Romare Bearden was an inventive American modern artist whose unique visual style set him apart. Working with a variety of media, Bearden made paintings distinguished by a bold use of color and rich texture. His figurative, landscape and portrait prints had influences ranging from Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso to traditional Japanese, Chinese and African art.
Bearden was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, in 1911. He pursued a degree in education and attended Lincoln University, Boston University and New York University. At New York University he began taking courses in art. During his time there, he served as the art editor and lead cartoonist at a journal called The Medley. To further his creative passions, Bearden attended the Art Students League of New York. From 1935 to 1937, he was the editorial cartoonist for the Baltimore Afro-American.
Bearden worked as a social worker from the mid-1930s until the 1960s. He continued creating art during his evenings and weekends and began exhibiting in solo shows across the United States in the 1940s. Bearden would go on to exhibit throughout Europe.
Bearden was a prolific writer on social issues, and his words complemented his art. He was active in African American advocacy groups and helped found important community art venues and organizations like the Harlem Cultural Council in 1964 and the Studio Museum in Harlem in 1968. He also published books on art and African American art history.
Bearden earned many prestigious honors, including honorary doctorates from Davidson College, Atlanta University, Carnegie Mellon University and Pratt Institute. Bearden also received the New York City Mayor’s Award of Honor for Art and Culture in 1984 and the National Medal of Arts in 1987, presented by President Ronald Reagan. He died in New York City on March 12, 1988.
Today, Bearden's work is held in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
On 1stDibs, find Romare Bearden’s prints, paintings, mixed media and more.
Price Upon Request
The Soul Never Dwells in a Dry Place
By Romare Bearden
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Romare Bearden, American (1911 - 1988) Title: The Soul Never Dwells in a Dry Place Date: October, 1946 Medium: Oil on Masonite, signed l.l. Size: 24 in. x 31 in. (60.96 ...
Oil
French Cubist Portrait of a young girl
By Alain Mettais Cartier
Located in Woodbury, CT
Mattais Cartier (French, circa 1910–1960) Cubist Figure with Raised Arm, 1947 Oil on canvas, signed and dated lower right Executed in 1947, this bold and architectonic composition ...
Oil
Dark Thunder
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Pascal Jarrion was born in 1961 in Perpignan, France, a region known for its Catalan culture as well as its influence on artists before him, including Picasso, Van Gogh, and Maillol....
Oil, Panel
Reclining Figure Mid Century Modern Cubist Painting C.1950s
Located in San Francisco, CA
Fantastic 1950's Cubist Oil Painting by Mystery Artist. Though undated, this is a classic 1950's painting. A reclining figure under the sun. Original cubist oil painting on masonit...
Oil
$5,600Sale Price|30% Off
H 30.5 in W 28 in D 2 in
Woman with a Guitar, Cubism
By Simka Simkhovitch
Located in New York, NY
A period work by a Russian artist working in a Cubist approach. The canvas is 24 1/4 x 22 1/4 inches and the above dimension is the framed size. The frame is an older frame, with a flat gold/brown finish. In Woman with Guitar, Simkhovitch plays on his his early fascination with Cubism and Constructivism (and his background in illustration) expressing and compressing with planes and color the spatiality of a domestic scene. Considered a master draftsman and an adherent of certain classicism, Simkhovitch’s compositions are often built up in a complicated but well-managed counterpoint, at heart, he is a romanticist preferring the dreamy colors of a Russian fairy tale.
Oil
$2,800Sale Price|20% Off
H 37 in W 39 in D 1 in
Virility (framed original painting)
Located in Aventura, FL
Original oil painting on machine made colored paper. Hand signed and dated on front by Ottorino Mancioli. Artwork size: 25.5 x 27.1 inches. Frame size: 37 x 39 inches. The pain...
Paper, Oil
$795
H 29 in W 41 in D 3 in
Mid Century Modern Cubist Painting w/ Figures of Children by Spurlock c.1950
Located in San Francisco, CA
Mid century modern figural abstract painting with a touch of cubism. Original oil on canvas. Dimensions 35 1/2" x 23 1/2". Frame dimensions 41" x 29". Very good vintage conditi...
Canvas, Oil
After Pablo Picasso’s 1929 “Reclining Woman”
By (after) Pablo Picasso
Located in San Francisco, CA
This is an incredible painting done after Picasso 1929 reclining woman painting. That painting is locatedin a museum somewhere in Europe I believe. This o...
Oil
$13,215Sale Price|20% Off
H 45.67 in W 35.44 in
Cubist Portrait of Gabriele Varese (in Italian uniform), 1919
Located in Stockholm, SE
Dick Beer (b. London 1893 - d. Stockholm 1938) Portrait of Gabriele Varese (in Italian uniform), 1919 oil on canvas mounted on panel 116 x 90 cm stamp signature Exhibited: Solo exhibition, Stockholm, Nov-Dec 1917; The Royal Academy Stockholm 1973; Åmells Konsthandel – En internationell kubist, Stockholm & London 2008 Hälsinglands Museum 2011 Millesgården – Dick Beer – Impressionist & Kubist, 2012 Provenance: Within the family Beer until today Dick Beer was born in 1893 in London as Richard Beer, the youngest of five brothers. His father, John Beer (1853-1906), was a watercolourist who was born in Stockholm and had left Sweden at the age of 17. John Beer instructed his sons in drawing and painting, among other things. A number of sketchbooks bear testimony to the boys’ talent. Dick Beer’s parents died in 1906 and 1907. Barely 15 years old, Beer arrived in Sweden as an orphan. First he lived with relatives and finally he ended up at Reverend Laurell in Västergötland. Dick Beer began his artistic studies at the Althin School of Painting in Stockholm in 1908 and continued at the Royal Academy of Arts in the autumn of 1910, but in September 1912 he broke off his studies and travelled to Paris. He rented a studio and enrolled at the Colarossi and Grande Chaumière academies. In the summer of 1913, Dick Beer travelled to Pont-Aven in Bretagne in order to paint. In September the same year, he held his first solo exhibition in Stockholm which he gave the French title Exposition des tableaux de Bretagne et autour de Paris. The exhibition proved a success. Many of the paintings were executed in a light palette in a style inspired by the impressionists. In 1914, Dick Beer undertook an extensive study trip to Italy, Tunis, Morocco and Spain, which resulted in canvases overflowing with colours and light. When the French army mobilised, he volunteered and was enlisted in the French Foreign Legion. In 1915 Dick Beer sustained severe head injuries in a grenade attack, which resulted in deafness and a nervous condition that would plague him for the rest of his life. Two of his brothers died the following year, fighting for the English army. Dick Beer was hospitalised and convalesced at Château de Rochefort. Here he started painting again, in an impressionist style, a painting dominated by blue and green hues. In 1918, Dick Beer married Ruth Öhrling, a dentist, and their son John was born later in the year. During this time, Beer began experimenting with cubist painting and created several large compositions, including the painting “The Arab Café”. In the years that followed, Dick Beer was based in Paris, where he often moved house. He was instructed by André Lhote, who encouraged his students to work freely in the studio and provided them with individual critique. Beer often travelled to Bretagne or Provence. His artist friends came from all over Europe and included Amedeo Modigliani. Dick Beer exhibited fairly regularly in Paris between 1919 and 1934 and made a name for himself in French artist circles. In the summers, Ruth regularly rented a house in the countryside, often at Lake Mälaren. She kept a large house with many models and friends and there was a lot of painting and discussions. In 1933, the couple divorced but Ruth still loved Dick and continued to support him financially for the rest of his life. Dick Beer also exhibited in Sweden, albeit irregularly due to his failing health. In the 1920s and 1930s, Beer continued to pursue an expressionist painting with intense colours and unexpected perspectives, but eventually he veered towards more naturalistic forms, including a large number of nudes. He also painted several portraits of artists, politicians and writers. In 1938, Dick Beer sojourned in Arles. The budding photographer Christer Strömholm...
Canvas, Oil, Panel
$29,500
H 60 in W 40 in D 3 in
"A Time For Her" by Yuroz, 60"x40", Original Oil on Panel, Monochromatic Sepia
By Yuroz
Located in Dallas, TX
In this stunning piece by the renowned artist Yuroz, beautifully encapsulates the timeless themes of love and romance. This artwork invites you to witness a lover's serenade, where a...
Oil, Wood Panel
$620Sale Price|20% Off
H 15 in W 19 in D 1 in
Antique American Modernist Cubist Ballet Dancers Framed Original Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Very finely executed modernist ballet scene. Pastel and gouache on paper. Handsomely framed. Image size, 12H by 16L.
Canvas, Oil
Rendez-Vous
By Miette Braive
Located in West Hollywood, CA
Belgian artist Miette Braive(1916-2000), was classically trained in Belgium, before moving to Paris to pursue her art career as first a student and then a contemporary of the French ...
Oil
$9,439
H 10.63 in W 13.78 in
"Les Fumeurs", 20th Century Oil on Cardboard by Spanish Artists Francisco Bores
By Francisco Bores
Located in Madrid, ES
FRANCISCO BORES Spanish, 1898 - 1972 LES FUMEURS signed & dated "Borès 35" (lower right) titled in pencil "Les Fumeurs", unfinished sketch (head), signed & dated "Bores 36" (on the reverse) oil on cardboard 10-5/8 x 13-3/4 inches (27 x 35 cm.) framed: 15-1/2 x 18-1/2 inches (39.5 x 47 cm.) NOTE: THIS WORK IS ACCOMPANIED BY A CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICITY ISSUED BY “ARCHIVO FRANCISCO BORES”. BIBLIOGRAPHY: Francisco Bores, Reasoned Catalogue, Volume I - Painting 1917-1944, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid, 2003, n° 1935 / 49, reproduced in color p. 281 PROVENANCE Carmen Bores Collection, Francisco Bores daughter Francisco Bores López (Madrid, May 5, 1898 - Paris, May 10, 1972) was a Spanish painter of the so-called New School of Paris. His artistic training originated both in the Cecilio Pla painting academy, where he met Pancho Cossío, Manuel Ángeles Ortiz...
Oil, Cardboard