During a trip to Europe following his graduation from high school, a young David Ligare boldly walked up to the home of artist Salvador Dalí in Port Lligat, Spain, and knocked on the front door. Fortunately for Ligare, the legendary Surrealist was home. Even more fortunate, Dalí agreed to speak with him, and the two spent the afternoon chatting in his studio. Although it’s not known what they discussed, Ligare later became a painter. While his landscapes, still lifes and narrative oil paintings expand upon the realist tradition, the figures in his works are stylized — they’re polished and wholly free of imperfection.
Ligare was born in 1945 in Oak Park, Illinois. At the age of five years old, he moved with his family to California and, in later years, studied at ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena.
In 1978, Ligare’s artistic style took shape after joining a group of artists who were intent on reviving narrative painting during a time dominated by Conceptualism, minimalism and Pop art. An essay fueled Ligare’s decision to base his style on narration by critic and painter Sidney Tillim titled “Notes on Narrative and History Painting,” which appeared in Artforum a year prior. Tillim had explained why narrative art was necessary, stating that “a didactic morality or its equivalent must similarly support and validate what comes down to a new — or renewed — effort to illustrate belief.”
Not only was Ligare inspired by the works of 17th-century painter Nicolas Poussin — a major figure in classical French Baroque art — but he also drew upon Greco-Roman classicism. Greek sculptor Polykleitos, mathematician Pythagoras, and Plato's philosophy and mythology helped shape his ideas of light, balance, symmetry, and harmony. His surroundings also inspired Ligare in Monterey County, California, where he is based — many of his paintings depict the California coast in the background.
Ligare has shown his works extensively, including in exhibitions at the Sonoma Valley Museum of Art, the Fresno Art Museum, the Frye Art Museum in Seattle and the Prince of Wales Institute of Architecture in London. His paintings are part of the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, the Santa Barbara Museum of Art and the Department of Drawings and Prints of the Uffizi in Florence, Italy.
Find authentic David Ligare paintings on 1stDibs.
Still Life with Polykleitian Head and Ancathus
By David Ligare
Located in New York, NY
SAPERE AUDE. Dare to be wise. Immanuel Kant’s directive is embodied in the work of David Ligare. For thirty-five years, Ligare has dedicated his work to ...
Canvas, Oil
Still Life with Figs on Cloth
By David Ligare
Located in New York, NY
SAPERE AUDE. Dare to be wise. Immanuel Kant’s directive is embodied in the work of David Ligare. For thirty-five years, Ligare has dedicated his work to ...
Canvas, Oil
Offering: Grapes & Fig
By David Ligare
Located in New York, NY
David Ligare (b. 1945) Contemporary American Painter "Offering: Grapes & Fig," 2023 Oil on canvas, 20 x 24 in. Signed and dated (at lower right): L; (on verso): Ligare / 2023
Canvas, Oil
Still Life with Peach on Cloth
By David Ligare
Located in New York, NY
Signed and dated (at lower right): L; (on verso): D. Ligare / 2014
Canvas, Oil
Still Life with Apple on Cloth
By David Ligare
Located in New York, NY
Signed and dated (at lower right): L; (on verso): D. Ligare / 2014
Canvas, Oil
Landscape with an Owl (ATHENE NOCTUA) (Owl of Athena)
By David Ligare
Located in New York, NY
Signed (at lower right): L; (on verso): D. Ligare / 2024
Canvas, Oil
SOLIS (Sunlight)
By David Ligare
Located in New York, NY
Signed and dated (at lower right): L; (on verso): D. Ligare / 2024
Canvas, Oil
Thrown Drapery (Redux) Study 1
By David Ligare
Located in New York, NY
Signed and dated (at lower right): L; (on verso): D. Ligare / 2004
Canvas, Oil
Candle and Flowers
By David Ligare
Located in New York, NY
SAPERE AUDE. Dare to be wise. Immanuel Kant’s directive is embodied in the work of David Ligare. For thirty-five years, Ligare has dedicated his work to ...
Canvas, Oil
VIRTUS (Virtue)
By David Ligare
Located in New York, NY
Signed (at lower right): L; (on the back): D. Ligare / 2024
Canvas, Oil
DISCERE (To Learn)
By David Ligare
Located in New York, NY
Signed (at lower right): L; (on verso): D. Ligare / 2024
Canvas, Oil
Still Life with Box
By David Ligare
Located in New York, NY
Signed (at lower right): L; (on verso): David Ligare
Canvas, Oil
PERMETTO (To Allow)
By David Ligare
Located in New York, NY
Signed and dated (at lower right): L; (on verso): D. Ligare / 2024
Canvas, Oil
SCIRE (To Know)
By David Ligare
Located in New York, NY
Signed with initial (at lower right): L
Canvas, Oil
Still Life with Apples and Basket
By David Ligare
Located in New York, NY
Signed and dated (at lower right): L; (on verso)" D. Ligare / 2014
Canvas, Oil
ORDINE NATURAE (The Order of Nature)
By David Ligare
Located in New York, NY
Signed (at lower right): L; (on verso): D. Ligare / 2015
Canvas, Oil
$6,400
H 16 in W 24.25 in
Tulips and Table - small, blue, pink, green, floral, figurative still life oil
By Jennifer Hornyak
Located in Bloomfield, ON
A vase of pink tulips set against a deep pink tablecloth and a bright turquoise chair against a midnight blue wall is the subject of this delightful oi...
Canvas, Oil
$3,500
H 24 in W 24 in D 1.75 in
Emerald Rain - Contemporary Still Life Flowers Fruit Landscape Green, 2024
By Melanie Parke
Located in Kent, CT
In this contemporary oil painting on canvas, a bright and inviting interior scene is set with a still life with arrangements of flowers in a vase and a glass pitcher, a pear and lemo...
Canvas, Oil
$399
H 15.75 in Dm 15.75 in
Otherworld - Dreamy round abstract river landscape painting in green and pink
By Jennifer L. Baker
Located in Silverthorne, CO
Vibrant round abstract landscape river painting in deep greens with a peachy pink sky, and a beautiful textured surface. 40 cm round Oil on canvas 2026 A little peek into the otherwo...
Canvas, Oil
$220
H 5.91 in W 5.91 in D 1.19 in
Strawberry Very Ripe Pocket Painting, original painting, still life
By Dani Humberstone
Located in Deddington, GB
Pocket Very Ripe Strawberry (canvas size 5x5cm) is an original oil painting by Dani Humberstone as part of her Pocket Painting series featuring small scale realistic oil paintings, w...
Canvas, Oil
$1,050
H 12 in W 12 in D 2 in
Summer Bloom by Anne Harney, Contemporary Oil on Canvas Floral Painting
By Anne Harney
Located in Atlanta, GA
A vibrant celebration of seasonal color, this floral painting bursts with painterly energy. Bright petals, rendered in pinks, yellows, and corals, dance across the canvas with impres...
Canvas, Oil
$220
H 5.91 in W 5.91 in D 1.19 in
Apple Wild Redish Pocket Painting, original painting, still life
By Dani Humberstone
Located in Deddington, GB
Pocket Wild Redish Apple (canvas size 5x5cm) is an original oil painting by Dani Humberstone as part of her Pocket Painting series featuring small scale realistic oil paintings, with...
Canvas, Oil
$2,208
H 17.72 in W 15.36 in D 2.76 in
Zennor, Landscape Artwork, Original Oil Painting, Abstract Art
By Miles Cole
Located in Deddington, GB
An abstract composition inspired by the random geometry that can be found in some of Britain's older towns and villages. Towns that have grown organically and whose intricate jumble ...
Canvas, Oil
$1,027
H 43.31 in W 27.56 in D 0.79 in
Where I am - a melody of tenderness sounds
By Mariia Voronchak
Located in Zofingen, AG
At the center of the painting stands a woman immersed in a state of inner harmony, playing the flute as if the very space around her responds to her melody. Her figure is gentle and ...
Canvas, Acrylic, Oil
$1,050
H 12 in W 12 in D 2 in
White and Yellow Rose by Anne Harney, Contemporary Oil on Canvas Floral Painting
By Anne Harney
Located in Atlanta, GA
A charming composition of roses, this work balances creamy whites with warm yellow blooms. The delicate brushwork suggests movement and vitality, making the piece feel like a moment ...
Canvas, Oil
$220
H 5.91 in W 5.91 in D 1.19 in
Anemone White Pocket Painting 234, original painting, still-life, contemporary
By Dani Humberstone
Located in Deddington, GB
Pocket White Anemone 234 (canvas size 5x5cm) is an original oil painting by Dani Humberstone as part of her Pocket Painting series featuring small scale realistic oil paintings, with...
Canvas, Oil
Late Light
By Willard Dixon
Located in Burlingame, CA
Willard Dixon, Late Light, painted in 2022, oil on canvas. The ethereal ocean beach scene captures a couple enjoying the sunset. The original painting is 36" X 36". Framed in a cont...
Canvas, Oil
$9,200
H 50 in W 36 in D 1.5 in
Bouquet (Figurative Still Life Painting of Pastel Pink Flowers in Tabletop Vase)
By David Konigsberg
Located in Hudson, NY
Large gestural still life painting of light pink peony flowers in a simple tabletop vase "Bouquet", oil on canvas, 50 x 36 inches Framing is optional, sides are cleanly painted whit...
Canvas, Oil
NOVUM INCREMENTUM (New Growth)
By David Ligare
Located in New York, NY
Signed (LR): L; on verso: D. Ligare/ 1988/2024
Canvas, Oil
Offering: Apples & Wheat
By David Ligare
Located in New York, NY
David Ligare (b. 1945) Contemporary American Painter 'Offering: Apples & Wheat,' 2023 Oil on canvas, 20 x 24 in. Signed (at lower right): L; (on back): D. Ligare/ 2023.
Canvas, Oil
Still Life with Polykleitian Head and Candles (Idea)
By David Ligare
Located in New York, NY
Signed and dated (at lower right): L; (on verso): D. Ligare / 2018
Canvas, Oil
Still Life with Lilies
By David Ligare
Located in New York, NY
Signed and dated (at lower right): L; (on verso) D. Ligare / 2014.
Canvas, Oil
Still Life with Figs and Rose
By David Ligare
Located in New York, NY
SAPERE AUDE. Dare to be wise. Immanuel Kant’s directive is embodied in the work of David Ligare. For thirty-five years, Ligare has dedicated his work to Classicist ideals: Truth, Bea...
Canvas, Oil
Bulk Order for Eugene Orloff
By David Ligare
Located in New York, NY
SAPERE AUDE. Dare to be wise. Immanuel Kant’s directive is embodied in the work of David Ligare. For thirty-five years, Ligare has dedicated his work to Classicist ideals: Truth, Bea...
Canvas, Oil
Still Life with White Roses in Pot
By David Ligare
Located in New York, NY
SAPERE AUDE. Dare to be wise. Immanuel Kant’s directive is embodied in the work of David Ligare. For thirty-five years, Ligare has dedicated his work to Classicist ideals: Truth, Bea...
Canvas, Oil
Still Life with Figs and Egyptian Pot
By David Ligare
Located in New York, NY
Signed and dated (at lower right): L; (on the verso): D. Ligare / 2017 SAPERE AUDE. Dare to be wise. Immanuel Kant’s directive is embodied in the work of David Ligare. For thirty-fi...
Canvas, Oil
The Cane Gatherer (Qanu)
By David Ligare
Located in New York, NY
Signed (at lower left): L
Canvas, Oil
Three Grecian Women
By David Ligare
Located in New York, NY
Signed and dated (at lower left on stone): D. LIGARE. 1983
Canvas, Oil
Integritas
By David Ligare
Located in New York, NY
Oil on canvas, 2015
Still Life with Plums and Goldfinch (Aparchai)
By David Ligare
Located in New York, NY
Oil on canvas