The Lithuanian-American artist Irving Norman was a social Surrealist who painted large-scale and highly detailed critiques of contemporary life with hopes that viewers would consider the consequences of their actions and change their behavior.
Influenced by the dire conditions of the Great Depression, Norman’s massive canvases feature armies of clone-like figures behaving in the clockwork manner in which they have been programmed. He moved from New York to Los Angeles in 1934 before helping to defend the Spanish Republic from the fascist Franco dictatorship.
Norman survived the Spanish Civil War and in 1939 settled on Catalina Island off the Southern California coast, where he began drawing and painting from the atrocities he had witnessed. In 1940, he moved to San Francisco and had a solo exhibition at the San Francisco Museum of Art two years later. Norman then traveled to Mexico City and saw the murals of Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco and David Alfaro Siqueiros before moving to New York City to study at the Art Students League from 1946 to 1947. He returned to San Francisco in the late 1940s. In 1988, fire destroyed Norman’s home, studio, artwork and personal papers.
Find original Irving Norman paintings and prints on 1stDibs.
(Biography provided by Heather James Fine Art)
How Come, Surrealist Oil on Canvas Painting, 20th Century, Framed
By Irving Norman
Located in Palm Desert, CA
"How Come" is a Modern surrealist oil on canvas painting by Irving Norman in 1968. The artwork is 90 x 60 inches and 91 1/4 x 61 1/2 x 1 5/8 inches with the fram, weighing less than ...
Oil
$3,986Sale Price|41% Off
H 16.15 in W 13 in
Surreal Abstract Mineral Landscape with Cadaqués Rock Forms Oil Canvas Painting
By Antoni Pitxot
Located in Sitges, Barcelona
Surreal Abstract Mineral Landscape with Cadaqués Rock Forms Artist: Antoni Pitxot i Soler Medium: Oil on canvas Dimensions: 41 × 33 cm / 16.1 × 13 in Signature: Signed lower right D...
Oil
$2,350
H 12.75 in W 12.75 in D 1.88 in
Vintage Surrealist Composition - Precious Stones Abstract
By Clayton Anderson
Located in Soquel, CA
Highly detailed surrealist composition evoking tribal, abstracted carved stone-like shapes fitting together like a three dimensional sphere shaped puzzle, floating in a sky blue space by Clayton Anderson (American b. 1943). Textured plaster border around the edge of the piece. Signed "Clayton Anderson" along the upper left edge and on verso. Presented in a deep maple box frame. Clayton Anderson (American, b. 1943) studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and worked with Ben Kimihira, Walter...
Plaster, Oil, Wood Panel
$16,500
H 30 in W 23 in
"Two Seas and a Moon" Surrealism American Scene WWII Modern WWI Denver WPA Era
By Arnold Rönnebeck
Located in New York, NY
"Two Seas and a Moon" Surrealism American Scene WWII Modern WWI Denver WPA Era Arnold Ronnebeck (1885 - 1947) Two Seas and a Moon 30 x 22 1/2 inches Oil on Canvas, c. 1943 Signed u...
Canvas, Oil
$6,500
H 42.5 in W 29.25 in D 1 in
Soothsayer: framed surrealist oil painting, figures with bird, feathers, spirits
By Rachel Romano
Located in Bryn Mawr, PA
This is a signed, original oil painting by PA-based surrealist artist, Rachel Romano. It depicts a central figure wearing feathers with a mourning child and dead bird. Shadowy figure...
Oil, Linen
$3,900
H 27 in W 22 in D 1 in
Keeper of the Red Thread: framed oil painting, abstract landscape, figure, birds
By Rachel Romano
Located in Bryn Mawr, PA
This is a signed, original oil painting by PA-based artist, Rachel Romano. It depicts a central figure in a white cloak surrounded by small white flowers and holding a long, red thre...
Linen, Oil, Panel
$2,050
H 29.14 in W 33.47 in D 1.19 in
Konigsberg shout. 2006, oil on canvas, 74x85 cm
By Albert Goltjakov
Located in Riga, LV
Konigsberg shout. 2006, oil on canvas, 74x85 cm
Canvas, Oil
$3,500
H 41.75 in W 30.75 in D 1.69 in
"Card Illusion" Surrealist Oil Painting on Linen, Framed, 1990s
By Vadim Kurov
Located in Soquel, CA
Modern abstract interpretation of a traditional European aristocratic portrait complete with crown, elongated neck, bustier neckline and a hint of a cinched waist titled "Card Illusion" "Иллюзия карты" by Vadim Kurov (Russian Federation, b-1947). Signed by the artist lower right corner Вадим Куров (Bagum Kypot) (Vadim Kurov); signed and dated "99" on verso. Presented in a rustic giltwood frame. Image, 37.13"H x 26.13"W. Vadim Kurov graduated Art Industrial School. VM Mukhina. Member of the Russian Union of Artists and the International Association of Artists. Lives and works in St. Petersburg. Born in the city of Kazan, USSR, in 1947, graduate of the Kazan School of Art, graduate of the St. Petersburg Academy of Art and Design. The main topics of work: theatrical compositions, ballet world, a fantastic portrait, literary - philosophical still-life and landscape. His paintings are in the collections of European countries, as well as in the collections of the Museum of Theatre Arts of St. Petersburg, the Ministry of Culture, the State Museum of Fine Arts in Kazan, the Georges Pompidou Museum, the Cultural Center of Los Angeles, State Museum of Contemporary Art, Miami Museum, Prague Modern Art, the Museum of the Soviet and Russian Art Shanghai. EXHIBITIONS (partial list): 1989/90 – participation in the exhibitions/auctions of Drouot-Richelieu, Paris 1991 – 10-10 Gallery, St. Petersburg1991 – Nurland, Norway 1991 – Hamilton, Canada 1992/1993/1994/1995 – “New Romantics of St. Petersburg” (Zerkalo/ATUS Galleries) 1994 – MALAUKSIA Gallery, Helsinki, Finland1996 – Bremen, Germany 1997 – personal exhibition at the Zerkalo Gallery, St. Petersburg 1998 – Vincent Louis Gallery...
Oil, Linen
$3,200
H 31.5 in W 25.5 in D 1 in
Elegy for Red: surrealist oil painting, figures in ritual, dance, prayer worship
By Rachel Romano
Located in Bryn Mawr, PA
This is a signed, original oil painting by PA-based surrealist artist, Rachel Romano. It depicts a group of robed figures in a barren landscape, engaged in a form of exuberant ritual...
Oil, Panel, Archival Paper
$7,900
H 53 in W 37.5 in D 1 in
New American Gothic: framed surrealist oil painting w/ fire, flowers & rabbit
By Rachel Romano
Located in Bryn Mawr, PA
This is a signed, original oil painting by PA-based surrealist artist, Rachel Romano. It is a contemporary perspective on the 1930 classic painting "American Gothic" by Grant Wood. I...
Linen, Oil
$4,555Sale Price|33% Off
H 9.45 in W 13 in
Surrealist Mediterranean Rocky Figures and Coastal Fantasy Oil Painting
By Antoni Pitxot
Located in Sitges, Barcelona
Surrealist Mediterranean Rocky Figures and Coastal Fantasy Oil Painting Artist: Antoni Pitxot i Soler (Spanish, 1934–2015) Title: Rocky Figures i...
Oil
$2,163
H 21.26 in W 31.89 in D 0.79 in
20th Century Oil on Canvas French Signed Alain Cadoret Surrealist Painting, 1975
Located in Vicoforte, IT
French painting dated 1975. Oil on canvas artwork, first canvas, depicting a surrealist subject with a strong visual impact. Nicely sized and pleasantly decorated painting, signed an...
Canvas, Oil
$7,200
H 49 in W 33.5 in D 1 in
When the Rain Comes: large framed surrealist oil painting w/ nude, heart & arrow
By Rachel Romano
Located in Bryn Mawr, PA
This is a signed, original oil painting by PA-based surrealist artist, Rachel Romano. It depicts a nude female figure alongside a feathered arrow piercing an anatomical heart with st...
Linen, Oil
$2,050
H 28.75 in W 39.38 in D 1.19 in
Armageddon finale. 2005, canvas, oil, 73x100 cm
By Albert Goltjakov
Located in Riga, LV
Armageddon finale. 2005, canvas, oil, 73x100 cm
Oil, Canvas
1950’s French Surrealist Signed Oil Painting Yellow Pink & Blue
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Tristan Fabris, 20th Century French Surrealist artist Abstract Surrealist Figurative study signed and dated verso oil on canvas, unframed canvas: 32 x 26 inches private collection, ...
Canvas, Oil
$1,800
H 48 in W 48 in D 1.25 in
Agudelo, Untitled (Abstract Silhouette Figures), Oil on Canvas
Located in Astoria, NY
Agudelo (XX), Untitled (Abstract Silhouette Figures), Oil on Canvas, unsigned, unframed. 48" H x 48" W x 1.25" D. Provenance: From a Scarsdale, New York Estate.
Canvas, Oil