Skip to main content

Aubrey Williams Figurative Paintings

Guyanese, 1926-1990

Aubrey Williams, Guyanese artist. Williams has recently been reassessed by the Tate and Manchester Art Galleries and been the subject of television documentaries. He was best known for his large, oil-on-canvas paintings, which combine elements of abstract expressionism with forms, images and symbols inspired by the pre-Columbian art of indigenous peoples of the Americas. Born in Georgetown in British Guiana (now Guyana), Williams began drawing and painting at an early age. He received informal art tutoring from the age of three and joined the Working Peoples' Art Class at the age of 12. After training as an agronomist, he worked as an Agricultural Field Officer for eight years, initially on the sugar plantations of the East Coast and later in the North-West region of the country - an area inhabited primarily by the indigenous Warao people. His time among the Warao had a dramatic impact on his artistic approach and initiated the complex obsession with pre-Columbian arts and cultures that ran throughout his artistic career. Shortly after he qualified as an Agricultural Officer, Williams contacted E. R. Burrowes and returned to the Working People's Art Class, but this time as a teacher and organizer. Together they extended the WPAC beyond central Georgetown by setting up auxiliary classes throughout the East Coast. Williams himself established new classes in the agricultural regions in which he was working, and would often lead classes when Burrowes was unavailable. The classes were held at least twice weekly. Williams left Guyana at the height of the Independence Movement in 1952 and moved to the United Kingdom. Following his first exhibition in London in 1954, he became an increasingly significant figure in the post-war British avant-garde art scene, particularly through his association with Denis Bowen's New Vision Centre Gallery. In 1966, he came together with a group of London-based Caribbean artists and intellectuals to found the Caribbean Artists Movement, which served as a dynamic hub of cultural events and activity until its dissolution in 1972. From 1970 onward, Williams worked in studios in Jamaica and Florida as well as the UK. It was during this period that he produced three of his most well-known series of paintings, Shostakovich, The Olmec Maya and Now and Cosmos. In 1989, paintings by Williams were included in an exhibition at the Hayward Gallery entitled The Other Story, which focused on the work of African and Asian artists in post-World War II Britain. This was the first time that his work was exhibited in a mainstream public art gallery in the UK. and featured his Cosmos series. In the words of Geoffrey MacLean, "It showed the vast span of Williams's spiritual and intellectual development, from the birds of Guyana and the environment of his childhood, through the memory of his Amerindian heritage, culminating in an appreciation of universal expression through music and spiritual realization through the cosmos." Williams died in London on 17 April 1990, aged 63.

to
1
Overall Width
to
Overall Height
to
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
5
506
316
282
230
1
1
Artist: Aubrey Williams
“Blue Macaw, 1975” by Aubrey Williams, Guyanese Tropical Bird Gouache Signed
“Blue Macaw, 1975” by Aubrey Williams, Guyanese Tropical Bird Gouache Signed

“Blue Macaw, 1975” by Aubrey Williams, Guyanese Tropical Bird Gouache Signed

By Aubrey Williams

Located in Yardley, PA

This striking gouache captures Williams’s lifelong fascination with the natural world, filtered through his expressive modernist sensibility. The bird emerges from a hazy gray field,...

Category

1970s Expressionist Aubrey Williams Figurative Paintings

Materials

Paper, Gouache

Related Items
19th Century Torero and Bull Oil Painting, Figurative Expressionism
19th Century Torero and Bull Oil Painting, Figurative Expressionism

19th Century Torero and Bull Oil Painting, Figurative Expressionism

Located in Sitges, Barcelona

Title: Torero and Bull Artist: José María Tuser Vázquez (1919-1986) Technique: Oil on canvas mounted on board Dimensions: 18.9 x 15 inches Framing: Unframed Art Movement: Costumbrismo, Figurative Expressionism Theme: Bullfighting Date of Creation: Second half of the 20th century DESCRIPTION The painting Torero and Bull depicts a classic bullfighting scene, where a matador, elegantly dressed in a golden and violet traje de luces, performs a pass with the cape while the bull, wounded with banderillas, bows toward the ground. The composition conveys dynamism and tension, emphasizing the drama of the moment with loose and expressive brushstrokes. The background is rendered in warm, diffused tones, contrasting with the deep black of the bull and the vivid hues of the cape. The thick brushwork and vibrant oil application enhance the sense of movement and emotion in the scene, a distinctive feature of Tuser Vázquez’s bullfighting paintings. ARTIST'S BIOGRAPHY José María Tuser Vázquez (Barcelona, 1919 - 1986) was a Spanish painter specializing in bullfighting themes. He trained at the School of Arts and Crafts in Barcelona, where he developed a strong foundation in drawing and painting. From 1947 onwards, he dedicated his artistic production to tauromaquia, creating posters, illustrations, and paintings that captured the intensity of the bullfighting spectacle. He was a regular contributor to the magazine El Ruedo and designed a series of postcards featuring traditional Spanish costumes for Editorial Artigas in the 1940s. His work has been auctioned numerous times and is highly valued by collectors of bullfighting art...

Category

1960s Expressionist Aubrey Williams Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Board

Horsewoman" is a free copy from K.Bryulov's painting
Horsewoman" is a free copy from K.Bryulov's painting

Horsewoman" is a free copy from K.Bryulov's painting

Located in Zofingen, AG

"Horsewoman" is a free copy from K.Bryulov's painting "landscape of the Volsky Lily. A beautiful and amazing painting is painted according to all the canons of painting. 8 layers of ...

Category

2010s Expressionist Aubrey Williams Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Puppy Dog & Kitten Greeting Card Illustration painting (Children's room decor)
Puppy Dog & Kitten Greeting Card Illustration painting (Children's room decor)

Puppy Dog & Kitten Greeting Card Illustration painting (Children's room decor)

Located in Wilton Manors, FL

Ferd Sondern (b.1923) Puppy and Bluebird, 1977. Pencil, gouache and watercolor on illustration board. Complete panel measures 7 x 7.5 inches. Signed lower left. Credited on verso...

Category

1970s Realist Aubrey Williams Figurative Paintings

Materials

Watercolor, Gouache, Illustration Board

Godzilla like Dinosaur Monster, SciFi, Science Fiction Cover Illustration
Godzilla like Dinosaur Monster, SciFi, Science Fiction Cover Illustration

Godzilla like Dinosaur Monster, SciFi, Science Fiction Cover Illustration

By Paul Wenzel

Located in Miami, FL

Beautiful Godzilla-like monster illustration from 1961. Wenzel was a prolific Disney Artist for decades. The work is beautifully matted and framed and looks better in person. Sign...

Category

1960s American Modern Aubrey Williams Figurative Paintings

Materials

Mixed Media, Gouache, Tempera, Illustration Board

Art Deco Horses and Nude Figures
Art Deco Horses and Nude Figures

Bela KadarArt Deco Horses and Nude Figures, Circa Late 1920's

$27,200Sale Price|20% Off

H 19.62 in W 14.75 in

Art Deco Horses and Nude Figures

By Bela Kadar

Located in Miami, FL

This work is an exceptional example of Kádár's mature Cubist style. It's effortlessly designed around a complex composition of nude men and women tending to horses in a surreal landscape with Greek columns, friezes and marshmello clouds set against a rich blue saturated sky. Kádár was a Hungarian painter influenced by Der Blaue Reiter...

Category

1930s Art Deco Aubrey Williams Figurative Paintings

Materials

Gouache

Art Deco Horses and Nude Figures
Art Deco Horses and Nude Figures

Art Deco Horses and Nude Figures

By Bela Kadar

Located in Miami, FL

This work is an exceptional example of Kádár's mature Cubist style. It's effortlessly designed around a complex composition of nude men and women tending to horses in a surreal landscape with Greek columns, friezes, and marshmallow clouds set against a rich, saturated blue sky. Kádár was a Hungarian painter influenced by Der Blaue Reiter...

Category

1930s Art Deco Aubrey Williams Figurative Paintings

Materials

Gouache

Puppy Dog & Duckling Greeting Card Illustration painting (Children's room decor)
Puppy Dog & Duckling Greeting Card Illustration painting (Children's room decor)

Puppy Dog & Duckling Greeting Card Illustration painting (Children's room decor)

Located in Wilton Manors, FL

Ferd Sondern (b.1923) Puppy and Duckling, 1977. Pencil, gouache and watercolor on illustration board. Complete panel measures 7 x 9 inches. Signed lower left. Credited on verso. ...

Category

1970s Realist Aubrey Williams Figurative Paintings

Materials

Watercolor, Gouache, Illustration Board

Idyllic Landscape with Ox and Figures
Idyllic Landscape with Ox and Figures

Idyllic Landscape with Ox and Figures

Located in London, GB

'Idyllic Landscape with Ox and Figures', pencil and gouache on art paper, by Germaine Hageman (circa 1930s-40s). This is a sensitive and quietly evocative drawing by the Belgian arti...

Category

1930s Aubrey Williams Figurative Paintings

Materials

Paper, Gouache, Pencil

"Yearling Black Bear, " Oil painting
"Yearling Black Bear, " Oil painting

Susan McDonnell"Yearling Black Bear, " Oil painting, 2021

$2,400Sale Price|20% Off

H 11 in W 15 in

"Yearling Black Bear, " Oil painting

By Susan McDonnell

Located in Denver, CO

Susan McDonnell's (U.S. based) "Yearling Black Bear" is an original, handmade watercolor and gouache painting of a young bear peeking behind a tree. The painting is 11 x 15" and with the frame it is 15.37 x 19.87". Artist bio: Susan McDonnell is a realist painter who has recently moved back to Minnesota after living in Southern California for 30 years. Her paintings are narratives inspired by her observations of wild animals in their natural habitats. Albrecht Dürer and Otto Marseus van Schrieck...

Category

2010s Realist Aubrey Williams Figurative Paintings

Materials

Watercolor, Gouache

Christmas Toys Greeting Card painting (Children's room decor)
Christmas Toys Greeting Card painting (Children's room decor)

Christmas Toys Greeting Card painting (Children's room decor)

Located in Wilton Manors, FL

Ferd Sondern (b.1923) Christmas Toys, 1978. Ink and watercolor on illustration board. Complete panel measures 10 x 18 inches. Signed lower left. Credited on verso. Printer nota...

Category

1970s Realist Aubrey Williams Figurative Paintings

Materials

Ink, Watercolor, Illustration Board, Gouache

The Bug, Early 20th Century Landscape w/ Rooster & Chicken, Cleveland School
The Bug, Early 20th Century Landscape w/ Rooster & Chicken, Cleveland School

The Bug, Early 20th Century Landscape w/ Rooster & Chicken, Cleveland School

By Henry Keller

Located in Beachwood, OH

Henry George Keller (American, 1869-1949) The Bug Gouache on illustration board Signed lower left 30 x 21 inches 39 x 31 inches, framed Keller, a leading painter in Cleveland, was b...

Category

Early 20th Century Aubrey Williams Figurative Paintings

Materials

Gouache

Indian Mughal Emperor on Horseback Gouache
Indian Mughal Emperor on Horseback Gouache

Indian Mughal Emperor on Horseback Gouache

Located in Astoria, NY

Indian School, Mughal Emperor on Horseback being Exalted by a Subject, Gouache on Paper, unframed. Sheet: 12.75" H x 10.25" W. Provenance: From a Chelsea Townhouse.

Category

20th Century Aubrey Williams Figurative Paintings

Materials

Paper, Gouache

Aubrey Williams figurative paintings for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Aubrey Williams figurative paintings available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Aubrey Williams in gouache, paint, paper and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 1970s and is mostly associated with the Expressionist style. Not every interior allows for large Aubrey Williams figurative paintings, so small editions measuring 19 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Sandu Liberman, Giuseppe Beddru, and Chico Montilla. Aubrey Williams figurative paintings prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $3,500 and tops out at $3,500, while the average work can sell for $3,500.