Skip to main content

Gershon Benjamin Figurative Paintings

American, 1899-1985

In a body of work that spans seven decades, obscure American modernist artist Gershon Benjamin explored a varied range of tone, style and subject matter in watercolor, oil and charcoal. Not one to resign himself to a single trademark theme, Benjamin focused on an eclectic array of subjects. His paintings included landscapes, portraits, still lifes and urban scenes.

Benjamin was born in Romania just before the turn of the 20th century. His family moved to Montreal in 1901 to escape ethnic persecution. At 10, Benjamin began studying art at the Canadian Council of Arts and Manufacturers, in Quebec. When he was 12, the Royal Canadian Academy admitted Benjamin.

In 1923, Benjamin moved to New York City, where he secured a night job in the art department of The Sun newspaper. He also enrolled in the Art Students League, where he learned engraving from the notable lithographer Joseph Pennell and drawing from illustrator John Sloan.

Benjamin found inspiration in the work of Pablo Picasso and Paul Cézanne. He depicted urban life in meditative Expressionist paintings that later drew comparisons to the Ashcan School — Benjamin painted scenes of New York City’s blocky skyline, elevated subway trains, empty streets at dawn and the Brooklyn Bridge as he saw them on his way home from his night shift at the newspaper.

In New York, Benjamin forged friendships with creative people who were as in love with art as he was and painted with them in Gloucester, Massachusetts, during the city’s hot summers. A number of his acquaintances found a fair amount of fame — including artists Mark Rothko, Raphael Soyer and Milton Avery — whereas Benjamin sought none. And when artists of the era in Manhattan and elsewhere began to work in the style that would become known as Abstract Expressionism, Benjamin continued to create representational art. He remained largely obscure throughout his career, declining to promote or market his still lifes, landscapes and portraiture.

Benjamin's works are held in a number of private and public collections including the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and the Ulrich Museum of Art.

Find original Gershon Benjamin paintings on 1stDibs.

to
2
3
4
Overall Width
to
Overall Height
to
9
3
4
8
1
8
1
7
7
5
5
2
1
1
8
8
4
4
2
72
409
324
239
213
9
9
Artist: Gershon Benjamin
"Tommy"
By Gershon Benjamin
Located in Lambertville, NJ
Jim’s of Lambertville is proud to offer this artwork: Gershon Benjamin (1899 - 1985) An American Modernist of portraits, landscapes, still lives, and the urban scene, Gershon Ben...
Category

1930s Modern Gershon Benjamin Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

"Theresa Thompson"
By Gershon Benjamin
Located in Lambertville, NJ
Jim’s of Lambertville is proud to offer this artwork by: Gershon Benjamin (1899-1985) An American Modernist of portraits, landscapes, still lives, and the urban scene, Gershon Benj...
Category

1940s Modern Gershon Benjamin Figurative Paintings

Materials

Masonite, Oil

"Pinky"
By Gershon Benjamin
Located in Lambertville, NJ
Ashley John is proud to offer this artwork by: Gershon Benjamin (1899 - 1985) Gershon Benjamin is a painter of portraits, landscapes, still lives, and the urban scene. He had a pro...
Category

20th Century Modern Gershon Benjamin Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"Rushelle in the Garden"
By Gershon Benjamin
Located in Lambertville, NJ
Jim’s of Lambertville is proud to offer this artwork by: Gershon Benjamin (1899 - 1985) An American Modernist of portraits, landscapes, still lives, and the urban scene, Gershon ...
Category

1940s Modern Gershon Benjamin Figurative Paintings

Materials

Masonite, Oil

"Lee J. Cobb #3"
By Gershon Benjamin
Located in Lambertville, NJ
Jim’s of Lambertville is proud to offer this artwork by: Gershon Benjamin (1899 - 1985) An American Modernist of portraits, landscapes, still lives, and the urban scene, Gershon ...
Category

1930s Modern Gershon Benjamin Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"Paula"
By Gershon Benjamin
Located in Lambertville, NJ
Jim’s of Lambertville is proud to offer this artwork by: Gershon Benjamin (1899-1985) An American Modernist of portraits, landscapes, still lives, and the urban scene, Gershon Benj...
Category

1940s Modern Gershon Benjamin Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

"Jewel"
By Gershon Benjamin
Located in Lambertville, NJ
Jim’s of Lambertville is proud to offer this artwork by: Gershon Benjamin (1899 - 1985) An American Modernist of portraits, landscapes, still lives, and the urban scene, Gershon ...
Category

1940s Modern Gershon Benjamin Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"Green Hat"
By Gershon Benjamin
Located in Lambertville, NJ
Ashley John is proud to offer this artwork by: Gershon Benjamin (1899 - 1985) Gershon Benjamin is a painter of portraits, landscapes, still lives, and the urban scene. He had a pro...
Category

20th Century Abstract Gershon Benjamin Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"Milton Avery #6"
By Gershon Benjamin
Located in Lambertville, NJ
Gershon Benjamin (1899-1985) An American Modernist of portraits, landscapes, still lives, and the urban scene, Gershon Benjamin sustained an active career for over seven decades. D...
Category

1930s Modern Gershon Benjamin Figurative Paintings

Materials

Pastel

Related Items
Shoemaker at Work - Portrait in Oil on Masonite
Located in Soquel, CA
Shoemaker at Work - Portrait in Oil on Masonite Lovely portrait of a cobbler at work by Max Schneider (German, 1903-1980). The shoemaker is holding a ha...
Category

Mid-20th Century Romantic Gershon Benjamin Figurative Paintings

Materials

Masonite, Oil

Vintage Abstract Expressionist Standing Pensive Figurative Nude - Heavy Impasto
Located in Soquel, CA
Vintage Abstract Expressionist Standing Pensive Figurative Nude - Heavy Impasto Abstract expressionist figurative composition of a nude woman by California artist Harald "Harry" Dr...
Category

1970s American Modern Gershon Benjamin Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Stretcher Bars

"Personage" Heavy Impasto Expressionist Portrait of Lady with a Hat
Located in Soquel, CA
"Personage" Heavy Impasto Expressionist Portrait of Lady with a Hat Abstract expressionist portrait of a woman wearing a hat by California artist Harald "Harry" Dry Schmidt (America...
Category

1970s American Modern Gershon Benjamin Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Stretcher Bars

Catalan peasant oil on canvas painting spanish
By Luis Graner Y Arrufi
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Oil mesures 36x23 cm. Frameless. Restored.
Category

1930s Modern Gershon Benjamin Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Board

Vintage Mid-Century Modern Swedish Figurative Framed Oil Painting - The Children
Located in Bristol, GB
THE CHILDREN Size: 36.5 x 66 cm (including frame) Oil on board A richly textured and endearing mid century modernist style figurative portrait, painted in oil onto board. Rendered ...
Category

1950s Modern Gershon Benjamin Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

"Liberty" Heavy Impasto Expressionist Nude Portrait of a Lady Standing
Located in Soquel, CA
"Liberty" Heavy Impasto Expressionist Nude Portrait of a Lady Standing Abstract expressionist portrait of a woman standing with one arm raised over her head by California artist Har...
Category

1970s American Modern Gershon Benjamin Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Stretcher Bars

Portrait of Franklin Atwood Park, VP of Singer Mfg. Co.
Located in Soquel, CA
Portrait of Franklin Atwood Park, VP of Singer Mfg. Co. Stately portrait of Franklin Atwood Park by Arthur Trevethin Nowell (British, 1862-1940). Park is sitting for a classical portrait, wearing a suit with a blue bowtie against a dark background. Of particular note are his glasses and moustache, both rendered with expert detail. Park was the VP and Chairman of the Board for Singer Manufacturing Company and Manager of the Singer Division in Scotland when the portrait was commissioned. We show a digital image of a photographic portrait of Franklin. Signed and dated "A T Nowell. 1922" Includes paper with biographical information on the sitter. Frame size: 37.5"H x 32.5"W Canvas size: 30"H x 25"W Arthur Nowell (British, 1862-1940) was born at Garndiffath, near Pontypool, and was the youngest of six children born to the Rev. John Nowell and his wife Mary...
Category

1920s American Modern Gershon Benjamin Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Stretcher Bars

Simka Simkhovitch WPA Artist Oil Painting Family Mother, Kids American Modernist
By Simka Simkhovitch
Located in Surfside, FL
Simka Simkhovitch (Russian/American 1893 - 1949) This came with a small grouping from the artist's family, some were hand signed some were not. These were studies for larger paintings. Simka Simkhovitch (Симха Файбусович Симхович) (aka Simka Faibusovich Simkhovich) (Novozybkov, Russia May 21, 1885 O.S./June 2, 1885 N.S.—Greenwich, Connecticut February 25, 1949) was a Ukrainian-Russian Jewish artist and immigrant to the United States. He painted theater scenery in his early career and then had several showings in galleries in New York City. Winning Works Progress Administration (WPA) commissions in the 1930s, he completed murals for the post offices in Jackson, Mississippi and Beaufort, North Carolina. His works are in the permanent collections of the Dallas Museum of Art, the National Museum of American Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art. Born outside Kyiv (Petrograd Ukraine) into a Jewish family who owned a small department store. During a severe case of measles when he was seven, Simcha Simchovitch sketched the views outside his window and decided to become an artist, over his father's objections. Beginning in 1905, he studied at the Grekov Odessa Art School and upon completion of his studies in 1911 received a recommendation to be admitted to the Imperial Academy of Arts. Though he enrolled to begin classes in architecture, painting, and sculpture at the Imperial Academy, he was dropped from the school roster in December because of the quota on the number of Jewish students and drafted into the army. Simchovitch served as a private in the 175th Infantry Regiment Baturyn [ru] until his demobilization in 1912. Re-enrolling in the Imperial Academy, he audited classes. Simka Simkhovitch exhibited paintings and sculptures in 1918 as part of an exhibition of Jewish artists and in 1919 placed 1st in the competition "The Great Russian Revolution" with a painting called "Russian Revolution" which was hung in the State Museum of Revolution. In 1922, Simkha Simkhovitch exhibited at the International Book Fair in Florence (Italian: Fiera Internazionale del Libro di Firenze). In 1924, Simkhovitch came to the United States to make illustrations for Soviet textbooks and decided to immigrate instead. Initially he supported himself by doing commercial art and a few portrait commissions. In 1927, he was hired to paint a screen for a scene in the play "The Command to Love" by Fritz Gottwald and Rudolph Lothar which was playing at the Longacre Theatre on Broadway. Art dealers began clamoring for the screen and Simkhovitch began a career as a screen painter for the theater. Catching the attention of the screenwriter, Ernest Pascal, he worked as an illustrator for Pascal, who then introduced him to gallery owner, Marie Sterner. Simkhovitch's works appeared at the Marie Sterner Gallery beginning with a 1927 exhibit and were repeated the following year. Simkhovitch had an exhibit in 1929 at Sterner's on circus paintings. In 1931, he held a showing of works at the Helen Hackett Gallery, in New York City and later that same year he was one of the featured artists of a special exhibit in San Francisco at the California Palace of the Legion of Honor in Lincoln Park. The exhibit was coordinated by Marie Sterner and included four watercolors, including one titled "Nudes". He is of the generation of Russian Soviet artists such as Isaac Pailes, Serge Charchoune, Marc Chagall, Chana Orloff, Isaac Ilyich Levitan, and Ossip Zadkine. In 1936, Simkhovitch was selected to complete the mural for the WPA Post office project in Jackson, Mississippi. The mural was hung in the post office and courthouse in 1938 depicted a plantation theme. Painted on the wall behind the judge’s bench, “Pursuits of Life in Mississippi”, a depiction of black workers engaged in manual labor amid scenes of white professionals and socialites, was eventually covered over in later years during renovations due to its stereotypical African American imagery. The following year, his painting "Holiday" won praise at an exhibition in Lincoln, Nebraska. In 1940, Simkhovitch's second WPA post office project was completed when four murals, "The Cape Lookout Lighthouse and the Orville W. Mail Boat", "The Wreck of the Crissie Wright", "Sand Ponies" and "Canada Geese" were installed in Beaufort, North Carolina. The works were commissioned in 1938 and did not generate the controversy that the Jackson mural had. The main mural is "The Wreck of the Crissie Wright" and depicts a shipwreck which had occurred in Beaufort in 1866. "The Cape Lookout Lighthouse and the Orville W. Mail Boat" depicted the lighthouse built in 1859 and the mail boat that was running mail during the time which Simkhovitch was there. The boat ran mail for the area until 1957. "Sand Ponies" shows the wild horses common to the North Carolina barrier islands and "Canada Geese" showed the importance of hunting and fishing in the area. All four murals were restored in the 1990s by Elisabeth Speight, daughter of two other WPA muralists, Francis Speight...
Category

1930s American Modern Gershon Benjamin Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

'Sheila Antoine with Afro', Sir John Cass, Otis Art Institute, California
By Pearl Took
Located in Santa Cruz, CA
Signed lower left with monogram, 'P.T.' for Pearl Took (American, 1928-2012); additionally signed verso, dated 1977 and titled 'Sheila Antoine'. Born in England, Pearl Took first st...
Category

1970s Modern Gershon Benjamin Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Young Painter - Oil Painting - Early 20th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Young painter is an artwork realized by an unknonw artist of the early 20th century. Oil painting on cardboard. A young woman with a delicate face is about to paint with a palette...
Category

Early 20th Century Modern Gershon Benjamin Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Cardboard

"Chief Crazy Horse" Abstracted Fauvist Portrait with Heavy Impasto in Oil Paint
Located in Soquel, CA
Heavy Impasto Portrait of Chief Crazy Horse by Harald Dry Schmidt Abstract expressionist portrait of a man by California artist Harald "Harry" Dry Schmidt (American, 1933-1979). The...
Category

1970s American Modern Gershon Benjamin Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Stretcher Bars

Mid Century Portrait -- Freckled Red Head Boy
By Jon Blanchette
Located in Soquel, CA
Mid century portrait of a red-haired boy with freckles by Jon Blanchette (American, 1908-1987). Rendered his signature style, this portrait is clean and vibrant. The subject is looki...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Impressionist Gershon Benjamin Figurative Paintings

Materials

Masonite, Oil

Previously Available Items
The Card Players
By Gershon Benjamin
Located in Wiscasett, ME
Gershon Benjamin c. 1933 Gouache on black paper Measures: 12" x 18" and 25" x 31" including the frame. Signed, titled and inscribed to verso '#646 The Card Players...
Category

1930s Modern Gershon Benjamin Figurative Paintings

Materials

Gouache

The Card Players
The Card Players
H 25 in W 31 in D 2 in
American Modernist Social Realist Seamstress Portrait Painting
By Gershon Benjamin
Located in Surfside, FL
Gershon Benjamin (1899 – 1985) was an American modern painter. Born in Piatra Neamt, Romania, he immigrated with his family to Montreal, Canada at the age of two, to escape the persecution of Jews throughout Eastern Europe at the time. As a youth he was trained by Edmond Dyonnet and then mentored by landscape painter Arthur-Dominique Rozaire. In 1923, Benjamin moved to New York City and married actress Hilda Zelda Cohen. He worked nights in the art department of The Sun and enrolled at Art Students League of New York, Cooper Union, and The Educational Alliance where he began to etch and continued to draw and paint. His influences were Henri Matisse, Paul Cézanne, Pablo Picasso, Édouard Vuillard, and Rembrandt. He was also inspired by Japanese prints, folk art, and primitive painting. Benjamin associated himself with a circle of progressive artists including Milton Avery, Mark Rothko, Adolph Gottlieb, and Arshile Gorky, as well as John Sloan and Raphael and Moses Soyer. Benjamin was particularly close to Milton Avery, and the two artists and their wives lived at the Lincoln Arcade, a building converted from offices to artists’ home-studios. Benjamin and Avery shared similar artistic ideals, especially apparent in their similar use of gentle color harmonies, and they often drew from the same models together, or portrayed each other. In 1933 Benjamin’s work was part of a group exhibition at New York’s Roosevelt Hotel, along with the art of Gottlieb, organized by the impresario and art critic Robert Godsoe. Godsoe continued to promote Benjamin’s art, along with that of Avery, Rothko, and Gottlieb, at exhibitions he organized at the Uptown and Secession Galleries. The art on view gained significant attention from the press and was described as “expressionist,” for its individualistic and subjective aspects which contrasted with the Regionalist art popular at the time. In July 1933, Godsoe hosted Benjamin’s first solo exhibition, presenting a group of his gouaches of figural and city motifs, which were well-received by the critics. In the late 1930s, Benjamin continued to exhibit his work and receive appreciation. He exhibited at the Society of Independent Artists and the Salons of America, and in March 1937, he had a solo exhibition of his paintings and gouaches at Contemporary Arts, New York, located on 58th Street. Benjamin’s work continued to be praised by the press. Benjamin’s emotive and consistent balance between realism and abstraction throughout his career, often saw him go unrecognized and left on the outside of whatever was in vogue at the time. In the 1940s, his generic subject matter was overlooked by the social...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Modern Gershon Benjamin Figurative Paintings

Materials

Gouache

"Sally Avery"
By Gershon Benjamin
Located in Lambertville, NJ
Jim’s of Lambertville is proud to offer this artwork by: Gershon Benjamin (1899-1985) An American Modernist of portraits, landscapes, still lives, and the urban scene, Gershon Benj...
Category

1930s Modern Gershon Benjamin Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

"The Thinker"
By Gershon Benjamin
Located in Lambertville, NJ
Jim’s of Lambertville is proud to offer this artwork by: Gershon Benjamin (1899 - 1985) An American Modernist of portraits, landscapes, still lives, and the urban scene, Gershon ...
Category

1940s Modern Gershon Benjamin Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

American Modernist Social Realist Seamstress Portrait Painting
By Gershon Benjamin
Located in Surfside, FL
Gershon Benjamin (1899 – 1985) was an American modern painter. Born in Piatra Neamt, Romania, he immigrated with his family to Montreal, Canada at the age of two, to escape the persecution of Jews throughout Eastern Europe at the time. As a youth he was trained by Edmond Dyonnet and then mentored by landscape painter Arthur-Dominique Rozaire. In 1923, Benjamin moved to New York City and married actress Hilda Zelda Cohen. He worked nights in the art department of The Sun and enrolled at Art Students League of New York, Cooper Union, and The Educational Alliance where he began to etch and continued to draw and paint. His influences were Henri Matisse, Paul Cézanne, Pablo Picasso, Édouard Vuillard, and Rembrandt. He was also inspired by Japanese prints, folk art, and primitive painting. Benjamin associated himself with a circle of progressive artists including Milton Avery, Mark Rothko, Adolph Gottlieb, and Arshile Gorky, as well as John Sloan and Raphael and Moses Soyer. Benjamin was particularly close to Milton Avery, and the two artists and their wives lived at the Lincoln Arcade, a building converted from offices to artists’ home-studios. Benjamin and Avery shared similar artistic ideals, especially apparent in their similar use of gentle color harmonies, and they often drew from the same models together, or portrayed each other. In 1933 Benjamin’s work was part of a group exhibition at New York’s Roosevelt Hotel, along with the art of Gottlieb, organized by the impresario and art critic Robert Godsoe. Godsoe continued to promote Benjamin’s art, along with that of Avery, Rothko, and Gottlieb, at exhibitions he organized at the Uptown and Secession Galleries. The art on view gained significant attention from the press and was described as “expressionist,” for its individualistic and subjective aspects which contrasted with the Regionalist art popular at the time. In July 1933, Godsoe hosted Benjamin’s first solo exhibition, presenting a group of his gouaches of figural and city motifs, which were well-received by the critics. In the late 1930s, Benjamin continued to exhibit his work and receive appreciation. He exhibited at the Society of Independent Artists and the Salons of America, and in March 1937, he had a solo exhibition of his paintings and gouaches at Contemporary Arts, New York, located on 58th Street. Benjamin’s work continued to be praised by the press. Benjamin’s emotive and consistent balance between realism and abstraction throughout his career, often saw him go unrecognized and left on the outside of whatever was in vogue at the time. In the 1940s, his generic subject matter was overlooked by the social...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Modern Gershon Benjamin Figurative Paintings

Materials

Gouache

Gershon Benjamin figurative paintings for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Gershon Benjamin figurative paintings available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Gershon Benjamin in oil paint, paint, canvas and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 20th century and is mostly associated with the modern style. Not every interior allows for large Gershon Benjamin figurative paintings, so small editions measuring 22 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Lorraine Fox, Alex Ross, and Julio de Diego. Gershon Benjamin figurative paintings prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $20,625 and tops out at $61,875, while the average work can sell for $49,375.

Recently Viewed

View All