A painter as well as a filmmaker, illustrator, stage-set designer, ceramicist and printmaker, Fernand Léger was one of the most prolific artists of the first half of the 20th century. His early mature work as a Cubist was marked by the use of bold colors and contrasts and a visual vocabulary inspired by industrial technology. In his later career, Léger turned to idiomatic, almost naïve depictions of human figures, in a belief that his work should be accessible to ordinary people and relevant to their lives.
Born in Normandy, the son of a cattle trader, Léger worked as an architectural draftsman in Paris while studying art. By 1908 he was a member of an artistic circle that included Marc Chagall, Robert Delaunay, sculptor Jacques Lipchitz, and the poet Guillaume Appolinaire, and through them he became connected to the Cubists. As opposed to the flat planes and neutral hues seen in the paintings of Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, Léger’s Cubist abstractions were devised with vivid colors and forms that had dimensionality. Soon after his army service in World War I — he was gassed at the Battle of Verdun — Léger entered his “mechanical” period. Convinced that technology would improve the human condition, he painted compositions of tubular shapes and cylinders that are reminiscent of machine parts. In other work, Léger sought to capture the bustle and brio of modern life with references to railroad stations, factories, street signs and billboards.
Léger had also emerged from the trenches with a deep concern to make his art engage the sorts of men and women he had met during the war. He sought to bring his work to a wider audience through film, theater sets and book illustrations. In the 1920s, influenced by Purism — a variant on Cubism that promoted a simpler and more direct approach to forms and compositions — Léger produced a series of paintings depicting everyday objects: a soda siphon, an accordion, a guitar and vase. The human figure returned to his work. By 1930, pure abstraction disappeared almost completely from Léger’s art in favor of simple studies of people. Their boldly outlined forms, placed against a bright background, can be regarded as an assemblage of parts — yet in these representations of dancers, acrobats and folks on bicycles, Léger seems to be articulating a kind of kinship and affection. You will see from the works on offer why Fernand Léger is often regarded as the warmest and most humane of the great modern artists.
Find a collection of original Fernand Léger art today on 1stDibs.
$30,000
Le Toit
By Fernand Léger
Located in New York, NY
Gouache and watercolor on paper, 1950. Initialed by the artist "FL" and dated "50" lower right. Exhibition History: Blue Moon Gallery/Lerner-Heller Gallery, New York, "An intimate ...
Gouache, Watercolor
Yellow Carpet 9 - After Fernand Léger
By Fernand Léger
Located in Saint-Didier, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Jaune No. 9 / Yellow Carpet 9 - After Fernand Léger Signed Wool Limited edition of 100 copies Modern Masters Tapestries, Inc L224xD113 Price : 17900 euros
Wool
$6,000
H 24 in W 20 in D 2 in
Abstract Work on Paper Mid-Century Modernism Greek American Gouache Drawing
By Jean Xceron
Located in New York, NY
Abstract Work on Paper Mid-Century Modernism Greek American Gouache Drawing. A modernist artist who emigrated to America from Greece in 1904, when he was fourteen years old, Jean Xceron is described as having a reputation as an artist that has mysteriously fallen into obscurity---especially since he was reportedly quite prominent during his lifetime. However, a partial explanation of that omission is the fact that many of his papers and early records have been lost. He was a painter of biomorphic abstractions and did collages, which were influenced by Dadaism. Xceron was active in New York City when modernism was gaining influence. Of him during this period, it was written that his artistic role was "a vital link between what is commonly termed as the first-generation (the Stieglitz group, the Synchromists, etc.) and second-generation, the American Abstract Artists, the Transcendental Painting...
Paper, Gouache
$35,000
H 46 in W 68 in D 2 in
Rocks, Post-Modern Abstract Landscape Woven Tapestry, Textile Sculpture
Located in Wilton, CT
Rocks (1985), Wool, Post-Modern Abstract Landscape Woven Tapestry, Textile Sculpture. Zofia Butrymowicz (1904-1987) was born in Warsaw, Poland. Artis...
Fabric, Textile, Tapestry, Wool
Early Abstract Expressionist Gouache Painting WPA Jewish Artist
By Louis Wolchonok
Located in Surfside, FL
Louis Wolchonok was a social realist painter and member of the Woodstock Art Association. His work was exhibited at the Whitney Museum of American Art, the National Academy of Design...
Paper, Gouache
$11,000
H 48 in W 50 in D 2 in
Refleksy (Reflexes), Mid-Century Wool Tapestry, Abstract Textile Wall Sculpture
Located in Wilton, CT
Refleksy (Reflexes), flax (linen) and wool, 50" x 48" x 2", 1973. This warm, vivid Mid-Century tapestry, Refleksy (1973) is by Polish textile artist, ...
Fabric, Textile, Tapestry, Wool, Linen, Thread
King of Swords by Salvador Dalí
By Salvador Dalí
Located in New Orleans, LA
Salvador Dalí 1904-1989 Spanish King of Swords Signed “Dalí” (lower center) Gouache on photographic background This unique gouache by Surrealist master Salvador Dalí combines the...
Gouache, Photographic Paper
$35,000
H 67 in W 49 in D 2 in
Sandstorm, Post-Modern Abstract Landscape Woven Tapestry, Textile Sculpture
Located in Wilton, CT
Sandstorm (1985) Wool, Post-Modern Abstract Landscape Woven Tapestry, Textile Sculpture. Zofia Butrymowicz (1904-1987) was born in Warsaw, Poland. St...
Fabric, Textile, Tapestry, Wool
$7,800
H 75 in W 109.5 in D 3 in
Monumental Fiber Art Textile Wall Sculpture "Flight" by Barbara Barron, 1982
Located in Dallas, TX
Temporary End of Summer Sale. This phenomenal wall-mounted mid-century-modern sculpture is titled "Flight" and was created by internationally recognized textile artist Barbara Barr...
Wool, Thread
$12,000
H 52 in W 38 in D 2 in
Without Name, Mid-Century Abstract Woven Tapestry, Textile Wall Sculpture
By Jan Hladik
Located in Wilton, CT
Without Name, Mid-Century Abstract Woven Tapestry, Textile Wall Sculpture, Hand dyed wool, 52" x 38" (1973) by Czech textile artist, Jan Jladik...
Fabric, Textile, Tapestry, Wool, Dye
The Yarns I Have Carried #2
Located in Wilton, CT
four-selvaged weaving: leftover warp and weft yarns from the past 65 years, including handspun and manufactured material, natural and synthetic dyed wool, silk, linen, cotton and ramie
Wool, Cotton, Linen, Silk
$18,000
H 87 in W 63 in D 2 in
Circle, Mid-Century Abstract Woven Tapestry, Textile Wall Sculpture
By Jan Hladik
Located in Wilton, CT
Circle, Mid-Century Abstract Woven Tapestry, Textile Wall Sculpture, Hand dyed wool, 87" x 63" (1976) by Czech textile artist, Jan Jladik, (192...
Fabric, Textile, Tapestry, Wool, Dye
$1,650
H 10.75 in W 24.75 in
Bird Abstraction Gouache Painting, Mid-Century Modern, Signed, 1953
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
Stephen Harty, Untitled (Bird Abstraction), gouache, 1953. Signed and dated lower left. A fine, meticulously rendered, mid-century, modernist gouache painting, with fresh colors on 1...
Gouache
$10,650
H 32 in W 32 in D 2 in
Broken White Band with Pink, Contemporary Abstract Tapestry, Textile Sculpture
By Sara Brennan
Located in Wilton, CT
Broken White Band with Pink, Linen, wool, and cotton, 32" x 32" (2008). This two-tone contemporary abstract woven tapestry and textile wall sculpture is by UK-based textile artist, Sara Brennan...
Fabric, Textile, Tapestry, Wool, Cotton, Linen
Sold
H 17.33 in W 13.39 in D 1.19 in
Le Cirque - Vintage Rare Book Illustrated by Fernand Léger - 1950
By Fernand Léger
Located in Roma, IT
Le Cirque is an original modern rare book illustrated by Fernand Léger (Argentan, 1881 - Gif-sur-Yvette, 1955) in 1950. Published by Tériade Éditions, Paris. Original edition including 75 original lithographs by Fernand Leger (33 in color and 42 black and white). Edition of 300 copies, numbered and hand signed. The edition was 280 numbered in Arabic numerals and 20 hors-commerce in Roman numerals. This is number 51 from the edition of 280, signed on the colophon. Format: in folio. Cloth chemise and matching slipcase. 111 pages. Mint conditions. Fernand Léger (Argentan, 1881 - Gif-sur-Yvette, 1955) in 1950. Léger had been painting in a style that mixed Impressionism with Fauvism. Under the influence of his new environment, he abandoned those styles for a more Cubist approach. At the time, Picasso and Braque’s Cubist...
Paper, Lithograph
Fernand Leger " composition "
By Fernand Léger
Located in Saint-Didier, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Fernand Leger Composition Issue of the portfolio Twelve contemporaries Éditions d'art du Lion . Paris 1959 Published in 1000 copies Signature in the b...
Paper