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1940s Art

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Period: 1940s
A Schooner off of the Coast
A Schooner off of the Coast

A Schooner off of the Coast

By Gordon Grant

Located in Wiscasett, ME

An oil on canvas by American artist Gordon Hope Grant featuring a schooner off of the coast. This painting is signed and dated i1945 n the lower left and measures 33.5" x 33.5" inclu...

Category

Post-Impressionist 1940s Art

Materials

Oil

Kathe Kollwitz, Bread!, from Ten Lithographs, 1941 (after)
Kathe Kollwitz, Bread!, from Ten Lithographs, 1941 (after)

Kathe Kollwitz, Bread!, from Ten Lithographs, 1941 (after)

By Käthe Kollwitz

Located in Southampton, NY

This exquisite lithograph after Kathe Kollwitz (1867–1945), titled Brot! (Bread!), from the folio Kathe Kollwitz, Ten Lithographs, originates from the 1941 edition published by Henry C. Kleemann, New York, and Curt Valentin, New York; printed by Duenewald Printing Corporation, New York. The composition reflects Kollwitz’s profound engagement with themes of hardship, deprivation, and human suffering, rendered with stark emotional intensity and a powerful graphic economy that underscores her enduring social message. Executed as a lithograph on velin paper, this work measures 19 x 16 inches (48.26 x 40.64 cm), overall; 13.5 x 11 inches (34.29 x 27.94 cm), image. Unsigned and unnumbered as issued. Artwork Details: Artist: After Kathe Kollwitz (1867–1945) Title: Brot! (Bread!), from Kathe Kollwitz, Ten Lithographs Medium: Lithograph on velin paper Dimensions: 19 x 16 inches (48.26 x 40.64 cm), overall; 13.5 x 11 inches (34.29 x 27.94 cm), image Inscription: Unsigned and unnumbered as issued Date: 1941 Publisher: Henry C. Kleemann, New York, and Curt Valentin, New York Printer: Duenewald Printing Corporation, New York Condition: Well preserved, consistent with age and medium Provenance: From the folio Kathe Kollwitz, Ten Lithographs, 1941 About the Publication: Kathe Kollwitz, Ten Lithographs, published in New York in 1941 by Henry C. Kleemann in collaboration with Curt Valentin, represents an important early American presentation of Kollwitz’s graphic work at a time when her reputation was expanding internationally. Issued during the turbulence of the Second World War and following the suppression of her work in Germany under the Nazi regime, the folio played a crucial role in introducing her imagery to a broader audience outside Europe. The publication gathers a selection of her most powerful lithographic compositions, emphasizing her mastery of tonal contrast, expressive line, and psychological depth. Produced with careful attention to print quality by Duenewald Printing Corporation, the edition reflects the continued transmission of European modernist printmaking traditions into the American context, serving both as a document of artistic excellence and as a vehicle for the preservation and dissemination of Kollwitz’s humanistic vision. About the Artist: Kathe Kollwitz (1867–1945) was a German draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor whose profoundly moving imagery, exceptional technical mastery, and unwavering social conscience established her as one of the most important and influential artists of the twentieth century, widely recognized as a master of modern printmaking and one of the most powerful visual chroniclers of human suffering, war, and social injustice. Born in Konigsberg, East Prussia, into a progressive and intellectually engaged family, Kollwitz was encouraged from an early age to pursue art and developed a deep awareness of social inequality that would shape her entire career, studying in Berlin and Munich at a time when women were largely excluded from formal academies while mastering drawing and graphic techniques with extraordinary discipline. Her breakthrough came with the monumental graphic cycle A Weavers’ Revolt (1893–1897), followed by The Peasants’ War (1901–1908), works that combined complex narrative structure with extraordinary technical command in etching, aquatint, and lithography, establishing her reputation as one of Europe’s leading graphic artists. Throughout her career, Kollwitz remained committed to portraying the lives of workers, mothers, and victims of poverty and conflict with unflinching honesty, creating compositions defined by bold, sculptural line, dense shadow, and unparalleled psychological depth that conveyed grief, resilience, and dignity. Working during a period transformed by the radical innovations of Pablo Picasso, Alexander Calder, Alberto Giacometti, Salvador Dali, Joan Miro, Wassily Kandinsky, Marcel Duchamp, and Man Ray, Kollwitz maintained a resolutely figurative and human-centered approach, aligning more closely with German Expressionism and artists such as Ernst Barlach, Max Liebermann, and Edvard Munch, whose emotional intensity and symbolic treatment of the human figure profoundly shaped her artistic language. Her later work, particularly the woodcut cycle War (1922–1923), stands among the most powerful anti-war statements in the history of art, reflecting both personal tragedy, including the death of her son in World War I, and a universal condemnation of violence and loss. In addition to her prints, Kollwitz created deeply moving sculptures that extended her exploration of grief and maternal protection into three dimensions, reinforcing her status as a multidisciplinary artist of exceptional range. She achieved significant recognition during her lifetime, becoming the first woman elected to the Prussian Academy of Arts, though her work was later condemned by the Nazi regime as degenerate, leading to her forced resignation and the removal of her works from public collections, yet her reputation expanded internationally after World War II and she is now regarded as a central figure in modern art. Her influence has been profound and far-reaching, shaping later artists including Francis Bacon, Anselm Kiefer, Leon Golub, Kiki Smith, and numerous contemporary figurative and socially engaged artists who continue to explore themes of trauma, memory, and human vulnerability. Today her works are held in major museum collections worldwide, including the Kathe Kollwitz Museum in Berlin, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the British Museum in London, and the Art Institute of Chicago, and remain highly sought after by collectors for their emotional intensity and historical significance. The highest auction record for a work by Kathe Kollwitz is held by her sculpture Mutter mit totem Sohn (Mother with Dead Son), which achieved approximately 1.2 million EUR at auction, confirming her enduring importance. Kathe Kollwitz Brot 1941 lithograph German Expressionism social realism print.

Category

Expressionist 1940s Art

Materials

Lithograph

Ballet Dancer by Jules Schyl, Pastel on paper, Similarities with Degas
Ballet Dancer by Jules Schyl, Pastel on paper, Similarities with Degas

Ballet Dancer by Jules Schyl, Pastel on paper, Similarities with Degas

By Jules Schyl

Located in Stockholm, SE

Jules Schyl (Sweden, 1893-1977) Title: Ballet Dancers A Ballet Dancer painting is a rare find for an artist mostly known for his oeuvre with Cubism and Expressionist paintings. The current painting has many similarities with Degas sketches...

Category

Impressionist 1940s Art

Materials

Paper, Crayon, Pastel

Gravestone Detail
Gravestone Detail

Gravestone Detail

By Ansel Adams

Located in Pacific Grove, CA

This silver gelatin print is initialed "AA" in felt-tip ink either by the artist or an unknown hand on the front of the mount. This print comes from the collection of the artist's da...

Category

Modern 1940s Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Framed 1948 Brassaï Photogravure Featuring a Picasso Wire Sculpture
Framed 1948 Brassaï Photogravure Featuring a Picasso Wire Sculpture

Framed 1948 Brassaï Photogravure Featuring a Picasso Wire Sculpture

By Brassaï

Located in Barcelona, ES

Published in France in 1948, this framed photogravure by Brassaï reproduces one of Picasso’s sculptural works with striking clarity and tonal depth. Issued by Editions du Chêne for T...

Category

Abstract 1940s Art

Materials

Paper

Untitled, Still Life of Shell
Untitled, Still Life of Shell

Untitled, Still Life of Shell

Located in Fairlawn, OH

Untitled, Still Life of Shell Graphite on paper, 1945-1951 Signed lower right in pencil "Bisttram" (see photo) Condition: Excellent Sheet size: 9.63 x 7 .5 inches EMIL BISTTRAM (189...

Category

American Modern 1940s Art

Materials

Graphite

Pablo Picasso, Untitled, from Carmen, 1949
Pablo Picasso, Untitled, from Carmen, 1949

Pablo Picasso, Untitled, from Carmen, 1949

By Pablo Picasso

Located in Southampton, NY

This exquisite engraving by Pablo Picasso (1881–1973), titled Sans titre (Untitled), from the folio Picasso, Carmen (Picasso, Carmen), originates from the 1949 edition published by L...

Category

Cubist 1940s Art

Materials

Engraving

Autumn Landscape — 1940s Post-Impressionism
Autumn Landscape — 1940s Post-Impressionism

Autumn Landscape — 1940s Post-Impressionism

Located in Myrtle Beach, SC

Henri Pierre Fortier, Untitled (Autumn Landscape), gouache, c. 1940s. Signed in ink. Inscribed 'To my Friend CLINTON R. MULFORD'. A fine, painterly watercolor, with rich, layered colors, on heavy dark brown drawing paper with approximately 1/4 inch margins; an unfinished figurative sketch...

Category

Impressionist 1940s Art

Materials

Gouache

“Strolling along the Seine, Paris”
“Strolling along the Seine, Paris”

“Strolling along the Seine, Paris”

By Guy de Neyrac

Located in Southampton, NY

The artwork is double matted with an antique style contemporary gold leaf gallery frame in fine condition. Overall framed measurements are 24 by 31 inches. Provenance: A Sarasota, Florida collector. Guy de Neyrac was born in France in 1900 and is widely known for his impressionistic watercolor and pen drawings of Paris...

Category

Post-Impressionist 1940s Art

Materials

Ink, Watercolor, Archival Paper

Arroyo Grove, c. 1940s
Arroyo Grove, c. 1940s

Arroyo Grove, c. 1940s

By Samuel Hyde Harris

Located in Pasadena, CA

Consigned to American Legacy Fine Arts by H&N Fine Art as part of the Katherine A. Norris Legacy Collection, Newport Beach, California; Bonham’s California, April 11, 2005, lot 205, sold for $7,000; Estate of Sam Harris Signed "Sam Hyde Harris...

Category

Abstract Expressionist 1940s Art

Materials

Oil, Panel, Masonite

Portrait of Young Man
Portrait of Young Man

Portrait of Young Man

By Vito Tomasello

Located in Wilton Manors, FL

Outstanding male portrait by 20th-century American artist, Vito Tomasello. Portrait of a young man, c.1950. Pencil on paper, sheet measures 14 x 17 inches. Excellent condition. S...

Category

Realist 1940s Art

Materials

Paper, Pencil

A Stylish, Vintage 1940s Fashion Design, Women's Dresses, Marshall Field & Co.
A Stylish, Vintage 1940s Fashion Design, Women's Dresses, Marshall Field & Co.

A Stylish, Vintage 1940s Fashion Design, Women's Dresses, Marshall Field & Co.

Located in Chicago, IL

A stylish, vintage, 1940s fashion study featuring an elegant design for women's dresses (day & evening wear). Most likely a design study for a print advertisement for the famed Chicago department store, Marshall Field & Co. Inscription reads: "Above- Irene Castle inspired this dinner gown...

Category

American Modern 1940s Art

Materials

Paper, Pencil, Color Pencil

A Serene 1940s, Modern Western Landscape Painting with Horses by Francis Chapin
A Serene 1940s, Modern Western Landscape Painting with Horses by Francis Chapin

A Serene 1940s, Modern Western Landscape Painting with Horses by Francis Chapin

By Francis Chapin

Located in Chicago, IL

A serene, 1940s Modern Western landscape painting with horses by famed Chicago artist, Francis Chapin. Accompanied with a handsome walnut brown stained wooden frame. Canvas size: 22 x 28 inches. Framed size: 25 x 31 inches. Estate stamped on reverse. Provenance: Estate of the artist. Francis Chapin, affectionately called the “Dean of Chicago Painters” by his colleagues, was one of the city’s most popular and celebrated painters in his day. Born at the dawn of the 20th Century in Bristolville, Ohio, Chapin graduated from Washington and Jefferson College near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania before enrolling at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1922. He would set down deep roots at the Art Institute of Chicago, exhibiting there over 31 times between 1926 and 1951. In 1927 Chapin won the prestigious Bryan Lathrop Fellowship from the Art Institute – a prize that funded the artist’s yearlong study trip to Europe. Upon his return to the United States, Chapin decided to remain in Chicago, noting the freedom Chicago artists have in developing independently of the pressure to conform to pre-existing molds (as was experienced by artists in New York, for example). Chapin became a popular instructor at the Art Institute, teaching there from 1929 to 1947 and at the Art Institute’s summer art school in Saugatuck, Michigan (now called Oxbow) between 1934 – 1938 (he was the director of the school from 1941-1945). Chapin’s contemporaries among Chicago’s artists included such luminaries as Ivan Le Lorraine Albright...

Category

American Modern 1940s Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

French Oil Painting - The Cat's Meow
French Oil Painting - The Cat's Meow

French Oil Painting - The Cat's Meow

Located in Houston, TX

Whimsical oil on paper painting of a tabby cat resting on a rug and backed by large abstract cat forms, circa 1940. Signed lower left. Original artwork on paper displayed on a whit...

Category

1940s Art

Materials

Oil, Paper

Santa Fe The Chief Way original American railroad poster
Santa Fe The Chief Way original American railroad poster

Santa Fe The Chief Way original American railroad poster

Located in Spokane, WA

Original Santa Fe The Chief Way vintage railroad travel poster. Archival linen backed in very fine condition, ready to frame. Most of the Santa Fe Railway posters feature American Indians, but this poster features the big boss, The Chief! The poster has about a 1" white border around the entire image, the linen backing is not counted in the poster's measurement. Several of the trains were named "Chief" which includes the San Francisco Chief, Texan Chief, Kansas City Chief...

Category

American Impressionist 1940s Art

Materials

Offset

A Summer Bouquet in a Green Vase
A Summer Bouquet in a Green Vase

A Summer Bouquet in a Green Vase

By Irene Stry

Located in San Francisco, CA

Somewhere there is a room filled with polished mahogany and yards of immaculate warm white linen slipcovering the furnishings and framing the windows. The French doors open wide to f...

Category

Impressionist 1940s Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Untitled (Surrealist composition)
Untitled (Surrealist composition)

Untitled (Surrealist composition)

By Julio de Diego

Located in Fairlawn, OH

Untitled (Surrealist composition) Wax resist monotype with scraffito, 1947 Signed in scraffito in the image lower right (see photo) Unique image, part a of series of similar works i...

Category

Surrealist 1940s Art

Materials

Monotype

"Bread" lithograph by Käthe Kollwitz
"Bread" lithograph by Käthe Kollwitz

"Bread" lithograph by Käthe Kollwitz

By Käthe Kollwitz

Located in Soquel, CA

Bold lithograph titled "Bread" by Kathe Kollwitz (German, 1867-1945). This piece is one of the Lithographic reproductions of the original lithographs, plate 2 from a series of 10, pr...

Category

Expressionist 1940s Art

Materials

Paper, Ink, Lithograph

Antique Oil Painting of Young Scandinavian Girl, Signed 1941, Framed
Antique Oil Painting of Young Scandinavian Girl, Signed 1941, Framed

Antique Oil Painting of Young Scandinavian Girl, Signed 1941, Framed

Located in Douglas Manor, NY

5118 Antique Scandinavian oil painting of a beautiful young pigtsiled beauty Framed Image size 11.5x19" Signed C.Keskulla 1941

Category

1940s Art

Materials

Oil

Pierre Bonnard, Untitled, from Correspondances, 1944
Pierre Bonnard, Untitled, from Correspondances, 1944

Pierre Bonnard, Untitled, from Correspondances, 1944

By Pierre Bonnard

Located in Southampton, NY

This exquisite lithograph by Pierre Bonnard (1867–1947), titled Sans titre (Untitled), from the album Pierre Bonnard, Correspondances, originates from the 1944 edition published by E...

Category

Post-Impressionist 1940s Art

Materials

Lithograph

La Gare
La Gare

La Gare

By François Arnal

Located in Boca Raton, FL

This richly detailed acrylic composition by François Arnal reflects the artist’s fascination with symbolic form, texture, and visual rhythm during the formative years of postwar abst...

Category

Abstract 1940s Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"Buste" original lithograph

"Buste" original lithograph

By Pierre Bonnard

Located in Henderson, NV

Medium: original lithograph. Printed in 1946 by Andre Clot on Arches paper for the rare "Eloge de Pierre Bonnard" and published in Paris by Manuel Bruker. Image size: 7 3/8 x 5 3/4 ...

Category

1940s Art

Materials

Lithograph

“Gloucester Docks”
“Gloucester Docks”

“Gloucester Docks”

By Caroline Bell

Located in Southampton, NY

Beautiful oil on fiberboard painting of fishing boats at the docks of Gloucester by the well known North Fork Long Island artist Caroline M. Bell. Circa 1945. Signed lower left by the artist. Condition is very good. Housed in its original silver leaf over wood frame in restored condition. Overall framed measurements are 20 by 18 inches. Provenance: Sarasota, Florida estate. Biography: Caroline M. Bell (1874 -1870) Caroline Bell was the leader of a group of artists known as the Peconic Bay...

Category

Post-Impressionist 1940s Art

Materials

Oil, Fiberboard

Portrait of a Man Smoking a Pipe in Oil on Masonite
Portrait of a Man Smoking a Pipe in Oil on Masonite

Portrait of a Man Smoking a Pipe in Oil on Masonite

Located in Soquel, CA

Portrait of a Man Smoking a Pipe in Oil on Masonite Detailed portrait of a man with a pipe by Heinz Robert Schubert (German, 1912-2001 approx.). A man wearing a short-brimmed hat is...

Category

Realist 1940s Art

Materials

Masonite, Oil

East River (Unititled)

East River (Unititled)

By Isabella Banks Markell

Located in Los Angeles, CA

East River (Untitled), c. 1940s, oil on canvas signed lower right, 18 x 24 inches Isabella Markell was a painter, etcher, and sculptor, who is best known for her New York City scen...

Category

American Impressionist 1940s Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Frida Kahlo in  Xochimilco, Mexico. Black and white Portrait photograph
Frida Kahlo in  Xochimilco, Mexico. Black and white Portrait photograph

Frida Kahlo in Xochimilco, Mexico. Black and white Portrait photograph

By Leo Matiz

Located in Miami Beach, FL

Matiz managed to create intimate portraits, in which Frida seemed happy to surrender to her lens. The result was dynamic portraits of Khalo, a wonderful example of both the photograp...

Category

Other Art Style 1940s Art

Materials

Black and White, Digital Pigment

Pablo Picasso, Untitled, from Carmen, 1949
Pablo Picasso, Untitled, from Carmen, 1949

Pablo Picasso, Untitled, from Carmen, 1949

By Pablo Picasso

Located in Southampton, NY

This exquisite engraving by Pablo Picasso (1881–1973), titled Sans titre (Untitled), from the folio Picasso, Carmen (Picasso, Carmen), originates from the 1949 edition published by L...

Category

Cubist 1940s Art

Materials

Engraving

Autumn Color
Autumn Color

Autumn Color

Located in North Clarendon, VT

Striking regionalist painting by American/Hungarian artist Charles Harsanyi. Autumn Colors in Stephenstown NY. 15" x 20" Oil on board with bold brushwork housed in a 19.25 x 24.25 white washed period frame. Charles Harsanyi (American, 1905-1973) Charles E. Harsanyi was born in Tapolcza, Hungary in 1905. He studied at the Royal Academy in Budapest, Hungary with A. Bankhard from 1923 to 1928. Nineteen years later, in 1947, Harsanyi moved to the U. S., settling in Jackson Heights, New York. The painter and drawing specialist became a member of numerous prestigious art clubs including the Salmagundi Club, The Society of Independent Artists and the Allied Artists of America. Harsanyi served as an awards director and chairman of admissions for the Audubon Artists Association during the 1950s. Later in life after living in Stephentown, New York and Cape Coral, Florida, Harsanyi passed away in Fort Myers, Florida in 1973. STUDIED Royal Academy in Budapest, Hungary with A. Bankhard, 1923-28 MEMBER Salmagundi Club, 1941 Brooklyn Painters & Sculptors American Artists Congress Society of Independent Artists Audubon Artists Association, jury awards director, 1952; chairman admissions committee, 1953; nominating committee, 1955, 1956 Artists Fellow Allied Artists of America, life member; jury awards 1945; jury selection, 1954 AWARDS Long Island Art League, 1954 (prize) Cumberland Valley Artists, 1949, 1950, 1952 (prizes) EXHIBITIONS: Society of Independent Artists, 1929, 1930, 1936-40, 1943, 1944 National Academy of Design, 1933-55 Salons of America, 1934 Brooklyn Museum, 1934 Corcoran Gallery, 1935-51 (four times) Allied Artists of America, 1935-53 (bronze medals 1944, 1953) Doctor Saharunis Art Gallery, Naples, Florida, 1970s American Federation of Arts traveling exhibit Farnsworth Museum, 1950 Springfield Museum of Art, 1947-50 Denver Art Museum, 1937-39 Washington County Museum of Fine Art, 1937-46 (prizes 1938, 39, 41, 43, 54) (gold medal 1946) Butter Art Institute, 1953 World's Fair, New York, 1939 Baltimore Museum of Art, 1939 Art Institute of Chicago, 1941-44 Cincinnati Art Museum, 1941 Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 1942, 1948, 1949 Salmagundi Club, 1946 (prize), 1951 (prize) Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts, 1942, 1943, 1945, 1953, 1955 (William Bradford...

Category

American Modern 1940s Art

Materials

Oil

Landscape of Olot, Oil on Canvas, Signed, Late Impressionism, 1945
Landscape of Olot, Oil on Canvas, Signed, Late Impressionism, 1945

Landscape of Olot, Oil on Canvas, Signed, Late Impressionism, 1945

By Joaquim Marsillach i Codony

Located in Sitges, Barcelona

Title: Landscape of Olot Artist: Joaquim Marsillach Codony (1905-1986) Year: 1945 Technique: Oil on canvas Dimensions: 23.6 x 28.7 in (60 x 73 cm) Location: Olot School, Catalonia Mo...

Category

Impressionist 1940s Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Tauromaquia - Plate F

Tauromaquia - Plate F

Located in Henderson, NV

Medium: heliogravure (after the etching from Goya's Tauromaquia series). Printed in 1947 in a limited edition of 500 on Guarro laid paper, and published in Barcelona by Ediciones Ome...

Category

1940s Art

Materials

Photogravure

Antique Chinese Junk Reverse  Oil Painting on Glass 1940
Antique Chinese Junk Reverse  Oil Painting on Glass 1940

Antique Chinese Junk Reverse Oil Painting on Glass 1940

Located in Douglas Manor, NY

5-3537 Reverse oil painting on glass with gilt detailing. Set in a gilt wood frame Image size 9.5x7.5"

Category

1940s Art

Materials

Oil

Pablo Picasso, Untitled, from Carmen, 1949
Pablo Picasso, Untitled, from Carmen, 1949

Pablo Picasso, Untitled, from Carmen, 1949

By Pablo Picasso

Located in Southampton, NY

This exquisite engraving by Pablo Picasso (1881–1973), titled Sans titre (Untitled), from the folio Picasso, Carmen (Picasso, Carmen), originates from the 1949 edition published by L...

Category

Cubist 1940s Art

Materials

Engraving