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.
Romare Bearden Original Watercolor Cityscape Painting
By Romare Bearden
Located in Minneapolis, MN
Artist: Romare Bearden Title: Untitled Medium: Original Watercolor on Paper Size: Sheet measures 9.375" x 12.675" Year: c. 1980 Inscription: Signed in pencil on front upper left Fort...
Paper, Watercolor
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
$20,000Sale Price|20% Off
H 23 in W 19 in
"Study for Ladders" Juanita Guccione, Abstract Surrealism, Female Artist
By Juanita Guccione
Located in New York, NY
Juanita Guccione (1904 - 1999) Study for Ladders, 1948 Gouache on paper 17 x 13 inches Signed lower left, dated, and inscribed “Study for Oil Painting...
Paper, Gouache
$586
H 9.5 in W 6 in
Woman Reading by French Window Interior Modernist 20th Century Oil Painting
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Woman Reading by French Window Interior Modernist 20th Century Oil Painting Laure Noetzlin-Azam (French, 1929–2024), pupil of André Lhote Canvas: 9.5 x 6 inches Medium: Oil on canvas...
Oil
$345
H 13.98 in W 10.44 in D 0.08 in
Contemporary Miniature Natural Pigments Painting Cosmic Egg Minimalist orange
By Rahul Kumar
Located in Norfolk, GB
Rahul Kumar Untitled Natural Pigment on Paper 35.5cm x 26.5cm Rahul Kumar is from a family of traditional miniature painters working in Jaipur. The atelier where his family learnt t...
Paper, Watercolor
$550
H 8 in W 6 in
"Long Trail" - Impressionist Landscape and Still-Life, Oil Painting on Panel
By Hazel Z Weckbach
Located in Denver, CO
This piece rests at 6 x 8 inches and is framed at 13 x 15 inches, wired and ready for hanging. Artist Statement: "Subject matter to me is a vehicle for me to explore how I observe l...
Watercolor, Archival Paper
$395
H 23.23 in W 16.54 in D 0.08 in
"Fantasy with Flowers 218" Mixed , paper, 59x42cm, Unframed
Located in Zofingen, AG
"Fantasy with Flowers" (series of 300+ pictures) paper 59x42cm On the paper acrylic, oil pastel, felt-tip pen, ink, gold leaf, pencils, silver,mixed media. Sold and sent unframed -V...
Paper, Oil Pastel, Acrylic, Watercolor
$2,242
H 36.23 in W 25.6 in D 1.19 in
Cubist-Inspired Female Portrait, Oil on Canvas, Early 20th Century Inspiration
By Menachem Gueffen
Located in NANTES, FR
This Cubist-inspired portrait of a woman was created by the painter Menachem Gueffen. Faithful to the artist’s figurative-expressionist style, this oil on canvas is distinguished by ...
Burlap, Oil
Chez La Modiste
By Jean François Thomas
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Jean Thomas 1923-2019 Signed and Dated Trained at the Academy of Fine Arts in Lyon, Jean Thomas began exhibiting his works in 1946. His first paintings, influenced by the great ...
Oil
Lily Study III
By Gary Bukovnik
Located in Burlingame, CA
'Lily Study III' by master watercolorist Gary Bukovnik, who fuses sensual vitality with fluid yet powerful colorations to create floral images of great depth, intensity, and size. I...
Paper, Watercolor
$1,775
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
Entrée La Gare
By Pascal Jarrion
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
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
$42,000
H 33 in W 43 in D 2 in
Leaving the Factory- American Scene Watercolor Painting-WPA Painter
Located in Marco Island, FL
David Fredenthal captures the chaotic rush of men leaving their jobs at the factory. The setting is possibly the Rouge Factory, one of Henry Ford's most important and earliest fact...
Gouache, Archival Paper