Ben Messick On Sale
1940s American Impressionist Figurative Prints
Paper, Ink
1940s Baroque Figurative Prints
Paper, Ink
People Also Browsed
1970s Pop Art Nude Prints
Etching
1950s Post-War Nude Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Charcoal
2010s Contemporary Nude Paintings
Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Carbon Pencil, Oil Pastel
Vintage 1970s Chilean Mid-Century Modern Drawings
Paint
1920s Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Oil Pastel
Antique 19th Century Italian Art Nouveau Drawings
Paper, Wood
1890s Nude Drawings and Watercolors
Graphite
19th Century Old Masters Figurative Prints
Engraving
Charles Amand DurandSelf-Portrait, Frowning - Engraving after Rembrandt - 19th Century, 19th Century
1950s Pop Art Figurative Prints
Paper, Lithograph
Late 20th Century American Modern Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic, Wood, Paint
1970s Contemporary Landscape Prints
Lithograph
1880s Prints and Multiples
Etching
1970s Modern Figurative Prints
Etching
Vintage 1950s French Art Deco Drawings
Crayon
Antique 16th Century Italian Paintings
Copper
Vintage 1930s American Drawings
Pencil, Paper
Recent Sales
Mid-20th Century Expressionist Figurative Paintings
Oil
Ben Messick for sale on 1stDibs
Benjamin Newton Messick was born on January 9, 1891, on a farm near Strafford, Missouri. His art talent was apparent from the time he was a child and later recognized by his commanding officer in World War I. Little is recorded in his autobiography about Messick's life from his teen years and service during the War. He enrolled at Chouinard Institute in the Fall of 1925 and was given a three-year scholarship by Mrs. Chouinard. In 1925, he won a cash award at the Los Angeles County Fair for a group of pen and charcoal drawings done in the parks and streets of Los Angeles. These works give the appearance of being spontaneous and fluid. In 1930, Messick left Chouinard as a full-time student and rented an apartment on West Eighth Street to use as a studio and living quarters. He had his ideas on what he was trying to accomplish in art, “If you should ask what is the message of my drawings, I should say that they may explain themselves or maybe just a technical exercise.” By the mid-1940s, Messick's position in the art world had been well established as a teacher, painter, printmaker, writer and critic. Over his lifetime, he had over 400 shows and exhibitions. Starting in 1939, he produced several stone lithographs that appear to the untrained eye as original drawings. To Messick, the image was the most important aspect of his lithographs, and his signature on the plate was sufficient. Hand signing each lithograph did not seem necessary to him. He exhibited prints widely, including the Albany Print Club and the Metropolitan Museum. To further substantiate the authenticity of Messick's prints the Eclectic Gallery under the authority of the Messick family posthumously signed each estate-acquired stone lithograph. Messick had a childhood fascination with the circus and started drawing and painting the circus in 1935. His circus work, especially his clown studies, and his lithographs became his trademark work in the 1940s and 1950s. Messick died in 1981 in Apple Valley, California.