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

Dasha BubenBelarusian Contemporary Art by Dasha Buben - Control Attempt #32, 2022

$1,700

H 39.38 in W 31.5 in D 0.79 in

Belarusian Contemporary Art by Dasha Buben - Control Attempt #32

By Dasha Buben

Located in Paris, IDF

Oil on canvas Dasha Buben is a Belarusian artist born in 1982 who lives and works in Warsaw, Poland. She graduated from the Belarusian Academy of Arts in ...

Category

2010s Abstract Balcomb Greene Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Josette DubostFrench Abstract Contemporary Art by Josette Dubost - Songe en Argos, 2017

$600

H 21.66 in W 25.2 in D 1.58 in

French Abstract Contemporary Art by Josette Dubost - Songe en Argos

By Josette Dubost

Located in Paris, IDF

2017 oil on canvas 55 x 64 cm Josette Dubost is a French artist born in 1936 who lives & works in Solliès-Pont, France.

Category

2010s Abstract Balcomb Greene Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Monroe HodderBlue Yonder-Monroe Hodder, American, Abstract, Bold, Modern, Red, Blue, Oil, 2023

$11,568

H 36 in W 36 in D 2 in

Blue Yonder-Monroe Hodder, American, Abstract, Bold, Modern, Red, Blue, Oil

By Monroe Hodder

Located in Knowle Lane, Cranleigh

Blue Yonder is an original oil over acrylic on canvas painting by American artist Monroe Hodder. Hodder’s abstract paintings are gloriously bold. Inspired by the urban backdrops of h...

Category

2010s Abstract Balcomb Greene Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas, Acrylic

Renjie GaoChinese Contemporary Art by Renjie Gao - Untitled, 2024

$15,000

H 78.75 in W 59.06 in D 1.58 in

Chinese Contemporary Art by Renjie Gao - Untitled

By Renjie Gao

Located in Paris, IDF

Oil on canvas Renjie Gao or Jean-Michel Gao is a Chinese artist born in 1994 who lives & works in Beijing Songzhuang in China. He is Master Fu Zenan & member of New York Hudson Arti...

Category

2010s Abstract Balcomb Greene Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Renjie GaoChinese Contemporary Art by Renjie Gao - Portrait No.8, 2021

$1,200

H 19.69 in W 23.63 in D 1.58 in

Chinese Contemporary Art by Renjie Gao - Portrait No.8

By Renjie Gao

Located in Paris, IDF

Oil on canvas Renjie Gao or Jean-Michel Gao is a Chinese artist born in 1994 in Inner Mongolia. He is a member of New York Hudson Artists Association based in US. He lives & works i...

Category

2010s Abstract Balcomb Greene Paintings

Materials

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Jean SoyerModern Abstract Expressionist Waves in Red - Contemporary Art

$1,116

H 11.82 in W 11.82 in

Modern Abstract Expressionist Waves in Red - Contemporary Art

By Jean Soyer

Located in Clermont-Ferrand, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

Original abstract oil painting by Jean Soyer, featuring bold sweeping gestures in vibrant red and deep black. Created on canvas, measuring 11.8 x 11.8 inches (30 x 30 cm). The artist...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Balcomb Greene Paintings

Materials

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Renjie GaoChinese Contemporary Art by Renjie Gao - Portrait Triplet 1, 2026

$4,124

H 31.5 in W 23.63 in D 1.19 in

Chinese Contemporary Art by Renjie Gao - Portrait Triplet 1

By Renjie Gao

Located in Paris, IDF

Oil on canvas, Triptych Renjie Gao or Jean-Michel Gao is a Chinese artist born in 1994 who lives & works in Beijing Songzhuang in China. He is Master Fu Zenan & member of New York H...

Category