Nell Blaine Furniture

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.

Creator: Nell Blaine

"Abstraction" India Ink on Paper by Nell Blaine, USA, 1948

$6,500

"Abstraction" India Ink on Paper by Nell Blaine, USA, 1948

By Nell Blaine

Located in New York, NY

During her first years in New York Blaine's work, which had previously been tightly realist, turned abstract, inspired by Mondrian, Leger and Jean Helion. At one time she was the you...

Category

1940s American Vintage Nell Blaine Furniture

Materials

Paper

Original Illustration Map of Hawaii by Charles Burki, ca. 1948 – Ink Drawing

$928

H 6.3 in W 8.67 in D 0.01 in

Original Illustration Map of Hawaii by Charles Burki, ca. 1948 – Ink Drawing

Located in Langweer, NL

Original Illustration Map of Hawaii by Charles Burki, ca. 1945 – Ink Drawing Original pen-and-ink illustration of the Hawaï-Eilanden (Hawaiian Islands) by Dutch artist Charles Burki...

Category

1940s Dutch Vintage Nell Blaine Furniture

Materials

Paper

"If Inbetween" Ink on Paper Drawing by Peter Drake (b. 1957), 1985

$3,500

H 63 in W 85 in D 1 in

"If Inbetween" Ink on Paper Drawing by Peter Drake (b. 1957), 1985

By Peter Drake

Located in Brooklyn, NY

This is a beautiful ink on paper post-modernist drawing by Peter Drake (b. 1957). An incredibly unique and fascinating work of art. The manipulated dimensions and ephemeral quality o...

Category

Late 20th Century American Post-Modern Nell Blaine Furniture

Materials

Paper

"Byzantine Cats" Abstract Pen and Ink on Paper Signed by Don D.

$210Sale Price|40% Off

H 18 in W 14 in D 1 in

"Byzantine Cats" Abstract Pen and Ink on Paper Signed by Don D.

Located in Van Nuys, CA

Abstract ink drawing of two cats in Byzantine era dressed cats, with different saturations of watercolor, the sun depicted in the upper right corner. Titled " Byzantine Cats" signed...

Category

1970s American Vintage Nell Blaine Furniture

Materials

Paper

21st C India Ink Drawings '2 Available/Sold Separately' by Elliot Bergman

$4,500 / item

H 65.5 in W 47.75 in D 1.25 in

21st C India Ink Drawings '2 Available/Sold Separately' by Elliot Bergman

By Elliot Bergman

Located in Wainscott, NY

21st Century Black India Ink Drawings framed in Handmade Steel by Elliot Bergman They are heavily layered and distinctly textured. Bergman utilizes both traditional tools and foun...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Nell Blaine Furniture

Materials

Metal

Dora Maar Pointillist Drawing, Black Ink on Paper, Mid-Century Modern

$4,112

H 12.21 in W 9.45 in D 0.04 in

Dora Maar Pointillist Drawing, Black Ink on Paper, Mid-Century Modern

By Dora Maar

Located in Barcelona, Barcelona

Pointillist composition by Dora Maar. Stamp of the auction that took place in 1998 in Paris. Black ink on cream white paper. 20th century, undated. Frame not included. In good orig...

Category

1960s French Mid-Century Modern Vintage Nell Blaine Furniture

Materials

Paper

1943 Abstract Art Ink on Paper Drawing signed Winkler

$495

H 13.75 in W 16.25 in D 1 in

1943 Abstract Art Ink on Paper Drawing signed Winkler

Located in Chula Vista, CA

AMBIANIC presents Art Ink on Paper Abstract Drawing signed Martin Kenneth Winkler 4-8-43 13.75 x 16.25 x 1 thick Art 9 x 11.5 parabola hyperbola Preowned original vintage condition....

Category

Mid-20th Century American Modern Nell Blaine Furniture

Materials

Paper

Middle Eastern Pen & Ink Drawing On Paper

$1,200

H 28.75 in W 10.5 in

Middle Eastern Pen & Ink Drawing On Paper

Located in Chicago, IL

Pen and ink drawing on paper depicting Middle Eastern musicians and horse in a dream like sequence, signed. Distressed wood frame measurements 31.25" H x 13" W x 1" D

Category

1960s Vintage Nell Blaine Furniture

Materials

Pen

Pair of Neoclassical Landscape Drawings, Ink and Wash on Paper, France

$7,500 / set

H 16.5 in W 19.5 in D 2 in

Pair of Neoclassical Landscape Drawings, Ink and Wash on Paper, France

Located in Kittery Point, ME

Pair of landscape drawings, one showing a country outing with mountains and ruins in the background, the other showing characters in an imaginary setting of ruins. Ink and wash on pa...

Category

Late 18th Century French Neoclassical Antique Nell Blaine Furniture

Materials

Paper

Vintage Original Signed Figure Ink Drawing on Paper

$980

H 20.5 in W 15.75 in D 0.75 in

Vintage Original Signed Figure Ink Drawing on Paper

Located in West Palm Beach, FL

This stunning figure drawing portrays a man sitting with his arm resting on his knee. The artist utilizes a sketch-like technique to outline the figure of the man a shading technique...

Category

Mid-20th Century North American Nell Blaine Furniture

Materials

Glass, Wood, Paint, Paper

Abstract Expressionist Ink Drawing on Paper by Salvatore Grippi 1953

$1,130

H 9 in W 12 in D 1 in

Abstract Expressionist Ink Drawing on Paper by Salvatore Grippi 1953

By Salvatore Grippi

Located in Brooklyn, NY

This ink figurative abstract Expressionist piece on paper is signed by its creator, noted New York School artist Salvatore Grippi. Though undated, the piece is similar in form and st...

Category

1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Nell Blaine Furniture

Materials

Paper

Abstract Geometric Graphic in Blue, Red and Black Ink on Paper by A. Luiz Piza

$4,229

H 20.87 in W 18.51 in D 1.19 in

Abstract Geometric Graphic in Blue, Red and Black Ink on Paper by A. Luiz Piza

By Arthur Luiz Piza

Located in Salzburg, AT

Abstract, geometric graphic in blue, red and black ink on paper by Arthur Luiz Piza. His style combines drawing and graphic techniques. Handcrafted wooden frame black patinated with ...

Category

1980s French Modern Vintage Nell Blaine Furniture

Materials

Glass, Wood, Paper

Guy Bourdin, Cat Drawing, Ink and Gouache on Paper, 1955

$7,880

H 14.97 in W 19.3 in D 0.01 in

Guy Bourdin, Cat Drawing, Ink and Gouache on Paper, 1955

By Guy Bourdin

Located in CA, CA

During the early 1950s Guy Bourdin had established himself as an artist with the eye of a painter, working primarily on paper Bourdin created images containing fascinating stories and compositions. His early experimental work bridges the gap between Surrealism and his later photography which at the time was still in its infancy. This early cat drawing...

Category

1950s French Modern Vintage Nell Blaine Furniture

Materials

Paper

Previously Available Items

Nell Blaine "Abstraction with Blue, Red and Yellow" Oil on Canvas, USA, 1944

Sold

H 51 in W 70.25 in D 2 in

Nell Blaine "Abstraction with Blue, Red and Yellow" Oil on Canvas, USA, 1944

By Nell Blaine

Located in New York, NY

Blaine's work had begun as "tightly realist" but transformed to an abstract style, which was inspired by artists such as Piet Mondrian and Fernand Leger. Blaine later explained, "[By...

Category

1940s American Vintage Nell Blaine Furniture

Materials

Canvas

"Abstraction CH Collection #H" Gouache on Paper by Nell Blaine, USA 1940s

Sold

H 18.5 in W 16 in D 1 in

"Abstraction CH Collection #H" Gouache on Paper by Nell Blaine, USA 1940s

By Nell Blaine

Located in New York, NY

During her first years in New York Blaine's work, which had previously been tightly realist, turned abstract, inspired by Mondrian, Leger and Jean Helion. At one time she was the you...

Category

1940s American Vintage Nell Blaine Furniture

Materials

Paper

Nell Blaine furniture for sale on 1stDibs.

Nell Blaine furniture are available for sale on 1stDibs. These distinctive items are frequently made of paper and are designed with extraordinary care. There are many options to choose from in our collection of Nell Blaine furniture, although beige editions of this piece are particularly popular. If you’re looking for additional options, many customers also consider furniture by Salvatore Grippi, Robert Levin, and William Littlefield. Prices for Nell Blaine furniture can differ depending upon size, time period and other attributes — on 1stDibs, these items begin at $4,500 and can go as high as $6,500, while a piece like these, on average, fetch $6,500.