1940s Art

Julio De Diego’s Atomic Series paintings made an extraordinary statement regarding the shock and fear that accompanied the dawn of the nuclear age. In the artist’s own words, “Scientists were working secretly to develop formidable powers taken from the mysterious depths of the earth - with the power to make the earth useless! Then, the EXPLOSION! . . . we entered the Atomic Age, and from there the neo-Atomic war begins. Explosions fell everywhere and man kept on fighting, discovering he could fight without flesh.” To execute these works, De Diego developed a technique of using tempera underpainting before applying layer upon layer of pigmented oil glazes. The result is paintings with surfaces which were described as “bonelike” in quality. The forms seem to float freely, creating a three-dimensional visual effect. In the 1954 book The Modern Renaissance in American Art, author Ralph Pearson summarizes the series as “a fantastic interpretation of a weighty theme. Perhaps it is well to let fantasy and irony appear to lighten the devastating impact. By inverse action, they may in fact increase its weight.” Exhibited 1950 University of Illinois at Urbana "Contemporary American Painting" 1964 Marion Koogler McNay Art Institute, San Antonio, Texas This work retains its original frame which measures 54" x 36" x 2". About this artist: Julio De Diego crafted a formidable persona within the artistic developments and political struggles of his time. The artist characterized his own work as “lyrical,” explaining, “through the years, the surrealists, the social-conscious painters and the others tried to adopt me, but I went my own way, good, bad or indifferent.” [1] His independence manifested early in life when de Diego left his parent’s home in Madrid, Spain, in adolescence following his father’s attempts to curtail his artistic aspirations. At the age of fifteen he held his first exhibition, set up within a gambling casino. He managed to acquire an apprenticeship in a studio producing scenery for Madrid’s operas, but moved from behind the curtains to the stage, trying his hand at acting and performing as an extra in the Ballet Russes’ Petrouchka with Nijinsky. He spent several years in the Spanish army, including a six-month stretch in the Rif War of 1920 in Northern Africa. His artistic career pushed ahead as he set off for Paris and became familiar with modernism’s forays into abstraction, surrealism, and cubism. The artist arrived in the U.S. in 1924 and settled in Chicago two years later. He established himself with a commission for the decoration of two chapels in St. Gregory’s Church. He also worked in fashion illustration, designed magazine covers and developed a popular laundry bag for the Hotel Sherman. De Diego began exhibiting through the Art Institute of Chicago in 1929, and participated in the annual Chicago Artists Exhibitions, Annual American Exhibitions, and International Water Color Exhibitions. He held a solo exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago in the summer of 1935. Though the artist’s career was advancing, his family life had deteriorated. In 1932 his first marriage dissolved, and the couple’s young daughter Kiriki was sent to live with friend Paul Hoffman. De Diego continued to develop his artistic vocabulary with a growing interest in Mexican art. He traveled throughout the country acquainting himself with the works of muralists such as Carlos Merida, and also began a collection of small native artifacts...

Flag Raising in Leroy Street. Lithograph. 320x245 mm; 12 5/8x9 5/8 inches. Edition of 25. Signed, titled, dated and inscribed "Ed. 25" in pencil, lower ma...

Art Sz: 11"H x 8 3/8"W 1944 Provenance stamp on verso: The Estate of Paul Desmond Brown *Book sold separately*

Original vintage post-WWII railway travel poster for Bastogne Societe Nationale des Chemins de Fer Belges / Belgian National Railway Company. Colourful illustration of a discarded German Nazi...

Ex Libris - Adeline De Jonghe is a Modern Artwork realized in 1945 s.. B/W woodcut on paper. The work is glued on cardboard. Total dimensions: 20x 15...

Medium: pochoir (after the lithograph). Printed in New York by Esther Gentle and published in 1947 for a portfolio issued by the Museum of Modern Art in an edition of 2000. The image...

Joaquin Terruella Matilla (1891-1957) - Impressionist Marina - Oil panel Oil measures 32x35 cm. Frame measures 43x46 cm. The table has irregu...

Original vintage anti-American imperialism World War Two political propaganda poster - De Dollarpoliep / The Dollar Polyp or The Dollar Octopus - featuring an image of a US dollar sign with octopus like tentacles reaching into different countries on a map in and around North and South America marking areas with dates on each tentacle, war ships at sea and military planes flying towards it on both sides from the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans with sunken ships at sea and a sword marked with a rising sun emblem of Japan cutting through the tentacle dated 1898 round the Philippines on a black background, the title text above and information on the side and below with the quote on a paper background, translated from the Dutch - The well-known American publicist Henry R. Luce recently wrote in Life a magazine read by millions of Americans: "In 1919 we had a great opportunity to take control of the world. Wilson made bad use of it and we lost that chance. But whatever happens, by our collective effort Roosevelt must succeed where Wilson failed." For Americans, the law of nations is the law of the wilderness. America to Americans means that every country where the Yankees want to plant their flag suddenly becomes America and falls under the Monroe Doctrine. The history of America is one imperialistic rampage, shooting dollars instead of bullets! By exploiting European wars, America's traditional policy is to enrich itself with European interests in the Atlantic and the Pacific. So Roosevelt also thought to exploit this war for American world domination! Already dying England has made its sacrifice. But for the first time, America miscalculated! Japan and Germany now encircle America in the two Oceans...

This is a highly stylized circus acrobat scene. Done “en grissille” or shades of grey, it portrays an acrobat on a trapeze high above the crowd, abstractly shown lower right. The stark composition, enhanced by the theatrical lighting...

Slim Aarons Burlington Arcade 1955 (printed later) Silver gelatin print estate signature stamped edition of 150 with certificate of authenticity Shops in Burlington Arcade, which r...

Rare Set of Four Original Color WDCT Skira 1943 after RABELAIS (François). The Horrible and Terrible Deeds and Prowess of the Renowned Pantagruel, King of the Dipsodes, Son of the ...

Antique signed Canadian fishing oil painting. Oil on board. Signed. Framed. Image size, 24L x 30H.

Art Sz: 11"H x 8 3/8"W 1944 Provenance stamp on verso: The Estate of Paul Desmond Brown *Book sold separately*

Bert Geer Phillips (1868-1956) Original Oil On Board In good condition Measures 22x17 International buyers most cover shipping cost

Work on wood Brown wooden frame 36.2 x 42 x 3 cm

Work on paper Dimension with pass 31.7 x 24 cm

Slim Aarons Jazz Scooter 1949 (printed later) Silver gelatin print estate signature stamped edition of 150 with certificate of authenticity Lucille Brown takes control of the Vespa...

Kees van Dongen- Fille au Fleurs Offset lithograph, 1948 Made for the album ‘La Grand nuit de Paris’ Exact edition size is unknown Signed 'Van Dongen' in the stone Paper size: 31.0 ...

Original vintage World War Two food propaganda poster - Central Kitchens A nutritious meal for little money / Centrale Keukens Voor weinig geld een voe...

To see our other original vintage warbird aeroplane posters, photographs and paintings, scroll down to "More from this Seller" and below it click on "...

Born in Russia, the son of Friede (1878 – 1956) and Benjamin Hoffman (1878 – a. 1942). Benjamin was a dealer in mineral and seltzer water and the family resided on Snediker Avenue in Brooklyn, New York, just down the streetfrom the home where George Gershwin (1898 – 1937) was born. This area of Brooklyn, known as Brownsville, “witnessed the development of one of the largest communities of Eastern European Jewish immigrants during the last decade of the 19th century and the first two decades of the 20 th century.” Today, little remains of this once thriving Jewish section of Brooklyn, which today houses many commercial and repair businesses. Hoffman studied at the Art Students League of New York, the National Academy of Design and in the art program at Cooper Union. His work at the National Academy received praise, and in 1921 he was awarded the 2nd prize and an honorable mention from the John Armstrong Chaloner Paris Prize Foundation at the National Academy, which allowed the recipient to study in Paris, France for as long as five years. The following year he was awarded the 1 st prize in the competition (with The Reform Advocate running the headline “Young Jew Wins Art Prize”) as well as the Suydam Bronze Medal for his achievements in the Academy’s Men’s Night Class. In 1923 he was residing in Long Branch, New Jersey, when he was awarded 4th place in the Chaloner competition. Early on, Hoffman exhibited his work throughout the city, including in 1925 with the recently organized Society of Independent Artists. He also received several solo exhibitions during the first part of his career, including one at Ferargil Galleries in 1929. In the spring of 1930 a solo exhibition of his portraits, including paintings and drawings, was held at at Babcock Galleries, where a reviewer noted: “Portraiture is obviously Mr. Hoffman’s specialty… his best work is characterized by a sensitive appreciation of character set down in a vigorous decisive statement. Later that same year, in August, he participated in Babcock’s summer exhibition where reviewer Jerome Klein, writing for The Baltimore Sun, felt Hoffman’s and other artists work was already becoming old fashioned, remarking “…if an effort toward accomplishment is to be made, it must be in the language of today. It is for that reason that such contemporaries as Eugene Higgins and Nathan Hoffman, in this show, seem artists of a bygone era…” The onset of the Great Depression appears to have slowed his success, as was the case for many up-and-coming artists. By 1939 Hoffman had become a gallerist in addition to being a painter, operating the collective exhibition space “Sutton Gallery,” which was originally located at 358 East 57th Street. There Hoffman exhibited his own works as well as those created by other prominent New York artists including David Burliuk (1882 – 1967), Charles C. Curran (1861 – 1942), Louis Eilshemius (1864 – 1941), Ann Goldthwaite (1869 – 1944), Maurice Kish (1895 – 1987), Lawrence Lebduska (1894 – 1966), Bradford Perin and Ellis Wilson...

Slim Aarons King of Jazz 1949 (printed later) Silver gelatin print estate signature stamped edition of 150 with certificate of authenticity 1949: Photographers taking pictures of A...

Art Sz: 11"H x 8 3/8"W 1944 Provenance stamp on verso: The Estate of Paul Desmond Brown *Book sold separately*

Original “Wake of the Red Witch” vintage movie poster: Staring John Wayne and Gail Russell. Original linen backed small format poster. Wake of the Red...

Medium: pochoir (after the lithograph). Printed in New York by Esther Gentle and published in 1947 for a portfolio issued by the Museum of Modern Art in an edition of 2000. The image...

Cover of "Scenographies du Bauhaus" is a woodcut print on paper realized by Albert Flocon in the 1940s. Good conditions. Belongs to the series " from the "Scénographies du Bahuhaus".

Horst P Horst (1906-1999) (Black and White Photography) Lisa on Silk, New York, 1940 Signed on reverse Silver gelatin print 14 x 11 inches Horst was a perfectionist who raised the s...

Gouache and watercolor on paper Estate of Sam Esses Never afraid of trying new styles, curious and opinionated, constantly engaged with the world around him, Rolph Scarlett more than once proved to be at the artistic zeitgeist in a career that stretched for more than 75 years. Born in 1889, Scarlett had his first retrospective by 1928. He subscribed fully to the modernist credo. Interviewed at the time, he said: "If a futuristic painting...

Art Sz: 11"H x 8 3/8"W 1944 Provenance stamp on verso: The Estate of Paul Desmond Brown *Book sold separately*

Vintage modernist still life painting. Oil on canvas. Image size, 18L x 24H.

Original vintage Pan Am travel advertising map poster - On the routes of the Flying Clipper Ships - featuring a pictorial map by Kenneth W. Thompson (1907-1996) of Latin America with images of points of interest, cities, animals and people including ancient Maya ruins and Inca ruins, the Iguassu Falls, Amazon...

Art Sz: 11"H x 8 3/8"W 1944 Provenance stamp on verso: The Estate of Paul Desmond Brown *Book sold separately*

Art Sz: 11"H x 8 3/8"W 1944 Provenance stamp on verso: The Estate of Paul Desmond Brown *Book sold separately*

Faces is a linocut realized by Mino Maccari in the 1940s. 50 x 30 cm. Handisigned in the lower right part. Edition of 12 copies. Reference; Cat. Meloni , pag 367, n.1741. Good c...

Art Sz: 11"H x 8 3/8"W 1944 Provenance stamp on verso: The Estate of Paul Desmond Brown *Book sold separately*

Art Sz: 11"H x 8 3/8"W 1944 Provenance stamp on verso: The Estate of Paul Desmond Brown *Book sold separately*

Beautiful original poster of 1949 created by Constantin for the annual ball, the night of the electricity. Electricity - Dance - Show Annual Bal Music Hall - J. Ador

Charles CAMOIN Mediterranean Landscape, 1946 Original lithograph Signed in pencil bottom right Numbered / XX On Lana vellum 26 x 36 cm (c. 10...

Art Sz: 11"H x 8 3/8"W 1944 Provenance stamp on verso: The Estate of Paul Desmond Brown *Book sold separately*

PABLO PICASSO 1881-1973 Málaga 1881-1973 Mougins (Spanish) Title: Still Life with Lobster Nature morte à la langouste, 1945 Technique: Hand Signed and Numbered Etching and Aquatint in Colours on BFK Rives Wove Paper Paper size: 36.5 x 53.8 cm. / 14.3 x 21.2 in. Image size: 27 x 46 cm. / 10.6 x 18.1 in. Additional Information: This work is hand signed in pencil by the artist "Picasso" at the lower right margin. It is also hand numbered from the edition of 100, at the lower left corner. The work was printed in the 1945 in a limited edition of 100 impressions and published by Atelier Lacourière, Paris. It is additionally inscribed in pencil “gravé et imprimé par Lacourière Paris 1945” [Engraved and printed by Lacourière, Paris 1945]. This etching and aquatint is based after Picasso oil painting...

Art Sz: 11"H x 8 3/8"W 1944 Provenance stamp on verso: The Estate of Paul Desmond Brown *Book sold separately*

Art Sz: 11"H x 8 3/8"W 1944 Provenance stamp on verso: The Estate of Paul Desmond Brown *Book sold separately*

Art Sz: 11"H x 8 3/8"W 1944 Provenance stamp on verso: The Estate of Paul Desmond Brown *Book sold separately*

Art Sz: 11"H x 8 3/8"W 1944 Provenance stamp on verso: The Estate of Paul Desmond Brown *Book sold separately*

Art Sz: 11"H x 8 3/8"W 1944 Provenance stamp on verso: The Estate of Paul Desmond Brown *Book sold separately*

Art Sz: 11"H x 8 3/8"W 1944 Provenance stamp on verso: The Estate of Paul Desmond Brown *Book sold separately*

Art Sz: 11"H x 8 3/8"W 1944 Provenance stamp on verso: The Estate of Paul Desmond Brown *Book sold separately*

Art Sz: 11"H x 8 3/8"W 1944 Provenance stamp on verso: The Estate of Paul Desmond Brown *Book sold separately*

Art Sz: 11"H x 8 3/8"W 1944 Provenance stamp on verso: The Estate of Paul Desmond Brown *Book sold separately*

Art Sz: 11"H x 8 3/8"W 1944 Provenance stamp on verso: The Estate of Paul Desmond Brown *Book sold separately*

Art Sz: 11"H x 8 3/8"W 1944 Provenance stamp on verso: The Estate of Paul Desmond Brown *Book sold separately*

Art Sz: 11"H x 8 3/8"W 1944 Provenance stamp on verso: The Estate of Paul Desmond Brown *Book sold separately*

Art Sz: 11"H x 8 3/8"W 1944 Provenance stamp on verso: The Estate of Paul Desmond Brown *Book sold separately*

Art Sz: 11"H x 8 3/8"W 1944 Provenance stamp on verso: The Estate of Paul Desmond Brown *Book sold separately*

Work on canvas Illegible signature

Art Sz: 11"H x 8 3/8"W 1944 Provenance stamp on verso: The Estate of Paul Desmond Brown *Book sold separately*

Art Sz: 11"H x 8 3/8"W 1944 Provenance stamp on verso: The Estate of Paul Desmond Brown *Book sold separately*

Original vintage World War Two poster - Hands off Europe / Handen weg! Europa - featuring a dramatic illustration depicting a giant hand grasping at the map of Europe defending itsel...