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Joseph McGurl Art

American, b. 1958

Joseph McGurl is one of today's most celebrated American realist painters. The Art Renewal Center has designated him as a living master, and it's not hard to see why. With their strikingly reflective water surfaces and blue skies streaked with warm oranges and yellow-reds, McGurl's figurative paintings and landscape paintings resemble photographs of serene places captured in the best possible natural light. 

McGurl's first and most influential teacher was his father, James McGurl, who worked as a muralist. As a young man, Joseph attended the Massachusetts College of Art and earned a dual degree in painting and education. He then spent time studying at Fenway Studios and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, in addition to studying in Italy and England. A stint on a yacht also inspired a love for painting the natural world.

For its interplay of light and color, McGurl's distinctive, hyperreal style is often likened to the American luminists, a 19th-century movement linked to the Hudson River School. McGurl is a plein air painter — he works exclusively in the great outdoors as opposed to working from photographs within the confines of a studio. His atmospheric landscapes are mainly of areas in New England and the eastern United States.

McGurl is a member of the Plein Air Painters of America and the Guild of Boston Artists. His work is held in the Forbes Collection, the Mellon Collection, the Cape Cod Museum of Art, the New Britain Museum of American Art and the Cahoon Museum of American Art. He has also earned numerous awards, including the Art Renewal Center’s International Salon First Place in Landscape and the Guild of Boston Artists Gold Medallion. In 2020, Cavalier Galleries in New York City was home to an exhibition called "Joseph McGurl — Contemporary American Luminism: Journey through Time and Space."

On 1stDibs, find original Joseph McGurl paintings.

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Artist: Joseph McGurl
The Bass Rocks
By Joseph McGurl
Located in Greenwich, CT
Designated a living master by the Art Renewal Center and widely regarded as a leader of the American landscape school, Joseph McGurl is one of the most important realist painters today. McGurl works almost exclusively with oil paint, capturing marine and landscape scenes in his native New England as well as other areas of the Eastern US. Along with his childhood as a muralist’s son, McGurl’s days as a sailor and his studies under Robert Cormier...
Category

2010s Realist Joseph McGurl Art

Materials

Linen, Oil

The Florida Waterways, Fishing the Inlet
By Joseph McGurl
Located in Greenwich, CT
American, b. 1958 Designated a living master by the Art Renewal Center and widely regarded as a leader of the American landscape school, Joseph McGurl is one of the most important realist painters today. McGurl works almost exclusively with oil paint, capturing marine and landscape scenes in his native New England as well as other areas of the Eastern US. Along with his childhood as a muralist’s son, McGurl’s days as a sailor and his studies under Robert Cormier...
Category

2010s American Realist Joseph McGurl Art

Materials

Linen, Oil

The Florida Waterways, Tidal Pool
By Joseph McGurl
Located in Greenwich, CT
Designated a living master by the Art Renewal Center and widely regarded as a leader of the American landscape school, Joseph McGurl is one of the most important realist painters today. McGurl works almost exclusively with oil paint, capturing marine and landscape scenes in his native New England as well as other areas of the Eastern US. Along with his childhood as a muralist’s son, McGurl’s days as a sailor and his studies under Robert Cormier...
Category

2010s Realist Joseph McGurl Art

Materials

Oil, Canvas

"Far Away, " Oil Painting
By Joseph McGurl
Located in Denver, CO
Joseph McGurl's "Far Away" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a vast landscape of valleys and mountains in the distance under the orange and yellow glow of sunrise or...
Category

2010s Realist Joseph McGurl Art

Materials

Oil, Panel

"Prism, River and Sky, " Oil Painting
By Joseph McGurl
Located in Denver, CO
Joseph McGurl's "Prism, River and Sky" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a bright yellow and orange sunrise or sunset over the waters reflective surface, casting the...
Category

2010s Realist Joseph McGurl Art

Materials

Oil

Alongshore, Nantucket
By Joseph McGurl
Located in Greenwich, CT
Joseph McGurl is regarded as a leader of the current American landscape school. This has been confirmed by his inclusion in several important museum shows and his successful relation...
Category

2010s Realist Joseph McGurl Art

Materials

Panel, Oil

Day is Done, the Coast of Maine
By Joseph McGurl
Located in Greenwich, CT
Joseph McGurl is regarded as a leader of the current American landscape school. This has been confirmed by his inclusion in several important museum shows and his successful relation...
Category

2010s American Realist Joseph McGurl Art

Materials

Oil, Canvas

"Rhythm of the Land, Elk Mountain, " Oil Painting
By Joseph McGurl
Located in Denver, CO
Joseph McGurl's "Rhythm of the Land, Elk Mountain" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a stream cutting through a yellow prairie dotted with green foliage and mountain...
Category

2010s Realist Joseph McGurl Art

Materials

Oil

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Previously Available Items
Becalmed: The Sailing Canoe
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Joseph Mcgurl art for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Joseph McGurl art available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Joseph McGurl in oil paint, paint, panel and more. Not every interior allows for large Joseph McGurl art, so small editions measuring 12 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Jake Fischer, Jove Wang, and Eric Forstmann. Joseph McGurl art prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $5,800 and tops out at $58,000, while the average work can sell for $8,800.

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