Adria Arch Art

Neon Lighting WPA Mid 20th Century Social Realism American Scene Modern Figures MAURICE BECKER (1889-1975) 'Neon Lighting 17 1/4 x 13 3/4 inches Oil on masonite Signed, dated 1936 and titled on verso BIO Maurice Becker, painter, political cartoonist and social reformer, was born in 1889 either in Gorky or Niznij Novgorod, in Russia. His family came to the United States in 1892, to New York City. After high school, Becker worked in a clothing factory. He studied with Ash Can School artist Robert Henri in 1908, and exhibited in the famous 1913 Armory Show in New York City when he was only twenty-four years of age. At the Armory show, Becker showed a drawing of a dog's head...

Mid-century oil on masonite modern painting by the well known Russian/American artist, Nahum Tschacbasov. Signed top left and dated 1949. Titled verso. Condition is fair. Provenanc...

A Charming, 1950s Painting of a Little Girl, "Red Smock" by Francis Chapin (Am. 1899-1965). What a character! A little gem of a painting. Artwork size: 8” x 4” (Framed size: 11” ...

A Compelling '50s Mid-Century Modern Portrait of a Young Woman by Francis Chapin. Titled "Red Dress", the painting is oil on Masonite and dates circa 1950. A very well executed, co...

A Charming, 1950s Modern Portrait of a Girl in White Dress by Noted Chicago Artist, Francis Chapin (Am. 1899-1965). Artwork size: 6 1/2” x 5 3/4”. Oil on Masonite. (Framed size: 1...

A Charming, 1950s Expressionist Portrait of a Young Girl by Noted Chicago Modern Artist, Francis Chapin (Am. 1899-1965). A Wonderful and intimate Mid-Century studio portrait of a yo...

Intriguing oil on masonite painting by the American artist Richard Kirk of a young boy wearing a jesters hat. Signed lower right. Circa 1960. Condition is excellent. The painting is in it original painted wood and intentionally distressed frame. Overall measurements framed 22.5 by 30.5 inches. Provenance: Sarasota, Florida collector. My first recollections were of drawing. I don't remember telling people that I wanted to be an artist. I just loved drawing. At times, it was all that occupied my young mind. My passion for drawing was instantly converted to a passion for painting after I met my best friend's father, Oleg Stavrowsky...

Hollywood regency portrait painting of a young woman by Francis Kughler (American 1901-1970). Oil on canvas board. Circa 1932. Unframed. Born in New York City in 1901, Francis Vandeveer Kughler attended Cooper Union, the Mechanics' Institute, and the National Academy of Design School of Art where he met Charlotte Livingston, an artist, whom he was later to marry. During this period he was the winner of a Tiffany scholarship, which provided him a summer of landscape painting at the Louis Comfort Tiffany estate at Oyster Bay, L.I. In the 1940s, Kughler became the President of the Salmagundi Club, a well-known art club in Washington Square in New York City.Well-known as a muralist, society portrait painter and lithographer, he was a prolific painter who made cityscapes, landscapes, and nudes. He and his wife, Charlotte Livingston, lived and worked in Bronx, New York. mid century modern wpa impressionist...

A Charming, 1950s Modern Portrait of a Young Woman in a Red Sweater by Noted Chicago Artist, Francis Chapin (Am. 1899-1965). Artwork size: 8” x 6”, Oil on Masonite (Framed size: 11...

Julio De Diego’s Atomic Series paintings made an extraordinary statement regarding the shock and fear that accompanied the dawn of the nuclear age. In the artist’s own words, “Scientists were working secretly to develop formidable powers taken from the mysterious depths of the earth - with the power to make the earth useless! Then, the EXPLOSION! . . . we entered the Atomic Age, and from there the neo-Atomic war begins. Explosions fell everywhere and man kept on fighting, discovering he could fight without flesh.” To execute these works, De Diego developed a technique of using tempera underpainting before applying layer upon layer of pigmented oil glazes. The result is paintings with surfaces which were described as “bonelike” in quality. The forms seem to float freely, creating a three-dimensional visual effect. In the 1954 book The Modern Renaissance in American Art, author Ralph Pearson summarizes the series as “a fantastic interpretation of a weighty theme. Perhaps it is well to let fantasy and irony appear to lighten the devastating impact. By inverse action, they may in fact increase its weight.” Exhibited 1964 Marion Koogler McNay Art Institute, San Antonio, Texas This work retains its original frame which measures 54" x 42" x 2" About this artist: Julio De Diego crafted a formidable persona within the artistic developments and political struggles of his time. The artist characterized his own work as “lyrical,” explaining, “through the years, the surrealists, the social-conscious painters and the others tried to adopt me, but I went my own way, good, bad or indifferent.” [1] His independence manifested early in life when de Diego left his parent’s home in Madrid, Spain, in adolescence following his father’s attempts to curtail his artistic aspirations. At the age of fifteen he held his first exhibition, set up within a gambling casino. He managed to acquire an apprenticeship in a studio producing scenery for Madrid’s operas, but moved from behind the curtains to the stage, trying his hand at acting and performing as an extra in the Ballet Russes’ Petrouchka with Nijinsky. He spent several years in the Spanish army, including a six-month stretch in the Rif War of 1920 in Northern Africa. His artistic career pushed ahead as he set off for Paris and became familiar with modernism’s forays into abstraction, surrealism, and cubism. The artist arrived in the U.S. in 1924 and settled in Chicago two years later. He established himself with a commission for the decoration of two chapels in St. Gregory’s Church. He also worked in fashion illustration, designed magazine covers and developed a popular laundry bag for the Hotel Sherman. De Diego began exhibiting through the Art Institute of Chicago in 1929, and participated in the annual Chicago Artists Exhibitions, Annual American Exhibitions, and International Water Color Exhibitions. He held a solo exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago in the summer of 1935. Though the artist’s career was advancing, his family life had deteriorated. In 1932 his first marriage dissolved, and the couple’s young daughter Kiriki was sent to live with friend Paul Hoffman. De Diego continued to develop his artistic vocabulary with a growing interest in Mexican art. He traveled throughout the country acquainting himself with the works of muralists such as Carlos Merida, and also began a collection of small native artifacts...

A Charming, 1950s Mid-Century Modern Portrait of a Young Boy in Blue Hat by Noted Chicago Artist, Francis Chapin (Am. 1899-1965). Artwork Size: 9 x 6 1/4” (Framed size: 11 1/2” x...

A Cheerful, 1950s Modern Portrait of a Young Woman with Blonde Hair by Noted Chicago Artist, Francis Chapin (Am. 1899-1965). Artwork size: 7 1/2” x 5 1/4”, oil on masonite (Framed ...