Dorothy Rossen Greenberg On Sale

Dorothy Rossen Greenberg was a member of the National Association of Women Artists and exhibited with them from 1947 to 1953. Her exhibited works at the NAWA for those years were The Hen House (watercolor), Casey (oil), Peasant Venus (sculpture), Dancer (watercolor), Baby (sculpture), Staten Island (watercolor), The Dance (oil) and Child (sculpture). In 1947, Rossen was awarded first prize in sculpture at the Village Art Center. Winner of the Chi Omega prize in composition, Rossen also exhibited at the Montclair Art Museum where she was awarded an honorable mention in 1952. She also held numerous one-man shows in the late 1940's including at the 44th Street Gallery.

Figurative art, as opposed to abstract art, retains features from the observable world in its representational depictions of subject matter. Most commonly, figurative paintings reference and explore the human body, but they can also include landscapes, architecture, plants and animals — all portrayed with realism.

While the oldest figurative art dates back tens of thousands of years to cave wall paintings, figurative works made from observation became especially prominent in the early Renaissance. Artists like Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and other Renaissance masters created naturalistic representations of their subjects.

Pablo Picasso is lauded for laying the foundation for modern figurative art in the 1920s. Although abstracted, this work held a strong connection to representing people and other subjects. Other famous figurative artists include Francis Bacon and Lucian Freud. Figurative art in the 20th century would span such diverse genres as Expressionism, Pop art and Surrealism.

Today, a number of figural artists — such as Sedrick Huckaby, Daisy Patton and Eileen Cooper — are making art that uses the human body as its subject.

Because figurative art represents subjects from the real world, natural colors are common in these paintings. A piece of figurative art can be an exciting starting point for setting a tone and creating a color palette in a room.

Browse an extensive collection of figurative paintings on 1stDibs.