American Realist Art

"Parade" Social Realism Mid 20th Century Modern American Scene WPA Regionalism Gerrit Van Sinclair (1890 – 1955) Parade 20 x 15 inches Oil on board, c. 1940s Signed lower right Fram...

Original vintage poster: Paglieri dai fiori le Cipri i Profumi. Italian artist: Gino Boccasile (1901 - 1952). Size: 13.25" x 19". Archival linen backed authentic Italian post...

Dropping In Drypoint, c. 1940 Signed lower right (see photo) Titled lower left Condition: Excellent Brown paper tape around the sheet edges from the printing and air dryi...

Original “Less Dangerous than Careless Talk” vintage World War Two poster. Archivally linen=backed in fine condition A-, ready to frame. Bright colors and excellent detail. Ver...

Untitled (Three Ducks Taking to Flight) Drypoint, c. 1940 Signed lower right Provenance: Estate of the Artist Winchell Heirs by descent Condition: Excellent Ima...

"Men in Barracks" WPA Mid 20th Century American Scene Realism Gay Modernism WWII. 18 x 24 inches Watercolor on paper. c. 1940s. Signed lower right. BIO ...

This work is part of our exhibition - America Coast to Coast: Artists of the 1940s Army Poker, c. 1943, probably tempera on board, signed upper right, 16 x 20 inches, inscribed verso a) “Army Poker / Mervin Honig / 421 W 42 St. N.Y.C.,” b) “Mervin Honig / US Army Air Force – Seymour Johnson Field – Goldsboro, NC / Circa 1943,” and c) “(This painting was done before men was (sic) shipped off to the Mariana Islands (Saipan) The Second World War.” Note: four pencil sketches for this work included Mervin Honig was a New York-based painter and illustrator who is best known for his realistic depictions of everyday life and sports themes. Honig was raised in Brooklyn and recalled almost never being without a paintbox in hand from the time he started elementary school. Honig had a deep reverence for the Old Master painters, Vermeer and Bellini, as well as the Americans Winslow Homer and Thomas Eakins. He initially studied art from 1939 through 1941 with Francis Criss. At the outbreak of World War II, Honig worked as a mechanic for Republic Aviation, but in August 1942, he enlisted in the US Army Air Corps and was stationed at Seymour Johnson Field in Goldsboro, North Carolina. During the war, Honig began to exhibit nationally, including as part of the Portrait of America exhibitions which originated at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and traveled around the country, as well as at the Carnegie Institute in Pittsburgh. He painted Army Poker in 1943 while stationed at Johnson Field. In this work, Honig draws inspiration from Paul Cezanne's The Card Players (Metropolitan Museum of Art), with a similar placement of the four figures, but Cezanne's table is replaced with an Army cot, the pipe rack with a soldier's mess kit and the drapery in the right background with a heap of discarded uniforms. Unlike the vibrancy of Cezanne's composition, the limited palette of Honig's work suggests the drabness and monotony of stateside Army life. After being discharged from military service, Honig furthered his studies with Amadee Ozenfant in 1946 and Hans Hoffman from 1947 through 1950. Additional exhibitions included the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Brooklyn Museum, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the National Academy of Design, the Wadsworth Atheneum, the Provincetown Art Association, and the National Academies Galleries of the Allied Artists Association. He was represented by the venerable Frank Rehn...

Post Office WPA Mural Study American Scene Social Realism Modern 20th Century Carlos Lopez (1910-1953) "Bounty" WPA Mural Study for Michigan Post Office 19 ½ x 22 ½ inches Oil on B...

Original vintage poster: FREEDOM FROM WANT, Ours to fight for ... Original. Artist: Normal Rockwell. Archival linen backed in fine condition, ready to frame. Note: All US Go...

Hendrik (Henry) J Glintenkamp Clowns: Aren't We All?, 1942 Signed lower left; signed, titled and dated on the reverse Oil on Masonite 20 x 16 inches The painter and illustrator Henr...

Doris Lee Thanksgiving, 1942 Signed lower right, titled lower left Lithograph on paper Image 8 3/4 x 11 3/4 inches Sheet 12 x 17 inches From the edition of 250 An American Scene pai...

A richly inked luminous impression of this well-known New Orleans landmark in excellent condition.

The Law, lithograph by Joseph Hirsch published by Associated American Artists in 1948 with the Certificate of Authenticity This impression never framed and in the original mat.

Original 1942 CASABLANCA vintage movie poster. Archival linen backed in very good condition, ready to frame. The original production fold marks have been touched up and restored. This is an authentic vintage 1942 issue of Casablanca for sale. "Casablanca" is widely regarded as one of the greatest films in cinema history. It received critical acclaim upon its release and won three Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director for Michael Curtiz, and Best Adapted Screenplay. The cast's performances, memorable dialogue, and timeless romance have contributed to the film's enduring popularity. "Casablanca" remains a cultural touchstone and is often referenced in popular media. • Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart): The owner of Rick's Café Américain, an establishment known for its lively atmosphere. Rick is initially portrayed as detached and cynical, but his past is revealed as the story progresses. • Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman): A Norwegian woman with a complicated history with Rick. She is caught in a love triangle between Rick and her husband, Victor Laszlo. • Captain Louis Renault (Claude Rains): The corrupt and witty French police captain in Casablanca. He adds a layer of humor to the film and undergoes a moral transformation as the story unfolds. Over the years, the Casablanca poster...

Diana Thorne’s Dogs: An Album of Drawings. Diana Thorne. Julian Messner, Inc. New York, 1944. 24 Drawings in Lithography. “In drawing them,” she writes, “I have tried to ma...

A wonderful screen print by Riva Helfond depicting a pair of polo players on horseback. Helfond is known for her participation in the WPA and for her screen prints. UNSIGNED

A WW2 themed screen print by New York City artist Riva Helfond depicting soldiers in a convoy. Helfond is well known for her participation in the WPA and for her screen prints. Signe...

Probably a bank poster from the first half of the 20th century urging financial literacy. The poster features a young man dreaming about the future abd th...

RgrFineArts is pleased to offer this New York WPA color woodcut by Paul Weller titled Shampoo. The WPA label is affixed to the margin on the reverse of the print.

Original George Petty pinup, woman sitting with big sunhat and telephone. Archivally linen backed vintage pinup in very fine condition, ready to frame. (Note: this lithograph is NOT removed from a pinup calendar!) Introducing the original George Petty pinup, a captivating piece of art that showcases the iconic style and exquisite talent of George Petty himself. This artwork features a stunning woman adorned with a large red outlined sun hat, donning a classic one-piece bathing suit and high heels. The addition of a telephone in her right hand adds an intriguing element, making this pinup a unique and visually striking piece. The attention to detail and expert craftsmanship are evident in every brushstroke, bringing the woman to life and capturing the essence of Petty's artistic mastery. As an original George Petty pinup, this artwork holds historical and artistic value, making it a collectible and valuable addition to any art enthusiast's repertoire. About Petty: George Petty was an American pin-up artist from the 1920s to the 1970s. His pin-up art appeared primarily in Esquire and True magazine, but was also in calendars marketed by Esquire, True and Ridgid Tool Company. Petty's Esquire gatefolds originated and popularized the magazine device of centerfold spreads. Reproductions of his work were widely rendered by military artists as nose art decorating warplanes during the Second World War, including the Memphis Belle...

Lawrence Nelson Wilbur, 'Gloucester Harbor', drypoint, 1940. Signed, dated, and titled in pencil. Signed in the plate, lower right. Annotated 'PERSONAL...

Super rare screenprint done by Harry Gottlieb for the WPA with the NEW YORK WPA ART PROJECT stamp lower left. Signed in the image in pencil "Harry Gottlieb". Gottlieb's screenprint...

Original WWII poster: YOU CAN LICK RUNAWAY PRICES ORIGINAL VINTAGE WWII POSTER BY JAMES MONTGOMERY FLAGG Distributed originally by OWI for the Office of Economic Stabilization. 1. Buy and hold War Bonds. 2. Pay willingly our share of taxes. 3. Provide adequate life insurance and savings for our future. 4. Reduce our debts as much as possible. 5. Buy only what we need and make what we have last longer. 6. Follow ration rules and price ceilings. 7. Cooperate with our Government's wage stabilization program. Publisher: [S. l.]: Distributed by O.W.I. for the Office of Economic Stabilization. Linen backed fine condition. Restored original Government fold marks (on all World War 2 American vintage posters) James Montgomery Flagg is best known for depicting Uncle Sam in recruitment and public service announcement posters of both World War I and II. You Can Lick Runaway Prices? Features a new painting created by Flagg in c.1942. The poster emphasizes seven steps that the average American could take to prevent inflation. Among these points include significant themes of buying war bonds, conservation, and food rationing. The seven steps correspond to the seven letters that spell Victory. The imagery references Flagg's iconic I Want You poster...

Original HERE. Mister! AMOCO Service mid-century vintage poster. Archivally linen backed in very good condition, ready to frame. A- condition with a dime size touch-up in the low...

Linen backed original post-World War II military poster "First Class Soldier and Citizen, U.S.A." Original fold marks have been restored during linen backing. The poster features a smiling Army soldier in his khaki uniform. A rare original military poster to find today. (The poster was documented as being printed in a larger size.). R-224-RPB-2-1-47 A military recruitment poster for young men to join the military post World War 2. The poster features a clean-cut, handsome man in his military uniform with crossed arms smiling at you. Artist: Glass. No known biography of this artist. This is an original 1947 vintage American poster...

Diana Thorne’s Dogs: An Album of Drawings. Diana Thorne. Julian Messner, Inc. New York, 1944. 24 Drawings in Lithography. “In drawing them,” she writes, “I have tried to ma...

Men Working Mural Study American Scene Social Realism Mid 20th Century Modern Jo Cain (1904 – 2003) Men Working: WPA Mural Study 17 ½ x 10 ½ inches Oil on ...

THOMAS HART BENTON (1889-1975) INSTRUCTION 1940 (Fath 41) Lithograph, signed edition of 250 as published by Associated American Artists. 10 ¼” x 12 ¼”. Full margins, deckle edges....

TAKE CARE Don't be delayed by V.D.; 1946 military poster by Franz Oswald Schiffers. the 1946 U.S. (or Australian) World War II (WWII) health poster warning soldiers overseas of the consequences of venereal disease. Thisis a vintage 1946 public service announcement poster by Franz O. Schiffers (1902-1976). Schiffers was commissioned to create several posters warning against venereal disease for the U.S servicemen stationed overseas. The artwork is bold, clear and direct. In the post-World War II era, the piece sent a serious message to prevent contracting disease through relations with foreigners. In today's day and age, these pieces are quite humorous and decorative. Virile soldiers are shown to be up against the looming threat of venereal disease. The soldier standing on the pier watching his ship sail away would have to make a very embarrassing explanation to his wife or girlfriend as to why he was left behind. Franz Oswald Schiffers (born August 5, 1902 in Eilendorf in Aachen , February 12, 1976 in Berlin ) was a graphic artist and film poster artist . He was one of the first graphic artists of the 1930s to achieve photorealistic effects in their works. At his father's request, Schiffers initially trained as a teacher before moving to Berlin in 1925 and became a graphic designer at UFA (Universum Film AG). After designing a series of movie posters there, Schiffers became independent in 1932 as a commercial artist (now a graphic designer). In the 1930s, Schiffers specialized in advertising posters for beverage producers - especially beer advertising. The trademark of his beer posters is the meticulous design of beer glass with shiny drops of water that trickle down the misted glass. In this photorealistic context one also speaks of " veristic " graphics. After the seizure of power by the National SocialistsNazis , Schiffers temporarily worked for the Reich Propaganda Ministry. He designed u. a. the so-called "shadow man campaign" with the well-known slogan "enemy hears with!" - A German graphic artist who designed movie posters and advertisements in late-1920s and early 1930s Germany. During the Nazi era, Schiffers was commissioned by the Nazi propaganda office to create German propaganda...

Colliers Magazine 1947 American Scene Social Realism Modern Families in the Snow Katherine Wiggins (American 20th Century) "The Shrimp" 20 x 24 inches Egg tempera on masonite. c. 1...

WARNING! Register*Vote, INFLATION means DEPRESSION Photo lithograph, 1946 Signed in the image lower left Published by CIO (Congress of Industrial Organizations) before their merger w...

RGRFineArts is pleased to offer this Louis Orr etching that rarely appears on the market. It has been stored in a folder since publication and is in pristine condition.

This is a vintage 1946 public service announcement poster The artwork is bold, clear and direct. "it will look even bigger… after the war!" Girl looks on longingly at 10 dollar bill....

Original vintage poster: Make your own Declaration of War, Buy War Bonds. Size 22" x 28:. Original 1942 World War II (WWII) American military vintage poster. Archival linen ba...

DELAYED VD; 1946 military poster by Franz Oswald Schiffers. Delayed! VD, the 1946 U.S. World War II (WWII) health poster warning soldiers overseas of the consequences of venereal disease. He can see the bright lights big city in the distance but he is chained to the VD block... VD Almost! is a vintage 1946 public service announcement poster by Franz O. Schiffers (1902-1976). Schiffers was commissioned to create several posters warning against venereal disease for the U.S servicemen stationed overseas. The artwork is bold, clear and direct. In the post-World War II era, the piece sent a serious message to prevent contracting disease through relations with foreigners. In today's day and age, these pieces are quite humorous and decorative. Virile soldiers are shown to be up against the looming threat of venereal disease. The soldier standing on the pier watching his ship sail away would have to make a very embarrassing explanation to his wife or girlfriend as to why he was left behind. Franz Oswald Schiffers (born August 5, 1902 in Eilendorf in Aachen , February 12, 1976 in Berlin ) was a graphic artist and film poster artist . He was one of the first graphic artists of the 1930s to achieve photorealistic effects in their works. At his father's request, Schiffers initially trained as a teacher before moving to Berlin in 1925 and became a graphic designer at UFA (Universum Film AG). After designing a series of movie posters there, Schiffers became independent in 1932 as a commercial artist (now a graphic designer). In the 1930s, Schiffers specialized in advertising posters for beverage producers - especially beer advertising. The trademark of his beer posters is the meticulous design of beer glass with shiny drops of water that trickle down the misted glass. In this photorealistic context one also speaks of " veristic " graphics. After the seizure of power by the National SocialistsNazis , Schiffers temporarily worked for the Reich Propaganda Ministry. He designed u. a. the so-called "shadow man campaign" with the well-known slogan "enemy hears with!" - A German graphic artist who designed movie posters and advertisements in late-1920s and early 1930s Germany. During the Nazi era, Schiffers was commissioned by the Nazi propaganda office to create German propaganda...

Going home? Don't be delayed by V.D.; 1946 military poster by Franz Oswald Schiffers. Going home? Don't be delayed by V.D. VD, the 1946 U.S. (or Australian) World War II (WWII) health poster warning soldiers overseas of the consequences of venereal disease. Bound up in rope. Going home? Don't be delayed by V.D.! is a vintage 1946 public service announcement poster by Franz O. Schiffers (1902-1976). Schiffers was commissioned to create several posters warning against venereal disease for the U.S servicemen stationed overseas. The artwork is bold, clear and direct. In the post-World War II era, the piece sent a serious message to prevent contracting disease through relations with foreigners. In today's day and age, these pieces are quite humorous and decorative. Virile soldiers are shown to be up against the looming threat of venereal disease. The soldier standing on the pier watching his ship sail away would have to make a very embarrassing explanation to his wife or girlfriend as to why he was left behind. Franz Oswald Schiffers (born August 5, 1902 in Eilendorf in Aachen , February 12, 1976 in Berlin ) was a graphic artist and film poster artist . He was one of the first graphic artists of the 1930s to achieve photorealistic effects in their works. At his father's request, Schiffers initially trained as a teacher before moving to Berlin in 1925 and became a graphic designer at UFA (Universum Film AG). After designing a series of movie posters there, Schiffers became independent in 1932 as a commercial artist (now a graphic designer). In the 1930s, Schiffers specialized in advertising posters for beverage producers - especially beer advertising. The trademark of his beer posters is the meticulous design of beer glass with shiny drops of water that trickle down the misted glass. In this photorealistic context one also speaks of " veristic " graphics. After the seizure of power by the National SocialistsNazis , Schiffers temporarily worked for the Reich Propaganda Ministry. He designed u. a. the so-called "shadow man campaign" with the well-known slogan "enemy hears with!" - A German graphic artist who designed movie posters and advertisements in late-1920s and early 1930s Germany. During the Nazi era, Schiffers was commissioned by the Nazi propaganda office to create German propaganda...

Manning de Villenueve Lee:1894-1980. Well listed American painter and illustrator with Auction records up to $22,500. This spectacular painting is one of our favorites. Probably pain...

"Good Health Week" WPA American Scene Mid 20th Century Modern Social Realism Jo Cain (1904 – 2003) Good Health Week 10 ½ x 15 1/2 inches Oil on pape...

ALMOST VD; 1946 military poster by Franz Oswald Schiffers. Almost! VD, the 1946 U.S. World War II (WWII) health poster warning soldiers overseas of the consequences of venereal disease. VD Almost! is a vintage 1946 public service announcement poster by Franz O. Schiffers (1902-1976). Schiffers was commissioned to create several posters warning against venereal disease for the U.S servicemen stationed overseas. The artwork is bold, clear and direct. In the post-World War II era, the piece sent a serious message to prevent contracting disease through relations with foreigners. In today's day and age, these pieces are quite humorous and decorative. Virile soldiers are shown to be up against the looming threat of venereal disease. The soldier standing on the pier watching his ship sail away would have to make a very embarrassing explanation to his wife or girlfriend as to why he was left behind. Franz Oswald Schiffers (born August 5, 1902 in Eilendorf in Aachen , February 12, 1976 in Berlin ) was a graphic artist and film poster artist . He was one of the first graphic artists of the 1930s to achieve photorealistic effects in their works. At his father's request, Schiffers initially trained as a teacher before moving to Berlin in 1925 and became a graphic designer at UFA (Universum Film AG). After designing a series of movie posters there, Schiffers became independent in 1932 as a commercial artist (now a graphic designer). In the 1930s, Schiffers specialized in advertising posters for beverage producers - especially beer advertising. The trademark of his beer posters is the meticulous design of beer glass with shiny drops of water that trickle down the misted glass. In this photorealistic context one also speaks of " veristic " graphics. After the seizure of power by the National SocialistsNazis , Schiffers temporarily worked for the Reich Propaganda Ministry. He designed u. a. the so-called "shadow man campaign" with the well-known slogan "enemy hears with!" - A German graphic artist who designed movie posters and advertisements in late-1920s and early 1930s Germany. During the Nazi era, Schiffers was commissioned by the Nazi propaganda office to create German propaganda...

Bernard Gussow 1881 -1957 Bernard Gussow was active/lived in New York, New Jersey / Russian Federation. Bernard Gussow is known for genre, landscape, figure, interior paintings. Ber...

Poker Players NYC Mid 20th Century Modern WPA American Scene Social Realism Philip Reisman (1904-1992) Poker Players 12 x 16 oil on board Signed and dated 1949 lower right BIO Phi...

Nison Tregor Born in Lithuania of Polish parents, Nison Tregor studied sculpture at the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts. After immigrating to the United State...

This painting is part of our exhibition American Coast to Coast: Artists of the 1930s Knight’s Lodging, 1941, oil on canvas panel, signed and dated lower left, 16 x 20 inches, exhi...

Jack Levine: 1915-2010. Well listed American social realist painter with auction results over $220,000. This fabulous gem was most likely painted between 1942 and 1945 as he was serv...

Original ‘Give It Your Best!’ vintage poster. This poster features the U.S. flag with 48 stars. Archival linen-backed and ready to frame. Larger format version of this poster. ...

This painting is part of our exhibition America Coast to Coast: Artists of the 1930s Farm Mural Study, c. 1940, oil on Masonite, signed lower right, 15 x 42 inches; presented in a newer wood frame About the Painting A delightful regionalist composition, Cecil Head’s Farm Mural Study features a tidy and verdant farmscape where the animals outnumber the farmer and remind the viewer of an idealized fecundity of the American Midwest. Head gained early recognition for his mural designs in 1934 when his work was selected to represent Indiana in a Public Works of Art Project exhibition at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington DC. Head excelled at rural Indiana scenes and the present work bears comparison to his most famous painting, Potato Planters, a 1936 work, which won first prize at the Hoosier Salon and was exhibited at the Carnegie Institute in 1941. Both works feature hard-working farmers in straw hats standing against the back drop of farm buildings. A critic's commentary about Potato Planters also applies to Farm Mural Study, "the various farm objects...

The Golden Gate Lithograph on wove paper watermarked GC, 1940 Signed in pencil by the artist (see photo) Publisher: Associated American Artists Edition: 189, unnumbered The image depicts The Golden Gate Bridge which connects San Francisco and Marin County, California References And Exhibitions: Illustrated: Adams, The Sensuous Life of Adolf Dehn, Fig. 13.17, page 324 Reference: L & O 325 AAA Index 391 Adolf Dehn, American Watercolorist and Printmaker, 1895-1968 Adolf Dehn was an artist who achieved extraordinary artistic heights, but in a very particular artistic sphere—not so much in oil painting as in watercolor and lithography. Long recognized as a master by serious print collectors, he is gradually gaining recognition as a notable and influential figure in the overall history of American art. In the 19th century, with the invention of the rotary press, which made possible enormous print runs, and the development of the popular, mass-market magazines, newspaper and magazine illustration developed into an artistic realm of its own, often surprisingly divorced from the world of museums and art exhibitions, and today remains surprisingly overlooked by most art historians. Dehn in many regards was an outgrowth of this world, although in an unusual way, since as a young man he produced most of his illustrative work not for popular magazines, such as The Saturday Evening Post, but rather for radical journals, such as The Masses or The Liberator, or artistic “little magazines” such as The Dial. This background established the foundation of his outlook, and led later to his unique and distinctive contribution to American graphic art. If there’s a distinctive quality to his work, it was his skill in introducing unusual tonal and textural effects into his work, particularly in printmaking but also in watercolor. Jackson Pollock seems to have been one of many notable artists who were influenced by his techniques. Early Years, 1895-1922 For an artist largely remembered for scenes of Vienna and Paris, Adolf Dehn’s background was a surprising one. Born in Waterville, Minnesota, on November 22, 1895, Dehn was the descendent of farmers who had emigrated from Germany and homesteaded in the region, initially in a one-room log cabin with a dirt floor. Adolf’s father, Arthur Clark Dehn, was a hunter and trapper who took pride that he had no boss but himself, and who had little use for art. Indeed, during Adolf’s boyhood the walls of his bedroom and the space under his bed were filled with the pelts of mink, muskrats and skunks that his father had killed, skinned and stretched on drying boards. It was Adolf’s mother, Emilie Haas Dehn, a faithful member of the German Lutheran Evangelical Church, who encouraged his interest in art, which became apparent early in childhood. Both parents were ardent socialists, and supporters of Eugene Debs. In many ways Dehn’s later artistic achievement was clearly a reaction against the grinding rural poverty of his childhood. After graduating from high school in 1914 at the age of 19—an age not unusual in farming communities at the time, where school attendance was often irregular—Dehn attended the Minneapolis School of Art from 1914 to 1917, whose character followed strongly reflected that of its director, Munich-trained Robert Kohler, an artistic conservative but a social radical. There Dehn joined a group of students who went on to nationally significant careers, including Wanda Gag (later author of best-selling children’s books); John Flanagan (a sculptor notable for his use of direct carving) Harry Gottlieb (a notable social realist and member of the Woodstock Art Colony), Elizabeth Olds (a printmaker and administrator for the WPA), Arnold Blanch (landscape, still-life and figure painter, and member of the Woodstock group), Lucille Lunquist, later Lucille Blanch (also a gifted painter and founder of the Woodstock art colony), and Johan Egilrud (who stayed in Minneapolis and became a journalist and poet). Adolf became particularly close to Wanda Gag (1893-1946), with whom he established an intense but platonic relationship. Two years older than he, Gag was the daughter of a Bohemian artist and decorator, Anton Gag, who had died in 1908. After her husband died, Wanda’s mother, Lizzi Gag, became a helpless invalid, so Wanda was entrusted with the task of raising and financially supporting her six younger siblings. This endowed her with toughness and an independent streak, but nonetheless, when she met Dehn, Wanda was Victorian and conventional in her artistic taste and social values. Dehn was more socially radical, and introduced her to radical ideas about politics and free love, as well as to socialist publications such as The Masses and The Appeal to Reason. Never very interested in oil painting, in Minneapolis Dehn focused on caricature and illustration--often of a humorous or politically radical character. In 1917 both Dehn and Wanda won scholarships to attend the Art Students League, and consequently, in the fall of that year both moved to New York. Dehn’s art education, however, ended in the summer of 1918, shortly after the United States entered World War I, when he was drafted to serve in the U. S. Army. Unwilling to fight, he applied for status as a conscientious objector, but was first imprisoned, then segregated in semi-imprisonment with other Pacifists, until the war ended. The abuse he suffered at this time may well explain his later withdrawal from taking political stands or making art of an overtly political nature. After his release from the army, Dehn returned to New York where he fell under the spell of the radical cartoonist Boardman Robinson and produced his first lithographs. He also finally consummated his sexual relationship with Wanda Gag. The Years in Europe: 1922-1929 In September of 1921, however, he abruptly departed for Europe, arriving in Paris and then moving on to Vienna. There in the winter of 1922 he fell in love with a Russian dancer, Mura Zipperovitch, ending his seven-year relationship with Wanda Gag. He and Mura were married in 1926. It was also in Vienna that he produced his first notable artistic work. Influenced by European artists such as Jules Pascin and Georg Grosz, Dehn began producing drawings of people in cafes, streets, and parks, which while mostly executed in his studio, were based on spontaneous life studies and have an expressive, sometimes almost childishly wandering quality of line. The mixture of sophistication and naiveté in these drawings was new to American audiences, as was the raciness of their subject matter, which often featured pleasure-seekers, prostitutes or scenes of sexual dalliance, presented with a strong element of caricature. Some of these drawings contain an element of social criticism, reminiscent of that found in the work of George Grosz, although Dehn’s work tended to focus on humorous commentary rather than savagely attacking his subjects or making a partisan political statement. Many Americans, including some who had originally been supporters of Dehn such as Boardman Robinson, were shocked by these European drawings, although George Grocz (who became a friend of the artist in this period) admired them, and recognized that Dehn could also bring a new vision to America subject matter. As he told Dehn: “You will do things in America which haven’t been done, which need to be done, which only you can do—as far at least as I know America.” A key factor in Dehn’s artistic evolution at this time was his association with Scofield Thayer...

Born in Philadelphia, Marguerite Pearson was best known for her still life and interior scenes. She studied with William James and Frederick Bosley at...

WPA Mural Study 1940 American Scene Modern Social Realism Figurative Mid Century Michael Loew (1907-1985) Detail for Mural (Social Security Building Washington D.C.) 24 x 24 inches ...

Horses Leaving the Barn Watercolor on paper, 1940 Signed and dated lower left corner (see photo) Condition: Excellent Image: 14 1/2 x 21” Frame: 25” x 31” Provenance; Associated American Artists, New York (see photo of label) Mamdouha and Elmer Holmes Bobst Displayed in an original wormy chestnut frame with OP3 Acrylic. Most probably from the AAA Dehn watercolor exhibition of 1940. Vintage original framing chosen by the artist. Note: Elmer Holmes Bobst (1884–1978) was an American businessman and philanthropist who worked in the pharmaceutical industry. His wife, Mamdouha, was also well known philanthropist. Bobst was born in Lititz, Pennsylvania. He aspired to become a doctor, but instead, he taught himself pharmacology. After his wife Ethel composed his interview letter, he became manager and treasurer of the Hoffman-LaRoche Chemical Works by 1920. When Bobst retired from the company in 1944, he was one of the nation's highest paid corporate executives. In 1945 he took charge of the ailing William Warner Company (later Warner–Lambert) and he remained board chairman until his retirement. Bobst had close connections to President Dwight Eisenhower, but was also a close friend of President Richard Nixon. Note: In 1940, the year of this watercolor, Dehn and Elizabeth Timmerman visited Waterville, MN on their way to Colorado Sprint, Colorado where Dehn was to teach lithography and watercolor. This watercolor is obviously a view of the area around Waterville. Adolf Dehn, American Watercolorist and Printmaker, 1895-1968 Adolf Dehn was an artist who achieved extraordinary artistic heights, but in a very particular artistic sphere—not so much in oil painting as in watercolor and lithography. Long recognized as a master by serious print collectors, he is gradually gaining recognition as a notable and influential figure in the overall history of American art. In the 19th century, with the invention of the rotary press, which made possible enormous print runs, and the development of the popular, mass-market magazines, newspaper and magazine illustration developed into an artistic realm of its own, often surprisingly divorced from the world of museums and art exhibitions, and today remains surprisingly overlooked by most art historians. Dehn in many regards was an outgrowth of this world, although in an unusual way, since as a young man he produced most of his illustrative work not for popular magazines, such as The Saturday Evening Post, but rather for radical journals, such as The Masses or The Liberator, or artistic “little magazines” such as The Dial. This background established the foundation of his outlook, and led later to his unique and distinctive contribution to American graphic art. If there’s a distinctive quality to his work, it was his skill in introducing unusual tonal and textural effects into his work, particularly in printmaking but also in watercolor. Jackson Pollock seems to have been one of many notable artists who were influenced by his techniques. Early Years, 1895-1922 For an artist largely remembered for scenes of Vienna and Paris, Adolf Dehn’s background was a surprising one. Born in Waterville, Minnesota, on November 22, 1895, Dehn was the descendent of farmers who had emigrated from Germany and homesteaded in the region, initially in a one-room log cabin with a dirt floor. Adolf’s father, Arthur Clark Dehn, was a hunter and trapper who took pride that he had no boss but himself, and who had little use for art. Indeed, during Adolf’s boyhood the walls of his bedroom and the space under his bed were filled with the pelts of mink, muskrats and skunks that his father had killed, skinned and stretched on drying boards. It was Adolf’s mother, Emilie Haas Dehn, a faithful member of the German Lutheran Evangelical Church, who encouraged his interest in art, which became apparent early in childhood. Both parents were ardent socialists, and supporters of Eugene Debs. In many ways Dehn’s later artistic achievement was clearly a reaction against the grinding rural poverty of his childhood. After graduating from high school in 1914 at the age of 19—an age not unusual in farming communities at the time, where school attendance was often irregular—Dehn attended the Minneapolis School of Art from 1914 to 1917, whose character followed strongly reflected that of its director, Munich-trained Robert Kohler, an artistic conservative but a social radical. There Dehn joined a group of students who went on to nationally significant careers, including Wanda Gag (later author of best-selling children’s books); John Flanagan (a sculptor notable for his use of direct carving) Harry Gottlieb (a notable social realist and member of the Woodstock Art Colony), Elizabeth Olds (a printmaker and administrator for the WPA), Arnold Blanch (landscape, still-life and figure painter, and member of the Woodstock group), Lucille Lunquist, later Lucille Blanch (also a gifted painter and founder of the Woodstock art colony), and Johan Egilrud (who stayed in Minneapolis and became a journalist and poet). Adolf became particularly close to Wanda Gag (1893-1946), with whom he established an intense but platonic relationship. Two years older than he, Gag was the daughter of a Bohemian artist and decorator, Anton Gag, who had died in 1908. After her husband died, Wanda’s mother, Lizzi Gag, became a helpless invalid, so Wanda was entrusted with the task of raising and financially supporting her six younger siblings. This endowed her with toughness and an independent streak, but nonetheless, when she met Dehn, Wanda was Victorian and conventional in her artistic taste and social values. Dehn was more socially radical, and introduced her to radical ideas about politics and free love, as well as to socialist publications such as The Masses and The Appeal to Reason. Never very interested in oil painting, in Minneapolis Dehn focused on caricature and illustration--often of a humorous or politically radical character. In 1917 both Dehn and Wanda won scholarships to attend the Art Students League, and consequently, in the fall of that year both moved to New York. Dehn’s art education, however, ended in the summer of 1918, shortly after the United States entered World War I, when he was drafted to serve in the U. S. Army. Unwilling to fight, he applied for status as a conscientious objector, but was first imprisoned, then segregated in semi-imprisonment with other Pacifists, until the war ended. The abuse he suffered at this time may well explain his later withdrawal from taking political stands or making art of an overtly political nature. After his release from the army, Dehn returned to New York where he fell under the spell of the radical cartoonist Boardman Robinson and produced his first lithographs. He also finally consummated his sexual relationship with Wanda Gag. The Years in Europe: 1922-1929 In September of 1921, however, he abruptly departed for Europe, arriving in Paris and then moving on to Vienna. There in the winter of 1922 he fell in love with a Russian dancer, Mura Zipperovitch, ending his seven-year relationship with Wanda Gag. He and Mura were married in 1926. It was also in Vienna that he produced his first notable artistic work. Influenced by European artists such as Jules Pascin and Georg Grosz, Dehn began producing drawings of people in cafes, streets, and parks, which while mostly executed in his studio, were based on spontaneous life studies and have an expressive, sometimes almost childishly wandering quality of line. The mixture of sophistication and naiveté in these drawings was new to American audiences, as was the raciness of their subject matter, which often featured pleasure-seekers, prostitutes or scenes of sexual dalliance, presented with a strong element of caricature. Some of these drawings contain an element of social criticism, reminiscent of that found in the work of George Grosz, although Dehn’s work tended to focus on humorous commentary rather than savagely attacking his subjects or making a partisan political statement. Many Americans, including some who had originally been supporters of Dehn such as Boardman Robinson, were shocked by these European drawings, although George Grocz (who became a friend of the artist in this period) admired them, and recognized that Dehn could also bring a new vision to America subject matter. As he told Dehn: “You will do things in America which haven’t been done, which need to be done, which only you can do—as far at least as I know America.” A key factor in Dehn’s artistic evolution at this time was his association with Scofield Thayer...

A fine example of the artist's best realistic style. A haunting landscape.

A powerful depiction of a KKK member---signed lower right A reminder of the unfortunate history of behavior that this country has not yet ridden itself of.

Original vintage poster: Buy Extra Bonds!, the 1944 U.S. World War II (WWII) War Bonds poster ("Back 'Em Up!") encouraging people to purchase more than the recommended amount of war bonds and featuring Boris Chaliapin...

Original WWII poster: Protect his Fugtures buy and Keep War Bonds The color poster shows a young, smiling boy being lifted in the air, holding on to a man's hands. The boy has blond...

Create a statement or focal piece for a room. This is a very stylized portrait of a woman dating to the 1940’s. She fills the canvas with her wholesome countenance, hair and period c...

Lobsterman's Cove, Winter Harbor, Maine Lithograph, 1941 Signed in pencil lower right (see photo) Edition 50 Impressions are in the collection of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine...

John Steuart Curry "Sketching Wisconsin," 1946 oil on canvas 31.13 x 28 inches, canvas 39.75 x 36.75 x 2.5 inches, frame Signed and dated lower right Overall excellent condition Presented in a 24-karat gold leaf hand-carved wood frame John Steuart Curry (1897-1946) was an American regionalist painter active during the Great Depression and into World War II. He was born in Kansas on his family’s farm but went on to study art in Chicago, Paris and New York as young man. In Paris, he was exposed to the work of masters such as Peter Paul Rubens, Eugène Delacroix and Jacques-Louis David. As he matured, his work showed the influence of these masters, especially in his compositional decisions. Like the two other Midwestern regionalist artists that are most often grouped with him, Grant Wood (American, 1891-1942) and Thomas Hart Benton (American, 1889-1975), Curry was interested in representational works containing distinctly American subject matter. This was contrary to the popular art at the time, which was moving closer and closer to abstraction and individual expression. Sketching Wisconsin is an oil painting completed in 1946, the last year of John Steuart Curry’s life, during which time he was the artist-in-residence at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. The painting is significant in Curry’s body of work both as a very revealing self-portrait, and as a landscape that clearly and sensitively depicts the scenery of southern Wisconsin near Madison. It is also a portrait of the artist’s second wife, Kathleen Gould Curry, and is unique in that it contains a ‘picture within a picture,’ a compositional element that many early painting masters used to draw the eye of the viewer. This particular artwork adds a new twist to this theme: Curry’s wife is creating essentially the same painting the viewer is looking at when viewing Sketching Wisconsin. The triangular composition of the figures in the foreground immediately brings focus to a younger Curry, whose head penetrates the horizon line and whose gaze looks out towards the viewer. The eye then moves down to Mrs. Curry, who, seated on a folding stool and with her hand raised to paint the canvas on the easel before her, anchors the triangular composition. The shape is repeated in the legs of the stool and the easel. Behind the two figures, stripes of furrowed fields fall away gently down the hillside to a farmstead and small lake below. Beyond the lake, patches of field and forest rise and fall into the distance, and eventually give way to blue hills. Here, Curry has subverted the traditional artist’s self-portrait by portraying himself as a farmer first and an artist second. He rejects what he sees as an elitist art world of the East Coast and Europe. In this self-portrait he depicts himself without any pretense or the instruments of his profession and with a red tractor standing in the field behind him as if he was taking a break from the field work. Here, Curry’s wife symbolizes John Steuart Curry’s identity as an artist. Compared with a self-portrait of the artist completed a decade earlier, this work shows a marked departure from how the artist previously presented and viewed himself. In the earlier portrait, Curry depicted himself in the studio with brushes in hand, and with some of his more recognizable and successful canvases behind him. But in Sketching Wisconsin, Curry has taken himself out of the studio and into the field, indicating a shift in the artist’s self-conception. Sketching Wisconsin’s rural subject also expresses Curry’s populist ideals, that art could be relevant to anyone. This followed the broad educational objectives of UW’s artist-in-residence program. Curry was appointed to his position at the University of Wisconsin in 1937 and was the first person to hold any such position in the country, the purpose of which was to serve as an educational resource to the people of the state. He embraced his role at the University with zeal and not only opened the doors of his campus studio in the School of Agriculture to the community, but also spent a great deal of time traveling around the state of Wisconsin to visit rural artists who could benefit from his expertise. It was during his ten years in the program that Curry was able to put into practice his belief that art should be meaningful to the rural populace. However, during this time he also struggled with public criticism, as the dominant forces of the art market were moving away from representation. Perhaps it was Curry’s desire for public acceptance during the latter part of his career that caused him to portray himself as an Everyman in Sketching Wisconsin. Beyond its importance as a portrait of the artist, Sketching Wisconsin is also a detailed and sensitive landscape that shows us Curry’s deep personal connection to his environment. The landscape here can be compared to Wisconsin Landscape of 1938-39 (the Metropolitan Museum of Art), which presents a similar tableau of rolling hills with a patchwork of fields. Like Wisconsin Landscape, this is an incredibly detailed and expressive depiction of a place close to the artist’s heart. This expressive landscape is certainly the result of many hours spent sketching people, animals, weather conditions and topography of Wisconsin as Curry traveled around the state. The backdrop of undulating hills and the sweeping horizon, and the emotions evoked by it, are emphatically recognizable as the ‘driftless’ area of south-central Wisconsin. But while the Metropolitan’s Wisconsin Landscape conveys a sense of uncertainty or foreboding with its dramatic spring cloudscape and alternating bands of light and dark, Sketching Wisconsin has a warm and reflective mood. The colors of the foliage indicate that it is late summer and Curry seems to look out at the viewer approvingly, as if satisfied with the fertile ground surrounding him. The landscape in Sketching Wisconsin is also revealing of what became one of Curry’s passions while artist-in-residence at UW’s School of Agriculture – soil conservation. When Curry was a child in Kansas, he saw his father almost lose his farm and its soil to the erosion of The Dust Bowl. Therefore, he was very enthusiastic about ideas from UW’s School of Agriculture on soil conservation methods being used on Wisconsin farms. In Sketching Wisconsin, we see evidence of crop rotation methods in the terraced stripes of fields leading down the hillside away from the Curry’s and in how they alternate between cultivated and fallow fields. Overall, Sketching Wisconsin has a warm, reflective, and comfortably pastoral atmosphere, and the perceived shift in Curry’s self-image that is evident in the portrait is a positive one. After his rise to favor in the art world in the 1930’s, and then rejection from it due to the strong beliefs presented in his art, Curry is satisfied and proud to be farmer in this self-portrait. Curry suffered from high blood...

Original vintage poster: …BECAUSE SOMEBODY TALKED. Original World War II (2) linen-backed 1944 poster. Artist: Wesley Heyman. Size 20" x 28" Linen backed. Excellent condition. Antique poster ready to frame. Original issued U. S. Government fold marks touched up during linen backing. This is not considered a defect on World War II posters. Because Someone Talked portrays a cocker resting his head on his master's scarf. The gold star flag behind his head reveals that his master has been killed in action. The flag was awarded to mothers who lost sons. Published by the United States Government Printing Office Interpretation This poster, issued by the United States government during World War II, is a warning to citizens that discussing troop movements, or other military information that might be useful to the enemy, could have serious consequences. The Service Flag...