Reginald Marsh was born in Paris, France, in 1898. His family returned to the U.S. in 1900, settling in New Jersey. The Marsh family moved to New Rochelle, New York, in 1914, where Reginald attended the Riverview Military Academy until 1915. Marsh spent his senior year at the Lawrenceville School where he drew for the school's annual. Marsh then attended Yale School of Art in 1916–20 where he became the star illustrator for The Yale Record and, later, its art editor. In his newspaper work Marsh exhibited a graphic skill and a gift for pictorial humor.
On graduating from Yale in 1920, Marsh moved to New York City where he supported himself as a freelance illustrator for newspapers and magazines, such as Vanity Fair and Harper's Bazaar. In 1922, Marsh became a staff artist for The Daily News, first drawing city life and then a column of vaudeville illustrations. When The New Yorker began in 1925, Marsh became a staff member, contributing through 1931. These illustration jobs provided Marsh with a good income and a great amount of free time, which allowed him to study painting at the Art Students League on and off through the 1920s with Kenneth Hayes Miller, John Sloan and George Luks. When Marsh began to paint in earnest in 1923, he joined the Whitney Studio Club, where he had one-man exhibitions in 1924 and 1928.
In the early 1920s Marsh made his first trip to Coney Island on a project for Vanity Fair. He was instantly drawn to the raucous environment of extremes, capturing the boardwalks, beaches and sideshows in his sketchbooks. Marsh often remained in New York for the summer to spend time at Coney Island. The rest of the year Marsh painted industrial subjects. He also enjoyed recording the physical and social life of a newly commercialized city, focusing on taxi-dance halls, burlesque, Coney Island, subways and the Bowery.
In 1929 Marsh took a studio near Union Square in New York where he remained for most of his life, roaming the streets with his sketchbook. The same sketches he worked up for his newspaper and magazine illustrations found their way into his paintings.
The 1930s and 1940s were very successful for Marsh. He exhibited in most of the annual exhibitions of contemporary American art at the Whitney Museum of American Art (1924–54), the Corcoran Gallery of Art (1932–57), the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (1932–52), the Art Institute of Chicago (1928–49) and the National Academy of Design (1927–49). He also had many one-man exhibitions at the Frank K. Rehn Galleries in New York.
Marsh began teaching at the Art Students League in 1935 where he soon became one of the most popular teachers. In the spring of 1954, Marsh was chosen to receive the gold medal of the National Institute of Arts and Letters, an extremely high award in the American cultural world.
Find original Reginald Marsh prints, drawings and paintings on 1stDibs.
"Tugboat at Dock" Reginald Marsh, Modern WPA Industrial Ship, New York Docks
By Reginald Marsh
Located in New York, NY
Reginald Marsh Tugboat at Dock, circa 1937 Signed lower right Watercolor and pencil on paper 13 3/4 x 20 inches Housed in a Lowy frame. Provenance: Sotheby'...
Paper, Watercolor, Pencil
$85,000
Frozen Custard
By Reginald Marsh
Located in New York, NY
Reginald Marsh, an urban Realist of the 1930s and 40s, chronicled New York’s working-class life with exuberant, documentary-style paintings that focused on crowds rather than individ...
Tempera, Board
Water Sports - Coney Island Nude Swimmers and Nude Bathers
By Reginald Marsh
Located in Miami, FL
Presented in a good broad craved and antiqued giltwood frame in the Spanish Baroque style. Each corner boldly carved with a stylized anthemion mantled by foliate scrolls. The beauti...
Watercolor, India Ink
“Untitled (Women Walking), c. 1945” Double-Sided NYC Street Manhattan Cityscape
By Reginald Marsh
Located in Yardley, PA
A fantastic example of Marsh’s renowned depictions of ladies walking in downtown Manhattan. This richly worked ink and wash composition captures a sidewalk populated by stylish women...
Paper, Ink, Watercolor
The Cannonball, Impressionist Locomotive Watercolor by Reginald Marsh
By Reginald Marsh
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Reginald Marsh, American (1898 - 1954) Title: The "Cannonball" Year: 1936 Medium: Watercolor on Paper, signed, titled, and dated l.r. Size: 16.5 in. x 22.5 in. (41.91 cm x 57...
Watercolor
Locomotive, American Impressionist Train Watercolor by Reginald Marsh
By Reginald Marsh
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Reginald Marsh, American (1898 - 1954) Title: Locomotive Year: 1932 Medium: Watercolor on Paper, signed and dated l.r. Size: 14 in. x 20 in. (35.56 cm x 50.8 cm) Frame Size: ...
Watercolor
Two Women Walking
By Reginald Marsh
Located in Saratoga Springs, NY
A double sided painting. An urban realist painter of New York City genre, Reginald Marsh devoted his career to depicting people going about their everyday business including Bower...
Oil, Board
Price Upon Request
Bathers in Surf, Reginald Marsh Painting
By Reginald Marsh
Located in New York, NY
Reginald Marsh (1898-1954) painting. c. 1954 Ink and wash on paper (double-sided) 22.25 x 30.5 inches Contact gallery for price. Reginald Marsh was an American painter, born in ...
Paper, Ink
$548Sale Price|20% Off
H 9.5 in W 13 in
1950's Modernist/ Cubist Painting - Red Roof Green Landscape
By Bernard Labbe
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
French Landscape by Bernard Labbe (French mid 20th century) original gouache on board unframed size: 9.5 x 13 inches condition: very good and ready to be enjoyed provenance: the art...
Gouache
$14,000
H 18 in W 14 in
Original Painting New Yorker Mag Cover proposal. Army Wedding American Scene WPA
By Antonio Petruccelli
Located in New York, NY
Original Painting New Yorker Mag Cover proposal. Army Wedding American Scene WPA Antonio Petruccelli (1907 – 1994) Army Wedding New Yorker cover proposal, c. 1939 11 1/2 X 8 inches ...
Gouache, Board
$385
H 14 in W 18 in D 0.13 in
WPA Era, Industrial Scene Steel Mill by Chicago Modern Artist, Harold Haydon
By Harold Haydon
Located in Chicago, IL
A dynamic 1930s, WPA era industrial scene watercolor of a steel mill and factory workers by notable Chicago Modern artist, Harold Haydon. A wonderful example of early Twentieth Cent...
Watercolor, Paper
Zoo New York City with Sea Lions
By Constantin Alajalov
Located in Miami, FL
A charming and stylized depiction of a day at the Central Park Zoo. with World War Two uniformed visitors front and center. Sea lions put on a show in front o...
Gouache
$679
H 17 in W 13 in
Fine 1700's Italian Old Master Ink & Wash Drawing Roman Allegorical Providenza
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
'Providenza' Italian School, 18th century ink and wash drawing on paper, framed within a light oak wood frame (behind glass) image size: 10.5 x 7 inches overall framed: 17 x 13 inche...
Ink, Watercolor, Archival Paper
$900
H 40 in W 83 in
Floral Triptych of Large Floral Bouquet, Botanical Cyanotype in Classic Blue
By Kind of Cyan
Located in Barcelona, ES
This series of cyanotype triptychs showcases the beauty of nature scenes, including stunning beaches and oceans, as well as the intricate textures of water, forests, and skies. These...
Watercolor, Lithograph, Paper
$455Sale Price|20% Off
H 4.25 in W 4.25 in
Atmospheric French City Square With Figures Archway And Trees Watercolor
By Pierre Neveu
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Title: Atmospheric French City Square With Figures Archway And Trees Watercolor Artist: Pierre Neveu (French b.1929) Medium: Watercolour and Gouache on artists paper, unframed Size (...
Watercolor, Gouache
Reindeer In The Forest Chinese
Located in Lake Worth Beach, FL
Reindeer In Forest Tempera on silk, gold leaf frame under glass, by Chinese artist Ma Hai Feng born 1958.
Silk, Egg Tempera
$6,800Sale Price|20% Off
H 24 in W 37.5 in D 0.13 in
'Rural Landscape with Horse and Buggy', Antique Americana, Folk Art, Naive, Oil
Located in Santa Cruz, CA
Inscribed indistinctly verso, 'Painted by H. Herneisen' (?) and dated 1916. Displayed in a period, polished walnut, swept frame. Framed dimensions: 26 H x 2 D x 39.75 W inches Paint...
Casein, Fiberboard
$617
H 8.47 in W 9.65 in
India Watercolour RCA Architect Painting Palace Udaipur Lake Travel Orange Blues
Located in Norfolk, GB
There is something compelling about drawings and sketches made by architects. Loose and full of life this delicious little study, made on the spot, beautifully captures the essence of place. Made during one of Patterson's early tours to India it shows the gloriously majestic Palace Museum in Udaipur, Rajasthan, which sits on the highest point overlooking Lake Pichola and the City. The delicate wash of terracottas, pinks and reds offers us the feel of sun on the old stones. India Palace Museum (Udaipur), watercolour & pencil on paper, image 9.5cm x 14cm, framed 21.5cm x 24.5cm, Artist Stamp, signed in pencil bottom left, 1990 Doug Patterson...
Watercolor, Archival Paper, Pencil
$850
H 18 in W 24 in D 0.13 in
An Innovative Mid-Century Modern Landscape by Noted Chicago Artist, Rudolph Pen
By Rudolph Pen
Located in Chicago, IL
A Unique, 1960s Mid-Century Modern, European City View Watercolor by Noted Chicago Artist, Rudolph T. Pen. Artwork is formatted in a trapezoid shape, an innovative compositional dev...
Paper, Watercolor
$679
H 17 in W 13 in
Fine 1700's Italian Old Master Ink & Wash Drawing Roman Allegorical India
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
'India' Italian School, 18th century ink and wash drawing on paper, framed within a light oak wood frame (behind glass) image size: 10.5 x 7 inches overall framed: 17 x 13 inches con...
Ink, Watercolor, Archival Paper
Sold
H 23.5 in W 29.5 in
Tugboats in the Harbor. American Landscape -1930s Industrial Harbor Scene
By Reginald Marsh
Located in Marco Island, FL
A fine 1938 watercolor done of Tugboats in the Harbor by Reginald Marsh. The painting depicts the crush of boats at the shoreline during the later part of the American Great Depress...
Watercolor, Archival Paper
Sold
H 16 in W 12 in
"Two Women Walking, Granville, New York, " Reginald Marsh, American Modernism
By Reginald Marsh
Located in New York, NY
Reginald Marsh (1898 - 1954) Two Women Walking, Granville, New York, 1948 Watercolor and ink on paper 10 x 7 1/2 inches Signed, dated, and inscribed low...
Paper, Ink, Watercolor
On the Hudson
By Reginald Marsh
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Medium: Tempera on Linen, Laid to Paperboard Signature: Signed & Dated Lower Right Exhibited: Art Institute of Chicago, American Paintings and Sculpture, Fifty-Second Annual Exhibit...
Linen, Tempera, Board
Sold
H 26 in W 32 in D 2 in
Brooklyn Bridge and Lower Manhattan, Cityscape Watercolor by Reginald Marsh
By Reginald Marsh
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Reginald Marsh, American (1898 - 1954) Title: Brooklyn Bridge and Lower Manhattan II Year: 1938 Medium: Watercolor on Paper, signed and dated l.r. Size: 14 in. x 20 in. (35.5...
Watercolor
Sitting Nude, Art Students League
By Reginald Marsh
Located in Miami, FL
Later in his life, Reginald Marsh was a teacher at the Art Students League in New York and the Moore Institute of Art in Philadelphia. This work re...
Pastel, Pencil
Nude Portrait
By Reginald Marsh
Located in Buffalo, NY
An original tempera on board by Reginald Marsh (1898-1954). Finely painted and housed in a period modernist frame. Signed lower right, "Reginald Marsh". Image size, 12&q...
Oil, Tempera
Tugboat in New York Harbour
By Reginald Marsh
Located in Saratoga Springs, NY
An urban realist painter of New York City genre, Reginald Marsh devoted his career to depicting people going about their everyday business including Bowery bums, vulgar party goers, ...
Paper, Watercolor
Brooklyn Bridge and Lower Manhattan I
By Reginald Marsh
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Reginald Marsh, American (1898 - 1954) Title: Brooklyn Bridge and Lower Manhattan I Year: 1938 Medium: Watercolor on Paper, signed and dated l.r. Size: 14 in. x 20 in. (3...
Watercolor