Al Held Paintings
American, 1928-2005
Alvin Jacob Held, (1928-2005) Al Held earned his slot in the annals of American contemporary art with his bold, geometric canvases that took abstraction to another level. His free-floating, interlocked cubes, and planes invited the viewer into a vertigo-inducing landscape that seemed to stretch on into infinity. "Immense architectural structures curve and slice through these complex paintings, often enmeshing themselves in cellular structures," noted the Times of London. "Viewers felt that they were exploring some mysterious universe, and Held never lost his passionate belief in abstract painting's ability to create a sublime new world."
Held grew up in Brooklyn, New York, and as a teenager, missed so many days of high school that it was suggested he consider leaving altogether. He eventually earned a night-school diploma, and spent two years in the U.S. Navy. Back in New York City, he enrolled in classes at the Art Students League, and went on to study at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière in Paris in the early 1950s. The first solo exhibition of his work was staged there, in 1952 at the Galerie Huit. Held's abstract work took on a more orderly, formal tone, aided by a switch from oil to acrylic paints in 1959, and he had his first solo show in New York City that same year at the Poindexter Gallery. "Finessing the gap between Minimalism and Color Field painting," wrote New York Times journalist Ken Johnson of the next decade of Held's career, "he produced smooth, simplified works based on enlarged letters of the alphabet. And in the late '60s and '70s he made complex black-and-white pictures of sharply outlined cubes, pyramids, and other geometric shapes floating in illusory spaces of indeterminate depth."
Some of Held's best-known works are those floating black and white cubes, a series he began in 1967. One of the largest, which stretches more than 90 feet in length, was installed at the Empire State Plaza in Albany, New York. In the late 1970s, in an abrupt shift, he began using color again, and the geometric shapes became so precise that they were sometimes mistaken for computer-generated art. Held considered his images not unlike those of religious art, once telling an interviewer that "historically, the priests and wise men believed that it was the artist's job to make images of heaven and hell believable, even though nobody had experienced these places," he said, according to his Chicago Tribune obituary.
Held spent 20 years teaching at Yale University's. Represented by the Robert Miller Gallery in New York City, which staged what would be his last exhibition of new work in 2003, Held's works were avidly sought by contemporary-art enthusiasts around the world, and were part of the permanent collections of many institutions, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art.
— Carol Brennanto
1
2
Overall Width
to
Overall Height
to
3
2
2
1
2
1
2
2
2
2
1
15
760
758
735
678
2
1
2
1
Artist: Al Held
Untitled "A"
By Al Held
Located in London, GB
Price: $75,000 (+5% import VAT)
Provenance:
Robert Miller Gallery, New York
Private collection, New York (acquired from the above in 1980)
Exhibited:
Montpellier, Musee Fabre, "...
Category
1960s Abstract Expressionist Al Held Paintings
Materials
Acrylic
$75,000
Untitled "D"
By Al Held
Located in London, GB
Signed and dated 'Al Held 61' (lower right)
Price: $75,000 (+5% import VAT)
Provenance:
Robert Miller Gallery, New York (stock no.1179359 HELD-0075)
Private collection, New York
Private collection, New York (acquired from the above in 2012)
Exhibited:
New York, Queens Museum; Norfolk, Virginia, Chrysler Museum; Maine, Portland Museum of Art; Miami Beach, Bass Museum of Art; Washington, D.C., The Phillips Collection...
Category
1960s Abstract Expressionist Al Held Paintings
Materials
Acrylic
$75,000
Scholes II
By Al Held
Located in New York, NY
This screenprint was created by the artist in 1991. Signed in pencil and numbered from the edition of 80 measuring 29 x 34 in. (73.7 x 86.4 cm.). Published by The Metropolitan Museu...
Category
20th Century Contemporary Al Held Paintings
Materials
Screen
Price Upon Request
Related Items
Untitled (Abstraction)
By Jack Roth
Located in Astoria, NY
Jack Roth (American, 1927-2004), Untitled, Acrylic on Canvas, 1980, signed and dated lower left, signed on back and with estate stamp, unframed.
66.25" H x 94" W.
Provenance: The E...
Category
1980s Abstract Expressionist Al Held Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Acrylic
Balance Too - Statement Minimalistic Abstract Conversation Gold Contrast Large
By Karnish Art
Located in Pretoria, Gauteng
Title: Balance Too
Statement Minimalistic Abstract Conversation Gold Contrast Large
BALANCE TOO is part of the series Expressions Too, that connects to the earth, ocean and sky... ...
Category
2010s Abstract Expressionist Al Held Paintings
Materials
Oil, Acrylic, Gesso, Canvas
$1,950
H 48.04 in W 59.85 in D 1.19 in
Large Modernist French Abstract Expressionist Colorful Bird Painting Roger Lersy
By Roger Lersy
Located in Surfside, FL
Roger Lersy, French (1920 - 2004)
Oil on canvas
Signed, R. Lersy, dated 1961 lower right
Measuring 35 X 31 Matted and framed. sight 26 X 21.5
Roger Lersy was born in Paris, France ...
Category
1960s Abstract Expressionist Al Held Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
Impasto Abstract Seascape Landscape Miniature Study Contemporary British Artist
By Angela Wakefield
Located in Preston, GB
Impasto Abstract Seascape Landscape Miniature Study by Contemporary British Artist Angela Wakefield
Art measures 5 x 5 inches
Frame measures 11 x 11 inches
Angela Wakefield – “Coas...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Expressionist Al Held Paintings
Materials
Paint, Acrylic, Board
$943 Sale Price
20% Off
H 11 in W 11 in D 3 in
Violinist. Square, portrait, figurative, notes, semi-abstract
Located in Oslo, NO
Acrylic painting, portrait, violinist, music, black, square, notes
The painting "Violinist" is an image of an inner refuge where a person retreats after a battle with the elements. ...
Category
Early 2000s Abstract Expressionist Al Held Paintings
Materials
Acrylic
$3,015
H 31.5 in W 31.5 in D 0.79 in
War and Peace Acrylic on canvas painting
Located in Sitges, Barcelona
Title: War and Peace
Artist: Nerea Caos
Technique: Acrylic on canvas
Dimensions: 60 x 40 cm (23.6 x 15.7 in)
Support: Stretched canvas
Date: 2025
Signature: Signed on the back ...
Category
2010s Abstract Expressionist Al Held Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Acrylic
Love Conquers All - Extra-Large Abstract Investment Bold Color Movement Bold
By Karnish Art
Located in Pretoria, Gauteng
Title: Love Conquers All - Omnia Vincit Amor
Extra Large Abstract Investment Bold Color
Large rendition in the Unchained Expressions series. It attempts to map the road to freedom...
Category
2010s Abstract Expressionist Al Held Paintings
Materials
Acrylic
$1,980
H 40.95 in W 58.27 in D 0.2 in
Wooden Architecture, Abstract Geometric Totem in Primary Tones, Expressionist
Located in Barcelona, ES
Wooden Achitecture II is a playful and expressive drawing that reimagines the familiar shape of a house through bold color blocks and dynamic crayon textures. With its geometric simp...
Category
2010s Abstract Expressionist Al Held Paintings
Materials
Paper, Acrylic
Ribbons and Poles - Augmented Screenprint
By Patricia A. Pearce
Located in Soquel, CA
Augmented (Hand painted) screenprint by Patricia A. Pearce (American, b. 1948). Presented in a new double mat of black and gray. Unsigned, but was acquired with a collection of Pearc...
Category
1980s Minimalist Al Held Paintings
Materials
Ink, Acrylic, Screen
Landscape Abstract Expressionist
By Jerzy Kubina
Located in Lake Worth Beach, FL
Landscape Abstract 2020,
Artist signed and titled verso.
Jerzy Kubina Polish/American Artist: Jerzy was born in Zamosc, Poland, 1956. Studied at the Academy Of Fine Arts in Krakow 19...
Category
2010s Abstract Expressionist Al Held Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Acrylic
"Future Code" Abstract Expressionist Artist was Born 1985 in Aromas, California
By Frank Romero
Located in Soquel, CA
"Future Code" , a wonderful abstract geometric composition by Monterey Bay Area abstract expressionist artist Frank “Frankie” Romero (American, b. 1985). Signed lower right and title...
Category
2010s Abstract Expressionist Al Held Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Acrylic, Cardboard
$716 Sale Price
20% Off
H 18 in W 24 in D 1 in
Angels In The City Abstract Painting
By Malgosia Kiernozycka
Located in Lake Worth Beach, FL
Angels In The City Abstract Painting
Artist signed lower right corner gallery wrap.
Malgosia Kiernozycka was born in Wroclaw, Poland. She graduated high school at the School of Fine ...
Category
2010s Abstract Expressionist Al Held Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Acrylic
Previously Available Items
Camerata XVI
By Al Held
Located in Toronto, Ontario
Al Held (1928-2005) was one of the most prominent and successful American artists. associated with the hard-edge painting. He was a pioneer in the evolution of abstraction and redefi...
Category
1980s Abstract Geometric Al Held Paintings
Materials
Watercolor
Al Held paintings for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic Al Held paintings available for sale on 1stDibs. If you’re browsing the collection of paintings to introduce a pop of color in a neutral corner of your living room or bedroom, you can find work that includes elements of blue, orange and other colors. You can also browse by medium to find art by Al Held in paint, acrylic paint, synthetic resin paint and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 20th century and is mostly associated with the abstract style. Not every interior allows for large Al Held paintings, so small editions measuring 24 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Larry Zox, Larry Poons, and Joseph Glasco. Al Held paintings prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $75,000 and tops out at $100,000, while the average work can sell for $75,000.