Skip to main content

Albert Urban Art

German, 1909-1959

Albert Urban, painter, sculptor, printmaker, and teacher, was born in Frankfurt, Germany. He studied at the Kunstschule in Frankfurt, Germany, with Max Beckmann and Willi Baumeister, and after graduation, he was hired as an assistant instructor at the academy. With Hitler's rise to power, Urban was one of many artists condemned by the Nazis. His work was confiscated and included in the “Degenerate Art Exhibition” in Munich in 1937. Forbidden to paint, he fled to London, finally moving to New York in 1940. Once settled in the U.S., Urban returned to painting, between 1941–48, he had five solo exhibitions in New York and Philadelphia. A critic for Art News in 1946 extolled his work, describing him as "a painter's painter, whose brilliant color, vibrant forms, swiftly spontaneous design, and general technical inventiveness must win the respect of all informed scholars of painting." With the idea of making his work affordable to the general public, Urban began working in the medium of serigraphy in 1942, producing a body of four and five-color screen prints. He and his wife, Reva, opened Gallery Urban at 16 West 10th Street in New York, where they exhibited his work and that of other contemporary modernists. Nineteen of his screenprints, produced between 1944–46, are listed in The Early History of the Screenprint by Reba and Dave Williams, as published in the Print Quarterly in December 1986. Between 1948–58, Urban remained something of a recluse, for a period refusing to show his work to anyone. Finally, a solo exhibition of his work was mounted to critical acclaim at the Zabriskie Gallery in 1958. Urban's work was included in many exhibitions in the 1940s, and he is represented in numerous museums including, Addison Gallery of American Art, Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Brooklyn Museum, Museum of Modern Art, National Gallery of Art, Frederick R. Wesiman Art Museum and Worcester Art Museum.

to
1
1
Overall Width
to
Overall Height
to
2
1
1
1
1
2
2
10,340
2,808
2,500
1,408
2
Artist: Albert Urban
Untitled Abstraction (Figures in Red)
Untitled Abstraction (Figures in Red)

Untitled Abstraction (Figures in Red)

By Albert Urban

Located in Myrtle Beach, SC

Albert Urban, Untitled Abstraction (Figures in Red), color serigraph, 1944. Signed and dated in blue ink. A fine, painterly impression, with fresh, rich colors, on cream wove paper;...

Category

1940s Expressionist Albert Urban Art

Materials

Screen

UNTITLED

UNTITLED

By Albert Urban

Located in Portland, ME

Urban, Albert. UNTITLED SCREENPRINT IN COLORS. Signed and dated '52 in ink and numbered 13/15 26 X 33 inches, matted to 30 x 37 inches.The work is abstract, classic mid-century mode...

Category

1950s Albert Urban Art

Materials

Screen

Related Items
Concrete Geometric Abstract Composition with Yellow (~44% OFF LIST PRICE)
Concrete Geometric Abstract Composition with Yellow (~44% OFF LIST PRICE)

Concrete Geometric Abstract Composition with Yellow (~44% OFF LIST PRICE)

By Gottfried Honegger

Located in Kansas City, MO

Gottfried Honegger Concrete Geometric Abstract Composition with Yellow 3D-construction, Screenprint on Hahnemuhle Velvet 2015 Size: 20.9 × 21.1 on 24.2 × 23.8 inches Edition: E.A. of...

Category

2010s Minimalist Albert Urban Art

Materials

Archival Paper, Screen

Bauchredner und Rufer im Moor, Cubist Pochoir Print on Rice Paper by Paul Klee
Bauchredner und Rufer im Moor, Cubist Pochoir Print on Rice Paper by Paul Klee

Bauchredner und Rufer im Moor, Cubist Pochoir Print on Rice Paper by Paul Klee

By Paul Klee

Located in Long Island City, NY

Artist: Paul Klee, After, Swiss (1879 - 1940) Title: Bauchredner und Rufer im Moor (Ventiloque criant dans le marais) Year: 1964 after 1920 Drawing Medium: Pochoir on Rice Paper, Sig...

Category

1960s Expressionist Albert Urban Art

Materials

Rice Paper, Stencil

Estate No. 044059

Otto NeumannEstate No. 044059, 1955

$15,000

H 15 in W 21.38 in

Estate No. 044059

By Otto Neumann

Located in New Orleans, LA

Signed and dated "55" in pencil. Otto Neumann (1895-1975) was a German Expressionist painter and printmaker. His monotypes evolved from sharp, angular, black and whites to late abst...

Category

1950s Expressionist Albert Urban Art

Materials

Monotype

Alberto Giacometti, rare vintage original poster
Alberto Giacometti, rare vintage original poster

Alberto Giacometti, rare vintage original poster

By Alberto Giacometti

Located in Saint-Didier, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur

Rare vintage original poster published by the famous Paris Gallery Claude Bernard pour an historic exhibition of Jean Dubuffet in the sixties (1964) a...

Category

1960s Expressionist Albert Urban Art

Materials

Paper

Estate No. 044021

Otto NeumannEstate No. 044021, 1952

$15,000

H 15 in W 21.25 in

Estate No. 044021

By Otto Neumann

Located in New Orleans, LA

Signed and dated "52" in pencil Otto Neumann (1895-1975) was a German Expressionist painter and printmaker. His monotypes evolved from sharp, angular, black and whites to late abst...

Category

1960s Expressionist Albert Urban Art

Materials

Monotype

'Improvisation 7' original first ed. woodcut  from 'Klänge' by Wassily Kandinsky
'Improvisation 7' original first ed. woodcut  from 'Klänge' by Wassily Kandinsky

'Improvisation 7' original first ed. woodcut from 'Klänge' by Wassily Kandinsky

By Wassily Kandinsky

Located in Milwaukee, WI

The present woodcut print comes from 'Klänge (Sounds),' a book of original graphics and poetry by Wassily Kandinsky. This first edition was released in an edition of 300, each book signed and numbered by the artist. The title of the album and this particular print, 'Improvisation,' demonstrated Kandinsky's interest in music and how abstract musical forms could be translated into images on a two-dimensional surface. This particular composition is difficult to read, but through the abstraction, one can make out various figures and a landscape beyond. 7.5 x 5 inches, image 22 x 19.5 inches, frame Woodcut in black ink on laid paper (watermark Van Gelder Zonen) Signed with encircled 'K' in the block, lower right Framed to conservation standards using 100 percent acid free archival materials including silk-lined matting with 1/4 inch bevel, museum glass, and a gold-gilded moulding Ref. Roethel 124 The Museum of Modern Art described 'Klänge (Sounds)' as follows: Vasily Kandinsky's self-described "musical album," Klänge (Sounds), consists of thirty-eight prose-poems he wrote between 1909 and 1911 and fifty-six woodcuts he began in 1907. In the woodcuts Kandinsky veiled his subject matter, creating increasingly indecipherable images (though the horse and rider, his symbol for overcoming objective representation, runs through as a leitmotif). This process proved crucial for the development of abstraction in his art. Kandinsky said his choice of media sprang from an "inner necessity" for expression: the woodcuts were not merely illustrative, nor were the poems purely verbal descriptions. Kandinsky sought a synthesis of the arts, in which meaning was created through the interaction of, and space between, text and image, sound and meaning, mark and blank space. The experimental typography shows his interest in the physical aspects of the book. Klänge is one of three major publications by Kandinsky that appeared shortly before World War I, alongside Über die Geistige in der Kunst (Concerning the Spiritual in Art) and the Blaue Reiter almanac...

Category

1910s Blue Rider Albert Urban Art

Materials

Woodcut

Estate No. 082031

Otto NeumannEstate No. 082031, 1967

$9,000

H 24.63 in W 17.63 in

Estate No. 082031

By Otto Neumann

Located in New Orleans, LA

Otto Neumann (1895-1975) was a German Expressionist painter and printmaker. His monotypes evolved from sharp, angular, black and whites to late abstract prints in a variety of colors. Neumann lived through revolutionary changes in the art world of prewar and postwar Germany. He was a prolific artist in Germany during a time of the country’s unprecedented academic and intellectual growth. His early work shows the influence of both French masters like Cezanne and the contemporary style that was then being developed by German Expressionists like Kirchner. A master printmaker, Neumann was also inspired by the works of Albrecht Durer, whose allegorical subject-matter and unmatched drawing technique Neumann would emulate throughout his career. A lifetime preoccupation with the human figure informs his work, with frieze-like human figures recalling ancient Greek art...

Category

1960s Expressionist Albert Urban Art

Materials

Monotype

Estate No. 091014

Otto NeumannEstate No. 091014, 1970

$9,500

H 24.44 in W 19.63 in

Estate No. 091014

By Otto Neumann

Located in New Orleans, LA

Otto Neumann (1895-1975) was an expressionist painter and printmaker born in Heidelberg, Germany. He was one of the most versatile and original artists of...

Category

1970s Expressionist Albert Urban Art

Materials

Monotype

Nick's Coffee House in the Village - Rare Edition 1970s Modern Figurative Print
Nick's Coffee House in the Village - Rare Edition 1970s Modern Figurative Print

Nick's Coffee House in the Village - Rare Edition 1970s Modern Figurative Print

By Lenore SImon

Located in Soquel, CA

This bold screen print depicts a scene from the 1950s, set in a jazz coffee house in Greenwich Village called Nick's, which Simon patronized while in high school. The original stone ...

Category

Late 20th Century Expressionist Albert Urban Art

Materials

Archival Paper, Screen

Estate No. 091013

Otto NeumannEstate No. 091013, 1970

$9,500

H 24.57 in W 17.5 in

Estate No. 091013

By Otto Neumann

Located in New Orleans, LA

Otto Neumann (1895-1975) was a German Expressionist painter and printmaker. His monotypes evolved from sharp, angular, black and whites to late abstract p...

Category

1960s Expressionist Albert Urban Art

Materials

Monotype

Previously Available Items
Untitled Bold Geometric Abstract with Shapes and Figures
Untitled Bold Geometric Abstract with Shapes and Figures

Untitled Bold Geometric Abstract with Shapes and Figures

By Albert Urban

Located in Surfside, FL

Dimensions: 14" x 9.75" Dimensions w/Frame: 18" x 14.25" It is not signed on front. it is most probably studio stamped verso as were most of his prints. Albert Urban 1909-1959 born ...

Category

Mid-20th Century Albert Urban Art

Albert Urban art for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Albert Urban art available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Albert Urban in screen print and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 1940s and is mostly associated with the Expressionist style. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Max Liebermann, Otto Neumann, and Paul Klee. Albert Urban art prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $850 and tops out at $850, while the average work can sell for $850.

Artists Similar to Albert Urban