Julio de Diego Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
American, 1900-1979
Julio De Diego was one of the most colorful artists to work in Chicago. Born in Madrid in 1900, he left home at the age of 15 to apprentice as a scene painter for theatres. After service in the Spanish army, including six months fighting in North Africa, Diego traveled to Paris and Rome to study art. He also appeared as an extra in Diaghilev’s Ballet Russes. He emigrated to the United States in 1924. He lived in New York for two years, then went to Chicago, where he remained until 1942. At first, he earned a living as a magazine illustrator, decorative painter and graphic designer. By the early 1930s, Diego began to show regularly at the Art Institute of Chicago, appearing at thirty-two annual exhibitions of Chicago Artists, American artists and watercolorists, between 1931–47. He was employed by the easel division of the Illinois Art Project during the mid-1930s. He traveled to Mexico for the first time in 1939, becoming close friends with Carlos Mérida. Diego was deeply affected by the Spanish Civil War, and many of his works reflect the conflict that presaged the Second World War. Meditation over Inexplicable Logic seems to be a kind of preparation for his self-portrait in the Art Institute’s collection, titled The Perplexity of What To Do (1940). Both feature isolated, brooding figures lost in their inability to respond to events. He left Chicago in 1942 but continued to exhibit his work at major institutions. In 1946, Life magazine’s article described him spending time “cooking aromatic Spanish dishes and reading works of Spanish mystical philosophers and poets. He smokes cigarettes incessantly and dresses flamboyantly, affecting cerise mufflers and jangling bracelets.” Diego gained more notoriety in 1948 when he married the great burlesque artist, Gypsy Rose Lee. After their separation and divorce in the mid-1950s, he lived for a time in New York at the Chelsea Hotel, a haunt of artists, musicians and poets. Diego settled in Sarasota, Florida in 1967, near former friends from Chicago, where he died in 1979. Daniel Schulman References “Julio De Diego: He Paints Weird War and Peace.” Life Magazine, March 11, 1946. De Diego, Julio. Pamphlet File P-07866. Ryerson Library, Art Institute of Chicago.
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Artist: Julio de Diego
"Artist Model’s”
By Julio de Diego
Located in Southampton, NY
Original artwork of artist model’s by Julio De Diego using underdrawing of graphite with a watercolor wash. Signed lower left in pencil. Very good original condition. Nicely framed...
Category
1870s American Modern Julio de Diego Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Watercolor, Archival Paper, Graphite
$1,250 Sale Price
30% Off
Seated Female Nude (Devora)
By Julio de Diego
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Seated Female Nude (Devora)
Watercolor on paper, c. 1970
Signed in pencil lower right (see photo)
A folio from the artist's sketchbook. Done while the artist was in Florida.
Conditio...
Category
1970s American Modern Julio de Diego Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Watercolor
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Man and Beast
By Julio de Diego
Located in Wilton Manors, FL
Beautiful surrealist drawing by Spanish surrealist, Julio de Diego (1900-1979). Color pencil and graphite on paper, image measures 8.5 x 11.5 inches; 15 x 17 inches framed. Signed and dated lower right. Excellent condition with no damage or restoration.
Birth place: Madrid, Spain
Death place: Woodstock, NY
Addresses: NYC; Woodstock, NY; Sarasota, FL
Profession: Painter, illustrator, printmaker, designer, craftsperson, teacher
Studied: Study in Madrid, Paris & Rome.
Exhibited: AIC, 1929-46 (solo, 1935); AIC, 1935, 1944; Chicago Soc. A., 1938 (gold medal); WMAA, 1940-54; Corcoran Gal, 1943; PAFA, 1944-53; Milwaukee AI, 1944; Surrealist Exhib, Paris, France & London, Eng, 1947; Int. Cult. Affairs Exhib., Dept. of State, Paris, London & Rome, 1948; Carnegie Inst.; Frank Oehlscchlaeger, Chicago, 1970s; Woodstock Artist's Assoc., 1977 (retrospective). Other awards: Polish Art Soc. (prize); Soc. Advertisers (prize); First prize, Men & Steel Show, 1954; The Figure, Arvida Corp., Sarasota, FL, 1971.
Member: AEA New York (pres); Sarasota Artist Assn.; Woodstock AA
Work: Walker Art Center; IBM; AIC; Milwaukee AI; SFMA; PMG; U.S. State Dept.; MMA; Washington Univ, St Louis, MO; Montclair Art Mus, NJ; Encyclopaedia Britannica Collection, New York; Santa Barbara Mus Art, CA; Woodstock AA. Commissions: Murals & chapel doors, St Gregory Church, Chicago, IL, 1929; Bullfight (mural), Hotel Sherman, Chicago, 1933; Fort Sheridan (mural), Fort Sheridan, Chicago, 1936; Story of Wine (mural), Hotels Ambassador & Sherman, Chicago, 1937; metal sculptures & murals, Ling Nang Restaurant, New York, 1959; also many others.
Comments: Best known for his series of war paintings and for his covers of Fortune magazine. He was also a mural painter, fashion illustrator, jewelry maker, stage scene designer, and actor. He once appeared as an extra in the Ballet Russe's Petrouchka with Nijinsky. He came to NYC in 1924 after extensive travel in Europe. His wife was the famous stripper, Gypsy Rose Lee. He was proud of his collection of African, Mexican, and Indian toys and artifacts and imaginative junk. Teaching: AIC, 1939-40; Univ Denver, 1948-52; Artist Equity Workshop, 1955-57. Illustrator: Rendezvous with Spain, 1946. Author: Commentaries: Europe, 1952; Have You Seen Birds...?, 1968; A Stranger in the Spanish Village, 1964; The Book of Ah!,1970; Cuckoo heads, 1971.
Sources: WW73; WW47; Bruce Henderson, "He Paints Weird War & Peace" Life Mag (1946); Ralph M Pearson...
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Signed lower right: "de Diego"
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Signed lower right by the artist
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1950s Julio de Diego Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
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Passion Flower
By Julio de Diego
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Signed lower right: "de Diego"
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Julio de Diego Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Industrial Scene
By Julio de Diego
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Signed by the artist lower right "de Diego"
This is a rare precisionist work by the artist.
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Julio de Diego Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Julio De Diego drawings and watercolor paintings for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic Julio de Diego drawings and watercolor paintings available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Julio de Diego in paint, watercolor, archival paper and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 1970s and is mostly associated with the modern style. Not every interior allows for large Julio de Diego drawings and watercolor paintings, so small editions measuring 14 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Raphael Soyer, Harold Haydon, and Aaron Bohrod. Julio de Diego drawings and watercolor paintings prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $1,250 and tops out at $2,000, while the average work can sell for $1,625.