Skip to main content

Depression Era Paintings

Communist Rally, Cleveland Public Square - Depression Era American Oil Painting
Communist Rally, Cleveland Public Square - Depression Era American Oil Painting

Communist Rally, Cleveland Public Square - Depression Era American Oil Painting

By Clyde Singer

Located in Marco Island, FL

Painted during America's Great Depression (1929-1939), when Americans were looking for change and new ideas to navigate societal struggles. The young boy is looking away and uninter...

Category

1930s American Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

Post Office Parcel Post Window - Depression Era
Post Office Parcel Post Window - Depression Era

Post Office Parcel Post Window - Depression Era

By Arnold Friedman

Located in Miami, FL

Arnold Friedman worked as a clerk for decades at the Station Y, the branch at 3rd Avenue and East 67th Street in New York City. This present work was done two years after his retirem...

Category

1930s American Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Wood Panel

Hagenbeck-Wallace Annex.  Circus Oil Painting of Depression Era Columbus, Ohio.
Hagenbeck-Wallace Annex.  Circus Oil Painting of Depression Era Columbus, Ohio.

Hagenbeck-Wallace Annex. Circus Oil Painting of Depression Era Columbus, Ohio.

By Clyde Singer

Located in Marco Island, FL

American life is captured in this Clyde Singer painting, Hagenbeck-Wallace Annex (1972), where he depicts a moment in the circus coming to town. Traveling circuses were major events ...

Category

1970s Landscape Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

UNION SQUARE Depression Era Oil Painting WPA Realism American Scene Realism NYC
UNION SQUARE Depression Era Oil Painting WPA Realism American Scene Realism NYC

UNION SQUARE Depression Era Oil Painting WPA Realism American Scene Realism NYC

By Jo Cain

Located in New York, NY

UNION SQUARE Depression Era Oil Painting WPA Realism American Scene Realism NYC Jo Cain (1904 – 2003) "Union Square" 24 x 36 inches Oil on canvas, c.1940s Signed lower center.

Category

1940s American Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

American Scene Depression Era New York City Post Office
American Scene Depression Era New York City Post Office

American Scene Depression Era New York City Post Office

By Arnold Friedman

Located in Miami, FL

In the present work, the disposition of the robot-like figures in an assembly line formation conveys the bleakness of the Depression era. The artist deliberately reduces each mailman...

Category

1930s American Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Wood Panel

Depression Era Mid 20th Century Social Realism Modern WPA American Scene NYC
Depression Era Mid 20th Century Social Realism Modern WPA American Scene NYC

Depression Era Mid 20th Century Social Realism Modern WPA American Scene NYC

Located in New York, NY

Depression Era Mid 20th Century Social Realism Modern WPA American Scene NYC Saul Kovner (1904-1981) Hot Summer Night 25 x 30 inches Oil on canvas Signed lower left and dated‘48 Fr...

Category

1940s American Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Chess Players WPA Depression Era Mid-20th Century American Scene Realism Modern
Chess Players WPA Depression Era Mid-20th Century American Scene Realism Modern

Chess Players WPA Depression Era Mid-20th Century American Scene Realism Modern

By Mervin Jules

Located in New York, NY

Chess Players WPA Depression Era Mid-20th Century American Scene Realism Modern. Signed upper right and verso 8 x 10 inches oil on board. BIO The son of a men's haberdasher, Mervin ...

Category

1930s American Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

Outsider Folk Art American Mid-Century Naive WW2  Self Taught WPA Depression Era
Outsider Folk Art American Mid-Century Naive WW2  Self Taught WPA Depression Era

Outsider Folk Art American Mid-Century Naive WW2 Self Taught WPA Depression Era

By Ralph Fasanella

Located in New York, NY

Outsider Folk Art American Mid-Century Naive WW2 Self Taught WPA Depression Era "Victory for Now" Ralph Fasanella (1914-1997) "Victory and After" 27 x 37 inches Gouache on paper S...

Category

1940s Outsider Art Landscape Paintings

Materials

Gouache, Paper

Eve Drewelowe Van Ek 1934 Red Barn Mountain Landscape Oil Painting
Eve Drewelowe Van Ek 1934 Red Barn Mountain Landscape Oil Painting

Eve Drewelowe Van Ek 1934 Red Barn Mountain Landscape Oil Painting

By Eve Drewelowe

Located in Denver, CO

Signed, titled, and dated 1934 at the lower right, the work is presented in a custom frame and represents an exceptional example of Depression-era Colorado painting. A desirable acqu...

Category

1930s American Modern Landscape Paintings

Materials

Oil

Portrait of Louisiana Refugees by Michael Kelly
Portrait of Louisiana Refugees by Michael Kelly

Portrait of Louisiana Refugees by Michael Kelly

Located in New York, NY

During this time he completed his own drawings and paintings that reflected life in the Depression Era.

Category

1940s American Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Paper, Pastel

"MR. HANDSOME" TEXAS LONGHORN
"MR. HANDSOME" TEXAS LONGHORN

"MR. HANDSOME" TEXAS LONGHORN

Located in San Antonio, TX

Whether it's an old west character or a depression era car his painting backdrop is the Lone Star State.

Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Realist Animal Paintings

Materials

Oil

Recent Sales

"Seamstresses" American Scene Modernism WPA Figurative Depression Era Realism
"Seamstresses" American Scene Modernism WPA Figurative Depression Era Realism

"Seamstresses" American Scene Modernism WPA Figurative Depression Era Realism

By Jo Cain

Located in New York, NY

New York City working women are depicted in Jo Cain's figurative interior painting "Seamstresses," a fine example of 1930's - 40s American realism, modernism painted in the WPA - Dep...

Category

1930s American Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Depression Era Mid 20th Century Social Realism Modern WPA American Scene NYC
Depression Era Mid 20th Century Social Realism Modern WPA American Scene NYC

Depression Era Mid 20th Century Social Realism Modern WPA American Scene NYC

Located in New York, NY

Depression Era Mid 20th Century Social Realism Modern WPA American Scene NYC Saul Kovner (1904-1981) Facing the East River 20 x 24 inches Oil on canvas Signed lower right Saul, insc...

Category

1940s American Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Fortune Magazine cover Depression-Era Illustration, WPA industrial Modernist
Fortune Magazine cover Depression-Era Illustration, WPA industrial Modernist

Fortune Magazine cover Depression-Era Illustration, WPA industrial Modernist

By Ernest Hamlin Baker

Located in New York, NY

Fortune Magazine cover, Depression-Era Illustration, WPA industrial Modernist. Signed lower left. The drawing measures 13. x 11 inches. Framed by Bark, the work is 23 x 20 inches. ...

Category

1930s American Modern Interior Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Ink, Gouache, Board

Fortune Magazine cover, Depression-Era Illustration, WPA industrial Modernist
Fortune Magazine cover, Depression-Era Illustration, WPA industrial Modernist

Fortune Magazine cover, Depression-Era Illustration, WPA industrial Modernist

By Ernest Hamlin Baker

Located in New York, NY

Signed lower right Framed by Bark Baker was a self-taught illustrator. Most of his works were covers for Time Magazine, although he was responsible for eleven covers for Fortune Mag...

Category

1930s American Modern Interior Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Ink, Gouache, Board

"Gas Tanks" Industrial WPA Depression-Era, Woodstock American Scene Industrial
"Gas Tanks" Industrial WPA Depression-Era, Woodstock American Scene Industrial

"Gas Tanks" Industrial WPA Depression-Era, Woodstock American Scene Industrial

By Miron Sokole

Located in New York, NY

Framed by Bark Miron Sokole was born in Odessa, Russia in 1901. He came to the United States during World War I. Although predominately self taught in art, he attended school in Ame...

Category

Mid-20th Century American Realist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Gouache

ON LINE Depression Era WPA American Scene Modernism Realism Drawing Watercolor
ON LINE Depression Era WPA American Scene Modernism Realism Drawing Watercolor

ON LINE Depression Era WPA American Scene Modernism Realism Drawing Watercolor

By Louis Bouché

Located in New York, NY

ON LINE Depression Era WPA American Scene Modernism Realism Drawing Watercolor. Louis Bouche (1986-1969) "On Line," 7 ½ x 11 inches. Watercolor and graphite, c. 1930s. Signed LR. Th...

Category

1930s American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Watercolor, Graphite

View From Brooklyn
View From Brooklyn

View From Brooklyn, 1930

Sold

H 32 in W 42 in D 3 in

View From Brooklyn

Located in Los Angeles, CA

Fantastic American Depression large era painting, There appears to have been exhibition labels on the back that are missing.

Category

1930s Art Deco Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Masonite, Oil

"Refugees" Mexican American Oil Painting Depression Era WPA Mid-Century Modern
"Refugees" Mexican American Oil Painting Depression Era WPA Mid-Century Modern

"Refugees" Mexican American Oil Painting Depression Era WPA Mid-Century Modern

By Michael Loew

Located in New York, NY

"Refugees" Mexican American Oil Painting Depression Era WPA Mid-Century Modern. The Whitney Museum's current exhibition, VIDA AMERICA, prompts us to share this Michael Loew work, wh...

Category

1930s American Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Glassblowers WPA Depression era Men working mid 20th Century modern Industrial

Glassblowers WPA Depression era Men working mid 20th Century modern Industrial

Located in New York, NY

Glassblowers WPA Depression era Men working mid 20th Century modern Industrial This 24 x 36 inch oil on canvas was painted in during WPA era, circa 1930’s/40s.

Category

1940s American Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Red Wash

Hung LiuRed Wash, 2018

Sold

H 41 in W 41 in

Red Wash

Located in Santa Fe, NM

It is with enormous excitement that Turner Carroll presents to you Hung’s newest paintings in which she focuses on the struggle, perseverance, and ultimate transcendence of Depressio...

Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Paintings

Materials

Resin, Mixed Media, Oil, Panel

The Sad Burlesque
The Sad Burlesque

Mahlon BlaineThe Sad Burlesque, 1939

Sold

H 24 in W 14 in D 1 in

The Sad Burlesque

By Mahlon Blaine

Located in Minneapolis, MN

Both evoking and critiquing the sordid and semi-underground world of Depression-era girlie shows. Painting has been handsomely framed to match the other nine paintings.

Category

1930s American Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Gouache, Illustration Board

Mid-Winter
Mid-Winter

Hung LiuMid-Winter, 2012

Sold

H 20.5 in W 20.5 in

Mid-Winter

Located in Santa Fe, NM

It is with enormous excitement that Turner Carroll presents to you Hung’s newest paintings in which she focuses on the struggle, perseverance, and ultimate transcendence of Depressio...

Category

2010s Contemporary Mixed Media

Materials

Gold Leaf

People Also Browsed

Mural Study for "History of Water" American Scene Modernism Social Realism WPA
Mural Study for "History of Water" American Scene Modernism Social Realism WPA

Mural Study for "History of Water" American Scene Modernism Social Realism WPA

By Thomas Hart Benton

Located in New York, NY

Mural Study for "History of Water" American Scene Modernism Social Realism WPA Thomas Hart Benton (American, 1889-1975) "Water Story" (Study for The History of Water) Tempera and o...

Category

1930s American Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Egg Tempera, Board

NYC Cityscape American Scene WPA Modern Realism Mid 20th Century Architectural
NYC Cityscape American Scene WPA Modern Realism Mid 20th Century Architectural

NYC Cityscape American Scene WPA Modern Realism Mid 20th Century Architectural

By Ernest Fiene

Located in New York, NY

NYC Cityscape American Scene WPA Modern Realism Mid 20th Century Architectural Ernest Fiene (1894-1965) Cityscape 36 x 30 inches Oil on canvas Signed and dated 1930. lower right Pr...

Category

1930s American Modern Landscape Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

American Impressionist Landscape, attributed to Charles Harold Davis ca 1920’s
American Impressionist Landscape, attributed to Charles Harold Davis ca 1920’s

American Impressionist Landscape, attributed to Charles Harold Davis ca 1920’s

By Charles Harold Davis

Located in Baltimore, MD

This is a lovely oil on canvas painting that was attributed to Charles Harold Davis when I purchased it about ten years ago. It is unfortunately not signed. The scene is a view throu...

Category

1920s American Impressionist Landscape Paintings

Materials

Oil

Industry and Commerce
Industry and Commerce

John BallatorIndustry and Commerce, 1936

$12,000

H 16.5 in W 39.5 in D 3 in

Industry and Commerce

Located in Los Angeles, CA

This mural study is part of our exhibition America Coast to Coast: Artists of the 1930s Industry and Commerce, 1936, tempera on panel, 16 ½ x 39 ½ inches, signed verso “John Ballat...

Category

1930s American Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Tempera

"High School Dance" WPA Mid-20th Century Modern American Scene Social Realism
"High School Dance" WPA Mid-20th Century Modern American Scene Social Realism

"High School Dance" WPA Mid-20th Century Modern American Scene Social Realism

Located in New York, NY

"High School Dance" WPA Mid-20th Century Modern American Scene Social Realism Heusing (20th Century) "High School Dance" 27 x 32 inches Oil on canvas Signed and dated '47 Lower Righ...

Category

1940s American Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"Pelham Bay" WPA American Scene Social Realism Modern NYC Subway Transportation
"Pelham Bay" WPA American Scene Social Realism Modern NYC Subway Transportation

"Pelham Bay" WPA American Scene Social Realism Modern NYC Subway Transportation

By Daniel Celentano

Located in New York, NY

"Pelham Bay" WPA American Scene Social Realism Modern NYC Subway Transportation Daniel Ralph Celantano (1902-1980) "Pelham Bay" 12 1/4 x 16 inches Oil on canvas Signed lower cente...

Category

1930s American Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Ninth Avenue El (New York City), Mid 20th Century Cityscape Oil painting
Ninth Avenue El (New York City), Mid 20th Century Cityscape Oil painting

Ninth Avenue El (New York City), Mid 20th Century Cityscape Oil painting

By John Opper

Located in Beachwood, OH

John Opper (American, 1908-1994) Ninth Avenue El (New York City), c. 1935 Oil on canvas Signed lower left and verso 30.125 x 24 inches The Ninth Avenue El was the first elevated rai...

Category

1930s American Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Greenwich Village NYC WPA Mid 20th Century American Scene Ashcan Modern Realism
Greenwich Village NYC WPA Mid 20th Century American Scene Ashcan Modern Realism

Greenwich Village NYC WPA Mid 20th Century American Scene Ashcan Modern Realism

Located in New York, NY

Greenwich Village NYC WPA Mid 20th Century American Scene Ashcan Modern Realism Alfred Mira (1900-1981) Greenwich Village NYC 14 x 17 inches Oil on board, c. 1930s Signed lower righ...

Category

1930s American Realist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Oil, Board

WPA Mural Study American Scene Social Realism Mid 20th Century Modern Workers
WPA Mural Study American Scene Social Realism Mid 20th Century Modern Workers

WPA Mural Study American Scene Social Realism Mid 20th Century Modern Workers

By Seymour Fogel

Located in New York, NY

WPA Mural Study American Scene Social Realism Mid 20th Century Modern Workers Seymour Fogel (1911-1984) Mural Study, untitled 11 x 49 1/4 inches (sight) Tempera on board Provenance:...

Category

1930s American Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Egg Tempera, Board

Museum Piece #2 Art Lover in Museum Exhibition
Museum Piece #2 Art Lover in Museum Exhibition

Museum Piece #2 Art Lover in Museum Exhibition

By Arnold Friedman

Located in Miami, FL

Arnold Friedman studied with Robert Henri and Kenneth Hayes Miller at the Art Students League in 1905 . Yet as he developed his style he abandoned the academic influence of his te...

Category

1920s Post-Impressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Wood Panel

Summer Resort in Michigan -Modernist Mid-Century Saugatuck Oil Painting
Summer Resort in Michigan -Modernist Mid-Century Saugatuck Oil Painting

Summer Resort in Michigan -Modernist Mid-Century Saugatuck Oil Painting

By William Schwartz

Located in Marco Island, FL

Summer Resort in Michigan is an exceptional work painted by the Chicago Modernist, William Schwartz. He studied at the Art Institute of Chicago shortly after emigrating to the Unite...

Category

1940s American Modern Landscape Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Along Central Park. New York City Street Scene Original Oil Painting.
Along Central Park. New York City Street Scene Original Oil Painting.

Along Central Park. New York City Street Scene Original Oil Painting.

By Clyde Singer

Located in Marco Island, FL

New York City scene of two women walking down a sidewalk with a park in the background, in the foreground a man is walking a small dog. American life is captured in this Clyde Sing...

Category

1970s American Realist Landscape Paintings

Materials

Masonite, Oil

Hotel Night Lobby.  Large Mid-Century American Oil Painting.
Hotel Night Lobby.  Large Mid-Century American Oil Painting.

Hotel Night Lobby. Large Mid-Century American Oil Painting.

By Clyde Singer

Located in Marco Island, FL

A long and quiet night in the hotel lobby is depicted by Clyde Singer in this moody and still painting. Entitled Hotel Night Lobby (1947), Singer paints a moment of solitude during ...

Category

1940s American Realist Interior Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

"History of US Postal Service" American Scene Social Realism WPA Modern Chicago
"History of US Postal Service" American Scene Social Realism WPA Modern Chicago

"History of US Postal Service" American Scene Social Realism WPA Modern Chicago

By Harold Haydon

Located in New York, NY

"History of US Postal Service" American Scene Social Realism WPA Modern Chicago Harold Haydon "History of the U.S. Postal Service" 21 x 25 1/2 inches Oil on canvas, c. 1938 Estate s...

Category

1930s American Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Get Updated with New Arrivals
Save "Depression Era Paintings", and we’ll notify you when there are new listings in this category.

Depression Era Paintings For Sale on 1stDibs

There is a broad range of depression era paintings for sale on 1stDibs. There are many Modern versions of these works for sale. You can search the depression era paintings that we have for sale on 1stDibs by color — popular works were created in bold and neutral palettes with elements of gray, black, brown and beige. Many versions of these artworks are appealing in their rich colors and composition, but Michael Loew, Ernest Hamlin Baker, Louis Bouché, Daniel Ralph Celentano and Gregorio Prestopino produced especially popular works that are worth a look. Each of these unique pieces was handmade with extraordinary care, with artists most often working in paint, canvas and fabric. Not every interior allows for large iterations of these items, so small depression era paintings measuring 14 inches across are available.

How Much are Depression Era Paintings?

Depression era paintings can differ in price owing to various characteristics — the average selling price for items in our inventory is $6,500, while the lowest priced sells for $2,640 and the highest can go for as much as $40,000.

Finding the Right Paintings for You

Painting is an art form that has spanned innumerable cultures, with artists using the medium to tell stories, explore and communicate ideas and express themselves. To bring abstract paintings, landscape paintings, still-life paintings and other original paintings into your home is to celebrate and share in the long tradition of this discipline.

When we look at paintings, particularly those that originated in the past, we learn about history, other cultures and countries of the world. Like every other work of art, paintings — whether they are contemporary creations or works that were made during the 19th century — can often help us clearly see and understand the world around us in a meaningful and interesting way.

Cave walls were the canvases for what were arguably the world’s first landscape paintings, which depict natural scenery through art. Portrait paintings and drawings, which, along with sculpture, were how someone’s appearance was recorded prior to the advent of photography, are at least as old as Ancient Egypt. In the Netherlands, landscapes were a major theme for painters as early as the 1500s. Later, artists in Greece, Rome and elsewhere created vast wall paintings to decorate stately homes, churches and tombs.

Today, creating a wall of art is a wonderful way to enhance your space, showcase beautiful pieces and tie an interior design together.

No matter your preference, whether you favor Post-Impressionist paintings, animal paintings, Surrealism, Pop art or another movement or specific period, arranging art on a blank wall allows you to evoke emotions in a room while also showing off your tastes and interests. A symmetrical wall arrangement may comprise a grid of four to six pieces or, for an odd number of works, a horizontal row. Asymmetrical arrangements, which may be small clusters of art or large, salon-style gallery walls, have a more collected and eclectic feel.

Download the 1stDibs app, which includes a handy “View on Wall” feature that allows you to see how a particular artwork will look on a particular wall, and read about how to arrange wall art. And if you’re searching for the perfect palette for your interior design project, what better place to turn than to the art world’s masters of color

On 1stDibs, you’ll find an expansive collection of paintings and other fine art for your home or office. Browse abstract paintings, portrait paintings, paintings by emerging artists and more today.