Skip to main content

John Button Paintings

American, 1929-1982

John Button was a fine draftsman and drew from life models throughout his career. However, little-known are his sketches of male nudes and studio models from the School of Visual Arts, where Button taught, as well as personal acquaintances. Born in California, Button was educated at University of California, Berkeley. After moving to New York City in the early 1950s, he became friends with Fairfield Porter and Frank O’Hara and assumed his part in the New York School of painters and poets. Amidst the frenzy of Abstract Expressionism, Button remained true to his interest in Realism and was most commonly associated with such New York School artists as Fairfield Porter, Jane Freilicher and Alex Katz, among others.

to
8
3
3
Overall Width
to
Overall Height
to
14
1
3
8
2
8
6
5
4
4
4
3
3
3
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
14
10
10
9
4
27
787
757
753
665
1
14
Artist: John Button
Hawaii

Hawaii

By John Button

Located in New York, NY

Gouache on paper Signed and dated, l.r. This artwork is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City Born in California, John Button (1929-1982) was educated at University of Calif...

Category

1970s Realist John Button Paintings

Materials

Paper, Gouache

Dunes

Dunes

By John Button

Located in New York, NY

Gouache on paper Signed and dated in pencil, l.r. This artwork is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City Born in California, John Button (1929-1982) was educated at Universi...

Category

1970s Realist John Button Paintings

Materials

Gouache, Paper

Sunday Morning
Sunday Morning

Sunday Morning

By John Button

Located in New York, NY

Oil on canvas Signed, recto This artwork is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City Born in California, John Button (1929-1982) was educated at University of California, Berk...

Category

1980s Realist John Button Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Two Studio Models

Two Studio Models

By John Button

Located in New York, NY

Gouache on paper Signed and dated, l.r. This artwork is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City Born in California, John Button (1929-1982) was educated at University of Cali...

Category

1970s Realist John Button Paintings

Materials

Paper, Gouache

Lincoln Tower

Lincoln Tower

By John Button

Located in New York, NY

Gouache on paper Signed and dated in pencil, l.c. This artwork is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City Born in California, John Button (1929-1982) was educated at Universi...

Category

1980s Realist John Button Paintings

Materials

Gouache, Paper

Ford Plant, Dearborn, Michigan
Ford Plant, Dearborn, Michigan

Ford Plant, Dearborn, Michigan

By John Button

Located in New York, NY

Gouache on paper Signed and dated, l.l. This artwork is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City Born in California, John Button (1929-1982) was educated at University of Cali...

Category

1970s Realist John Button Paintings

Materials

Gouache, Paper

Boy in Army Coat

Boy in Army Coat

By John Button

Located in New York, NY

Gouache on paper Signed and dated, l.r. This artwork is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City Born in California, John Button (1929-1982) was educated at University of Cali...

Category

1970s Realist John Button Paintings

Materials

Paper, Gouache

Cove, Moriches Bay
Cove, Moriches Bay

Cove, Moriches Bay

By John Button

Located in New York, NY

Gouache on paper This artwork is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City Born in California, John Button (1929-1982) was educated at University of California, Berkeley. After...

Category

1970s Realist John Button Paintings

Materials

Gouache, Paper

St. Paul's Dome

St. Paul's Dome

By John Button

Located in New York, NY

Gouache on paper This artwork is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City Born in California, John Button (1929-1982) was educated at University of California, Berkeley. After...

Category

1960s Realist John Button Paintings

Materials

Gouache, Paper

Olympic Champion

Olympic Champion

By John Button

Located in New York, NY

Oil on canvas Signed Born in California, John Button (1929-1982) was educated at University of California, Berkeley. After moving to New York City in the early 1950s, he became frie...

Category

1960s Realist John Button Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

View: Arcade, signed realist mixed media w Kornblee and Fischbach Gallery labels
View: Arcade, signed realist mixed media w Kornblee and Fischbach Gallery labels

View: Arcade, signed realist mixed media w Kornblee and Fischbach Gallery labels

By John Button

Located in New York, NY

John Button View: Arcade, 1975 Gouache on Paper (Framed with prestigious Fischbach and Kornblee Gallery Labels) 20 1/2 × 24 1/2 inches Signed and dated on the front This is a unique painting Frame included: held in the original 1970s artist's period frame with prestigious labels This 1970s John Button gouache bears labels from renowned Jill Kornblee as well as Fischbach Galleries...

Category

1970s Realist John Button Paintings

Materials

Gouache, Mixed Media, Felt Pen

Sun's Rays, Westhampton Beach

Sun's Rays, Westhampton Beach

By John Button

Located in New York, NY

Gouache on paper Signed and dated, l.r. 9 x 12 inches This artwork is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City Born in California, John Button (1929-1982) was educated at Univ...

Category

1970s Realist John Button Paintings

Materials

Gouache, Paper

Con Edison

Con Edison

By John Button

Located in New York, NY

Oil on canvas Signed and dated, l.l. This artwork is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City Born in California, John Button (1929-1982) was educated at University of Califor...

Category

1960s Realist John Button Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Frank O'Hara and Stevie Rivers

Frank O'Hara and Stevie Rivers

By John Button

Located in New York, NY

Oil on canvas Signed and dated, l.r. This artwork is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City Born in California, John Button (1929-1982) was educated at University of California, Berkeley. After moving to New York City in the early 1950s, he became friends with Fairfield Porter and Frank O’Hara...

Category

1950s Realist John Button Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Related Items
Blue mountain. 1975. Watercolor on paper, 14x19 cm

Blue mountain. 1975. Watercolor on paper, 14x19 cm

By Herberts Mangolds

Located in Riga, LV

Blue mountain. 1975. Watercolor on paper, 14x19 cm Herberts Mangolds (1901-1978) Graphic, army officer. In 1920 he graduated from the Artillery Cadet School of Latvian and many mili...

Category

1970s Realist John Button Paintings

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

The "New York" 1898, Marine, Seascape, Steamer, Ship at Sea, American, Realism
The "New York" 1898, Marine, Seascape, Steamer, Ship at Sea, American, Realism

The "New York" 1898, Marine, Seascape, Steamer, Ship at Sea, American, Realism

Located in Wiscasset, ME

Milton James Burns was born in Mt. Gilead, Ohio, in 1853. A founding member of the Salmagundi Club in New York, Burns became a highly acclaimed marine painter, one of the few who was...

Category

Late 19th Century Realist John Button Paintings

Materials

Paper, Gouache

Untitled (Smoke Tree; Palm Springs Desert), c. 1940s
Untitled (Smoke Tree; Palm Springs Desert), c. 1940s

Untitled (Smoke Tree; Palm Springs Desert), c. 1940s

By George Sanders Bickerstaff

Located in Pasadena, CA

Consigned to American Legacy Fine Arts, Pasadena, California; Private Collection, Pasadena, California; Mutual Savings, Pasadena, California — acquired presumably from the artist via an art consultant; Displayed at Mutual Savings headquarters, Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena, California, c. 1965–1993 A 1955 photo showing Bickerstaff paintings on display at the same Mutual Savings and Loan office in Pasadena can be seen through the online resource at Pasadena Digital History Label on Verso Mutual Savings No. 3107 Description This luminous desert landscape, painted in rich yet delicately modulated tones, depicts California’s Palm Springs Desert with a scattering of smoke trees...

Category

1930s Realist John Button Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Young Nude Female Boudoir Scene Erotic Painting
Young Nude Female Boudoir Scene Erotic Painting

Young Nude Female Boudoir Scene Erotic Painting

Located in Wilton Manors, FL

Beautiful nude female portrait boudoir scene by Cynthia Kleinmeyer. Watercolor on paper measures 8 x 12 inches. Framed measurement: 12 x 16 inches. Signed and dated 1932 by artist...

Category

1930s Realist John Button Paintings

Materials

Watercolor

"Still Life" by Eve Cornejo, Oil on Canvas with Deep Browns, Near Black Hues
"Still Life" by Eve Cornejo, Oil on Canvas with Deep Browns, Near Black Hues

"Still Life" by Eve Cornejo, Oil on Canvas with Deep Browns, Near Black Hues

Located in Oklahoma City, OK

This still life by Russian-American artist Eve Cornejo is simultaneously dark and full of color. The ruby red vessel in particular nearly jumps off of the canvas in contrast to the b...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist John Button Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Paris : Winter Day at Montmartre - Original signed gouache painting - Cerificate
Paris : Winter Day at Montmartre - Original signed gouache painting - Cerificate

Paris : Winter Day at Montmartre - Original signed gouache painting - Cerificate

By Maurice Utrillo

Located in Paris, IDF

Maurice UTRILLO Paris : Winter Day at Montmartre Original gouache painting Signed bottom right 40 x 32 cm at view (c. 16 x 13") Painted c. 1934-36 Presented in a golden wood frame ...

Category

1930s Realist John Button Paintings

Materials

Gouache, Paper

Anatolio Sokoloff (1891–1971) — Russian Troika in Winter — Oil on Canvas
Anatolio Sokoloff (1891–1971) — Russian Troika in Winter — Oil on Canvas

Anatolio Sokoloff (1891–1971) — Russian Troika in Winter — Oil on Canvas

Located in New York, NY

Oil on canvas, signed low right. "A. Sokoloff" A dynamic and atmospheric winter scene depicting a troika — the quintessential Russian three-horse carriage — racing at full gallop ac...

Category

Early 20th Century Realist John Button Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Pocket Persimmon Fruit by Dani Humberstone, Still life, Small Scale Oil Painting
Pocket Persimmon Fruit by Dani Humberstone, Still life, Small Scale Oil Painting

Pocket Persimmon Fruit by Dani Humberstone, Still life, Small Scale Oil Painting

Located in Deddington, GB

Pocket Persimmon Fruit by Dani Humberstone [2022] original and hand signed by artist Oil paint on canvas Image size: H:5 cm x W:5 cm Complete Size of Unframed Work: H:5 cm x W:5 cm x D:3cm Frame Size: H:16 cm x W:16 cm x D:3.5cm Sold Framed Please note that insitu images are purely an indication of how a piece may look Please note that insitu images are purely an indication of how a piece may look. Pocket Persimmon Fruit is an original oil painting by Dani Humberstone as part of her pocket fruit series.

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist John Button Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"Tighties" 1950's Gouache Male Nude Mid Century Painting
"Tighties" 1950's Gouache Male Nude Mid Century Painting

"Tighties" 1950's Gouache Male Nude Mid Century Painting

By Jerry Opper

Located in Arp, TX

From the estate of Jerry Opper & Ruth Friedman Opper Tighties c. 1950's Gouache on Paper 15" x 18" blue lacquered frame 18.5"x1.75"x21.5" Unsigned From the estate of Ruth Friedmann Opper & Jerry Opper. Ruth was the daughter of Bauhaus artist, Gustav Friedmann...

Category

Mid-20th Century Modern John Button Paintings

Materials

Paper, Gouache

Moonlit night. By Georgy Skripnichenko. 1975. Oil on canvas. 50/40 cm
Moonlit night. By Georgy Skripnichenko. 1975. Oil on canvas. 50/40 cm

Moonlit night. By Georgy Skripnichenko. 1975. Oil on canvas. 50/40 cm

Located in Riga, LV

Hand-signed by the artist in the lower-left corner. Georgy Skripnichenko, born on November 12, 1940, in Mykolaiv, Ukrainian SSR, and passing in Minsk on August 12, 2015, was a Belar...

Category

1970s Realist John Button Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Previously Available Items
Solitary Mister

Solitary Mister

By John Button

Located in New York, NY

Solitary Mister 1964 Oil on canvas 52 x 38 inches (132.1 x 96.5 cm) This work is offered by CLAMP in New York City.

Category

1960s American Modern John Button Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Tony in Jock Strap

Tony in Jock Strap

By John Button

Located in New York, NY

Gouache on paper Signed This artwork is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City Born in California, John Button (1929-1982) was educated at University of California, Berkeley...

Category

1970s Realist John Button Paintings

Materials

Gouache, Paper

Spider Mums

John ButtonSpider Mums, 1982

Sold

H 9 in W 11.75 in

Spider Mums

By John Button

Located in New York, NY

Gouache on paper Signed and dated, l.r. This artwork is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City Born in California, John Button (1929-1982) was educated at University of Cali...

Category

1980s Realist John Button Paintings

Materials

Gouache, Paper

Winter, Upstate New York

Winter, Upstate New York

By John Button

Located in New York, NY

Watercolor on paper This artwork is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City Born in California, John Button (1929-1982) was educated at University of California, Berkeley. Af...

Category

Late 20th Century Realist John Button Paintings

Materials

Watercolor, Paper

Buttermilk Falls, Ithaca, NY

Buttermilk Falls, Ithaca, NY

By John Button

Located in New York, NY

Watercolor on paper Signed and dated, l.r. This artwork is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City Born in California, John Button (1929-1982) was educated at University of C...

Category

1980s Realist John Button Paintings

Materials

Watercolor, Paper

East Hampton, Approaching Storm
East Hampton, Approaching Storm

East Hampton, Approaching Storm

By John Button

Located in New York, NY

Gouache on paper Signed and dated in pencil, l.r. This artwork is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City Born in California, John Button (1929-1982) was educated at Universi...

Category

1970s Realist John Button Paintings

Materials

Gouache, Paper

John Button paintings for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic John Button paintings available for sale on 1stDibs. If you’re browsing the collection of paintings to introduce a pop of color in a neutral corner of your living room or bedroom, you can find work that includes elements of purple, blue, green and other colors. You can also browse by medium to find art by John Button in paint, watercolor, paper 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 John Button paintings, so small editions measuring 12 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Tom Perkinson, Scott Duce, and Alex Roulette. John Button paintings prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $2,500 and tops out at $21,500, while the average work can sell for $7,500.