Hermann Urban Art

Landscape with Trees Watercolor on paper, 1929 Signed in pencil lower right corner Obviously influenced by the Cezanne works in the collection of ...

This colorful late spring scene is most likely around Erie, Pennsylvania. Artist and teacher Joseph M. Plavcan generally painted around the area in which he lived for over 50 years. Joseph Michael Plavcan was born near Pittsburg, in Braddock. He attended the Pennsylvania Academy in 1926, studying with renowned New Hope artist Daniel Garber. Through a scholarship, he went to Europe to study. He returned to Erie in 1932 and became an art instructor, teaching for the next 38 years. Plavcan went far beyond teaching trade school requirements and instilled a true sense of sophisticated artistry in his students. During his artistic career, he exhibited often in Philadelphia, Washington, New York and Chicago. This painting, oil on canvas, demonstrates Plavcan’s style, utilizing figurative abstraction with a modernist color palette. The paint is not over applied and areas are treated with smooth broad brush strokes. The hint of late blooming leaves are dashes of paint applied in a fast yet confident manner. Plavcan’s sense of light, demonstrated in the distant church tower is spot on. While not signed, there are two official estate stamps on the reverse that attest to the authenticity of Plavcan’s work. The piece measures 16” x 20” and appears to be canvas applied to a back board. This was likely done by the former retailer, Hudson House Galleries in Hagerstown, Maryland. That shop was a fine regional art gallery and antiques shop for decades until its closure about five years ago. The painting is nicely framed in a modernist gold wood frame with a subtle pink liner. The overall framed dimensions are about 20” x 24”. The painting is in very good condition, bright and crisp. There is a very minor vertical crease above the peak of the house that is truly barely noticeable from any distance. Other than that, all is fine with the work and its frame. This strong, colorful work by Joseph Plavcan...

Antique Hudson River School landscape painting by William Louis Sonntag, Sr. (1822 - 1900). Watercolor and gouache on board. Framed. Signed. Measuring: 13 by 17 inches overall, and ...

"Hibiscus Garden I" is an abstract expressionist painting by Romina Milano where a dance of black gestures unfolds across colorful brushstrokes infused with raw emotion. Romina Mil...

Mario Larrinaga was born in Baja California in 1895 and moved with his brother to Los Angeles in 1909. He had no formal training in art, but had natural talent that was noticed by local movie studios. He was hired by Universal Studios as a designer, art director and creator of background scenes. He produced some of the background effects for King Kong in 1933. After a career in set design and illustration he focused on painting for pleasure in California, Mexico and Hawaii. He belonged to local art clubs and exhibited his works often. This stylized modernist work was likely created around 1960. It is oil on wood panel and of a horizontal format, 18” x 36”. It portrays a procession of seemingly Hawaiian natives...

Antique Israeli American modernist folk art landscape by Malcah Zeldis. Mixed media painting on paper. Framed. Signed. Measuring 18 by 22 inches overall and 11 by 14 painting alone....

"Summer Sunflower" is an abstract expressionist painting by Romina Milano where a dance of black gestures unfolds across colorful brushstrokes infused with raw emotion. Romina Mila...

Antique American modernist landscape oil painting. Oil on canvas, circa 1940. Signed illegibly lower left. Image size, 36L x 24H. Housed in a period modern frame.

Antique American modernist painting. Watercolor and gouache on paper. Framed. Signed. In excellent original condition. Handsomely framed in a modern molding. Excellent condition, ...

Very finely painted modernist landscape by Robert Noel Blair (1912 - 2002). Watercolor and gouache on paper. Signed Image size, 22 by 30 inches. In excellent original condition. ...

This large painting is a ca. 1960 copy of a famous Rockwell Kent painting that was executed in Vermont in 1921. The work is oil on canvas and well represents the original image, tho...

Summer Resort in Michigan is an exceptional work painted by the Chicago Modernist, William Schwartz. He studied at the Art Institute of Chicago shortly ...