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.
"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...
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...
Oil
Mountain Landscape (Pyrenees) 1928
By Fritz Lindström
Located in Stockholm, SE
Fritz Lindström (1874–1962) Mountain Landscape (Pyrenees), 1928 oil on panel unframed 15.5 × 24 cm (6.1 × 9.4 in) framed: 26 × 34 cm (10.2 × 13.4 in) signed on the reverse Frame by...
Oil, Wood Panel
$1,980
H 11.87 in W 31.5 in
"Last Light" - Oil on Canvas Winter Landscape with Sunset Mountains
By Mark Harrison
Located in Denver, CO
Mark Harrison’s Last Light (2025) is an original, handmade oil painting on canvas that captures the fleeting beauty of twilight as it falls over a snow-covered plain and the rugged p...
Oil
$13,750
H 60 in W 36 in D 2 in
Golden Aspens, Framed Oil Painting, Realist Style, 21st Century
By Jane Hunt
Located in Denver, CO
"Golden Aspens" by Jane Hunt (United States) is a handmade landscape oil painting that is framed and ready to hang.
Oil
Along the Seine, French, Realist, Market Scene
By Jules Dupré
Located in Wiscasset, ME
Jules Louis Dupré was born in Nantes, France, in 1811. His father was a porcelain manufacturer in Parmain — a small village on the shores of the Oise — and by 1822 Dupré was working ...
Canvas, Oil
$29,820
H 11.42 in W 19.69 in
"Venetian Canal" Late 19th Century Oil on Canvas by Spanish Artist Antonio Reyna
By Antonio Reyna Manescau
Located in Madrid, ES
ANTONIO REYNA MANESCAU Spanish, 1859 - 1937 VENETIAN CANAL signed & located "A. Reyna, Venezia" (lower left) oil on canvas 11-1/2 x 19-3/4 inche...
Canvas, Oil
$29,820
H 11.42 in W 19.69 in
"Ca' d' Oro, Venice" Late 19th Century Oil on Canvas of Venice, by Antonio Reyna
By Antonio Reyna Manescau
Located in Madrid, ES
ANTONIO REYNA MANESCAU Spanish, 1859 - 1937 CA' D' ORO, VENICE signed & located "A. Reyna, Venezia" (lower right) oil on canvas 11-1/2 x 19-3/4 ...
Canvas, Oil
$2,555
H 10.24 in W 10.24 in D 1.97 in
Le Bistro, Passage Verdeau - 21st Century Hyper Realistic oil painting of a City
By Roos van der Meijden
Located in Nuenen, Noord Brabant
Roos van der Meijden Le Bistro, Passage Verdeau 26 x 26 cm ( framed 32 x 32 cm, frame is included in price ) Oil paint on panel Dutch artist Roos van der Meijden is famous because o...
Oil, Panel, Wood Panel
The Picnic
Located in San Francisco, CA
This artwork titled "The Picnic" c.1990, is an oil painting on canvas board by Irish artist Val McGann, 1928-2016. It is signed at the lower left corner by...
Oil
$2,385Sale Price|20% Off
H 23.43 in W 16.34 in
Venetian Vedutist - 19th century landscape painting - View of Venice Colleoni
Located in Varmo, IT
Venetian painter (second half of the 19th century) - Venice, view of Campo SS. Giovanni e Paolo with the Colleoni equestrian statue. 40 x 22 cm (without frame) - 59.5 x 41.5 cm (wit...
Canvas, Oil
$8,000
H 12.5 in W 11.5 in D 0.75 in
"Sailing at Sunset" Realist Oil Painting on Canvas Board of Sailboat in Open Sea
By George Nemethy
Located in New York, NY
George Nemethy finds his inspiration in moments of quiet and solitude. Where he finds himself one with the sea and the sky and the tranquil world which he freely escapes to. Trained from an early age by his father Albert Nemethy, a world-renowned painter known best for his large scale steamer boats, George found and nurtured his passion for miniature sailboats...
Oil, Board, Canvas
$3,936
H 31.5 in W 39.38 in D 1.58 in
Reflected Female Surfer, Deep Blue Underwater Figurative SportPainting, Original
By Raúl Álvarez
Located in FISTERRA, ES
This deep blue hyperrealist painting depicts a surfer extending beneath the ocean surface, her body doubled and radically distorted by the moving water above. Created by Spanish pai...
Oil, Spray Paint, Acrylic, Wood Panel
$10,000
H 26 in W 40 in D 1.5 in
"The Hendrick Hudson Steamboat on the Hudson River" Realist Oil Painting Canvas
Located in New York, NY
This vibrant painting depicts the historic sidewheel steamboat Hendrick Hudson majestically cruising across the Hudson River at sunset. The grand three-deck vessel, with its distinct...
Canvas, Oil
The Descent
By Joseph McGurl
Located in Colorado Springs, CO
Original Oil painting signed by the Artist in the lower right corner.
Oil
"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...
Oil