Skip to main content

Charles Alston Art

American, 1907-1977
Charles Henry Alston (1907-1977; Columbia College 1929, Teachers College 1931) was an influential painter during the Harlem Renaissance and the first African American supervisor for the Works Progress Administration. He supervised the WPA murals created at Harlem Hospital, leading a staff of 35 artists and assistants. Alston was also the first African American to teach at both the Museum of Modern Art and the Art Students League and, in 1969, to have been appointed the painter member of the Art Commission of the City of New York. Alston was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, and was related to renowned artist Romare Bearden through his mother's second marriage. He attended Columbia University as an undergraduate and graduate student, receiving a B.A. from Columbia College in 1929 and an M.F.A. from Columbia University's Teachers College in 1931. After graduating he worked at the Harlem Arts Workshop, and when the program required more space, he secured an additional facility at 306 W. 141st St. The space, known as "306," became a center for the Harlem art community. The influence of Mexican muralists José Clemente Orozco, Diego Rivera and David Alfaro Siqueiros, who all used murals to inspire people toward social activism, can be seen in Alston’s work. When Diego Rivera was painting his famous mural at Rockefeller Center, which was destroyed because of its political content, Alston frequently visited the Mexican artist, communicating in French, their only common language. Alston’s gift was not limited to painting. He also worked as a sculptor, and his cartoons and illustrations were published in popular magazines such as The New Yorker and Fortune. During World War II, he worked at the Office of War Information and Public Information, creating cartoons and posters to mobilize the black community to join in the American war effort. He also taught at the City University of New York from 1970 to 1977. His work is in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Detroit Institute of Arts. Excerpted from Columbia University, "Columbia Celebrates Black History and Culture"
to
1
1
1
1
Overall Width
to
Overall Height
to
3
2
1
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
2
2
1
1
1
3
8,199
2,807
2,504
1,663
2
3
Artist: Charles Alston
"Landscape with Hills" Charles Alston, Harlem Renaissance Modernist Landscape
By Charles Alston
Located in New York, NY
Charles Alston Landscape with Hills Signed lower right Watercolor on paper 13 1/2 x 18 1/4 inches Charles Henry Alston was an influential painter during the Harlem Renaissance and ...
Category

20th Century Modern Charles Alston Art

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

Gnarled Tree - African American Artist
By Charles Alston
Located in Miami, FL
Executed in 1930, this abstract yet representational biomorphic charcoal work by African American Artist Charles Henry Alston prefigures his ...
Category

1930s American Realist Charles Alston Art

Materials

Paper, Charcoal

Restaurant Scene, Modern Oil Painting on Canvas by Charles Alston
By Charles Alston
Located in Long Island City, NY
An original oil on canvas painting by African American artist, Charles Alston. Completed sometime in the 1930s, "Restaurant Scene" focuses on a crowded ...
Category

1930s Charles Alston Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Related Items
Hibiscus Garden, Vertical Modern Still Life in Pastel Tones of Vivid Flowers
Located in Barcelona, ES
"Hibiscus Garden I" is an abstract expressionist painting by Romina Milano where a dance of black gestures unfolds across colorful brushstrokes infused with raw emotion. Romina Mil...
Category

2010s Modern Charles Alston Art

Materials

Acrylic, Watercolor, India Ink, Paper

Original-Golden Summer-UK Awarded Artist, British School, Exhibition Collection
Located in London, GB
Shizico spent three days painting this plein air in her sunlit garden. She applied 550 Ture Gold paint and Van Gogh Yellow creating a stunning backdrop which served as the canvas for...
Category

2010s Abstract Expressionist Charles Alston Art

Materials

Gold

A romantic interlude, by Alberto Cecchini. 19th century Italian
Located in London, GB
"A Romantic Interlude" by Alberto Cecchini is a wonderful work of art from the 19th century that embodies the elegance and emotional intensity of the Romantic era in Italy. The paint...
Category

19th Century Charles Alston Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

'Omvetya I'. Blue white ocean landscape abstract nature drawing
By Sophia Milligan
Located in Penzance, GB
'Omvetya I (Prye, Rising Tide)' Original Artwork. Unframed ______________ Softly dancing seaweed, patiently awaits the return of the salty sea to fill the tidal pools. Created outdo...
Category

2010s Naturalistic Charles Alston Art

Materials

Paper, Conté, Mixed Media, Pencil, Carbon Pencil, Photogram

Large Hudson River Figurative Modernist Landscape Oil Painting Edward Avedisian
By Edward Avedisian
Located in Surfside, FL
Edward Avedisian ( 1936-2007 ) Gouache or oil on paper, 3 guys around a car, hand signed in paint lower left, Measures 30"x 22.5" Edward Avedisian (June 15, 1936, Lowell, Massachusetts – August 17, 2007, Philmont, New York) was an American abstract painter who came into prominence during the 1960s. His work was initially associated with Color field painting and in the late 1960s with Lyrical Abstraction and Abstract Expressionism. He studied art at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. By the late 1950s he moved to New York City. Between 1958 and 1963 Avedisian had six solo shows in New York. In 1958 he initially showed at the Hansa Gallery, then he had three shows at the Tibor de Nagy Gallery and in 1962 and 1963 at the Robert Elkon Gallery. He continued to show at the Robert Elkon Gallery almost every year until 1975. During the 1960s his work was broadly visible in the contemporary art world. He joined the dynamic art scene in Greenwich Village, frequenting the Cedar Tavern on Tenth Street, associating with the critic Clement Greenberg, and joining a new generation of abstract artists, such as Darby Bannard, Kenneth Noland, Jules Olitski, and Larry Poons. Avedisian was among the leading figures to emerge in the New York art world during the 1960s. An artist who mixed the hot colors of Pop Art with the cool, more analytical qualities of Color Field painting, he was instrumental in the exploration of new abstract methods to examine the primacy of optical experience. One of his paintings was appeared on the cover of Artforum, in 1969, his work was included in the 1965 Op Art The Responsive Eye exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art and in four annuals at the Whitney Museum of American Art. His paintings were widely sought after by collectors and acquired by major museums in New York and elsewhere. He has been exhibited in prominent galleries, such as the Anita Shapolsky Gallery and the Berry Campbell Gallery in New York City. Edward Avedisian was known for his brightly colored, boldly composed canvases that combined Minimalism's rigor, Pop art exuberance and the saturated tones of Color Field painting. Roberta Smith of the NYT writes of Avedesian: "Edward Avedisian helped establish the hotly colored, but emotionally cool, abstract painting that succeeded Abstract Expressionism in the early 1960s. This young luminary harnessed elements of minimalism, pop, and color field painting to create prominent works of epic proportions that energized the New York art scene of the time." In 1996 Avedisian showed his paintings from the 1960s at the Mitchell Algus Gallery, then in SoHo. His last show, dominated by recent landscapes, was in 2003 at the Algus gallery, now in Chelsea. Selected Exhibitions: Op Art: The Responsive Eye, at the Museum of Modern Art, Whitney Museum’s Young America 1965 Expo 67, held in Montreal, Canada. Six Painters (along with Darby Bannard, Dan Christensen, Ron Davis...
Category

20th Century American Modern Charles Alston Art

Materials

Oil, Gouache, Archival Paper

'Omvetya III'. Blue white shore ocean beach cottage abstract nature drawing
By Sophia Milligan
Located in Penzance, GB
'Omvetya III (Sea Carrots, Sennen)' Original Artwork. Unframed ______________ The evening light is drawing low soft shadows in the dunes at the salted edge of the Atlantic. 'Omvety...
Category

2010s Naturalistic Charles Alston Art

Materials

Paper, Conté, Mixed Media, Pencil, Carbon Pencil, Photogram

Original-Drawing Time Series-Gladiolus-PleinAir-Brit Awarded Artist-Ink on paper
Located in London, GB
The Summer Bloom Series is an ongoing project that Shizico Yi returns to each summer, painting en plein air in her garden. She began gardening in 2015 to create a healing space for h...
Category

2010s Abstract Expressionist Charles Alston Art

Materials

Charcoal, Ink, Graphite, Gouache

Original Triptych-Drawing Time-Gladiolus-PleinAir-Brit Award Artist-ink on paper
Located in London, GB
The Summer Bloom Series is an ongoing project that Shizico Yi returns to each summer, painting en plein air in her garden. She began gardening in 2015 to create a healing space for h...
Category

2010s Abstract Expressionist Charles Alston Art

Materials

Charcoal, Ink, Gouache, Graphite

Early 20th Century Black & White Abstract Landscape Charcoal Drawing Artwork
By Willard Ayer Nash
Located in Denver, CO
"Abstract" is an original charcoal drawing on paper American artist Willard Ayers Nash (1898-1942), created in the early 20th century. This striking piece features an abstracted landscape scene, showcasing Nash's mastery of form and dynamic expression. The drawing is presented in a custom black frame with outer dimensions of 22 x 20 x ¾ inches, and the image size is 14 ½ x 12 ¾ inches. This charcoal drawing is in excellent vintage condition. For a detailed condition report, please feel free to contact us. Expedited and international shipping available—please contact us for a shipping quote. About the Artist: Willard Ayers Nash (1898-1942), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was a talented American painter and key figure in the Santa Fe...
Category

Early 20th Century Abstract Charles Alston Art

Materials

Paper, Charcoal

18th century oil sketches for a Baroque interior - a pair
Located in London, GB
A FEAST OF THE GODS WITH VENUS AND BACCHUS Collections: With Appleby Brothers, London, June 1957; Hazlitt, Gooden & Fox, London, 1961; John and Eileen Harris, acquired from the above, to 2015. Literature: Jacob Simon and Ellis Hillman, English Baroque Sketches: The Painted Interior in the Age of Thornhill, 1974, cat. no.12 (as by Louis Laguerre); Elizabeth Einberg (ed.), Manners and Morals: Hogarth and British Painting, 1700-1760, exh. cat., London (Tate Gallery), 1987, cat. no.10 (as by Louis Laguerre); Tabitha Barber and Tim Bachelor, British Baroque: Power and Illusion, exh. cat., London (Tate Britain), 2020. Exhibited: Twickenham, Marble Hill House, English Baroque Sketches: The Painted Interior in the Age of Thornhill, 1974, no.12 (as by Louis Laguerre); London, Tate Gallery, Manners and Morals: Hogarth and British Painting, 1700-1760, 1987, no.10 (as by Louis Laguerre); London, Tate Britain, British Baroque: Power and Illusion, cat. no 92, 2020. CUPID AND PSYCHE BEFORE JUPITER Collections: With Appleby Brothers, London, June 1957; Hazlitt, Gooden & Fox, London, 1961; Anthony Hobson, acquired from the above, to 2015. These recently re-united paintings are the most ambitious surviving baroque ceiling sketches made in Britain in the early eighteenth century. From the Restoration until the rise of Palladianism in the 1720s decorative history painting formed the preeminent artistic discipline in Britain. It was a field dominated by Continental artists including the Italian Antonio Verrio and the Frenchmen Louis Laguerre and Louis Chéron...
Category

Early 18th Century Baroque Charles Alston Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Seoul, Korea
By Dong Kingman
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Seoul, Korea, 1954 - 56, watercolor on paper, signed lower right 21 x 28 inches (sight), Midtown Galleries label with artist’s name and title verso, likely exhibited at Kingman’s solo exhibition, Midtown Galleries, 1956, literature: Gruskin, Alan D., Saroyan, William (introduction), The Watercolors of Dong Kingman and How The Artist Works, The Studio Publications, Inc. in association with Thomas Y. Crowell Company, New York and London (1958), p. 54 (illustrated) (“In Seoul on April 27th and 28th Kingman did some mountain sketching [see reproduction, on page 54, of handsome Kingman painting, “Seoul,” owned by Robert Clary...
Category

1950s American Modern Charles Alston Art

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

Lovely Farm House Scene by Russian Master Bershadsky Genre Oil Painting
Located in Stockholm, SE
Signed lower left and dated: 15/IX, 1895, Y. Bershadsky - Yuliy (Ioil-Ruvin) Rafailovich Bershadsky (1869 - 1956), Russian - USSR painter and teacher, professor, honored artist of th...
Category

1890s Realist Charles Alston Art

Materials

Canvas, Wood, Oil

Previously Available Items
"Saturday Night" Local Genre, Figurative, Dance, Harlem Renaissance, Signed
By Charles Alston
Located in Detroit, MI
"Saturday Night" is a joyful and colorful rendition of a happy pastime in the style of the Harlem Renaissance – dancing perhaps in a nightclub suggested by the drinks in the foreground. It also appears that it might be a basement speakeasy since the background shows patrons entering and leaving via stairs. This was painted after prohibition, but places operated with alcohol unable or unwilling to purchase a liquor license until well into the early 1970s. Charles Alston...
Category

1930s American Modern Charles Alston Art

Materials

Paper, Watercolor, Graphite

Charles Alston art for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Charles Alston art available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Charles Alston in canvas, fabric, oil paint and more. Not every interior allows for large Charles Alston art, so small editions measuring 33 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Arthur Osver, Donald S. Vogel, and Mervin Jules.

Recently Viewed

View All