Balcomb Greene Art

American, 1904-1990

Balcomb Greene has been described as "an iconoclast, a painter who has refused to conform to the latest artistic trends." This comment was apt, for Greene was an independent-minded artist who followed his own aesthetic inclinations regardless of what was in vogue among critics and the public. At the outset of his career, he eschewed Depression-era realism in favor of a cutting-edge geometric abstract style that set him apart from the mainstream art establishment and from many of his fellow abstractionists. During the 1940s, when non-representational painting came into fashion, he began to incorporate the human form into his work, creating enigmatic figure paintings in which variations of light and shadow played a vital role in creating mood. A turning point in his career occurred in 1931, when Greene and his wife, Gertrude Glass Greene, traveled to Paris to further their understanding of vanguard art and literature. Although Greene intended to write novels in his Montparnasse studio, he soon found himself drawn to the art world and decided to become a painter. He was especially inspired by the example of Piet Mondrian, Juan Gris and the Abstraction-Creation painters, who sought to eliminate all references to nature, literature and anecdote by focusing on pure abstraction. Greene returned to the United States in 1932, going on to develop his own hard-edged abstract style, creating what he referred to as "straight line, flat paintings." In 1937, he became a founding member and first chairman of Abstract American Artists, established to promote the cause of abstraction in national art circles. In the 1930s, Greene found employment with the Works Progress Administration's Federal Art Project. He created an abstract mural for the Federal Hall of Medicine at the World's Fair of 1939. In 1940, Greene began studying art history at New York University, going on to receive a master's degree in 1943. During this period, his aesthetic approach changed as he abandoned the crisply rendered and brightly colored forms of his geometric work in favor of the figure shown against a backdrop of fragmented planes. He went on to create paintings, often naturalistic depictions of the female nude, that were characterized by an expressionist handling of paint and a limited palette of whites, greys and other muted tones that derived from his interest in photography. In 1947 Greene purchased some land on Montauk Point, Long Island. With the exception of a trip to Paris in 1958-60, he spent most of his time on Long Island, where he was one of the pioneers of the East End art colony. Inspired by the proximity of the ocean, he painted a number of marines, using dynamic brushwork to evoke the energy and spirit of the sea. Greene taught aesthetics and art history at the Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh (1942-47), where his students included Andy Warhol and Philip Pearlstein.

Artist: Balcomb Greene

Balcomb Greene"Composition" Balcomb Greene, Geometric Abstract, Early Modernist Composition, 1936

$45,000

"Composition" Balcomb Greene, Geometric Abstract, Early Modernist Composition

By Balcomb Greene

Located in New York, NY

Balcomb Greene Composition, 1936 Signed Balcomb Greene on verso upper stretcher bar Signed on backing board: Balcomb Greene Oil on canvas 30 1/4 x 46 inches Provenance: The artist A...

Category

1930s Abstract Balcomb Greene Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Sigismond Kolos-VaryUntitled, 1949

$6,418

H 23.63 in W 31.89 in

Untitled

Located in PARIS, FR

This original painting by Sigismond Kolos-Vary, dated 1982, reflects the artist’s distinctive abstract visual language. The composition is built around a dynamic interplay of geometr...

Category

1940s Abstract Balcomb Greene Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Philippe HosiassonBlue Grey, 1960

$12,000

H 39.25 in W 31.75 in

Blue Grey

By Philippe Hosiasson

Located in Austin, TX

Waterline Fine Art, Austin, TX is pleased to present the following work: Oil on canvas. Signed and dated lower right and verso, titled verso. 39.25 x 31.75 in. 40.25 x 32.75 in. (f...

Category

1960s Abstract Expressionist Balcomb Greene Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Erdal Alantar Composition, 1965

$4,667

H 18.12 in W 21.66 in D 0.79 in

Composition

Located in PARIS, FR

Signed by the artist, lower left. This expressive painting by Erald Alentar is characterized by a dense, tactile surface and a rich, earthy palette dominated by deep greens, browns,...

Category

1860s Abstract Balcomb Greene Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Willem de KooningWillem De Kooning Abstract on Newsprint, 1973

$65,000

H 19 in W 21.5 in D 1 in

Willem De Kooning Abstract on Newsprint

By Willem de Kooning

Located in Dallas, TX

Willem de Kooning (Dutch, 1904 - 1997) Abstract Oil on Newspaper painting (NY Times, Friday Jan. 26, 1973). Pencil signed lower right. Provenance: - Private Collector, East Hampton...

Category

1970s Abstract Balcomb Greene Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Kyle MorrisGreen Burst, 1958

$75,000

H 48 in W 54 in

Green Burst

Located in Austin, TX

Waterline Fine Art, Austin, TX is pleased to present the following work: Kyle Morris Green Burst, 1958 Oil on canvas. Signed and dated lower right; signed, titled, dated verso. 48...

Category

1950s Abstract Expressionist Balcomb Greene Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

François ArnalLa Gare, 1949

$15,000

H 20 in W 29 in

La Gare

By François Arnal

Located in Boca Raton, FL

This richly detailed acrylic composition by François Arnal reflects the artist’s fascination with symbolic form, texture, and visual rhythm during the formative years of postwar abst...

Category

1940s Abstract Balcomb Greene Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Betty EffersonCaught in the Moment, Abstract Impressionist Oil Painting, 36x36

$2,550

H 36 in W 36 in

Caught in the Moment, Abstract Impressionist Oil Painting, 36x36

By Betty Efferson

Located in Baton Rouge, LA

Caught in the Moment 🍃 Caught in the Moment is a 36x36 oil painting features earthy tones that helps bring a sense of peacefulness, despite its erratic strokes. I intuitively pa...

Category

2010s Abstract Impressionist Balcomb Greene Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Klaudia LataNebula inspiration. Contemporary oil abstract Polish Young Artist, Big format, 2025

$6,418

H 78.75 in W 63 in D 0.79 in

Nebula inspiration. Contemporary oil abstract Polish Young Artist, Big format

By Klaudia Lata

Located in Warsaw, PL

Big scale abstract oil painting by Polish artist Klaudia Lata. KLAUDIA LATA (born in 1993) Graduate of painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Katowice. Diploma in 2017 in the stud...

Category

2010s Abstract Balcomb Greene Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Michèle DestaracCharivari-chouette, 2014

$10,502

H 39.38 in W 31.89 in D 1.97 in

Charivari-chouette

Located in PARIS, FR

This powerful abstract composition by Micheke Destarac explores tension, movement, and balance through bold gestures and layered textures. Thick impasto strokes dominate the surface,...

Category

2010s Abstract Balcomb Greene Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Michèle DestaracOublie Joli - 2, Abstract Oil Painting on Canvas, Framed, 130x97 cm, 2011

$15,170

H 51.19 in W 38.19 in D 1.58 in

Oublie Joli - 2, Abstract Oil Painting on Canvas, Framed, 130x97 cm

Located in PARIS, FR

This striking work by Destarac is rooted in expressive gestural abstraction, where movement and materiality take center stage. The composition is structured around a fragmented circu...

Category

2010s Abstract Balcomb Greene Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Michael PembertonOil painting impasto double portrait love hate, 2022

Unavailable|~~$5,587~~

H 30 in W 30 in D 2 in

Oil painting impasto double portrait love hate

By Michael Pemberton

Located in London, GB

In this collection, British painter Michael Pemberton (b. 1974) suggests we each have a personal HUMAN ATMOSPHERE. An ether where we truly exist, unseen by the naked eye but as real ...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Balcomb Greene Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Yoram Katz"Sky against Earth" Abstract Painting 48 x 48" inch by Yoram Katz, 2018

$4,000

H 48 in W 48 in D 1 in

"Sky against Earth" Abstract Painting 48 x 48" inch by Yoram Katz

By Yoram Katz

Located in Culver City, CA

"Sky against Earth" Abstract Painting 48 x 48" inch by Yoram Katz ABOUT THE ARTIST: Born in Israel. Graduated from the Bazelel Art Academy in Jerusalem. Resides in Los Angeles, Cali...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Balcomb Greene Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Balcomb Greene art for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Balcomb Greene art available for sale on 1stDibs. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Kyohei Inukai, Luigi Lucioni, and Pascal Cucaro.