Robert Natkin Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
American, 1930-2010
Robert Natkin was born in Chicago on November 7, 1930 into a large family of Russian Jewish immigrants. In 1945 the family moved to Tennessee though soon returned to Chicago where Natkin would attend the Art Institute of Chicago (1948-1952). The museum’s collection of Post-Impressionist paintings, especially those of Pierre Bonnard and Henri Matisse and the whimsical abstractions of Paul Klee, were significant influences on the young artist. Natkin’s influences outside the art world included frequent trips to the Field Museum of Natural History where he was exposed to stylized Native American and Peruvian textiles.
Introduced to Abstract-Expressionism in New York in 1952, Natkin was especially drawn to the works of Willem de Kooning who’s agitated marks he began to emulate though after returning to Chicago in 1953 he abandoned ties to action painting and began to form what would become his familiar color field abstraction motif. In 1957 Natkin, now married to fellow artist Judith Dolnick, opened the Wells Street Gallery which showed the works of like-minded Chicago artists including sculptor John Chamberlain and photographer Aaron Siskind as well as New York artists they admired. Due to limited patronage however this was a short-lived venture and, seeking greater opportunities, the couple moved to New York in 1959. Natkin continued to develop bold bright fields of color and texture in his paintings finding success among the Poindexter Galleries stable of up-and-coming artists. Immersed in New York’s dynamic art scene through the 1960s and 70s, Natkin continued to evolve his style through his Apollo series, Field Mouse series, and Intimate Lighting series which includes Remembrance is the Secret of Redemption, Forgetfulness Leads to Exile. Other series followed in a long and successful career. Natkin died in Danbury, Connecticut, on April 20, 2010.
Robert Natkin has been the subject of numerous one-man exhibitions and has been included in many more group exhibitions. His work is in the permanent collections of dozens of national and international museums including New York’s Museum of Modern Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the National Gallery of Australia, and the Centre Pompidou in Paris. Additionally Natkin’s colossal 20 x 42 foot mural, executed in 1992, can be seen in the lobby of New York’s Rockefeller Center.to
1
Overall Width
to
Overall Height
to
1
1
1
1
1
1
30
808
408
306
282
1
1
Artist: Robert Natkin
Mid-Century Modernist Watercolor & Gouache Painting by Robert Natkin
By Robert Natkin
Located in New York, NY
This ethereal and beautifully colored Mid-Century Modernist Watercolor & Gouache Painting by Robert Natkin originates from the United States, C.1963. A significant figure in abstract...
Category
1960s Robert Natkin Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Watercolor, Gouache
Related Items
Original-Drawing Time Series-Gladiolus-PleinAir-Brit Awarded Artist-Ink on paper
Located in London, GB
The Summer Bloom Series is an ongoing project that Shizico Yi returns to each summer, painting en plein air in her garden. She began gardening in 2015 to create a healing space for h...
Category
2010s Abstract Expressionist Robert Natkin Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Charcoal, Ink, Graphite, Gouache
H 15.04 in W 10.99 in D 0.04 in
Modern Orange, Brown, Yellow, and Black Geometric Abstract Pattern Painting
By John Little
Located in Houston, TX
Modern orange, brown, yellow, and black geometric abstract composition by textile designer John Little. The work was created as a proposed design for a wallpaper and features the original color codes in the front lower left corner. Currently hung in a solid black frame with a large white margin.
Dimensions Without Frame: H 35.5 in. x W 33.5 in.
Artist Biography: A painter and textile designer, John Little is best known for gestural works filled with boldly explosive color that reflect the influences of his teacher Hans Hofmann and for his involvement in the Abstract Expressionist movement in East Hampton, where he moved in the late 1940s. In East Hampton Little congregated with Jackson Pollock, Lee Krasner, and the other artists who were the leading innovators in the New York School.
John Little was born in Sanford, Alabama. He left home at the age of fourteen to become an artist, and moved to Buffalo, New York, in 1923. After spending a year working as a stevedore on the docks to save money, he enrolled at the Buffalo Fine Arts Academy and developed an interest in singing. In 1927 he moved to New York City where he continued his vocal work and studied operatic literature. He also became involved in textile design, opening his own store in 1920, called John Little Studios: Fabric and Wallpaper Design. He ran the store until 1950.
In 1933 John Little resumed his painting studies at the Art Students League in New York under the guidance of George Grosz (1893-1959). The following year he made his first visit to East Hampton, Long Island, which he would eventually call home. Later in the decade, he traveled to Paris where he became familiar with European modernism. On his return to America, he taught textile design at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. He hired Josephine Watkins to work for him; she later became his wife. Little's textile store and teaching job gave him a financial security that was rare during the Depression, and he never found it necessary to find employment with the Works Progress Administration. At the end of the decade, John Little studied with Hans Hofmann (1880-1966) in New York and Provincetown. Little was greatly influenced by Hofmann, particularly by his views on color theory.
In 1942 John Little joined the Navy as an aerial photographer. In the late 1940s he purchased a rundown house on Three Mile Harbor...
Category
Early 20th Century Modern Robert Natkin Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Paper, Gouache
H 37 in W 35.13 in D 1.13 in
Modern Light Blue, Brown, and Black Geometric Abstract Circle Pattern Painting
By John Little
Located in Houston, TX
Modern light blue, brown, and black geometric abstract circle pattern painting by textile designer John Little. The work was created as a proposed design for a wallpaper and features the original color codes in the front lower left corner. Currently hung in a solid black frame with a large white margin.
Dimensions Without Frame: H 32.75 in. x W 35.63 in.
Artist Biography: A painter and textile designer, John Little is best known for gestural works filled with boldly explosive color that reflect the influences of his teacher Hans Hofmann and for his involvement in the Abstract Expressionist movement in East Hampton, where he moved in the late 1940s. In East Hampton Little congregated with Jackson Pollock, Lee Krasner, and the other artists who were the leading innovators in the New York School.
John Little was born in Sanford, Alabama. He left home at the age of fourteen to become an artist, and moved to Buffalo, New York, in 1923. After spending a year working as a stevedore on the docks to save money, he enrolled at the Buffalo Fine Arts Academy and developed an interest in singing. In 1927 he moved to New York City where he continued his vocal work and studied operatic literature. He also became involved in textile design, opening his own store in 1920, called John Little Studios: Fabric and Wallpaper Design. He ran the store until 1950.
In 1933 John Little resumed his painting studies at the Art Students League in New York under the guidance of George Grosz (1893-1959). The following year he made his first visit to East Hampton, Long Island, which he would eventually call home. Later in the decade, he traveled to Paris where he became familiar with European modernism. On his return to America, he taught textile design at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. He hired Josephine Watkins to work for him; she later became his wife. Little's textile store and teaching job gave him a financial security that was rare during the Depression, and he never found it necessary to find employment with the Works Progress Administration. At the end of the decade, John Little studied with Hans Hofmann (1880-1966) in New York and Provincetown. Little was greatly influenced by Hofmann, particularly by his views on color theory.
In 1942 John Little joined the Navy as an aerial photographer. In the late 1940s he purchased a rundown house on Three Mile Harbor...
Category
Early 20th Century Modern Robert Natkin Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Paper, Gouache
H 34.38 in W 37.25 in D 1.13 in
Covers 13 Red Orange (Abstract painting)
By Joanne Freeman
Located in London, GB
Covers 13 Red Orange (Abstract painting)
Gouache on handmade paper. Unframed.
Joanne Freeman's works on paper are made with gouache on handmade Indian Khadi paper.
She uses tape t...
Category
2010s Hard-Edge Robert Natkin Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Gouache, Handmade Paper
Untitled (Blue Orange)
By Anna Kunz
Located in San Francisco, CA
Anna Kunz was born in Chicago, Illinois, where she continues to live and work. After receiving her BFA from the Art Institute of Chicago, Kunz went on to complete her MFA at Northwes...
Category
2010s Robert Natkin Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Paper, Pastel, Ink, Gouache
1950's Modernist Signed Painting - Interior Abstract Scene
By Bernard Labbe
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Interior Abstract
by Bernard Labbe (French mid 20th century), signed, stamped verso
original gouache painting on paper
overall size: 16 x 12 inches
condition: very good and ready to...
Category
Mid-20th Century Modern Robert Natkin Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Watercolor, Gouache
Covers 13 Green (Abstract Painting)
By Joanne Freeman
Located in London, GB
Covers 13 Green (Abstract Painting)
Gouache on handmade Khadi paper. Unframed.
Joanne Freeman's works on paper are made with gouache on handmade Indian Khadi paper.
She uses tape ...
Category
2010s Hard-Edge Robert Natkin Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Gouache, Handmade Paper
Low Humm
By Darren Waterston
Located in San Francisco, CA
Darren Waterston b. 1965
Low Humm, 2024
Watercolor and gouache on rag paper
29 1/4 x 22 inches (74.3 x 55.9 cm)
Framed: 36 1/4 x 29 inches
From the 2024 exhibition at Berggruen Gall...
Category
2010s Robert Natkin Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Watercolor, Gouache
Pastorales by Joan Miró - Abstraction, Work on Paper
By Joan Miró
Located in London, GB
*PLEASE NOTE UK BUYERS WILL ONLY PAY 5% VAT ON THIS PURCHASE.
Pastorales by Joan Miró (1893-1983)
Gouache and wax crayon on paper
66 x 50.3 cm (26 x 19 ³/₄ inches)
Signed Miró, date...
Category
1960s Abstract Robert Natkin Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Paper, Wax Crayon, Gouache
Sumac, colorful Abstract Impressionist landscape gouache
By Sandy Litchfield
Located in New York, NY
Sandy Litchfield found peace and inspiration in regular solitary walks through nature throughout the pandemic. Her most recent body of work diaristically documents her constitutional...
Category
2010s Abstract Impressionist Robert Natkin Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Paper, Gouache
Seated Mother and Child, 1 (executed 1982)
By Henry Moore
Located in Belgravia, London, London
Charcoal and gouache on paper
Paper size: 9x 11.5 inches
Framed size: 23.5 x 25.75 inches
Signed lower right
Provenance:
Raymond Spencer Co.;
Galerie Dominion, Montreal, 1982;
Dr Max Stern, Montreal, 1982;
Leslie Sacks Fine Art, Los Angeles;
Purchased by Haynes Fine Art...
Category
20th Century Abstract Robert Natkin Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Paper, Charcoal, Gouache
P1.14 (Abstract Painting)
By Jean Feinberg
Located in London, GB
P1.14 (Abstract Painting)
Gouache on Japanese paper. Unframed.
This gouache paint on Japanese paper is a result of working with the accidental arrangements of found colored papers ...
Category
2010s Abstract Robert Natkin Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Paper, Gouache
Previously Available Items
Untitled Abstract Expressionist Work on Paper
By Robert Natkin
Located in New York, NY
Robert Natkin
Untitled Abstract Expressionist work on paper, 1964
Watercolor on paper
Hand signed and dated 1964 by the artist on the front
19 1/4 × 14 1/4 inches
Unframed
Poignant R...
Category
1960s Abstract Expressionist Robert Natkin Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Paper, Watercolor
"Intimate Lighting" 1973 Robert Natkin Mixed Media Painting
By Robert Natkin
Located in Surfside, FL
"Intimate Lighting" depicting an abstract image of various textures, lines, and shapes, signed in pencil Natkin 1973 Intimate Lighting 1973, Robert Natkin (1930-2010) was a New York ...
Category
Robert Natkin Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Robert Natkin drawings and watercolor paintings for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic Robert Natkin drawings and watercolor paintings available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Robert Natkin in paint, paper, acrylic 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 abstract style. Not every interior allows for large Robert Natkin drawings and watercolor paintings, so small editions measuring 15 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Donise English, James Siena, and Larry Zox. Robert Natkin drawings and watercolor paintings prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $3,850 and tops out at $15,000, while the average work can sell for $9,425.