Balcomb Greene Abstract 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.to
1
1
Overall Width
to
Overall Height
to
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
2
666
627
362
342
1
1
Artist: Balcomb Greene
"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 Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
$36,000 Sale Price
20% Off
Related Items
Large Antique American Modernist Abstract Expressionist Framed Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Impressive early American modernist abstract oil painting. Framed. Oil on canvas. Signed. Image size, 20H by 24L. Excellent ready to hang condition. Impressive colors and compo...
Category
1960s Abstract Balcomb Greene Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
$1,180 Sale Price
20% Off
H 28 in W 32 in D 2 in
Contemporary Abstract Expressionist Painting with Found Object Collage
By Michael Pauker
Located in Soquel, CA
Lively abstract expressionist oil painting/collage of what resembles a corridor as the focal point, with imported cigar cut outs and pops of vibrant color by...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Expressionist Balcomb Greene Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil
$2,177 Sale Price
35% Off
H 36 in W 48 in D 1 in
Antique American Modernist Abstract Expressionist Southwest Framed Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Impressive early American modernist abstract painting. Framed. Oil on board.
Image size, 16H by 20L.
Category
1960s Abstract Balcomb Greene Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
$540 Sale Price
20% Off
H 20 in W 23 in D 2 in
Multi-Color Abstract Expressionist Horizontal Landscape
By Michael Pauker
Located in Soquel, CA
Bold multi-color abstract expressionist oil painting illustrating vivid colors of gold, magenta, teal and yellows by Michael Pauker (American, b. 1957). This high octane colorful hor...
Category
1990s Abstract Expressionist Balcomb Greene Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
$1,072 Sale Price
35% Off
H 10 in W 30 in D 1 in
Antique American Modernist Geometric Abstract Framed Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Nicely painted American school abstract geometric oil painting in a period frame. Signed lower right "Flemming" but without an artist determined.
Category
1960s Abstract Balcomb Greene Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
$1,020 Sale Price
20% Off
H 40.5 in W 30.5 in D 2 in
Brainiac VII Abstract
By Michael Pauker
Located in Soquel, CA
Large-scale abstract with multi-colored brains layered on a neutral background by Bay Area artist Michael Pauker (American, b.1957). Unsigned, but was acquired with a collection of h...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Expressionist Balcomb Greene Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
Antique American Geometric Abstract Mid Century Large Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Nicely painted mid century geometric abstract oil painting. Oil on canvas.
Category
1960s Abstract Geometric Balcomb Greene Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
$2,060 Sale Price
20% Off
H 24 in W 36 in D 2 in
Rare Early Important Flower Abstract Modernist New York Israeli Oil Painting
By Abraham Pariente
Located in Buffalo, NY
Modernist orchid flower still life oil painting by Abraham Pariente. Oil on canvas, circa 1980. Signed. Displayed in a modernist frame. Important large and impressive work!
Category
1990s Abstract Balcomb Greene Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
$2,800 Sale Price
20% Off
H 40 in W 40 in D 2 in
Large Antique American Abstract Expressionist Modernist Framed Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Large American modernist abstract oil painting. Framed. Oil on canvas. Signed. Image size, 50H by 40L.
Category
1960s Abstract Balcomb Greene Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
$1,980 Sale Price
20% Off
H 53 in W 43 in D 2 in
Passport Abstraction
By Michael Pauker
Located in Soquel, CA
Abstract expressionist oil painting and collage by Bay Area artist Michael Pauker (American, b.1957). Features black and white oil paint with clips of newspaper and stamps. From a co...
Category
2010s Abstract Expressionist Balcomb Greene Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil, Paper
Large Vintage Brazilian Modernist Abstract Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Nicely painted Brazilian abstract. Oil on canvas. Signed verso.
Category
1980s Abstract Balcomb Greene Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
$380 Sale Price
20% Off
H 40 in W 32 in D 2 in
Abstract Rooster Fight Philippines 1970
Located in Soquel, CA
Bright and dynamic depiction of two birds fighting by Filipino artist JG Rivera (20th Century). Splashes of color surround a flourish of feathers. At the center of the composition, t...
Category
1970s Abstract Impressionist Balcomb Greene Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Balcomb Greene abstract paintings for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic Balcomb Greene abstract paintings available for sale on 1stDibs. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Kelly Kozma, Marguerite Blasingame, and Tom Lieber.