Balcomb Greene Paintings

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 Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Nicholas Evans"Some Surmount" (abstract, dynamic, flora, blue sky, clouds, fauna, blush, pink), 2024

$500

H 16.15 in W 13 in D 0.79 in

"Some Surmount" (abstract, dynamic, flora, blue sky, clouds, fauna, blush, pink)

By Nicholas Evans

Located in Paris, IDF

SOME SURMOUNT 2024 Paris, France This charming painting on canvas visually represents the notion of being unshackled from a burden, and an ascension from a darker place. A black, e...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Balcomb Greene Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas, Acrylic

Harrison GilmanCosmic Trigger V.2 - Large Contemporary Organic Shape Abstract Oil Painting, 2025

$5,050

H 48 in W 60 in

Cosmic Trigger V.2 - Large Contemporary Organic Shape Abstract Oil Painting

Located in Los Angeles, CA

Harrison Gilman's large original artworks begin with a layer of fast-paced gestural abstraction followed by organic shapes and geometric structures. Some of his paintings remain in t...

Category

2010s Abstract Balcomb Greene Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil

Nicholas Evans"Habitual II" (flora, rich, cerebral, abstract, black & white, antique canvas), 2023

$1,750

H 25.6 in W 21.26 in D 1.38 in

"Habitual II" (flora, rich, cerebral, abstract, black & white, antique canvas)

By Nicholas Evans

Located in Paris, IDF

"Habitual II", 2023, Paris, France This rich and cerebral abstract painting uses a subtle but powerful color palette of brown, pink, and white oil paints and wood stain to create visual texture and depth. The artist selected a French, antique postal...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Balcomb Greene Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil Crayon, Oil Pastel, Oil

Evelyne BallestraSpring sudden Shower, 1996

$6,200

H 51 in W 38 in

Spring sudden Shower

By Evelyne Ballestra

Located in Miami, FL

Spring sudden shower is a painting made by Evelyne Ballestra, a French contemporary artist. This orange, blue and purple tons expressionist painting is the colorful abstract represen...

Category

1990s Abstract Expressionist Balcomb Greene Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Nicholas Evans"Habitual I" (flora, rich, cerebral, abstract, black & white, antique canvas), 2023

$1,750

H 25.6 in W 21.26 in D 1.38 in

"Habitual I" (flora, rich, cerebral, abstract, black & white, antique canvas)

By Nicholas Evans

Located in Paris, IDF

"Habitual I", 2023, Paris, France This rich and cerebral abstract painting uses a subtle but powerful color palette of brown, pink, and white oil paints and wood stain to create visual texture and depth. The artist selected a French, antique postal...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Balcomb Greene Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil Crayon, Oil Pastel, Oil

Anastasiia Danilenko"Closer" Oil Painting 27.5" x 24" inch by Anastasiia Danilenko, 2025

$2,700

H 27.5 in W 24 in

"Closer" Oil Painting 27.5" x 24" inch by Anastasiia Danilenko

By Anastasiia Danilenko

Located in Culver City, CA

"Closer" Oil Painting 27.5" x 24" inch by Anastasiia Danilenko Ships rolled in a tube Anastasiia Danilenko is an artist and graphic designer. But the area of her occupation is pa...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Expressionist Balcomb Greene Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Michael Krasowitz"Little Big Man" bright color gestural abstract painting w yellow & orange tone, 2021

$900

H 24 in W 18 in D 2 in

"Little Big Man" bright color gestural abstract painting w yellow & orange tone

By Michael Krasowitz

Located in Brooklyn, NY

The often colorful, dense and wildly ambitious paintings of Michael Krasowitz are inspired by the exercises of the surrealists, deconstructing myth t...

Category

2010s Abstract Balcomb Greene Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Rachel ARBeyond, 2024

$512

H 15.75 in W 11.82 in D 1.19 in

Beyond

Located in Barcelona, CT

We can observe a very cold work with a cold and dark color that apparently does not explain anything to you, but you have to pay attention to every detail.

Category

2010s Abstract Balcomb Greene Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Tom BennettPheromone, colorful abstract with figure beautiful blue tones, brushwork, 2013

$3,850

H 37.5 in W 61.5 in D 3 in

Pheromone, colorful abstract with figure beautiful blue tones, brushwork

By Tom Bennett

Located in Brooklyn, NY

A expressionist, abstracted nude immersed in striking colors. The figure melds with the atmospheric surface to form a powerful symbolist imagery.

Category

2010s Abstract Balcomb Greene Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Victoria VeedellFollow the Flow, 2024

$375

H 6 in W 6 in D 2 in

Follow the Flow

By Victoria Veedell

Located in Napa, CA

Victoria Veedell captures the essence of nature by examining the effects of light on form in the natural world in her softly glowing landscape paintings. Inspired by her travels thro...

Category

2010s Abstract Balcomb Greene Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Tom BennettPurdah, dark tones, gestural abstract w figures, black, grey monochromatic, 2014

$3,750

H 52.75 in W 38.75 in D 2 in

Purdah, dark tones, gestural abstract w figures, black, grey monochromatic

By Tom Bennett

Located in Brooklyn, NY

Oil on canvas, abstracted image of moody figure, with expressionist movement in brush application. Dark grays and blacks with higher intensity red colors popping.

Category