Born in Spain, Ismael González "de la" Serna studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Granada, Spain. While at school, González befriended the famous poet Federico Garcia Lorca, whose first book, Impresiones y Paisajes, was illustrated by González. This friendship proved to be crucial in navigating the direction of his work. After visiting the French Impressionists exhibition in Madrid in 1917, González became more focused on developing a “free” artistic style. This exhibition founded his notions of color and line and remained a consistent narrative throughout his oeuvre. In 1921, he moved to Paris, rarely returning to Spain. In Paris, he was a member of the avant-garde group Spanish School of Paris. During this period, he was influenced by the Cubist artists George Braque and fellow Spaniard Pablo Picasso. It is claimed by the art critic Tériade that Picasso declared, “At last, a true painter! As grand as Juan Gris!”
González exhibited widely in the 1920s with much success. Paul Guillaume — a renowned Parisian art dealer of the Modigliani, Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse — organized for an exhibition of 50 of his works. This led to him exhibiting in the Musée du Jeu de Paume, Paris in 1936; the Spanish Pavilion at the Paris International Exhibition in 1937; and later, an individual exhibition at the Galerie Flechtheim in Berlin, which was sold out.
In González’s later years, there was a retrospective at the Museum of Fine Arts in Mexico in 1956, which was soon followed by another retrospective at the Tate Gallery in London in 1963. In 1964, he became wheelchair-bound after a long battle with cerebral palsy. From this point on, González very rarely ventured out of his home. After his death, the Museum of Modern Art in Paris held a retrospective exhibition in homage to this great artist. Initially, González experimented with neoclassic forms, later moving to a more Cubist style. Although a Cubist painter, González’s paintings were unique, as they revealed an affection for color influenced by the French Impressionists such as Cézanne and Camille Pissarro. In the 1950s, he drifted away from commercial conventions to search for “the essence and the ultimate goal of painting.” He reduced an image to its bare essence, a mere outline in which form approached the postulate of Abstraction.
(Biography provided by Stern Pissarro Gallery)
$30,784
"Harlequin and his dog", 20th Century oil on cardbard by Ismael de la Serna
By Ismael de la Serna
Located in Madrid, ES
ISMAEL DE LA SERNA Spanish, 1898 - 1968 HARLEQUIN AND HIS DOG signed and dated "I DE LA SERNA 55" (upper left) oil on cardboard 42 x 27-1/2 inches (107 x 70 cm.) framed: 49-1/4 x 35 ...
Oil, Cardboard
"Portal View-Sailboats in Harbour", 20th C. Oil on Masonite by Ism. de la Serna
By Ismael de la Serna
Located in Madrid, ES
ISMAEL GONZÁLEZ DE LA SERNA Spanish, 1898 - 1968 "PORTAL VIEW - SAILBOATS IN HARBOUR" unsigned oil on masonite 25-1/4 x 22-1/2 inches (64 x...
Oil, Masonite
$7,104
H 18.12 in W 23.63 in
"Solitudine" paesaggio con barche a vela francia del nord cm. 37 x 21
By Henry Maurice CAHOURS
Located in Torino, IT
Lanscape France,Ocean, France , grey, blue, azure, Normandy signed lower right Henry Maurice CAHOURS (Paris, 1889 – Vence, 1974) He was born in Paris but spent his childhood and ...
Wood, Oil
$12,786
H 27 in W 36 in
Coucher de Soleil - Post Impressionist Figurative Oil by Emilio Grau Sala
By Emilio Grau Sala
Located in Marlow, Buckinghamshire
Signed oil on canvas by Spanish post impressionist painter Emilio Grau Sala. The work depicts beachgoers in Deauville, France taking the last of the sun as it disappears beyond the horizon. The pale yellow light reflects on the sea, illuminating the water. Two horse riders gallop across the sand. The piece is painted in beautiful shades. Signature: Signed lower right and further signed and titled verso Dimensions: Framed: 27"x36" Unframed: 20"x29" Provenance: Private Collection - France Emilio Grau Sala studied at the fine arts school in Barcelona, where he became friends with Antoni Clavé. While still very young he began exhibiting at the Humourists Exhibition. In Paris he exhibited at the major annual Salons. He also exhibited at many international group exhibitions and in 1937 received an important award at the Carnegie Foundation International Exhibition in Pittsburgh. He showed collections of his work in many solo exhibitions starting in Barcelona in 1929 and 1930. His first solo exhibition in Paris was in 1937 and he went on to exhibit in Madrid, London, Buenos Aires and New York. After three trips to Paris he finally settled there in 1936. In Paris he was influenced by the paintings of Marcel Gromaire and especially Julius Pascin. He created theatrical sets and costumes for several plays including The Woman of Easy Virtue ( La Demoiselle de Petite Vertu) by Marcel Achard. He also illustrated many literary works including Madame Bovary by Flaubert, Bel-Ami by Maupassant, Colette's series of four Claudine novels, Marcel Proust's In Search of Lost Time ( À la Recherche du Temps Perdu), and works by poets including Baudelaire's Les Fleurs du Mal...
Oil, Canvas
$5,900
H 29.25 in W 19 in D 1.5 in
The Potter, Expressionist Portrait of a Young Man by Philadelphia Artist
By Bernard Harmon
Located in Doylestown, PA
"The Potter" is an interior portrait of a young man working on a vase at his potter's wheel by Philadelphia born Expressionist painter Bernard Harmon. The 24.25" x 14" oil on cardboard painting is signed "Harmon" in the lower left and it is framed in a new black wood frame. Figurative expressionism in the style of Alice Neel. Bernard Harmon was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1935. Harmon was primarily a portrait painter and a well loved teacher in the Philadelphia area. A graduate of the Philadelphia Museum School and Temples Tyler School of Art, Harmon traveled extensively in Europe and South America. Beloved by many, Harmon taught in the Philadelphia School District for 32 of his 54 years of life. Beginning his career as an art teacher at West Philadelphia High School, in the early 1960s he became one of the district's artists in residence, traveling from school to school to demonstrate for students how an artist works. Returning to the classroom, Harmon joined the art department at Central High School where he taught for 14 years and became an innovator in art curriculum, developing a program offering advanced placement art classes to gifted students. In his final years Harmon became a supervisor, mentoring teachers and overseeing programs in the Philadelphia school systems District #1. During his short life Harmon taught collage preparatory art classes at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, summer classes at the University of the Arts, and a Saturday program for gifted children at Drexel University. Among Harmon's portraits were commissioned by Philadelphia Jazz organist Jimmy Smith and Mayor Richardson Dilworth. Bernard Harmon was active in promoting African American Artist throughout his life time. He organized many early shows such as the "Afro American Artists 1800 - 1969" at the Museum of the Philadelphia Civic Center in 1969. He was considered a Renaissance man by friends and colleagues for his interests not only in art but music and theater as well. He was familiar and friends with many other African American artists such as Doc Thrash, Selma Burke, Paul Keene...
Oil, Cardboard
$4,750
H 27 in W 23 in D 2 in
Antique American Realist Interior Portrait Signed Framed Original Oil Painting
By Charles Courtney Curran
Located in Buffalo, NY
Vintage American modernist abstract landscape oil painting by Charles Courtney Curran (1861 - 1942) . Oil on canvas, lain to board. Framed. Measuring: 23 by 27 inches overall, and 18...
Oil, Board
$2,250
H 26.25 in W 20.5 in D 2.5 in
“Portrait of a Seated Lady in Wicker Chair”
Located in San Francisco, CA
A picture of calm refined beauty, the sitter epitomizes elegant and casual repose propped up against pillow in her spacious wicker armchair. Captured by master American portraitist ...
Oil, Board
$7,500
H 39 in W 49 in D 3.5 in
"City Life at The Grands Boulevards" Post-Impressionist Parisian Street Scene
Located in New York, NY
A beautiful oil on canvas painting by the French artist, Te Pencke. Pencke was a Parisian painter known for his colorful cityscapes depicting the times of his generation. His work is...
Canvas, Oil
$975
H 35 in W 27 in D 2 in
Antique Paris Modern Ballerina Studio Framed Modernist Portrait Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Vintage modernist ballerina portrait oil painting. Oil on board. Framed. Signed. In excellent original condition. Handsomely framed in a modernist wood molding. Excellent condit...
Oil, Board
$5,000
H 34 in W 45.75 in D 3.5 in
"View of Venice Canal" Orientalist & Impressionist Marine Oil on Canvas Painting
Located in New York, NY
A masterful oil painting depicting a view of a Venice Canal by Grace Paterson. As an Impressionist and orientalist painter, she was known for her detailed works depicting scenes from...
Canvas, Oil
"Somewhere in Denver, " Oil Painting
By Suchitra Bhosle
Located in Denver, CO
Suchitra Bhosle's "Somewhere in Denver" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a dark haired woman, brushing her hair, wearing a translucent white shift around her as she...
Oil, Board
"Dreams in Gold, " Oil Painting
By Suchitra Bhosle
Located in Denver, CO
Suchitra Bhosle's "Dreams in Gold" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a nude, dark haired woman, in golden jewelry, relaxing on a bed with a book nearby. About the ...
Oil, Board
$1,750
H 20.25 in W 24.25 in D 1 in
Landscapes with sea. Two paintings on hardboard, one is signed.
By Lucien Mainssieux
Located in San Francisco, CA
These paintings "Landscape" are 2 oils on hardboard by noted French fauvist artist Lucien Mainssieux 1885-1958. One of the two is signed at the lower...
Oil
"Girl with Tambourine, " Oil Painting
By Suchitra Bhosle
Located in Denver, CO
Suchitra Bhosle's "Girl with Tambourine" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a woman, in all white, holding a tambourine close to h...
Oil, Board
Nature Morte aux Partitions de Musique
By Ismael de la Serna
Located in London, GB
Oil on board 73.5 x 58 cm (29 x 22 ⅞ inches) Signed and dated lower right, Ismael de la Serna 1950 Inscribed and dated on the reverse Provenance Private collection Artcurial, Paris...
Oil, Board
Pont Alexandre III - Paris
By Ismael de la Serna
Located in Marlow, Buckinghamshire
A highly expressive oil on board of the Pont Alexandre III, Paris magnificently brushed and beautifully coloured. An exquisite and an exceptional example of the artist’s work. Signed lower left. The Pont Alexandre III is a deck arch bridge that spans the Seine in Paris. It connects the Champs-Élysées quarter with those of the Invalides and Eiffel Tower. The bridge is widely regarded as the most ornate, extravagant bridge in the city. Ismael Gonzalez de la Serna...
Board, Oil
La Luna Desde mi Cuarto
By Ismael de la Serna
Located in London, GB
90.2 x 69.2 cm (35 ½ x 27 ⅜ inches) Signed and dated lower right, ISMAEL/ DE LA SERNA 1951 Inscribed and dated on the reverse Provenance I. Oscar Herner, Galerías Iturbide, M...
Board, Oil