Abraham Walkowitz is perhaps best known for his watercolor studies of Isadora Duncan and the dance. However, Walkowitz laid claim to being the first to exhibit truly modernist paintings in the United States. After 1909, he became an intimate of Alfred Stieglitz's 291 Gallery, and while there became a participant in the debate over modern art in America. Walkowitz was an outspoken proponent of the continuous experimentation in the arts, which was his definition of modernism. As an artist, Walkowitz embodied the changing role of the modernist painter in the United States, as modernism moved from an avant-garde protest against established modes to become an accepted style and tradition.
Abraham Walkowitz was a Russian born, turn-of-the-century immigrant to the United States, who grew up in New York's Lower East Side. He first studied art at the Educational Alliance, the Cooper Union and the National Academy of Design. In 1906, he journeyed to Europe where he studied at the Académie Julian in Paris. Upon his return to the United States in 1907, he became a fully-fledged convert to modernism, and his first exhibit, at the Haas Gallery in that year, brought him a measure of notoriety as well as the attention of Stieglitz and other pioneers of non-objective art. In subsequent years, he became one of the most exhibited painters shown at the 291 Gallery, a fact which was also reflected in the pages of Stieglitz's polemical journal of modernism, camera work. As a result of this early attention, by the time of the Armory Show of 1913, to which Walkowitz contributed several paintings, his work was widely known to both fellow modernists as well as their opponents.
Walkowitz was clearly part of the new vocabulary of American art and criticism. During the 1920s and 1930s, as the first-generation modernists lost their revolutionary cast, and as American realism gained in favor, Walkowitz continued his experiments with form and line, especially in his series of Duncan studies. Although his paintings received less critical attention than they once had, Walkowitz was clearly one of the grand old folk of American modernism. During the depression, Walkowitz was politically active on behalf of unemployed artists supporting various new-deal initiatives in the arts. In the 1940s, Walkowitz gained national attention when he explored the varieties of the modernist vision in the form of an exhibit of 100 portraits of him by 100 artists. The result was widely discussed and was featured in Life magazine in 1944.
In 1945, Walkowitz traveled to Kansas, where he painted landscapes made up largely of strip mines and barns. This was his last venture in active painting — by 1946, glaucoma, which led to his eventual blindness, began to impair his vision and limit his ability to work. Walkowitz then turned to the preparation of a series of volumes of his drawings, designed to illustrate the development of modernism in the 20th century, and in so doing, established his role as a pioneer American modernist.
Intriguing abstract pencil sketch American modern art famous artist
By Abraham Walkowitz
Located in London, GB
“If it brings to me a harmonious sensation…” Walkowitz once said, “…I then try to find the concrete elements that are likely to record the sensation in visual forms.” This philosoph...
Pencil
Abstraction
By Abraham Walkowitz
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Signed and dated in ink lower center Provenance: Charlotte Bergman, noted collector and patron of Walkowitz. See photo for additional information.
Ink, Pen
Beautiful abstract sketch American modern art
By Abraham Walkowitz
Located in London, GB
This soft and inviting work is the first in a series of abstractions. Walkowitz utilises innovative drawing techniques, the side of the pencil becomes a valuable tool in creating a b...
Paper, Photographic Film
"Abstract Cityscape" NYC Early 20th Century American Scene Social Realism Ashcan
By Abraham Walkowitz
Located in New York, NY
"Abstract Cityscape" NYC Early 20th Century American Scene Social Realism Ashcan Abraham Walkowitz (American, 1878-1965) Abstract Cityscape Sight: 6 1/4' x 8 1/2 inches Mixed media...
Paper, Mixed Media
Beautiful simple abstract pencil sketch American modern art
By Abraham Walkowitz
Located in London, GB
This soft and inviting work is the second in a series of abstractions by Walkowitz. Containing a central sequence of wavey lines and a singular circle, it evokes a feelings of joy in...
Pencil
Abstraction
By Abraham Walkowitz
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Untitled Abstraction Pen and ink on paper, 1932 Signed and dated in ink lower center Condition: Excellent Sheet/Image size: 10 3/8 x 6 1/4 inches Frame size: 16 1/2 x 12 1/2" Provena...
Ink, Pen
Abraham Walkowitz Modernist Floral Still-Life Painting, circa 1915-1920
By Abraham Walkowitz
Located in Phoenix, AZ
Original oil on board - a still life of flowers by noted Modernist artist Abraham Walkowitz, (1878-1965). Signed lower right “A. Walkowitz” and inscribed lower left “to Mr. and Mrs. ...
Paint
Untitled (Nude Woman)
By Abraham Walkowitz
Located in Astoria, NY
Abraham Walkowitz (Russian/American, 1878-1965), Nude Woman, Watercolor on Paper, signed in pencil lower right, linen covered frame. Image: 13" H x 9.5" W; frame: 20.25" H x 16.25" W...
Paper, Watercolor
$13,600Sale Price|62% Off
Haystacks Oil Painting, American Impressionist, Signed, 20th Century
By Abraham Walkowitz
Located in New York, NY
Haystacks by Abraham Walkowitz (1878-1965) Oil on canvas 14 x 20 inches unframed (35.56 x 50.8 cm) 19 ½ x 25 ½ inches framed (49.53 x 64.77 cm) Signed on lower right Description: Ab...
Oil
$2,784
Simple pencil abstract sketch American modern art perfect for interior design
By Abraham Walkowitz
Located in London, GB
In ‘Untitled’ 1932, Walkowitz crafts a memorable image. Tessellating lines are centred on the page and form geometric shapes. Faint pencil marking reveal the artists forward planning...
Pen, Pencil
Museum Quality, Nude with Pink Towel
By Abraham Walkowitz
Located in Miami, FL
Walkowitz creates a powerful composition with the tightly cropped nude figure pushed up-close to the viewer and occupying half of the picture plane. Smaller figures lead the eye back...
Oil
Modernist Drawing, Portrait of a Man
By Abraham Walkowitz
Located in Surfside, FL
Abraham Walkowitz (March 28, 1878 - January 27, 1965) was an American painter grouped in with early American Modernists working in the Modernist style. Walkowitz was born in Tyumen,...
Paper, Ink
Untitled (Figurative Abstraction of Isadora Duncan #7)
By Abraham Walkowitz
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
Abraham Walkowitz, Untitled (Figurative Abstraction of Isadora Duncan #7), pencil, 1918. Signed and dated in pencil, bottom center. A fine, spon...
Pencil
Isadora Duncan
By Abraham Walkowitz
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Isadora Duncan Graphite with grey wash on paper mounted to cardstock Signed and dated in pencil lower right (see photo) Provenance: Charlotte Bergman, f...
Graphite
Lower East Side Crowd
By Abraham Walkowitz
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Lower East Side Crowd Ink and ink wash on paper, c. 1910 Signed in ink lower center edge (see photo) Signed with the initials lower right corner (see p...
Ink
"Isadora Duncan Dancing #3, " Watercolor and Ink signed by Abraham Walkowitz
By Abraham Walkowitz
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"Isadora Duncan Dancing #3" is an original ink and watercolor piece on cream paper by Abraham Walkowitz. The artist signed the piece in the lower center. The drawing depicts Isadora ...
Ink, Watercolor
Modernist Watercolor Painting, Portrait of a Man, Judaica Rabbi
By Abraham Walkowitz
Located in Surfside, FL
Abraham Walkowitz (March 28, 1878 - January 27, 1965) was an American painter grouped in with early American Modernists working in the Modernist style. Walkowitz was born in Tyumen, Siberia to Jewish parents. He emigrated with his mother to the United States in his early childhood. He studied at the National Academy of Design in New York City and the Académie Julian in Paris under Jean-Paul Laurens. Walkowitz and his contemporaries later gravitated around photographer Alfred Stieglitz's 291 Gallery, originally titled the Little Galleries of the Photo-Secession, where the forerunners of modern art in America gathered and where many European artists were first exhibited in the United States. During the 291 years, Walkowitz worked closely with Stieglitz as well as Arthur Dove, Marsden Hartley, and John Marin (often referred to as "The Stieglitz Quartet"). Early Career and Training Portrait of Abraham Walkowitz - 1907 - Max Weber - Brooklyn Museum Walkowitz was drawn to art from childhood. In a 1958 oral interview with Abram Lerner...
Paper, Watercolor
Modernist Watercolor Painting, Portrait of a Man, the Rabbi
By Abraham Walkowitz
Located in Surfside, FL
Abraham Walkowitz (March 28, 1878 - January 27, 1965) was an American painter grouped in with early American Modernists working in the Modernist style. Walkowitz was born in Tyumen, Siberia to Jewish parents. He emigrated with his mother to the United States in his early childhood. He studied at the National Academy of Design in New York City and the Académie Julian in Paris under Jean-Paul Laurens. Walkowitz and his contemporaries later gravitated around photographer Alfred Stieglitz's 291 Gallery, originally titled the Little Galleries of the Photo-Secession, where the forerunners of modern art in America gathered and where many European artists were first exhibited in the United States. During the 291 years, Walkowitz worked closely with Stieglitz as well as Arthur Dove, Marsden Hartley, and John Marin (often referred to as "The Stieglitz Quartet"). Early Career and Training Portrait of Abraham Walkowitz - 1907 - Max Weber - Brooklyn Museum Walkowitz was drawn to art from childhood. In a 1958 oral interview with Abram Lerner...
Paper, Watercolor
"Isadora Duncan (Blue), " Pen, Ink, & Watercolor signed by Abraham Walkowitz
By Abraham Walkowitz
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"Isadora Duncan (Blue)" is an original mixed media drawing created by Abraham Walkowitz. It is made with pen & ink, graphite, and watercolor piece on cream paper. The artist signed t...
Paper, Ink, Watercolor, Graphite
Woman Bathing #3 Abraham Walkowitz Nude watercolor Circa 1920s
By Abraham Walkowitz
Located in Rancho Santa Fe, CA
Signed lower left Provenance American Heritage Gallery, Inc., New York Private collection This work can be viewed at our New York City showroom by appointment.
Watercolor, Graphite, Paper
New York Improvisation
By Abraham Walkowitz
Located in Miami, FL
Abraham Walkowitz (1878–1965) New York Improvisation, 1910 Ink wash on paper Signed lower right 'A. Walkowitz 1910' Titled and dated on Zabriskie Gallery label enclosed in clear sle...
Ink
New York
By Abraham Walkowitz
Located in New York, NY
Signed and dated lower left: A. WALKOWITZ / 1908
Ink, Paper, Pencil, Watercolor
Improvisations of New York
By Abraham Walkowitz
Located in Miami, FL
Abraham Walkowitz (1878–1965) Improvisations of New York, 1910 Watercolor and pencil on paper Signed lower right 'A. Walkowitz 1910' Dimensions: 7 x 5 inches (paper) Titled on Berna...
Watercolor
A Sailing Ship at the Port
By Abraham Walkowitz
Located in Miami, FL
Abraham Walkowitz (1878–1965) A Sailing Ship at the Port, 1909 Watercolor on cardboard Signed lower right 'A. Walkowitz', in pencil '1909' Dimensions: 33.5 x 56 cm Born: Tyumen, Ru...
Watercolor
Rainstorm Sunset
By Robert Noel Blair
Located in Buffalo, NY
You are viewing a modernist American watercolor painting by Robert Noel Blair. Robert Noel Blair (American, 1912-2003) was an American artist, painter, sculptor, printmaker and te...
Paper, Watercolor
$556Sale Price|20% Off
H 15 in W 18 in D 0.25 in
Mid Century Abstracted San Francisco Bay Line Drawing Landscape
By Erle Loran
Located in Soquel, CA
Bold abstract geometric landscape, an expressive black and white line drawing done in pastel, by Erle Loran (American, 1905-1999). Unsigned, but was acquired from the artist's estate. Presented in a new black mat with foam core backing. Provenance: Estate of Earle Loran; David Carlson...
Paper, Pastel
$1,200
H 16.5 in W 13.75 in D 0.75 in
"I Think I Will" Modern Oval Drawing of a Nude Woman with Wings and Boots
By Charles Pebworth
Located in Houston, TX
Modern oval figurative drawing of a nude, tattooed woman with wings and cowboy boots by Houston, TX artist Charles Pebworth. Signed by the artist next to the figure's right hip. Hung...
Ink, Pen
$680Sale Price|20% Off
H 12 in W 8 in D 0.25 in
The Sketch Class, Figurative Study Line Drawing
By David Rosen (b.1912)
Located in Soquel, CA
Expressive line drawing figure study featuring a group of figures in a classroom by David Rosen (Canadian, 1912-2004). Unsigned, but was acquire...
Paper, Pen, Watercolor
$1,950
H 15.5 in W 16 in D 1 in
“Untitled, 1946” New Hope Modernist Small Abstract Bucks County Lambertville NJ
By Louis Stone
Located in Yardley, PA
“Untitled, 1946” by Louis K. Stone (1902-1984). A strong and charming example of mid-century American modernism by one of the most important artists working in New Hope, PA. This wa...
Paper, Watercolor
$750
H 12.75 in W 12.75 in
Ca. 1950, Black & White Ink Abstraction by Notable Artist Jan Matulka
By Jan Matulka
Located in Chicago, IL
A handsome ca. 1950 black & white Abstraction by important Modernist artist Jan Matulka. Image size: 6" x 6 1/2". Framed size: 12 3/4" x 12 3/4". Born in Prague, Czechoslovakia...
Ink, Graphite
$626
H 16.54 in W 11.82 in D 0.04 in
Original drawing-Golden Summer- British Awarded Artist, custom frame included.
Located in London, GB
Shizico spent three days painting this plein air in her sunlit garden. She applied 550 Ture Gold paint and Van Gogh Yellow creating a stunning backdrop which served as the canvas for...
Gold
$650
H 16.5 in W 17.13 in D 0.75 in
"Chimneys at Dusk", Small Pastel San Francisco Abstract Urban Landscape
Located in Soquel, CA
Abstracted Bay Area skyline against a pink sunset creates beautiful and soft geometries in this small pastel urban landscape by San Francisco artist Chris...
Paper, Pastel, Watercolor
$450
H 8 in W 8 in
"residence" abstract cityscape, colorful rowhouses, geometric, marker, pencil
By Miriam Singer
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This piece titled "residence" is an original artwork made from pencil, maker, acrylic paint collage on panel by Miriam Singer. This piece measures 8"h x 8"w. Miriam Singer grew up i...
Paint, Panel, Permanent Marker, Pencil
$125,000
H 18.5 in W 22 in D 1 in
"NY Street Signs" Mid-20th Century WPA 1938 Modernist Abstract Realism Pop Art
By Stuart Davis
Located in New York, NY
"NY Street Signs" Mid-20th Century WPA 1938 Modernist Abstract Realism Pop Art Stuart Davis (American, 1892-1964) "Street Signs" Modernist gouache and traces of pencil on paper in the proto-pop art style Davis is celebrated for, 1938, signed to lower right, framed. Image: 11 1/4 x 15 1/4 inches. Frame by Bark: 18 1/2 x 22 inches. LITERATURE: A, Boyajian, M. Rutkowski, Stuart Davis, A Catalogue Raisonne, Vol. 2, New Haven, Connecticut, 2007, vol. II, p. 632, no. 1232, illustrated. EXHIBITIONS: ACA Galleries, New York American Artists' Congress: Group Exhibition of Paintings and Sculpture, Dec. 3-16, 1939 (SDAB I, 12/3/39, p. 129). Outlines Gallery, Pittsburgh, Stuart Davis, Mar. 3-16, 1946. Coleman Art Gallery, Philadelphia, 5 Prodigal Sons: Former Philadelphia Artists: Ralston Crawford, Stuart Davis, Charles Demuth, Julian Levi, Charles Sheeler, Oct 4 - 30, 1947 (pamphlet), no. 12. PROVENANCE: The artist; Mr. and Mrs. Frank Bowles, New York, Apr. 3, 1956; thence by descent, Private Collection, New York. NOTES: According to the Catalogue Raissonne, "the title 'Street Signs' is recorded in the artist's account books...
Paper, Gouache, Pencil
$1,250
H 8.5 in W 10 in
"Untitled Abstract" Howard Daum, Mid-Century Twisting Abstract Composition
Located in New York, NY
Howard Daum Untitled Abstract, 1963 Signed and dated upper left, Signed on the reverse Pencil on paper 4 1/2 x 6 inches Provenance The artist Ashby Gallery, New York Carl Ashby, New...
Paper, Pencil
$6,000
H 24 in W 20 in D 2 in
Abstract Work on Paper Mid-Century Modernism Greek American Gouache Drawing
By Jean Xceron
Located in New York, NY
Abstract Work on Paper Mid-Century Modernism Greek American Gouache Drawing. A modernist artist who emigrated to America from Greece in 1904, when he was fourteen years old, Jean Xceron is described as having a reputation as an artist that has mysteriously fallen into obscurity---especially since he was reportedly quite prominent during his lifetime. However, a partial explanation of that omission is the fact that many of his papers and early records have been lost. He was a painter of biomorphic abstractions and did collages, which were influenced by Dadaism. Xceron was active in New York City when modernism was gaining influence. Of him during this period, it was written that his artistic role was "a vital link between what is commonly termed as the first-generation (the Stieglitz group, the Synchromists, etc.) and second-generation, the American Abstract Artists, the Transcendental Painting...
Paper, Gouache
City Abstraction II
By Abraham Walkowitz
Located in London, GB
This intimate abstract work, depicting towering buildings emerging from the smog filled city, is one of many drawings the artist did of New York City in the early 20th century. A den...
Pencil
"Untitled Abstraction"
By Abraham Walkowitz
Located in Wellesley, MA
Abraham Walkowitz (1878 -1965) NOTE: This drawing is signed 'A.W' lower left in ink. The provenance is Estate of the Artist. Abraham Walkowitz was a Russian-born American artist who arrived in New York in 1889 and who went to Paris in 1906 where he met the Steins and the leaders of the avant-garde, as well as famed dancer Isadora Duncan in Rodin’s studio. The meeting was electric. Isadora became the subject of many now famous watercolors, whose fluid gestures drawn in pen...
Paper, India Ink
Sold
H 6.75 in W 2.63 in D 0.01 in
Abraham Walkowitz Delightful Original Watercolor, circa 1920s, Isadora Duncan
By Abraham Walkowitz
Located in Phoenix, AZ
Original pen and ink with watercolor by American Modernist Abraham Walkowitz (1878-1965) Depicting one of his favorite subjects, Isadora Duncan, the “Mother of Modern Dance.” In exce...
Paper
Abstraction with Triangles
By Abraham Walkowitz
Located in London, GB
Using expressive lines, mark making and strokes of varied opacity, Walkowitz captures the spirit of modernism through his exploration of pure abstraction. The simplicity and spontane...
Paper, Ink
City Scape
By Abraham Walkowitz
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Provenance: Zabriske Gallery, NYC Jack Rutberg Fine Arts, Los Angeles Modernism Fine Arts, NYC Exhibited: Utah Museum of Fine Arts, 1974 Edwin A. Ulrich Museum of Art, 1975 Abraham...
Charcoal, Watercolor
Modernist Drawing, Portrait of a Man
By Abraham Walkowitz
Located in Surfside, FL
Abraham Walkowitz (March 28, 1878 - January 27, 1965) was an American painter grouped in with early American Modernists working in the Modernist style. Walkowitz was born in Tyumen, Siberia to Jewish parents. He emigrated with his mother to the United States in his early childhood. He studied at the National Academy of Design in New York City and the Académie Julian in Paris under Jean-Paul Laurens. Walkowitz and his contemporaries later gravitated around photographer Alfred Stieglitz's 291 Gallery, originally titled the Little Galleries...
Paper, Ink
Isadora Duncan
By Abraham Walkowitz
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Isadora Duncan Graphite and wash on paper, c. 1910 Signed in pencil lower right Provenance: Charlotte Berman (1903-2002), noted art collector, friend an...
Graphite
Isadora Duncan dancing in a red dress
By Abraham Walkowitz
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Isadora Duncan dancing in a red dress Ink, watercolor and graphite on paper, c. 1913 Signed in ink lower center (see photo) Condition: Very fresh colors Tipped to archival backing board in the corners 22K Gold leaf carved frame...
Watercolor
Sold
H 10.5 in W 6.75 in D 0.01 in
Untitled (Figurative Abstraction of Isadora Duncan #6)
By Abraham Walkowitz
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
Abraham Walkowitz, Untitled (Figurative Abstraction of Isadora Duncan #6), pen and ink, pencil, 1918. Signed in ink, dated in pencil, bottom center. A f...
Ink, Pen, Pencil
Sold
H 10.5 in W 6.75 in D 0.01 in
Untitled (Figurative Abstraction of Isadora Duncan #5)
By Abraham Walkowitz
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
Abraham Walkowitz, Untitled (Figurative Abstraction of Isadora Duncan #5), pen and ink, pencil, 1918. Signed in ink, dated in pencil, bottom center. A f...
Ink, Pen, Pencil
Sold
H 10.5 in W 6.75 in D 0.01 in
Untitled (Figurative Abstraction of Isadora Duncan #4)
By Abraham Walkowitz
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
Abraham Walkowitz, Untitled (Figurative Abstraction of Isadora Duncan #4), pen and ink, 1918. Signed in ink, dated in pencil, bottom center. A fine, spo...
Ink, Pen
Sold
H 10.5 in W 6.75 in D 0.01 in
Untitled (Figurative Abstraction of Isadora Duncan #3)
By Abraham Walkowitz
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
Abraham Walkowitz, Untitled (Figurative Abstraction of Isadora Duncan #3), pen and ink, 1918. Signed in ink, dated in pencil, bottom center. A f...
Ink, Pen