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.
Landscape painting, scenic depiction 'Within Everglades-Sunset' by Joseph McGurl
By Joseph McGurl
Located in White Plains, NY
'Within Everglades-Sunset' by Joseph Mcgurl. c. 1990-2008 oil on linen. 18 x 24 in. / Frame: 26 x 32 in. Signed bottom right and on verso. Joseph McGurl (b. 1958) is extensively reg...
Linen, Oil
The Landscape Painter
By Joseph McGurl
Located in Colorado Springs, CO
Original oil painting on linen by artist Joseph McGurl. Framed.
Linen, Oil
"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
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...
Linen, Oil
"View from Coatue, Lifting Fog, Afternoon Sun" Nantucket by Joseph McGurl
By Joseph McGurl
Located in Greenwich, CT
Signed lower right 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 ...
Linen, Oil
"Into the Sun" oil painting by Joseph McGurl
By Joseph McGurl
Located in Greenwich, CT
Joseph McGurl is celebrated as one of the premier contemporary American Luminist landscape painters and is officially designated a Living Master by the Art Renewal Center. He is wide...
Oil, Panel
"Evening Light on the Western Landscape" painting by Joseph McGurl
By Joseph McGurl
Located in Greenwich, CT
Canvas size: 24 x 30 in. Frame size: Frame: 33 x 39 in. Signed lower right Evening Light on the Western Landscape by contemporary American realist painter Joseph McGurl. A luminist ...
Canvas, Oil
"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
$15,000
Joseph McGurl Landscape Oil Painting, Cathedral Ledge, North Conway NH 1989
By Joseph McGurl
Located in Milford, NH
A splendid New Hampshire landscape of Cathedral Ledge in North Conway, NH by contemporary American artist Joseph McGurl (b. 1959). McGurl was born in Needham, MA, raised in Quincy, M...
Oil, Board
Riders Through Time and Space
By Joseph McGurl
Located in Colorado Springs, CO
Original oil painting on linen by artist Joseph McGurl. Framed.
Linen, Oil
The Sailing Canoe, Tetons
By Joseph McGurl
Located in Colorado Springs, CO
Original oil painting on linen by artist Joseph McGurl. Framed.
Linen, Oil
The Cast Shadow
By Joseph McGurl
Located in Colorado Springs, CO
Original oil painting on linen by artist Joseph McGurl. Framed.
Linen, 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...
Oil, Panel
Ranchlands After the Rain
By Joseph McGurl
Located in Colorado Springs, CO
Original oil painting on linen by artist Joseph McGurl. Framed.
Linen, Oil
Golden Nugget, Las Vegas
By Patricia Chidlaw
Located in Fairfield, CT
Represented by George Billis Gallery, NYC & LA -- "When asked what kind of paintings I make, I usually call my work "Urban Landscapes" to distinguish them as paintings about areas o...
Linen, Oil
Overhead, Framed
By Karen Woods
Located in Fairfield, CT
Represented by George Billis Gallery, NYC & LA --“I do think the big problem in a way…is how you deal with ordinary life—that is not extraordinary, that does not involve heroism,...
Linen, Oil
"Cloud Composition 7" Original Realist Skyscape with Clouds
By Jesse Mangerson
Located in Denver, CO
"Cloud Composition 7" is a realistic capturing of a golden skyscape, created with oil paint on panel. This piece is framed at 9.5 x 9.5 inches and is ready to hang. Jesse Mangerson ...
Oil, Panel
Aftermath of a Tyne River Storm
By Robert Salmon
Located in Costa Mesa, CA
Painted with unsurpassed detail, Robert Salmon's works are desirable to collectors the world over, due to the impressive amount of historic subject matter presented through artistic compositions of the highest order. As an artist Salmon was one of the most important to come out of England and immigrate to America in this period, influencing the art of Fitz Henry Lane...
Oil, Panel
Metsälampi (Forest Pond), 1942
Located in Stockholm, SE
Metsälampi (Forest Pond) is a 1942 oil painting on panel by the Finnish artist Ragnar Ungern, depicting a forest pond with overhanging trees reflected in its still waters. Created in...
Oil, Wood Panel
"Cloud Composition 2" Original Realist Skyscape with Clouds
By Jesse Mangerson
Located in Denver, CO
"Cloud Composition 2" is a realistic capturing of a golden skyscape, created with oil paint on panel. This piece is framed at 9.5 x 9.5 inches and is ready to hang. Jesse Mangerson ...
Oil, Panel
$2,542
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
$2,600
H 7 in W 12 in
"Autumn Orange Leaves" (2024) By David Grossmann, Original Oil Painting
By David Grossmann
Located in Denver, CO
David Grossman's (US based) "Autumn Orange Leaves" is an oil on linen panel created in 2024 depicting an abstracted birch forest in autumn. About the artist: David Grossmann’s evoc...
Linen, Oil, Panel
$660
H 6 in W 6 in
"Hindsight" - Original Still-Life and Landscape, Oil Painting on Panel
By Emma Kalff
Located in Denver, CO
"This painting was made based off of a photo I took from a bus window in Mexico, near Puerto Vallarta. The image stuck with me as the idea of an idyllic hillside. It felt to me like ...
Oil, Panel
"Cloud Composition 4" Original Realist Skyscape with Clouds
By Jesse Mangerson
Located in Denver, CO
"Cloud Composition 4" is a realistic capturing of a golden skyscape, created with oil paint on panel. This piece is framed at 9.5 x 9.5 inches and is ready to hang. Jesse Mangerson ...
Oil, Panel
$2,542
H 10.24 in W 10.24 in D 1.97 in
Passage du Bourg l’Abbé - 21st Century Hyper Realistic oil painting of a City
By Roos van der Meijden
Located in Nuenen, Noord Brabant
Roos van der Meijden Passage du Bourg l’Abbé 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 of h...
Oil, Panel, Wood Panel
"Sunset West" (2025) Oil Painting, Colorado Landscape
By Michael Magrin
Located in Denver, CO
Michael Magrin's ( US based) "Sunset West" is an original, handmade oil painting of a sunset above Colorado plains. This piece is framed in a "barn wood" frame and is ready to hang. ...
Linen, Oil, Wood Panel
The Descent
By Joseph McGurl
Located in Colorado Springs, CO
Original Oil painting signed by the Artist in the lower right corner.
Oil
“Sunset Sail, Nixes Mate, Boston Harbor”
By Joseph McGurl
Located in Southampton, NY
A fabulous evening maritime oil painting on board by the well known contemporary artist, Joseph McGurl. Nixes Mate in Boston harbor is the location. Signed by the artist lower right...
Oil, Board
The Trail Leads West
By Joseph McGurl
Located in Colorado Springs, CO
Original oil painting on linen by artist Joseph McGurl. Framed.
Linen, 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
Becalmed: The Sailing Canoe
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...
Linen, Oil, Panel
Luminaire
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...
Linen, Oil, Panel
Pathways
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 relationship with some of the country’s leading galleries. He has been the subject of numerous books and magazine articles and is also the author of several art related magazine articles published in print and online. McGurl has been designated a Living Master by the Art Renewal Center in New York. He has been elected to the Guild of Boston Artists, was a Copley Master with the Copley Society of Boston and is a signature member of the prestigious Plein Air Painters of America. His many awards include the Guild of Boston Artists Gold Medallion, The Art Renewal Center’s International Salon First Place in Landscape, American Fine Art Magazine Award of Excellence, The Rehs Award, a Purchase Award, and the John Singleton Copley...
Oil, Panel
Sankaty Light
By Joseph McGurl
Located in Greenwich, CT
Landscape oil painting depicting a schooner near the Sankaty Light of Nantucket.
Canvas, Oil
Twilight, Hudson River
By Joseph McGurl
Located in Greenwich, CT
Painting from the Salmagundi American Masters' show. Part of a series of paintings of the Palisades. It depicts the River and Palisades with barges moored waiting to go upriver. The ...
Canvas, Oil
Light Speed
By Joseph McGurl
Located in Greenwich, CT
Landscape, water
Paint