Emerson Woelffer Abstract Paintings
American, 1914-2003
Once dubbed “the Grandfather of L.A. Modernism,” the Chicago-born Emerson Seville Woelffer was active as an innovative painter, collagist, and educator throughout his long and prolific career. A pioneering Abstract Expressionist, Woelffer’s brightly colored work with jagged forms reveals Cubist and Surrealist influences.
Coming of age in Chicago during the Great Depression, Woelffer appreciated the improvisational nature of jazz music, a sensibility he would later apply to painting through gestural variation, energetic strokes, and a rhythmic use of line. From 1935 to 1938, Woelffer, a high school dropout, studied at the Art Institute of Chicago while employed as a janitor, early evidence of his enduring work ethic.
He joined the Works Progress Administration arts program in 1938 as an easel painter, followed by a two-year stint as a topographical draftsman for the United States Air Force. The director of the Chicago Institute of Design, László Moholy-Nagy, invited Woelffer to join the faculty in 1942. His experiences there brought him into contact with the modernist idiom of the day, and his interactions with students caused him to re-examine his own practice.
He also exhibited in group shows at the Guggenheim Museum in New York, participated in the Whitney Museum Annual (1949) and won the Pauline Palmer Prize for painting at the Art Institute of Chicago (1948).
In 1949 Emerson Woelffer and his wife Dina, a fine art photographer, were invited by Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner to New York before they headed to Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula. Exposure to Pre-Columbian art led Woelffer to incorporate totemic figures and vibrant colors into his abstract paintings.
In 1959 Woelffer joined the faculty at the Chouinard Art Institute (later the California Institute of the Arts) in Los Angeles, where he instructed notable emerging artists until 1973 and where he was instrumental in bringing Modernism to LA. Ed Ruscha was one of his students. In 1974, Woelffer was named chair of the art department at the Otis Art Institute (now the Otis School of Art and Design). His tenure lasted until his retirement in 1989, and he was widely admired for his interdisciplinary approach in the classroom. An endowed scholarship fund in his name provides support for promising young artists and designers. Suffering from macular degeneration, Woelffer switched to drawing with white crayon on black paper in his final years of artistic activity.
Emerson won a prestigious Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship in 1967 and then went to wprk in Europe. Woelffer’s work is represented in the collections of such distinguished institutions as the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the National Gallery of Art, and the Museum of Modern Art, among others.to
2
Overall Width
to
Overall Height
to
2
2
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
11
666
627
362
342
2
Artist: Emerson Woelffer
Early Abstract Expressionist - Black Mountain College Teacher, Franz Kline
By Emerson Woelffer
Located in Miami, FL
With Abstract Expressionist painting, one could argue that the earlier, the more historically important. This stunning non-objective action painting is characterized by vast swaths o...
Category
1950s Abstract Expressionist Emerson Woelffer Abstract Paintings
Materials
Oil, Fiberboard
Abstract Expressionist "Forms Divide" Like Franz Kline
By Emerson Woelffer
Located in Miami, FL
It's 1951. Who was doing painting like this? Franz Kline, Arshile Gorky, Jackson Pollock, Franz Kline, Mark Rothko, Willem de Kooning, Adolph Gottlieb, Clyfford Still, Robert Mother...
Category
1950s Abstract Expressionist Emerson Woelffer Abstract Paintings
Materials
Masonite, Acrylic
Related Items
Semi-abstract expressionist floral oil painting "Essence of Roses" on cardboard
Located in VÉNISSIEUX, FR
This contemporary semi-abstract impressionist floral painting, Essence of Roses, created with oil paints on cardboard by French artist Natalya Mougenot, is part of her ongoing series...
Category
2010s Abstract Expressionist Emerson Woelffer Abstract Paintings
Materials
Oil, Cardboard
$234 Sale Price
30% Off
H 10.63 in W 8.67 in D 0.12 in
Abstract Expressionist Painting American Late 1960's Mid Century New York Brown
Located in Buffalo, NY
Mid Century Modern, American Abstract Expressionist Painting on Masonite.
This wonderful work in hues of blue comes house in a contemporary natural wood frame presentation..
The ar...
Category
1960s Abstract Expressionist Emerson Woelffer Abstract Paintings
Materials
Masonite, Acrylic
Large Scale Mid 20th Century Acrylic Painting by Vanguard Studios by Van Gaard
Located in San Francisco, CA
Large Scale Mid 20th Century Acrylic Painting by Vanguard Studios Signed Van Gaard
Classic 1950s to 1960s acrylic painting of a guitar against a colorful ab...
Category
Mid-20th Century Abstract Expressionist Emerson Woelffer Abstract Paintings
Materials
Masonite, Acrylic
$985
H 50 in W 32 in D 3 in
Mid-Century Modern Abstract Expressionist Still Life Oil Painting
By Toma Yovanovich
Located in Buffalo, NY
An original mid century modern abstract expressionist painting by American artist Toma Yovanovich.
Toma Yovanovich (1931-2016)
Yovanovich was a painter/printmaker whose work i...
Category
1960s Abstract Expressionist Emerson Woelffer Abstract Paintings
Materials
Illustration Board, Oil
$720 Sale Price
20% Off
H 18 in W 25 in
Contemporary abstract expressionist floral oil painting "Beauty in the bouquet"
Located in VÉNISSIEUX, FR
This small abstract expressionist floral painting, "Beauty in the Bouquet," was created by the French artist Natalya Mougenot and is part of her ongoing floral series.
Radiating ene...
Category
2010s Abstract Expressionist Emerson Woelffer Abstract Paintings
Materials
Oil, Cardboard
$334
H 11.82 in W 9.45 in D 0.12 in
Abstract Expressionist Painting American Late 1960's Mid Century Black White
Located in Buffalo, NY
Mid Century Modern, American Abstract Expressionist Painting on artist board.
This lively action painting has wonderful interjections of color within the predominantly black and whi...
Category
1960s Abstract Expressionist Emerson Woelffer Abstract Paintings
Materials
Masonite, Acrylic
$711 Sale Price
20% Off
H 24 in W 20 in
Abstract Expressionist Painting American Late 1970's Mid Century Orange Purple
Located in Buffalo, NY
Mid Century Modern, American Abstract Expressionist Painting on artist board.
This wonderful work combines unique shades of orange yellow and purple and comes house in a contemporar...
Category
1970s Abstract Expressionist Emerson Woelffer Abstract Paintings
Materials
Masonite, Acrylic
$551 Sale Price
20% Off
H 11 in W 14 in
Abstract Expressionist Painting American Late 1970's Mid Century Pink Blue White
Located in Buffalo, NY
Mid Century Modern, American Abstract Expressionist Painting on artist board.
This wonderful work combines delicate shades of pink and blue and comes house in a contemporary natural...
Category
1970s Abstract Expressionist Emerson Woelffer Abstract Paintings
Materials
Masonite, Acrylic
$551 Sale Price
20% Off
H 7 in W 14 in
Abstract Expressionist Painting American 1960's Mid Century New York Colorful
Located in Buffalo, NY
Mid Century Modern, American Abstract Expressionist Painting on Masonite.
This wonderful work in exciting colors is housed in a contemporary white wood frame presentation..
The art...
Category
1960s Abstract Expressionist Emerson Woelffer Abstract Paintings
Materials
Masonite, Acrylic
$340 Sale Price
20% Off
H 10 in W 10 in
Abstract Expressionist Painting American 1960's Mid Century New York Colorful
Located in Buffalo, NY
Mid Century Modern, American Abstract Expressionist Painting on Masonite.
This wonderful work in exciting colors is housed in a contemporary white wood frame presentation..
The art...
Category
1960s Abstract Expressionist Emerson Woelffer Abstract Paintings
Materials
Masonite, Acrylic
$340 Sale Price
20% Off
H 10 in W 10 in
Mid Century Abstract Expressionist Painting-- "An Oblation to Shells"
By Leslie Luverne Anderson
Located in Soquel, CA
A dymanic mid century abstract expressionist painiting with geometric shapes in cool tones and two figures by Leslie Luverne Anderson (American, 1928-2009). Oil on masonite. Titled "...
Category
1960s Abstract Expressionist Emerson Woelffer Abstract Paintings
Materials
Masonite, Oil
$2,000 Sale Price
20% Off
H 32 in W 48 in D 1 in
Abstract Impressionist expressive floral oil painting "Roses and two apples"
Located in VÉNISSIEUX, FR
This contemporary expressive impressionist abstract floral painting, Roses and Two Apples, is a radiant work by French artist Natalya Mougenot, known for her emotionally intuitive an...
Category
2010s Abstract Expressionist Emerson Woelffer Abstract Paintings
Materials
Oil, Cardboard
$242 Sale Price
36% Off
H 11.82 in W 9.45 in D 0.12 in
Previously Available Items
"Untitled, " Emerson Woelffer, Color Field, Blue Orange Abstract Expressionism,
By Emerson Woelffer
Located in New York, NY
Emerson Woelffer (1914 - 2003)
Untitled, 1965
Oil on canvasboard
23 x 18 1/2 inches
Signed and dated lower left
Provenance:
Private Collection, Pennsylvania
Once dubbed “the Grand...
Category
1960s Abstract Expressionist Emerson Woelffer Abstract Paintings
Materials
Oil, Board
Mid Century Modern Abstract Expressionist Signed Original Color-Field Painting
By Emerson Woelffer
Located in Buffalo, NY
Vintage American abstract expressionist oil painting by Emerson S Woelffer (1914 - 2003). Oil on canvas, circa 1969. Signed. Displayed in a period modern frame. Image, 16"L x 20"H.
Category
1960s Abstract Emerson Woelffer Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Madrid & Forio
By Emerson Woelffer
Located in Greenwich, CT
This is a striking and rare pair of 1959 abstract expressionist works by West Coast artist and teacher, Emerson Woelffer, dubbed “the grandfather of L. A. Modernism”. He had a brilliant career teaching at Black Mountain College, the California Institute of the Arts and was awarded the Pollock-Krasner Grant amongst many other distinctions. His works are at the Museum of Modern Art, The Whitney Museum, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the list continues. 1959 is a great and desirable date!
Taylor Graham...
Category
1950s Abstract Emerson Woelffer Abstract Paintings
Materials
Paper, Mixed Media, Oil
The Judgement by Emerson Woelffer
By Emerson Woelffer
Located in Buffalo, NY
Modernist abstract oil painting by Emerson Woelffer (1914-2003). Oil on canvas, circa 1945. Signed lower left, "E. Woelffer". Displayed in a period grey wood frame. Ima...
Category
1940s Abstract Emerson Woelffer Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Emerson Woelffer abstract paintings for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic Emerson Woelffer abstract paintings available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Emerson Woelffer in paint, acrylic paint, board and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 20th century and is mostly associated with the abstract style. Not every interior allows for large Emerson Woelffer abstract paintings, so small editions measuring 21 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Rex Ashlock, John von Wicht, and Ralph Rosenborg. Emerson Woelffer abstract paintings prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $8,000 and tops out at $12,500, while the average work can sell for $10,250.