Michael Kotasek Art

The Virgin of Kataphyge with Saint John the Evangelist, after a Bulgarian Byzantine icon of the 14th Century. Egg tempera and gold leaf on gesso and wood. Author: Oliver Samsinger...

Represented by George Billis Gallery, NYC & LA --RUSS HAVARD Artist Statement I'm drawn towards nature imagery that depicts isolated elements in their continual struggle to flourish ...

A 20th-century American School oil painting on board featuring American banker and financier J.P. Morgan (1837-1913) seated at his desk. Light streams throug...

A painter who has lived amid and loved the subject matter of his art, Jorgensen’s pictures of the Yosemite Valley and the Missions of California are monuments of early art in this co...

Rudolf Kosow’s Film Still #3 continues his haunting exploration of the Western genre through a contemporary surrealist lens. A close-up of a stoic, rugged cowboy figure—likely inspired by Clint Eastwood—dominates the square composition. The figure’s face is heavily shadowed by a broad-brimmed hat, his lips...

LOOK FOR FREE SHIPPING AT CHECKOUT Rock Me is a 14 x 20 figurative oil painting by E. Melinda Morrison. It was painted in 2019. Rock Me shows the movement of the water rocking the ...

Late 19th century figurative painting of the battle of Trevilians Station and of the wounding of Colonel Sackett June 11, 1864. Oil on canvas in giltwood frame. Signed or notated ind...

This mural study is part of our exhibition America Coast to Coast: Artists of the 1930s Industry and Commerce, 1936, tempera on panel, 16 ½ x 39 ½ inches, signed verso “John Ballator, Portland Ore.” provenance includes: J.C. Penney Company, represented by Russell Tether Fine Arts Assoc.; presented in a newer wood frame About the Painting Industry and Commerce is a prime example of WPA Era muralism. Like a Mediaeval alter, this mural study is filled with icons, but the images of saints and martyrs are replaced with symbols of America's gospel of prosperity through capitalism. Industry and Commerce has a strong narrative quality with vignettes filling the entire surface. Extraction, logistics, design, power generation, and manufacturing for printing, chemicals, automobiles and metal products are all represented. To eliminate any doubt about the mural's themes, Ballator letters a description into the bottom of the study. Ballator also presents an idealized version of industrial cooperation, as his workers, lab-coated technicians and tie-wearing managers work harmoniously toward a common goal in the tidy and neatly designed environments. Although far from the reality of most industrial spaces, Ballator's study reflects the idealized and morale boosting tone that many mural projects adopted during the Great Depression. About the Artist John R Ballator achieved success as a muralist, lithographer, and teacher during the Great Depression. Born in Oregon, he studied at the Portland Museum Art School, the University of Oregon and at Yale University where he received a Bachelor of Fine Art. In 1936, Ballator was commissioned to paint a mural panel for the new Department of Justice Building in Washington DC, an important project that spanned five years with several dozen artists contributing a total of sixty-eight designs. Ballator completed murals for the St. Johns Post Office and Franklin High School, both in Portland, Oregon. He also contributed to the 1938 murals at Nathan Hale School in New Haven, Connecticut. During the late 1930s, Ballator taught art for several years at Washburn College in Topeka, Kanas, where he completed a mural for the Menninger Arts & Craft Shop before accepting a professorship at Hollins College...

"Steps", a highly realistic late 20th century watercolor landscape of a staircase in front of a wooden barn by Verne R. Horton (American, 1941-2020), 1986. Horton's background as a technical artist and draftsman is apparent in the fine details of this piece, such as the crisply rendered planks of wood that comprise the barn, the individual pieces of metal that form the railing, and each block of cement that make up the staircase. Horton's meticulous rendering of shadows enhances the sense of realism. Signed and dated "Verne R. Horton '86" lower right. Signed and titled "Steps" on verso. Displayed in a new off-white mat and rustic wood frame with plexiglass. Image size: 13.75"H x 9.75"W. Born February 1, 1941 in Los Angeles, CA, Verne R. Horton went to Los Angeles State College where he earned a degree in pre-architecture. As a young man Verne joined the US Navy, in 1960 and served as a draftsman until 1965. After leaving the Navy, he ended up as a technical artist for North American Aviation. His charge: illustrating publicity pictures for the Apollo space program. After working on the Apollo program for three and a half years, he was lured into the corporate world as a regional manager for New York Life Insurance. Horton said he did virtually no artwork in the 17 years he worked for the insurance company. He ended up earning another degree in insurance and finance from American College in Bryn Mawr, Penn., in 1978. He moved within the company 14 times in 17 years, living in Los Angeles, Hawaii, Arizona and San Francisco. "Then I had an awareness that I had always wanted to be an artist," he said. "It seemed that if I were going to do it, I needed to just do it." He quit his job and became a fine artist. Horton's paintings and sculptures are truly those of a professional. He specializes in 1800s to 1930s Western Americana, but his love is steam era railroad art. "You must have historical accuracy. The worst thing is to have somebody come by and say, 'That's not right," Horton said. "You can't get involved in the history of the railroad without getting to know a community." It was his insistence on historical accuracy and love of railroads that brought him to Carson City...

This charming rural winter scene of ice skaters fully displays Norman Rockwell's America, but it was painted by female artist Charlotte Joan Sternberg. She combines the mid-century A...

Large Watercolour of Pleasure Boats Moored on the River in Florida by USA Artist David Coolidge AWS (American 20th-21st Century) Art measures 40 x 30 i...

Once The Master - Mid Century Figurative Landscape "Once the Master" a portrait of a Zuni Master Potter in contrast with the emergent modernism around him. He is beneath an adobe an...