"Lucy, You Are a Lonely Woman." Story Illustration for Women's Home Compan
By Walter Martin Baumhofer
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Date: 1940s Medium: Oil on Canvas Dimensions: 28.00" x 21.00" Signature: Signed Lower Right "Lucy, you are a lonely woman." Story illustration for "The Enchanted Circle," published ...
Canvas, Oil
$5,500
H 30 in W 24 in
"There is No Love, " Saturday Evening Post Magazine Illustration
By Wilson Mortimer Jr.
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Medium: Oil on Canvas The oil on canvas illustration is bearing a Saturday Evening Post label verso, used to illustrate the short story There Is No Love, in the October 18th, 1941 i...
Canvas, Oil
She Answers The Question
By Charles E. Chambers
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Image of two men standing in front of woman seated at desk. Charles Edward Chambers was born in Ottumwa, Iowa, studied at the Chicago Art Institute, and later the Art Students Lea...
Canvas, Oil
$3,600
H 21 in W 26 in
“In Strictest Confidence, ” Illustration for Good Housekeeping
By Michael Dolas
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Magazine story illustration for “In Strictest Confidence” by Margaret Culkin Banning for Good Housekeeping, published January 1940, pages 12-13. The magazine introduces the story: “...
Canvas, Oil
$5,500
H 32 in W 26 in D 2 in
“Julie, do you love me?” Story illustration for the Post
By Clarence Underwood
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Story illustration for “Julie” by Frederick Orin Bartlett for The Saturday Evening Post, published August 14, 1920, page 7. The full caption reads: “‘Julie, do you love me?’ She ...
Gouache, Board
$8,500
H 29 in W 30 in
“Parenting Used to be a Full-Time Job” Magazine Story Illustration
By Walter Martin Baumhofer
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Story illustration for “It’s Never Too Late” by Mildred Cram and Harwood White for Hearst’s International combined with Cosmopolitan, published February 1947, pages 62-63. Billed b...
Canvas, Oil
$6,900
H 32 in W 29 in
"The Girl's Taunt Stung" Magazine Story Illustration for Good Housekeeping
By E.M. Jackson
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Story illustration for "Hidden Ways" by Frederic F. van de Water published in Good Housekeeping, October 1935, pages 42-43. The full caption reads: "Allegra's face was white as she ...
Oil, Canvas
$12,500
H 24 in W 32 in
Story illustration for “Appearance and Reality” by Somerset Maugham
By Charles E. Chambers
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Story illustration for “Appearance and Reality” by W. Somerset Maugham, published in Cosmopolitan, November 1934, pages 22-23. Described as "A masterfully witty story of manners and...
Canvas, Oil
American Red Cross At Work
By Wilson Mortimer Jr.
Located in Fort Washington, PA
This piece is framed. Approximate Date: 1943 Medium: Oil on Canvas Signature: Unsigned Size: 25.00" x 37.00" Advertisement for Maxwell House Coffee, 1943; the artist did not ...
Canvas, Oil
The Homecoming, Liberty Magazine Cover
By Michael Dolas
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Date: 1936 Medium: Oil on Canvas Dimensions: 28.00" x 18.00" Cover for Liberty magazine, 11/20/1937. Restored and authenticated by artist.
Canvas, Oil
A Man's Wife
By Norman Rockwell
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Medium: Charcoal and Pencil on Paper Dimensions: 31.00" x 23.75" Signature: Inscribed and Signed. Signed and inscribed 'To Steve Kovac/sincerely/Norman/Rockwell' (lower right) Proven...
Paper, Charcoal, Pencil
Heavy Going, Liberty Magazine Cover
By Leslie Thrasher
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Original cover for Liberty magazine, published January 19, 1930. Ma Morse tries to convince Lil to accompany her to the church fair, but Lil doesn’t want to venture out into the sto...
Canvas, Oil
$2,400
H 31 in W 37.25 in D 1 in
William Fisher Classic American Illustration on Canvas
By William Fisher
Located in New York, NY
William Fisher (American, 1891-1985) Untitled, 20th Century Oil on canvas/illustration 23 3/4 x 29 3/4 in. Framed: 31 x 37 1/4 x 1 in. Signed lower right: William Fisher William Fis...
Canvas, Oil
$10,000
H 15 in W 12.5 in
Love Story, Illustration for the Saturday Evening Post
By Bruce Bomberger
Located in Miami, FL
An illustrator for Time, Life, Look, True, True West, Saturday Evening Post, Good Housekeeping, Readers Digest, and others, he also painted for advertising campaigns, most... Signa...
Gouache
Woman Returns to an Untidy Home
By Jack Welch
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Woman Returns to an Untidy Home. Books scattered on the floor, painting on the wall slanted. Signed lower left. Jack Welch was a tall Texan from Cleburne. He went through publ...
Gouache, Paper
$10,500
H 33 in W 33 in
“Don’t make a beeline for the prettiest girl in the room.”
By Ralph Pallen Coleman
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Illustration on the subject of popularity for the advice column “Father Meets Son” by J. P. McEvoy for The Saturday Evening Post, published October 30, 1937, page 136. The full capti...
Canvas, Oil
Woman's Day Illustration
By George Hughes
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Framed, Under glass
Pencil
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.