Nell Blaine Paintings

American, 1922-1996

Nell Blaine, painter of still lifes and landscapes in brilliant colors, created abstract work that gives the appearance of being done in a carefree, totally lighthearted manner but in fact is the result of years of disciplined study. It is also an effect achieved after rehabilitation from polio, which nearly took her life. Suffering a paralyzed right hand, she taught herself to paint with her left hand, and she devoted much time to applying colors, some times as many as fifty varieties. She attributed her fascination with color with its discovery when she was two years old and corrective eye surgery allowed her to see color for the first time. Blaine was raised in the Richmond, Virginia, where she grew to hate the prevalent racial discrimination and left home at an early age. In high school, she was skilled enough to begin selling her artwork, which was mostly posters and portraits. She attended the Richmond School of Art, now Virginia Commonwealth University, between 1939 and 1942 but left its classical realist curriculum when one of the instructors introduced her to modern art. She used money she had earned from commercial art and went to New York and studied with Hans Hofmann, teacher of Abstract Expressionism. Shortly after, she married a jazz musician and immersed herself in the world of jazz, beating drums and improvising expressive dances, and associating with Charlie Parker, Dizzie Gillespie, and Beat Generation writer Jack Kerouac. Her paintings of that time reflect her strong developing sense of relationship between jazz and abstract art. In 1944 at age twenty two, she became the youngest member of the American Abstract Artists and exhibited hard-edged geometric paintings, mostly black and white with accents of bright colors. She joined a cooperative of abstract artists and worked so hard at organizing shows that some referred to it as the Blaine Street Gallery. She was a strong personality who had special influence on Larry Rivers and Jane Freilicher and appeared to thrive in the New York art scene of the 1940s. However, she decided that her lifestyle was unhealthy, and she left the city, had a period of seclusion, and then went to France where she admired the work of Gustave Courbet, Jean Antoine Watteau, Eugene Delacroix, and Nicholas Poussin and took up figurative art in an abstract style. She became known as a "painterly realist," and added landscapes and interiors to her subject matter. She earned fellowships to Yaddo and the MacDowell Colony and began spending at least half the year in Gloucester, Massachusetts. She also traveled in Mexico. In 1959 on the island of Mykonos, Greece, she had polio. Her New York art friends in an exhibition of seventy-one artists raised money for extensive treatment at Mount Sinai Hospital. After recovery, she settled in a studio on Riverside Drive, spent her summers in Gloucester, and painted from her wheelchair. She died in 1996.

Artist: Nell Blaine

Nell BlaineSummer, Quaker Hill oil painting by Nell Blaine, 1969

$14,000

Summer, Quaker Hill oil painting by Nell Blaine

By Nell Blaine

Located in Hudson, NY

This work by Nell Blaine was exhibited at the Poindexter Gallery, as well as the Tibor de Nagy Gallery, both in New York City. It is signed lower left, and signed, titled, and dated ...

Category

1960s American Impressionist Nell Blaine Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

Antique American Impressionist Forest Landscape Signed Framed Oil Painting, 1940

$995

H 12 in W 10 in D 2 in

Antique American Impressionist Forest Landscape Signed Framed Oil Painting

Located in Buffalo, NY

Vintage American impressionist landscape painting. Oil on board. Signed. Framed. Provenance from a Sag Harbor, NY collection. Handsomely framed in a giltwood molding. Excellent con...

Category

1920s American Impressionist Nell Blaine Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

Henrietta Dunn Mears“Bermuda Coast” Henrietta Dunn Mears American Impressionist Oil on Board Signed, 20th Century

$1,950

H 19.5 in W 23.5 in D 1 in

“Bermuda Coast” Henrietta Dunn Mears American Impressionist Oil on Board Signed

By Henrietta Dunn Mears

Located in Yardley, PA

A vibrant Bermuda seascape depicting the rocky shoreline with turquoise waters breaking against sunlit boulders beneath a sweeping tree. Mears uses bold, textured brushstrokes and a ...

Category

20th Century American Impressionist Nell Blaine Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

Arthur Mitchell“Fall Landscape”, Circa 1890

$2,720Sale Price|20% Off

H 16.25 in W 12.25 in D 1.75 in

“Fall Landscape”

Located in Southampton, NY

Original oil on canvas board painting of a fall landscape by the American artist, Arthur Mitchell. Signed lower left by the artist. Circa 1890. Condition is very good. The paintin...

Category

1890s American Impressionist Nell Blaine Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board, Canvas

Richard SigafoosAntique American 1910 Oil on board Painting Seashore Island Beach Women framed, 1920

$1,800

H 12 in W 14 in

Antique American 1910 Oil on board Painting Seashore Island Beach Women framed

Located in Buffalo, NY

This evocative oil painting by Richard Sigafoos presents a solitary coastal rock formation rising against a softly illuminated seascape. Rendered with confident, expressive brushwork...

Category

1920s American Impressionist Nell Blaine Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

Wayne MorrellSailing in Rockport Harbour

$4,250

H 8 in W 10 in D 3 in

Sailing in Rockport Harbour

Located in Saratoga Springs, NY

Signed lower left. In this painting, Morrell brings to life a bustling seascape off the coast of Rockport. The work showcases his artistic signature, with an impressionistic brushs...

Category

Mid-20th Century American Impressionist Nell Blaine Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

William Lemos1900's Horses at the Trough, 1900

$1,500

H 13.5 in W 19.5 in D 0.65 in

1900's Horses at the Trough

By William Lemos

Located in Soquel, CA

Charming mid century oil painting of two horses at watering trough by William M. Lemos, Santa Cruz and San Francisco artist (American, 1861-1942), circa 1900. Writing on verso is in ...

Category

Early 1900s American Impressionist Nell Blaine Paintings

Materials

Oil, Cardboard

Albert Van Nesse GreeneAutumn on Canal, American Impressionist Landscape, Oil on Board, Signed

$4,000

H 15 in W 17 in D 1 in

Autumn on Canal, American Impressionist Landscape, Oil on Board, Signed

By Albert Van Nesse Greene

Located in Doylestown, PA

"Autumn on Canal" is a Pennsylvania landscape by American Impressionist painter Albert Van Nesse Greene. The painting is a 8" x 10" oil on board, framed, and signed "A V Greene...

Category

Early 20th Century American Impressionist Nell Blaine Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

Christopher Willett"New Hope, PA, Train Station" Impressionist Pastoral Snow Scene Oil Painting, 20th Century

$1,800

H 8 in W 10 in D 1.5 in

"New Hope, PA, Train Station" Impressionist Pastoral Snow Scene Oil Painting

Located in New York, NY

A charming Impressionist winter pastoral scene depicting the snow covered New Hope Train Station in Pennsylvania. This piece is executed in an intimate yet energetic manner. Christop...

Category

20th Century American Impressionist Nell Blaine Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

Kenneth NunamakerHouse in Center Bridge

$24,500

H 8 in W 10 in

House in Center Bridge

Located in Bryn Mawr, PA

Kenneth Nunamaker (1890-1957) House in Center Bridge Oil on canvas on board, 8 x 10 inches (20.3 x 25.4 cm) Signed lower left: K. Nunamaker Inscribed on verso: K. Nunamaker / New Hop...

Category

Early 20th Century American Impressionist Nell Blaine Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Board

David Shingler"Moab Plateaus" Oil Painting, 2019

$6,000

H 48 in W 36 in

"Moab Plateaus" Oil Painting

Located in Denver, CO

David Shingler's (NC based) "Moab Plateaus" is an oil painting that depicts the vast desert dotted with grasses leading to the towering plateaus of Moab...

Category

2010s American Impressionist Nell Blaine Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

Anton KurkaAmerican Impressionist Oil Painting Florida Landscape Boca Raton Signed Tree

$1,031Sale Price|20% Off

H 14 in W 17 in

American Impressionist Oil Painting Florida Landscape Boca Raton Signed Tree

Located in Buffalo, NY

A modern impressionist American painting depicting a homestead in Boca Raton, FL with an iconic gumbo limbo tree in the foreground of the painting. This work is signed illegibly and...

Category

1960s American Impressionist Nell Blaine Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

Dennis Sheehan"Landscape Study" Dennis Sheehan, Dusk, Dark Impressionist Forest, Marsh, circa 2025

$1,200

H 4.5 in W 7.25 in

"Landscape Study" Dennis Sheehan, Dusk, Dark Impressionist Forest, Marsh

By Dennis Sheehan

Located in New York, NY

Dennis Sheehan Landscape Study, circa 2025 Signed lower right Oil on canvas laid to foam board 4 1/2 x 7 1/4 inches Dennis Sheehan was born in Boston in 1950. His work is based upo...

Category

2010s American Impressionist Nell Blaine Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Foam Board

Previously Available Items

Nell Blaine"Anemones and Star of Bethlehem" Impressionist Still Life Painting, 1970

Sold

H 28 in W 22 in D 1 in

"Anemones and Star of Bethlehem" Impressionist Still Life Painting

By Nell Blaine

Located in Houston, TX

A beautiful still life of flowers titled "Anemones and Star of Bethlehem" by renowned artist Nell Blaine. Oil on canvas circa 1970. Dimensions with...

Category

1970s American Impressionist Nell Blaine Paintings

Materials

Oil

Nell Blaine paintings for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Nell Blaine paintings available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Nell Blaine in paint, board, oil paint and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 20th century and is mostly associated with the Impressionist style. Not every interior allows for large Nell Blaine paintings, so small editions measuring 24 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Alexander Farnham, William Lester Stevens, and Johann Berthelsen. Nell Blaine paintings prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $5,800 and tops out at $26,000, while the average work can sell for $15,900.