Robert Riggs Paintings
American, 1896-1970
Known for his scenes of prize-fighting and circus-genre, Robert Riggs had a highly successful career as an artist, especially in the ‘30s and ‘40s. His painting, The Brown Bomber, showed the boxing victory of Joe Louis over Max Schmeling. This is one of the paintings that earned Riggs election to the National Academy of Design in 1946. He was born in Decatur, Illinois, and as a young man ran away from home and joined the circus. He studied at the James Milliken University in Illinois and then trained at the Art Students League in New York, but his study was interrupted by Army service in the First World War. He attended the Académie Julian in Paris and then returned to the United States where he settled in Philadelphia and worked for N. W. Ayer & Sons, an advertising agency for whom he did numerous illustrations.
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Artist: Robert Riggs
Tribesmen with Headdresses - Gay Artist
By Robert Riggs
Located in Miami, FL
"Riggs openly identified as gay to his friends in the Philadelphia art community, but did not disclose his orientation to his employers." - Woodmere Art Museum
Tempera mixed with gum arabic and alcohol on Renaissance Panel
"Robert Riggs was awarded the Gold Medal for Excellence by the New York Art Directors Club for ten consecutive years and received many additional awards." He was elected to the Society of Illustrators' Hall of Fame. His work is in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Philadelphia Museum of Fine Arts and the U.S. Library of Congress. Riggs's compositons are "monumental" Walt Reed Riggs was a Gay Artist...
Category
1940s American Realist Robert Riggs Paintings
Materials
Tempera
George Washington Marine Procession New York Presidential Inauguration, Life Mag
By Robert Riggs
Located in Miami, FL
"The Great Man Comes to Take His Oath" Life Magazine Spread, July 4th, 1960, This epic narrative depicts the celebration of George Washington's inauguration, en route to Federal Hall...
Category
1930s American Realist Robert Riggs Paintings
Materials
Oil
$92,000 Sale Price
20% Off
Mongols
By Robert Riggs
Located in Miami, FL
Tempera mixed with gum arabic and alcohol on Renaissance Panel
There is from frame burn and scattered surface abrasions but they are minor. Additionally, there are a 3 or 4 very fine hair line scratches not visible unless you look very closely. The work is varnished and has a reflective quality to it that makes it hard to photograph. In person the viewing experience is much better. You can see more detail in the shadow areas. The colors are rich, deep and saturated. Riggs was very particular in researching the tribal costumes...
Category
1940s American Realist Robert Riggs Paintings
Materials
Tempera
$26,000 Sale Price
23% Off
Young girl Redhead Holding her father's hand Illustration
By Robert Riggs
Located in Miami, FL
There is a reason why there are few contemporary painters who can paint a portrait this good. It's hard to do. It's easy to throw some paint or spray a mess of graffiti on canvas. ...
Category
1940s American Realist Robert Riggs Paintings
Materials
Oil
Prospector firing Rifle ( Happiness is a Warm Gun ) Gay Art
By Robert Riggs
Located in Miami, FL
Tempera mixed with gum arabic and alcohol on Renaissance Panel
Robert Riggs was a gay man. Being gay in American during the 1940's time was something not to flaunt in public. Rigg's had to communicate his underlying feelings in more symbolic ways.
Throughout Riggs oeuvre, one sees continuous references to strong hunked out manly men and vulnerable boys. It is a core element of is iconography and is described in a powerful graphic style.
In “Prospector firing Rifle” is a Dick Pic. Riggs is clearly making a sexual statement about the moment of climax. The long, straight rifle explodes and is captured at the peak moment of climax. Meanwhile, the bag two bags of gold clearly resemble the other part of the male anatomy. Riggs was a thoughtful and meticulous visual thinker and nothing in any of Riggs’s compositions were haphazardly placed. In tribute to the artist’s suppressed feelings, I have given this work a second title “Happiness is a Warm Gun...
Category
1940s Academic Robert Riggs Paintings
Materials
Tempera
The Burr - Hamilton Duel
By Robert Riggs
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Medium: Oil Painting
Signature: Signed Lower Right
Category
20th Century Robert Riggs Paintings
Materials
Oil
Tribesmen with Headdresses
By Robert Riggs
Located in Miami, FL
"Robert Riggs was awarded the Gold Medal for Excellence by the New York Art Directors Club for ten consecutive years and received many additional awards." He was elected to the Society of Illustrators' Hall of Fame. His work is in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Philadelphia Museum of Fine Arts and the U.S. Library of Congress. Riggs's compositons are "monumental" Walt Reed - work is unframed. - Riggs was a Gay Artist.
Category
1940s American Realist Robert Riggs Paintings
Materials
Tempera
Ringing of the Bell
By Robert Riggs
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Ringing of the Bell
Robert Riggs was a painter and a lithographer of monumental compositions, yet achieved his effects through meticulous means. In lithography, he worked from black...
Category
20th Century Other Art Style Robert Riggs Paintings
Materials
Oil, Panel
Indian sacrificial ceremony - Aztec Human Sacrifice
By Robert Riggs
Located in Miami, FL
The sacrificial ceremony, Freemans The Collection of Philip Desind Signed Three times Riggs l.r. A powerful account of moments a tribe member is cut open and the heart is handed over to a young brave,
There is a reason why there are few contemporary painters who can paint a portrait this good. It's hard to do. It's easy to throw some paint or spray a mess of graffiti on canvas. That's easy. To execute a portrait with a great depth of anatomy and structure takes years of academic training. In Riggs's time there were teachers who knew how to pass on this knowledge. He studied at the Art Students League and the Académie Julian . Today, they are very few and far between. - Robert Riggs was a Gay Artist...
Category
1950s American Realist Robert Riggs Paintings
Materials
Mixed Media
Indian Ritual Walking on Fire, Firewalking Ceremony, Mythology and Religion
By Robert Riggs
Located in Miami, FL
Narrative artist Robert Riggs captures a highly-charged scene of an Indian firewalking ceremony. Firewalking is part of a religious ritual and is associated with the mystical powers...
Category
1950s Academic Robert Riggs Paintings
Materials
Varnish, Pigment
Tribesmen with Headdresses - Photo Realism
By Robert Riggs
Located in Miami, FL
Tempera mixed with gum arabic and alcohol on Renaissance Panel
"Robert Riggs was awarded the Gold Medal for Excellence by the New York Art Directors Club for ten consecutive years and received many additional awards." He was elected to the Society of Illustrators' Hall of Fame. His work is in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Philadelphia Museum of Fine Arts and the U.S. Library of Congress. Riggs's compositons are "monumental" Walt Reed Riggs was a Gay Artist...
Category
1940s American Realist Robert Riggs Paintings
Materials
Tempera
Young girl Redhead Holding her father's hand
By Robert Riggs
Located in Miami, FL
There is a reason why there are few contemporary painters who can paint a portrait this good. It's hard to do. It's easy to throw some paint or spray a mess of graffiti on canvas. That's easy art. Executing a portrait with a great depth of anatomy and structure takes years of academic training. In Riggs's time, there were teachers who knew how to pass on this knowledge. He studied at the Art Students League and the Académie Julian . Today, they are very few and far between. Tempera mixed with gum arabic and alcohol on Renaissance Panel - Robert Riggs was a Gay Artist...
Category
1940s American Realist Robert Riggs Paintings
Materials
Oil
Grizzly Adams, Grizzly bear attacks Frontiersman
By Robert Riggs
Located in Miami, FL
There is a reason why there are few contemporary painters who can paint a portrait of a man and bear this good. It's hard to do. It's easy to throw some paint or spray a mess of graf...
Category
1950s American Realist Robert Riggs Paintings
Materials
Mixed Media, Graphite
Tribesmen with Headdresses
By Robert Riggs
Located in Miami, FL
Tempera mixed with gum arabic and alcohol on Renaissance Panel
"Robert Riggs was awarded the Gold Medal for Excellence by the New York Art Directors Club for ten consecutive years and received many additional awards." He was elected to the Society of Illustrators' Hall of Fame. His work is in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Philadelphia Museum of Fine Arts and the U.S. Library of Congress. Riggs's compositons are "monumental" Walt Reed Riggs was a Gay Artist...
Category
1940s American Realist Robert Riggs Paintings
Materials
Tempera
Filling the Biggest Lumber Order on Record
By Robert Riggs
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Date: 1946
Medium: Oil on Paper
Dimensions: 20.25" x 18.25"
Signature: Signed Lower Right
Exhibitions: September 2007: Society of Illustrators
Category
1940s Robert Riggs Paintings
Materials
Paper, Oil
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Robert Riggs paintings for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic Robert Riggs paintings available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Robert Riggs in paint, oil paint, tempera and more. Not every interior allows for large Robert Riggs paintings, so small editions measuring 11 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Spencer Douglass Crockwell, Amos Sewell, and Alex Roulette. Robert Riggs paintings prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $12,500 and tops out at $92,000, while the average work can sell for $40,000.