Leon Bibel, a painter, printmaker and sculptor, was born in Poland in 1913 but moved with his family to San Francisco as a child. He trained at the California School of Fine Arts and received a scholarship to study under the German Impressionist Maria Riedelstein. He worked in collaboration with Bernard Zackheim, a student of Diego Rivera, to create frescoes for the San Francisco Jewish Community Center and the University of California Medical School. In 1936, Bibel moved from California to join the Federal Art Project of the New York City Work Projects Administration. He was assigned to the Graphic Art Project and the Easel Project at Harlem Art Center. He also taught at both PS 94 Kings College School and Bronx House in New York City. Bibel’s program in the WPA ended in 1941 and he moved with his wife to South Brunswick, New Jersey, ceasing his artistic pursuits to support his family. He resumed his artistic work in the early 1960s and continued to explore the mediums of painting and sculpture until his death. A constant innovator, Bibel experimented with diverse printmaking mediums. His work is distinguished by its boldly conceived, dramatic composition and passionately executed expressionist renderings. Bibel's parents immigrated from Poland and he remained staunchly pacifist, even throughout WWII. Much of his work during this period focused on the destructiveness of war and the consequent suffering and alienation of humankind. An artist of the people, his work is imbued with a sense of humanity and a concern for social justice and the plight of the working man. Bibel’s numerous exhibitions include the solo exhibition at Newark Museum in 1966, Jersey City Museum in 1967, Hunterdon Art Museum, Rutgers State University and New Jersey State Museum in 1978. He has also exhibited at Rider College, in 1983, Rutgers Hillel Foundation from 1985–86. His work is held in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the Newark Museum, the Zimmerli Art Museum of Rutgers, the Amon Carter Museum of American Art, the Klutznick Museum and the New Brunswick State Theater, as well as many corporate and private collections.
'Unemployed Marchers' — American Modernism, WPA
By Leon Bibel
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
Leon Bibel, 'Unemployed Marchers', 2-color lithograph, c. 1938, edition 25. Signed, titled, and numbered '2/25' in pencil. A fine, richly-inked impression on off-white, wove paper, w...
Lithograph
'Food Not Cannon' — WPA Modernist Work of Social Conscience
By Leon Bibel
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
Leon Bibel, 'Food Not Cannon', etching, 1937, edition 12 (an early state, probably unique). Signed in pencil. A fine impression, on cream wove paper, with full margins (7/8 to 2 1/8 ...
Etching
Death March — Spanish Civil War, Anti-fascism
By Leon Bibel
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
Leon Bibel, 'Untitled (Death March)', brush and ink, c. 1936. Estate stamped, verso. A fine expressionist rendering, on cream wove drawing board, with margins (3/8 to 5/16 inch). Minor toning at the board edges, otherwise in very good condition. Image size 12 5/16 x 9 3/8 inches; sheet size 13 x 10 inches. Matted to museum standards, unframed. One of a series of powerful Anti-fascist brush and ink drawings created by the artist at the commencement of the Spanish Civil War...
Ink
$24,500
"Audience" Mid 20th Century American Figurative Theatre Performance Contemporary
By Leon Bibel
Located in New York, NY
"Audience" Mid 20th Century American Figurative Theatre Performance Contemporary Leon Bibel (1912 - 1995) "The Audience," 52 ½ x 41 ¼ inches. Oil on canvas, c. 1963. Signed lower right. Framed. BIO Painter, printmaker and sculptor, Leon Bibel was born in San Francisco in 1913. He trained at the California School of Fine Arts and received a scholarship to study under the German Impressionist Maria Riedelstein. He worked in collaboration with Bernard Zackheim, a student of Diego Rivera, to create frescoes for the San Francisco Jewish Community Center and the University of California Medical School. In 1936 Bibel moved from California to join the Federal Art Project at Harlem Art...
Canvas, Oil
"Balcony" 1938 WPA Print Mid 20th Century American Broadway Theatre Modernism
By Leon Bibel
Located in New York, NY
"Balcony" 1938 WPA Print Mid 20th Century American Broadway Theatre Modernism. Silk screen on paper, 15” x 20". Numbered 15/20 lower left. Pencil si...
Paper, Screen
$14,500
"Drama Teacher" 1938 WPA Mid 20th Century American Theatre Surrealism Modernism
By Leon Bibel
Located in New York, NY
"Drama Teacher" 1938 WPA Mid 20th Century American Theatre Surrealism Modernism. 30 x 24 inches. Oil on Canvas. Signed land dated ’38 lower left. The photograph in the listing depicts the artist's friend who taught drama and about whom the painting is based Painter, printmaker and sculptor, Leon Bibel was born in San Francisco in 1913. He trained at the California School of Fine Arts and received a scholarship to study under the German Impressionist Maria Riedelstein. He worked in collaboration with Bernard Zackheim, a student of Diego Rivera, to create frescoes for the San Francisco Jewish Community Center and the University of California Medical School. In 1936 Bibel moved from California to join the Federal Art Project at Harlem Art...
Canvas, Oil
'Abstract Boats' — American Modernism, WPA Signed Serigraph, 1938
By Leon Bibel
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
Leon Bibel, 'Abstract Boats', color serigraph, 1938, edition 12. Signed, dated, and numbered ' /12' in pencil. A fine, painterly impression, with fresh colors, on buff wove paper; t...
Screen
'Clown' — WPA American Expressionism
By Leon Bibel
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
Leon Bibel, 'Clown', color serigraph, 1939, edition 20. Signed, dated, titled, and numbered '/20' in pencil. A fine, richly-inked, painterly impression, with fresh colors, on buff la...
Screen
War Machine — Spanish Civil War, Anti-fascism
By Leon Bibel
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
Leon Bibel, 'Untitled (War Machine)', brush and ink, c. 1936. Estate stamped, verso. A fine expressionist rendering, on cream wove drawing board, with marg...
Ink
$16,500
"Shattered" WPA Mid 20th Century Modernism American Scene Surrealism Figurative
By Leon Bibel
Located in New York, NY
"Shattered" WPA Mid 20th Century Modernism American Scene Surrealism Figurative Estate stamp on the stretcher, verso. Provenance: Estate of the artist. 20 x 24 inches. Look at the last two photos in the listing. A new book about Leon Bibel was just published and there's a photo of the artist taken in front of the painting. Amazingness. BIO Leon Bibel continued painting through 1941 and resumed work in both painting and especially wood sculpture by 1960. He worked until his very last day in 1995. His last series of large wood sculptures were modeled on spice boxes, which were miniature buildings...
Canvas, Oil
EUCALYPTUS TREE
By Leon Bibel
Located in Portland, ME
Bibel, Leon (American, born Poland, 1912-1995). EUCALYPTUS TREE. Screenprint, 1938. Edition of 25. Signed, titled, dated and numbered 14/25, all in pencil, and also signed in the mat...
Screen
$32,000
H 13 in W 9.5 in
Rare Charles Burchfield Drawing Book plate Rare Black and White Museum Framed
By Charles E. Burchfield
Located in Buffalo, NY
An original rare bookplate drawing by Charles Burchfield featuring his most famous motifs of sunflowers.
Paper, Archival Ink
$1,800
H 15.5 in W 31.5 in D 1.25 in
A Dynamic 1930s Boxing Match Painting by Famed Chicago Artist, Francis Chapin
By Francis Chapin
Located in Chicago, IL
A dynamic, colorful 1930s painting of a boxing match in Mexico by famed Chicago Modern artist Francis Chapin. Painted during one of the artist's early trips to Mexico, an exceptional painting showing Chapin's steadfast interest in sporting scenes, particularly boxing matches. Image size: 12 x 28 inches. Framed size: 15 1/2 x 31 1/2 inches. Estate stamped on reverse. Provenance: Estate of the artist. Francis Chapin, affectionately called the “Dean of Chicago Painters” by his colleagues, was one of the city’s most popular and celebrated painters in his day. Born at the dawn of the 20th Century in Bristolville, Ohio, Chapin graduated from Washington and Jefferson College near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania before enrolling at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1922. He would set down deep roots at the Art Institute of Chicago, exhibiting there over 31 times between 1926 and 1951. In 1927 Chapin won the prestigious Bryan Lathrop Fellowship from the Art Institute – a prize that funded the artist’s yearlong study trip to Europe. Upon his return to the United States, Chapin decided to remain in Chicago, noting the freedom Chicago artists have in developing independently of the pressure to conform to pre-existing molds (as was experienced by artists in New York, for example). Chapin became a popular instructor at the Art Institute, teaching there from 1929 to 1947 and at the Art Institute’s summer art school in Saugatuck, Michigan (now called Oxbow) between 1934 – 1938 (he was the director of the school from 1941-1945). Chapin’s contemporaries among Chicago’s artists included such luminaries as Ivan Le Lorraine Albright...
Canvas, Oil
$2,840Sale Price|20% Off
H 48 in W 48 in D 0.75 in
The Artist's Apartment - Mid-Century Fauvist Interior Scene, Oil on Canvas 48x48
Located in Soquel, CA
The Artist's Apartment Mid-Century Fauvist Interior Scene Original Oil on Canvas Vibrant interior scene by Santa Cruz California artist Frances Rinaldo (American, b. 1943). A bright...
Canvas, Oil, Stretcher Bars
$1,000
H 18.51 in W 24.41 in D 0.79 in
Mid-Century Modern Paris: A View of the Seine
Located in Norwich, GB
Experience the romance and abstraction of 1950s Paris through this striking original mixed media drawing by the acclaimed American Modernist, Frederick E. Conway (1900–1973). This c...
Ink, Watercolor, Gouache
Blacksmith (Untitled)
By Erle Loran
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Blacksmith (Untitled), 1936, oil on canvas, signed and dated lower right, 28 x 30 inches Erle Loran was an influential American painter, art historian, and educator, renowned for h...
Canvas, Oil
$450
H 14 in W 17 in
Bicentennial Indian from the Kent Bicentennial Portfolio by Fritz Scholder
By Fritz Scholder
Located in Long Island City, NY
Bicentennial Indian by Fritz Scholder, Native American (1937–2005) Portfolio: Kent Bicentennial Date: 1975 Offset Lithograph (unsigned as issued) Image Size: 9.5 x 13 inches Frame Si...
Lithograph
$1,600
H 24.5 in W 23.75 in D 2 in
A Stylish Mid-Century Modern Portrait of a Seated Young Woman in a Pink Dress
By Francis Chapin
Located in Chicago, IL
A stylish, colorful Mid-Century Modern portrait of a seated young woman in a pink dress by famed Chicago Modern artist, Francis Chapin. A fashionably dressed, young model is seated ...
Canvas, Oil
Neighbors
By Norman Barr
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Neighbors, 1939, oil on canvas, signed and dated lower right, 22 x 26 inches Norman Barr was an American Scene painter and muralist known for his poignant depictions of working-clas...
Canvas, Oil
$600
H 27.5 in W 23.5 in D 1 in
A Mid-Century Modern Painting, "Refreshment" by Lucille Leighton, ca. 1958
Located in Chicago, IL
A dynamic ca. 1958 Mid-Century Modern painting titled "Refreshment" by Woman Artist, Lucille Leighton. Oil on canvas, in original frame. Artwork size: 22" x 18". Framed size: 27 1...
Canvas, Oil
$450
H 37.25 in W 25.25 in D 0.3 in
Original 1918, Sure! We'll Finish the Job, Victory Liberty Loan, vintage poster
By Gerrit Beneker
Located in Spokane, WA
Original 1918 Gerrit A. Beneker "Sure! We'll Finish the Job" Victory Liberty Loan Poster, archival linen-backed in good condition, ready to frame. Grade B+ An iconic and authentic ...
Lithograph
$2,120Sale Price|20% Off
H 40 in W 28 in D 3 in
Mid Century Modern Jazz Ensemble -- The Band Box Quartet, Signed
Located in Soquel, CA
Mid Century Modern Jazz Quartet Figurative -- "The Band Box" Signed A vivid, mid-century modernist interpretation of a jazz ensemble by Louis M. Centofanti (American, 1921-2018). "B...
Canvas, Oil, Stretcher Bars
$78,000
H 51 in W 33 in D 2 in
Summer Resort in Michigan -Modernist Mid-Century Saugatuck Oil Painting
By William Schwartz
Located in Marco Island, FL
Summer Resort in Michigan is an exceptional work painted by the Chicago Modernist, William Schwartz. He studied at the Art Institute of Chicago shortly ...
Canvas, Oil
'Archway' — American Modernism, WPA
By Leon Bibel
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
Leon Bibel, 'Archway', color serigraph, 1939, edition 25. Signed, dated, titled, and numbered ' /25' in pencil. A rich, painterly impression, with fresh colors, on buff wove paper; ...
Screen
Sold
H 7.38 in W 9.88 in
War Casualty — American Surrealism, Spanish Civil War, Anti-Fascism
By Leon Bibel
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
Leon Bibel, 'War Casualty', etching, 1937, edition 6. Signed, dated, titled, and numbered '5/6' in pencil. A fine, richly-inked impression, on cream wove paper, with full margins (1/2 to 1 7/8 inches); slight toning at the sheet edges, otherwise in excellent condition. Very scarce. Image size 7 3/8 x 9 7/8 inches (187 x 251 mm); sheet size 10 5/8 x 11 3/8 inches (270 x 289 mm). Archivally matted to museum standards, unframed. Created at the time of the Spanish Civil War and the rise of Hitler in Germany, this work stands as one of the most powerful surrealist/modernist anti-war images of the Work Progress Administration (WPA) period. ABOUT THE ARTIST Painter, printmaker, and sculptor, Leon Bibel, was born in Poland in 1913 but moved with his family to San Francisco as a child. He trained at the California School of Fine Arts and received a scholarship to study under the German Impressionist Maria Riedelstein. He worked in collaboration with Bernard Zackheim, a student of Diego Rivera, to create frescoes for the San Francisco Jewish Community Center and the University of California Medical School. In 1936 Bibel moved from California to join the Federal Art Project of the New York City WPA. He was assigned to the Graphic Art Project and the Easel Project at Harlem Art...
Etching
George Washington Bridge
By Leon Bibel
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
Leon Bibel, 'G. W. Bridge', lithograph, 1938, edition 10. Signed 'L Bibel', dated, titled, and numbered '/10' in pencil. A superb, finely-nuanced impression, on off-white, wove paper...
Lithograph