American Modern Art

A ca. 1954 watercolor and ink on paper image of a Notre Dame football game by artist Francis Chapin. Francis Chapin, affectionately called the “Dean of...

Clarence Holbrook Carter (American, 1904-2000) Over and Above Surprise (Serpent), 1967 Casein on board Signed lower right 7.75 x 5.5 inches Clarence Holbrook Carter achieved a lev...

An ink drawing Judaic painting by modern artist Ben-Zion Weinman. It depicts a portrait of an old Jewish man. Coming over from Europe on a ship crossing. The work is signed "Ben-Zion". Born in 1897, Ben-Zion Weinman celebrated his European Jewish heritage in his visual works as a sculptor, painter, and printmaker. Influenced by Spinoza, Knut Hamsun, and Wladyslaw Reymont, as well as Hebrew literature, Ben-Zion wrote poetry and essays that, like his visual work, attempt to reveal the deep “connection between man and the divine, and between man and earth.” An emigrant from the Ukraine, he came to the US in 1920. He wrote fairy tales and poems in Hebrew under the name Benzion Weinman, but when he began painting he dropped his last name and hyphenated his first, saying an artist needed only one name. In 1920 he settled in America, where he found little interest in his writing. He began teaching Hebrew to support himself and then in the early 1930s returned to painting. He used his art to comment on the rise of fascism in Europe, events he felt could not be adequately explored with words. Largely self-taught, Ben-Zion visited the museums of New York City to learn his new trade. His first painting on a large scale, Friday Evening (1933, Jewish Museum, New York), depicts a Sabbath dinner table as recalled from his family home. Ben-Zion supported himself by working odd jobs until the establishment of the Works Progress Administration's Federal Art Project. Under the auspices of the wpa, Ben-Zion thrived and galleries began to show his work. In 1936, after his first one-man show at the Artists' Gallery in New York Ben-Zion was a founding member of “The Ten: An Independent Group” The Ten” a 1930’s...

Robert Vale Faro, untitled (African Idol), serigraph, c. 1940, edition 6. Signed in pencil. A fine impression, with fresh colors, on buff wove paper; the full sheet with margins(5/8 ...

Two Women and a Child on the Beach at Provincetown Unsigned. Watercolor on paper, c. 1934 A beautiful Provincetown beach scene, included in the catalogue raisonne. Please see Babcoc...

Ancient Landscape II (Ancient City) Etching and drypoint, 1953-55 Signed and titled in pencil by the artist (see photos) Annotated: "E130 A/1" in pencil lower right Estate stamp vers...

A Bientot, Flower, Photo, The Tappen House, Little Compton, RI (Rhode Island). Hand signed and numbered. small edition of 15, This one is marked proof. (these are on Kodak profession...

A ca. 1931 delightful watercolor still life at a table; a study in yellow by artist Harold Haydon. Harold Emerson Haydon was born in Fort William, Ont...

A ca. 1931 charming watercolor forest scene; a study in yellow by artist Harold Haydon. Harold Emerson Haydon was born in Fort William, Ontario, Canad...

#8 of 12, signed, numbered, dated Howard Schatz gave up a career as a retinal surgeon and a clinical professor to follow his passion for photography. Schatz first established a foll...

Otto Kuhler, 'The Gateway to the New World', etching (artist's proof), edition 16, 1926, Kennedy 25. Signed in pencil and annotated 'Japan Silk Paper - Trial Proof - Ltd. Ed. Del. et...

A woodcut on paper of a self-portrait of artist Emil Armin. Emil Armin was born in Radautz, Austria in 1883. By the age of 10, Armin was orphaned and was raised by his older siblings. He supported himself by working in restaurants and drew in his spare time. In 1905, at the age of 21, Armin immigrated to Chicago. He began studying at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1907, but financial difficulties forced him to start and stop a number of times, finally graduating in 1920. He studied with George Bellows and Randall Davey. Armin was an integral part of Chicago’s 57th Street Art Colony and exhibited in both the more avant-garde Chicago No-Jury Society Shows, as well as the more formal and conventional Chicago Society of Artists Exhibitions, the Chicago Renaissance Society and Art Institute of Chicago (1922-1949) exhibitions. He taught at Hull House...

A ca. 1931 charming watercolor interior scene; a study in yellow by artist Harold Haydon. Harold Emerson Haydon was born in Fort William, Ontario, Can...

Clarence Holbrook Carter (American, 1904-2000) Still Life with Apples, 1940 Oil on canvas Signed and dated upper right 18 x 24 inches Clarence Holbrook Carter achieved a level of na...

Waiting for the Bus in a Blizzard- WPA American Scene 1938 NYC Modernism Realism. 16 x 16 inches, Oil on board, Signed and dated 1938 lower left. ...

"Brando" is a photomosaic artwork by Destro. This image is made up of 100's of smaller images of Marlon Brando. Archival photographic paper Framing options available

A ca. 1931 delightful still life at a table; a study in yellow by artist Harold Haydon. Harold Emerson Haydon was born in Fort William, Ontario, Canad...

Original BLAZING the OVERLAND TRAIL 1956 Chapter 1, US 1-sheet .. Lee Roberts, Tom Bridger. Chapter 1. "Gun Emperor of the West!" NSS: 56/4803. Archival linen backed with original fold marks restored, ready to frame. Blazing the Overland Trail, Heroes of the Pony Express!, the 1956 Spencer Gordon Bennet cowboy western serial ("A Columbia Super-Serial") starring Lee Roberts ("as Tom Bridger, Army Scout"), Dennis Moore, Norma Brooks, Gregg Barton, and Don C. Harvey. Heroes of the Pony Express! Movie poster description: BLAZING THE OVERLAND TRAIL 15 CHAPTER SERIAL , Chapter ! 1956 "Blazing the Overland Trail" is Columbia's 57th and last serial production and also the last sound-era serial (of 231 total) made for theatrical release by any major studio. PLOT: Rance Devlin intends to build his own empire in the American west, using his Black Raiders and allied Indians to do so. Only US Army scout Tom Bridger, associated with Pony Express rider Ed Marr and US Cavalry Captain Frank Carter, can stop him. This is a genuine 27" x 41" U.S. one-sheet ORIGINAL MOVIE POSTER issued by the studio when the film was released and meant for theatrical display. CAST: Lee Roberts … Tom Bridger Dennis Moore … Ed Marr Norma Brooks … Lola Martin Gregg Barton … Captain Carter Don C. Harvey … Rance Devlin Lee Morgan...

A ca. 1954 watercolor of a football scrimmage at Notre Dame, by artist Francis Chapin. This was a study for a painting he created for the University in 1954. The original painting ...

NEW YORK FLY TWA is an original vintage travel poster created by David Klein. Size 25.25" x 40". Archival linen is backed in very good condition, Grade A, and is ready to frame....

You are viewing a modernist American watercolor painting by Robert Noel Blair. Robert Noel Blair (American, 1912-2003) was an American artist, painter, sculptor, printmaker and te...

Dynamic jungle drummer scene by unknown NYC American artist. Oil on canvas measuring 20 x 26 inches. Signed "T 42" in ink on verso. Anco stretchers and Grumbacher NYC store stamp con...

John Marin New York from the Ferry, 1914 Signed and dated lower right Watercolor and graphite on paper 11 x 12 3/4 inches Provenance: An American Place, New York Kennedy Galleries, Inc., New York Christie's, New York, March 16, 1990, Lot 278 Private Collection (acquired from the above) Sotheby's New York, American Paintings, Drawings, & Sculpture, October 2, 2014, Lot 10 A major figure in early twentieth-century modernism, John Marin captured the colliding energies of the American urban scene and the vibrant contrasts of natural elements in the coastal landscape of Maine and other countryside locales. As one of the premier watercolorists of his era, Marin developed a light, spontaneous style ideally suited to conveying the freshness and flux of city and country experience -- his watercolors are often considered to match in strength those created by Winslow Homer in previous century. At the same time, Marin's sensitivity to mass, form, color, and line and their dynamic interchanges provided a precedent for the Abstract Expressionist movement of the late 1950s. Marin was born in Rutherford, New Jersey, to a family of European descent. After studying mechanical drawing and mathematics for half a year at the Stevens Institute of Technology in New York, Marin worked as a draftsman for several architects. It was not until he was almost thirty years old that he began to study art. He enrolled at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia from 1899 to 1901, and at the Art Students League in New York from 1901 to 1903, where his teachers were William Merritt Chase and Frank Vincent Dumond. While Marin was attending the League, the radical ideas of Arthur Wesley Dow were being disseminated and had an impact on the direction Marin would soon take in his art. Marin left for Europe in 1905. The next five years, which he spent abroad, were of tremendous importance to his career. He became a significant figure in the expatriate community in Paris, frequenting the Dôme, a café that served as a meeting place for artists and writers. While in Europe, Marin visited the Louvre and the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and, despite his claims that he had been indifferent to the Paris art world, he undoubtedly became aware of the art of Paul Cézanne and Henri Matisse. The works Marin created in Europe most strongly reflect the influence of James McNeill Whistler, especially the pastels he rendered in Venice. In the summer of 1909, Marin met Alfred Stieglitz in Paris. In February of the next year, Marin's work was shown along with that of Alfred Maurer at Stieglitz's gallery, 291. After returning to America in the following year, Marin became one of the most consistent members of Stieglitz's inner circle, showing at all three of his galleries -- 291, The Intimate Gallery, and An American Place. After 1910, Marin developed the routine that he would follow for the rest of his life, creating paintings, drawings, and prints in New York City and surrounding areas during the winter, and in the summer, traveling to the country, where he focused on the particular characteristics of the regions that he visited. He worked mainly in watercolor until 1928, when he began also to use oil. Marin never became purely abstract. He formulated a unique style melding influences of the art of the French Fauves, Cézanne, Matisse, and the French Cubists with a personal style of luminescent colors, agile brushwork, and a simultaneously delicate and strong handling. In city views, he used broken lines, a light touch, fluid color, and rhythmic compositions to convey what he described as the "great forces at work." He expressed the warring of the great and the small through relationships between masses. As he said, he sought to express the "pull forces" of the modern urban scene. Often portraying the new tall buildings of New York seen...

A ca. 1954, watercolor and ink on paper image of a Notre Dame football game by artist Francis Chapin. Francis Chapin, affectionately called the “D...

Hans Burkhardt regularly used live models for his figural pastels, which he maintained an interest in throughout his long career. Untitled (1963) Pastel on paper 24" x 19" Signed an...

Plombiers Les Bains (Bosges . Original vintage French travel poster: Artist: Adrien Senechal. Travel from Paris in 5 Hours. Note ...

"Dr Dre The Chronic Cassette" is a photomosaic artwork by Destro. This image is made up of 100's of smaller images of Dr Dre imagery. Archival photographic paper Signed edition of...

Richard Florsheim created this color lithograph entitled “Warf-Side” in 1962 in an edition of 60 pieces. This impression is signed and inscribed “Trial Proof” and printed at the Mour...

Christian Dull, 'Mending Nets', aquatint, c. 1930, edition 50. Signed and numbered '50/-' in pencil. A fine impression, on cream laid paper, the full sheet with margins (1/2 to 1 1/2...

Original David Klein, Germany Fly TWA Jets (Smaller format)—professional acid-free archival linen backing; ready to frame. The image of this original travel to Germany scene featur...

A ca. 1954 pastel & charcoal on paper drawing of a Notre Dame football game by artist Francis Chapin. Francis Chapin, affectionately called the “D...

Slim Aarons Digging for Clams on Black Beach (Slim Aarons Estate Edition), 1960 Chromogenic Lambda print Mrs Hans Estin watches her children digging for clams at low tide on Black B...

Modern Abstracted Still-Life with Antique Coffee Grinder by Anthony Rappa Modern textural still-life by California artist Anthony Rappa (America...

"Hollywood Sign" is a photomosaic artwork by Destro. This image is made up of 100's of smaller images of Hollywood related imagery. Archival photographic paper Framing options ava...

Self Portrait (With Model) Lithograph, 1959-1960 Signed and numbered in pencil (see photos) Edition: 50 (30/50) Commissioned by ACA Gallery, NYC Depicts the artist in his studio at S...

Wild Roses , Photo, The Tappen House, Little Compton, RI (Rhode Island). Hand signed and numbered. small edition of 15, This one is marked proof. (these are on Kodak professional pap...

Nantucket artist Reggie Levine, evolved from his figurative work in the 40's-50's to abstract in the 1960's and later to found object art. Interestingly I see his interest in found...

#1 of 8, signed, numbered, dated Howard Schatz gave up a career as a retinal surgeon and a clinical professor to follow his passion for photography. Schatz first established a follo...

Otto Kuhler, 'Cargo Carriers', etching and drypoint, c. 1932, edition 10, Kennedy 44. Signed in pencil. A superb, atmospheric impression with rich burr and selectively wiped overall plate tone, in dark brown ink, on Arches cream laid paper; wide margins (2 to 2 3/4 inches), in very good condition. Printed by the artist. Original Kennedy Galleries mat and label. Scarce. "On my trips up and down N.Y. harbor on the Weehawken Ferry, the late evening sun playing on the side of the big liners has always intrigued me... The liner shown I believe to be the Vaterland of the North German Lloyd...

"Hollywood Sign" is a photomosaic artwork by Destro. This image is made up of 100's of smaller images of Hollywood related imagery. Archival photographic paper Framing options ava...

Original poster: Parc de Bagatelle et Louis Vuitton 1999 Hand-signed by the artist Razzia in black marker on the left side. In plate right side. Linen backed, ready to frame. Ex...

Fabulous original mid century modern oil on canvas painting by the well known New York artist, William Katz. The painting is done in a colorful abstraction of sailboats and is signed by the artist lower left. The artist has mixed sand into the oil paint to give the painting a highly textured look. Condition is excellent. Circa 1955. The frame is original with a studded gold edge detailing and with natural wood sides. Frame is in fine original condition. Overall framed measurements are 17 by 29.25 inches. Provenance: A Saint Petersburg, Florida collector. William P. Katz (1926-2003) American William Katz was born in New York, studied at The Art Students League and with Sebastiano Mineo of New York City. For five years he worked and lived in the home that was once occupied by the great American sculptor Gutson Borglum. His works are in many private collections in the United States, Norway, England, Canada and Greece. Best known for sculptures, he also created paintings and designed textiles and jewelry. Alexander Kirkland called him an abstract "figurist-fantasist." He has had one-man exhibits at many galleries including: 1964, Miami Museum of Modern Art, Miami, FL; 1965, Fordham University...

Woman with Arms Crossed Mixed media collage-painting on stone chip surface, mounted on fabric, mounted on wood support by the artist, 1955 Signed and dated lower center Image size: 1...

Joseph Goethe was one of our finest American modernist carvers in wood. He loved to use exotic and or beautiful woods to inspire his compositions which ranged from figurative, to an...

Sweet Williams, Flower Photo The Tappen House, Little Compton, RI (Rhode Island). Hand signed and numbered. small edition of 15, This one is marked proof...

Framed drawing with a choice of black or white frame (please write a message to seller of your preferred frame color). Mat opening, width: 11 1/2 " - Mat opening, height: 15 ¼ " Fram...

Beach Through Screen, Photo The Tappen House, Little Compton, RI (Rhode Island). Hand signed and numbered. small edition of 15, This one is marked proof. (these are on Kodak professi...

A wonderful study for an American Veterans Remembrance Day Poster Study (National Poppy Day, American Legion) by Elaine Jeanne Glickman (Ginsburg), created at Ferry Hall in Lake Fore...

This is a Platinum Palladium print from one of her first ocean-based beach series, a body of platinum/palladium prints that focused on the water's surface. Later, she transferred her...

Harry Bertoia, Untitled (Abstraction), monotype, c. 1960, a unique impression. Signed 'HB' in pencil, lower right sheet corner, verso. Inscribed '1852' (the artist’s inventory number) in pencil, lower right sheet corner, recto. A superb, painterly impression, on cream wove Japan paper, the full sheet, in excellent condition. Unmatted, unframed. Sheet size 12 x 39 inches (300 x 990 mm). Provenance: Val Bertoia; Private Collection; Rago Auctions, Lambertville, NJ. Literature: 'Harry Bertoia: Monoprints,' Nancy N. Schiffer, Schiffer Publishing LTD, 2011; pg. 253. This work is included in the Harry Bertoia Foundation digital resource, Harry Bertoia Catalogue Raisonné, number TD.MO.1584. ABOUT THE ARTIST Harry Bertoia (1915-1978) was a visionary Italian-American artist, sculptor, and designer. Born in San Lorenzo, Italy, Bertoia immigrated to the United States with his family at fifteen, settling in Detroit, Michigan. From an early age, Bertoia demonstrated a keen interest in art and design, studying painting and drawing at the Cass Technical High School in Detroit. Later, he attended the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, where he studied under renowned designers Eliel Saarinen and Charles Eames. At Cranbrook, Bertoia first began to explore the possibilities of working with metal, a medium that would come to define his artistic career. In the 1940s, Bertoia moved to California to work for Charles and Ray Eames, contributing to the development of innovative molded plywood furniture. However, his experimentation with metal wire sculpture would ultimately catapult him to international acclaim. Bertoia's iconic "Sonambient" sculptures, consisting of delicate metal rods arranged in various configurations, created ethereal sounds when touched or moved, transforming the act of sculpture into a multisensory experience. Bertoia's talent and innovation caught the attention of Florence Knoll, the founder of Knoll Associates, a leading furniture design company. In 1950, Bertoia began collaborating with Knoll, producing a series of iconic wire chairs that became emblematic of mid-century modern design. His "Diamond Chair," with its geometric form and airy construction, remains a classic of modern furniture design. Bertoia continued to explore sculpture as a means of artistic expression, experimenting with new forms and materials. His work was characterized by organicism and fluidity, with forms that evoked natural phenomena such as waves, leaves, and clouds. A decade before Harry Bertoia began creating three-dimensional sculpture, he dedicated his creative efforts to producing experimental prints at the Cranbrook Academy in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, pursuing a passion that would continue for the rest of his life. With these spontaneous works, he worked intuitively, testing different tools and techniques to achieve his desired effects. Rather than using a traditional mechanical pressing process, he would apply ink to a glass or smooth Masonite plate with a sheet of paper laid directly on top. Then, tools such as brayers, dog hair brushes, styluses, and different parts of his hands were employed to draw or “press” the images on the back of the sheet. Rice paper was typically used due to its semi-translucent nature, offering Bertoia limited visibility of the effects of his experimentation, but ultimately, the unpredictable nature of the process was an integral aspect of the results, which never ceased to delight him. Each work was a singular composition with abstract imagery ranging from linear, structural compositions to fantastic surrealistic forms to poetic tonal landscapes. He received little input from other artists, developing his unique vision with rare purity and a deep personal resonance. From his first year of printmaking in 1940, Bertoia quickly amassed an extensive collection of unique works. The compositions were strongly tied to the non-objective movement, which, while popular in Europe, was still in its nascent stages in the US. There were few proponents of this new art form to be found in the 1940s, and it was Hilla Rebay, then Director of the Guggenheim Museum of Non-Objective Art, who gave Bertoia the encouragement and promotion he needed. In 1943, Bertoia sent approximately 100 monotypes to Rebay for review. After receiving the prints, she responded with a surprising offer to buy them all. Rebay then began including them in the museum’s exhibitions. The Guggenheim shows succeeded in putting Bertoia’s name out into the world. He began exhibiting his works regularly at the Neierndorf Gallery in New York and was provided a stipend to ensure a steady supply of prints until Karl Neierndorf died in 1947. By the 1950s...

White Cosmo, Photo, The Tappen House, Little Compton, RI (Rhode Island). Hand signed and numbered. small edition of 15, This one is marked proof. (these are on Kodak professional pap...

This is a Platinum Palladium print from one of her first ocean-based beach series, a body of platinum/palladium prints that focused on the water's surface. Later, she transferred her...

Absolutely Grand, Photo, The Tappen House, Little Compton, RI (Rhode Island). Hand signed and numbered. small edition of 15, This one is marked proof. (these are on Kodak professiona...

Great Dahlias, Photo, The Tappen House, Little Compton, RI (Rhode Island). Hand signed and numbered. small edition of 15, This one is marked proof. (these are on Kodak professional p...

The little window, Photo The Tappen House, Little Compton, RI (Rhode Island). Hand signed and numbered. small edition of 15 (these are on Kodak professional paper not Polaroid 20X24)...

"Woman by Basin" by Philadelphia born modernist and surrealist painter Leon Kelly, is a framed and matted portrait of a female nude. The 22.5" x 17.75" mixed media on artist board i...

Innsbruck '76 original Olympics posters. Tirol Austria 1976. Winter Games. Original Olympic poster. Linen-backed. Published by Organizat...

Vintage hand signed and stamp signed with the photographers stamp and numbered photo of Moccasin Flower. Samuel Herman Gottscho (February 8, 1875 - January 28, 1971) was an American architectural, landscape, and nature photographer. Samuel Gottscho was born in Brooklyn in New York City. He acquired his first camera in 1896 and took his first photograph at Coney Island. From 1896 to 1920 he photographed part-time, specializing in houses and gardens, as he particularly enjoyed nature, rural life, and landscapes. After attending several architectural photograph exhibitions, Gottscho decided to perfect and improve his own work and sought out several architects and landscape architects. After twenty-three years as a traveling lace and fabric salesman, at an age when most people would have given up their youthful dreams, Gottscho became a professional commercial photographer at the age of 50. His son-in-law William Schleisner joined Gottscho in his business in 1935. During this time his photographs appeared in and on the covers of American Architect and Architecture, Architectural Record. His portraits and architectural photography regularly appeared in articles in the New York Times. His photographs of private homes in the New York and Connecticut suburbs often appeared in home decoration magazines. From the early 1940s to the late 1960s, he was a regular contributor to the Times of illustrated articles on wildflowers. the meticulous, adoring pictures of New York City architecture and interiors that he took at his creative peak in the late 1920's and early 30's are finding a new audience, placing him more firmly in the ranks of the great architectural photographers of his day, like Ezra Stoller, Julius Shulman and Ken and Bill Hedrich. the Museum of the City of New York, which has one of the largest archives of Gottscho's work, showed about 150 of his best city scenes in an exhibition called "The Mythic City: Photographs of New York...