Charles Alston Paintings
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"1
Overall Width
to
Overall Height
to
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
2
784
715
707
706
1
1
Artist: Charles Alston
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 Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Related Items
Modernist English 1970's, Interior with an old record player Port decanter glass
Located in Woodbury, CT
Colin Ruffell is an English painter of interiors, cityscapes, and many other unique subjects.
This bold and evocative 1970s painting by English artist Colin Ruffell captures a nosta...
Category
1970s Modern Charles Alston Paintings
Materials
Oil, Canvas
Seated Nude in the Studio – A Modernist Study from the 1920s
Located in Stockholm, SE
This evocative oil painting, titled Studio Muse, depicts a seated nude in a quiet moment of contemplation. The model is shown in profile, resting on a simple wooden stool against a n...
Category
1920s Modern Charles Alston Paintings
Materials
Oil, Canvas
$2,793
H 28.75 in W 22.05 in
Antique American School Surreal Interior Scene Portrait Framed Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique American school surreal oil painting. Oil on canvas. Framed. Measuring 30 by 35 inches overall and 25 by 30 painting alone.In excellent original condition. Handsomely fram...
Category
1930s Surrealist Charles Alston Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
$1,960 Sale Price
20% Off
H 30 in W 35 in D 2 in
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 Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
$240,976
H 36 in W 48.13 in
Oil Painting On Canvas In Blue Tones And Texture. "Night in the Andes"
Located in Bogotá, Bogotá
Horizontal oil painting on canvas, notable for its rich texture and multiple layers that create visual depth. The piece features a fantastical winged creature in earthy tones, standi...
Category
2010s Contemporary Charles Alston Paintings
Materials
Cotton Canvas, Oil
$890
H 33.47 in W 64.18 in D 0.4 in
The Poor Girl – An Early Genre Scene by Julius Kronberg, 1873
Located in Stockholm, SE
This small, tenderly rendered painting— titled The Poor Girl (Den fattiga flickan)—offers a rare glimpse into Julius Kronberg’s early period, when he w...
Category
1870s Realist Charles Alston Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
$3,804
H 12.21 in W 10.24 in
Giambattista Piazzetta workshop (Italian master) - 18th century figure painting
Located in Varmo, IT
Circle of Giambattista Piazzetta (Venice 1683 - Venice 1754) - San Giacomo Maggiore.
62.5 x 52.5 cm without frame, 72.5 x 62.5 cm with frame.
Antique oil painting on canvas, in a c...
Category
Mid-18th Century Rococo Charles Alston Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
$2,139 Sale Price
28% Off
H 28.55 in W 24.61 in
Giambattista Piazzetta workshop (Italian master) - 18th century figure painting
Located in Varmo, IT
Circle of Giambattista Piazzetta (Venice 1683 - Venice 1754) - San Tommaso.
62.5 x 52.5 cm without frame, 72.5 x 62.5 cm with frame.
Antique oil painting on canvas, in a contempora...
Category
Mid-18th Century Rococo Charles Alston Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
$2,139 Sale Price
28% Off
H 28.55 in W 24.61 in
Resting with Dylan - Paint by Alberto Gallerati - 1970s
Located in Roma, IT
Oil on canvas realized by Alberto Gallerati (b. 1945) in 1970s.
Hand signed.
Very good condition.
Category
1970s Contemporary Charles Alston Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
$713
H 23.63 in W 19.69 in D 0.4 in
The Wooden Man - Paint by Alberto Gallerati - 1970s
Located in Roma, IT
Oil on canvas realized by Alberto Gallerati (b. 1945) in 1970s.
Hand signed.
Very good condition.
Category
1970s Contemporary Charles Alston Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
$713
H 19.69 in W 15.75 in D 0.4 in
A Surprise Visit
Located in Belgravia, London, London
Oil on canvas
Canvas size: 32 x 45 inches
Framed size: 35.5 x 50 inches
Signed lower right
Category
19th Century Romantic Charles Alston Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Un Quadro ed un Quadraccio - Paint by Alberto Gallerati - 1970s
Located in Roma, IT
Oil on canvas realized by Alberto Gallerati (b. 1945) in 1970s.
Hand signed.
Very good condition.
Category
1970s Contemporary Charles Alston Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
$713
H 23.63 in W 19.69 in D 0.4 in
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 Paintings
Materials
Paper, Watercolor, Graphite
Charles Alston paintings for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic Charles Alston paintings 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 paintings, so small editions measuring 33 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Donald S. Vogel, Bernard Harmon, and Jean-Louis-Marcel Cosson.