in good condition. Frame. Housed in a wooded white painted frame, 34 inches by 30 inches and in good condition. Few British painters have played an active role in the modern abstract movement of post-war Europe. William Gear was the most passionate and committed exception. He continued the tradition of the Edinburgh-Paris axis established by J.D. Fergusson, Samuel Peploe and others, spending vital years between 1947 and 1950 living and working in Paris. Significantly, in recent years, he received the greatest acclaim in France, Germany and the Netherlands. He was born in 1915 in Methil, Fife, into a mining family; the particular landscape of "pitheads, the sea, rocks, castles, trees, storms and poverty" marked his earliest identity with a place and probably remained the most influential to his art. Years later he recalled as a schoolboy visiting the local art gallery in Kirkcaldy and seeing 12 colourful still-lifes by Peploe. Art-history lessons during student years at Edinburgh College of Art, in particular Byzantine classes under David Talbot Rice, also influenced his concern for structure. This had as much to do with the formal language of painting as sheer delight in the medium itself. Gear never missed an opportunity to show people the merits of a well-constructed painting. On a travelling scholarship in 1937, he chose to study with Fernand Leger, described by Gear as "a keystone for me, seldom abstract, rather a degree of abstraction". The Second World War interrupted these formative years and, by 1940, Gear had joined the Royal Corps of Signals. Dispatched to the Middle East, he still had the discipline to paint - mostly works on paper of damaged landscapes - with exhibitions in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Cairo as well as Siena and Florence. His naturally robust and tenacious temperament was profoundly affected by visiting Bergen-Belsen, and this certainly influenced the later experiments with the black armature. As the British officer in Celle, working for the Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives Section of the Control Commission, he focused on securing the safety of the Berlin Art Collection in Schloss Celle, and organised an important series of modern art exhibitions, including the rejected work of Karl Otto Gotz...

Hand signed in red pencil and numbered. Dated in plate. Edition 14/50. On Arches Wove Paper. Excellent condition. Reference: Bloch n.443; Mourlot 86

Original vintage Art Deco poster advertising British radio telecommunication services - Speed your message via Imperial Eastern Empiradio or Marconi - featuring a stunning geometric ...

The port of Terragon. Watercolor on paper. Circa 1940-1950. Painted on rough watercolor paper, Canson & Montgolfier, old French paper manufacturer. The chromatic range is played in ...

Jean Cocteau Surrealist Portrait, 1946 Original etching Printed signature in the plate On BFK Rives vellum, 32,5 x 25 cm (c. 12,7 x 9,8 inch) Edition limited to 300 copies (unnumber...

A stunning oil on canvas urban landscape by sought after French post-impressionist painter Jacques Martin-Ferrieres. The piece depicts a very rare view of the Manhattan skyline - pai...

Albert Daniel Rutherston 1881-1953, British artist, painter and draughtsman, he designed posters and theater sets also illustrating books.

Original vintage World War Two poster - SSAFA Soldiers' Sailors' & Airmen's Families Association - The Fighting Man's link with his home. For Forces' Families Flag Day, September 3rd...

Hand signed and titled. Passepartout included. Very good condition.

Hand signed, dated and titled. Matting included. Very good condition.

This charming British portrait oil painting is by female artist Dod Procter. It was painted in 1949 and exhibited at the Royal Academy London the same year. The painting is of a litt...

A 5-part original etching from Peter László Péri’s 'Londoners’ series, 1940s. Framed size: 41.5cm x 46.5cm Mounting: Raised-float mounted using aci...

Hand signed and titled. Passepartout included. Good conditions.

Signed J. Sureda Lloveras - Fishermen's beach - Oil on board Oil measures 33x41 cm. Frameless. Signed J. Sureda Lloveras.

Hand signed and titled. Matting included. Very good condition.

Original vintage skiing poster for the Dartmouth Winter Carnival held on 7-8 February 1941 featuring a dynamic design by Stanley Samuelson Pratt Institute depicting a skier wearing a...

Ex Libris For Giorgio Balbi, realized by Alberto Martini in 1944. It includes passepartout, 30 x 24 cm. Woodcut, sheet 18 x 10 cm. Signed on plate bottom right.  Good conditions.

This lovely British portrait oil painting is by noted artist Lionel Ellis. Painted circa 1940, the picture is a half-length seated portrait of a smiling woman wrapped in a red shawl,...

The airport is an artwork realized by Suzanne Tourte, in 1940s. Pen on paper. Handisgned in the lower margin and artist's stamp on the right side. ...

Original vintage Africa travel poster for the Belgian Congo / Congo Belge including a pictorial map of French Equatorial Africa, Sudan, Uganda, Tanganyika, Rhodesia and Angola. Desig...

Country scene is an artwork realized by Suzanne Tourte, in 1940s. Pen and pencil on paper. artist's stamp on the left side. 20 x 24 cm. Good cond...

To see more, scroll down to "More from this Seller" and below it click on "See all from this Seller." V Robinson The Lent Bumps 1931 - 1940 Pen, ink and watercolour 60 x 48 cm A hand-painted chart illustrating the results of the Lent Bumps from 1931 to 1939, with a note that in 1940 there were 'No Lent Races due to War'. The Lent Bumps, also known as "Lents" or the Lent Races are a set of University of Cambridge rowing...

Work on cardboard Golden wooden frame 51 x 43.5 x 4 cm

Work on wood Green wooden frame 65 x 76.5 x 4 cm

Original vintage World War Two poster - Lick Them Over There! Come On Canada! - featuring a dramatic image depicting soldier in uniform holding a bayonet rifle gun in one hand and lo...

This interesting British landscape oil painting is by noted artist Laurence Henry Irving. Painted circa 1940 it is a Kent harvest landscape of the Rother Valley from Prospect Hill, W...

Original vintage travel advertising poster issued by BEA - Lineas Aereas Britanicas - featuring a stunning design showing a plane flying from Madrid in Spain to Londres / London in E...

The gate is an artwork realized by Suzanne Tourte, in 1940s. pen, black marker and pencil on paper. Hand-sgned in the lower margin and artist writin...

A highly-evocative original 1940s Peter László Péri etching in a museum-grade frame. Framed size: 45 x 52.5cm Mounting: Raised-float mounted using ...

A uniquely hand-coloured etching with acquatint also represented in the Tate collection: “Selling the Daily Worker c.1947 (Tate P14975) is an etching that depicts a woman selling the Communist newspaper The Daily Worker with the headline ‘The British Turn to Socialism’. She is standing in front of a factory wall, her baby in its pram temporarily ignored. The Daily Worker reached its peak circulation in the years after the Second World War, when concerns about workers’ rights and inequality inspired many to turn to socialism. ” Artist: Peter László Péri...

Original vintage Switzerland travel poster for St Moritz Les Bains Suisse 1856m featuring a scenic image by the notable Swiss photographer Albert Steiner...