Preston M. Smith Abstract Paintings

Acrylic on masonite. This is a pivotal work in deep and radiant cobalt blue from 1950. It dipicts calligraphic and hieroglyph structures over a grid and pyramidal base by the first generation abstract expressionist. Provenance: Skinner: November 13, 1992 [Lot 00219}, The entry in the Skinner catalog indicates that the painting came directly from the artist to the family of the consignor to Skinner. Kaminsky Auctions. There is an unbroken paper trail that traces the ownership of the painting from the current owner, through two auction houses to the artist. Perfect unbroken provenance. Pousette-Dart was among the most inventive of the Abstract Expressionist generation, His uncanny talent was to expand the nature of abstraction and still make each mark each element very much his own; a reflection of what he called   "the concealed power of the spirit," he said, “not of the brute physical form."   His was not aiming for a singular, realized aesthetic formula but to expand the possibilities of painting; the transcendental in painting. Typical of such invention and exploration is this  painting  Untitled 1950 when the artist was only 34 years old and represented by one of the champions of the new American painting, Betty Parsons.  
A banner year for Pousette-Dart, the Museum of Modern Art acquired their first painting by the Minnesota born artist.  He worked on easel size works such as this painting an oil on masonite. At the same time Pousette-Dart was also working on larger scale works such as Path of the Hero, running over ten feet in length now in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  Both contain fields of color articulated by a highly sophisticated white hieroglyphic vocabulary. Rather than demonstrate an expressionist sensibility, Pousette-Dart harnesses his more cerebral ideas transforming thick areas of paint into a more refined composition of geometric forms akin to the pattern and forms of say a stained glass window. In a way he is looking back at Fugue, 1940 a black and white composition which makes use of a similar format of painting albeit smaller. Color and form are minimal, but what Pousette-Dart has maximized is the rhythmic and syncopated character of painting casting his ideas into purely symbolic terms that one might link to the pictograms of Adolph Gottlieb. Nonetheless, nature is always at the core of Pousette-Dart’s thinking and dreaming. Here he has transformed the local Ramapo Mountains—where he will eventually move with his family to live and work— into a complex series of articulated fragments linked by style, scale and color.  The painting’s imagery built on two large triangles and reduced to just two colors, cobalt blue and white all outlined in black.  Pousette-Dart symbols stacked in horizontal and vertical rows:  blue is ground, white is language, symbolic of light, consciousness and awareness . The painting maintains a mystical character images compounded that formulate a secret code and linked to the series of white paintings Pousette-Dart authored in the first half of the 1950s. Get up close to the picture and you discover images within images a kind of picture puzzle...

Meyer studied art at University of Central Missouri, Indiana State University and received her degree in painting and drawing from Columbia College. She has had the privilege of havi...

Acrylic on canvas. Signed, titled, and dated on verso. 86 x 74 in. 87.25 x 75.25 in. (framed) Please note: Our framing studio could not accommodate the scale of this work, so it is being sold as-acquired. The canvas is housed in an original “studio strip” frame installed by the artist. Please see condition notes below for additional details and an assessment of condition. Provenance Steve Chase Design, Palm Springs, CA Ronnie Landfield was born in the Bronx, NY on January 9, 1947 - the same day as his older brother. As a teenager, he was encouraged to pursue a career as an artist, subsequently creating his first real paintings around the age of 14. He was particularly influenced by a Life magazine article from 1961 on the Abstract Expressionists, most notably: Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Adolph Gottlieb, Hans Hofmann, Mark Rothko, Clyfford Still, Robert Motherwell and Franz Kline. After stints at the Art Students League, the Kansas City Art Institute, the San Francisco Art Institute, and the University of California at Berkeley, Landfield’s professional career as a painter began in New York in 1965. The following year, after completing a major series of hard-edge border paintings, success as a painter began to materialize. The famous architect and collector Philip Johnson and the collector Robert Scull each acquired large paintings works, as did the Sheldon Memorial Museum in Lincoln, Nebraska. In 1967, Landfield was invited to participate in the Whitney Annual at the end of the year. His work attracted considerable attention, and he was invited to participate in important group exhibitions at the Bykert, Bianchini, and Park Place Galleries in New York. Landfield joined the David Whitney...

Grey & Tan Abstract Expressionist Textural Mid-Century Abstract by Peter Witwer Heavily textured, expressive composition by Peter Witwer (American, 1928-1968). Over the top of a heavy base layer of plaster, Witwer has added various layers of oil paint, creating a massive amount of depth and texture. Sections of red peek out from underneath various shades of tan, grey, and black. Spots of blue and purple are used sparingly, hidden in the composition. Presented in a wood frame. Canvas size: 20"H x 40"W Frame size: 26.63"H x 46.63"W Unsigned, but was acquired with a collection of the artist's work. Provenance: Without a will and a family that had little interest in his art, nearly all of his possessions and close to 100 paintings were turned over to SF’s Conservators Office. His friend, Albert Richard Lasker, purchased all of Peter’s possessions (including the art) and has taken care of them until this day, always sensing there was something remarkable about the collection. Wanting Peter’s work to finally be seen, Richard came to Lost Art Salon with Peter’s story after reading about the new gallery in a July, 2005 issue of the SF Chronicle. Born George Peter...

This sculpture light is a captivating addition to the Art + Light series, where the interplay of light and art creates a unique and fascinating effect. The wooden cube is covered wit...

" Arroyo 14" is 72” x 60”. A rich sienna and ochre figure centered on a textured field of light yellows and beige. Frank Arnold’s paintings exhibit the highest quality materials for ...

Ruz. Vertical. horizontal lines. Interior Landscapes - Abstract Acrylic on canvas . Perfect condition. RUZ, Rafael (Barcelona 1956) While contemplating the painting of Ruz, we are i...

Guinovart. Josep Guinovart i Bertran (Barcelona 1927-2007) was a painter, draftsman and engraver from Catalonia, Spain. After studying at the School of the Lonja and the Promotion ...

Charles Arnoldi, is an American painter, sculptor and printmaker. He was born April 10, 1946 in Dayton, Ohio. Charles Arnoldi has been described as an artist who “draws in space” to...

Charles Arnoldi, is an American painter, sculptor and printmaker. He was born April 10, 1946 in Dayton, Ohio. Charles Arnoldi has been described as an artist who “draws in space” to...

"236 Found" is 72” x 60”. The sienna, umber and yellow figures on a neutral field are criss-crossed with chaotic, incised strokes through the impasto surface. Arnold’s paintings exhi...

Last Dance is an Oil on Canvas painting in soft, light aqua tones with red/brown accents. Frank Arnold is thought by many to be one of the foremost abstract...