Ron English Folk Art

American, b. 1966

Ron English (b. 1959) is a pioneering American contemporary artist who explores the intersection of street art, brand imagery, superhero comics, art history, advertising, and politics. His cheeky interpretation of Pop Art comes alive in vibrant drawings, paintings, and murals. English’s imagery is found on the street, in museums, in movies, books, and television. His irreverent, imagined characters include MC Supersized, the obese fast-food mascot featured in Morgan Spurlock’s 2004 documentary Super Size Me, and Abraham Obama, a mischievous hybrid of the 16th and 44th U.S. presidents. Sociocultural commentary underscores his work, exemplified by his iteration of Ronald McDonald as a western culture “Buddha” gorging McDonald’s to expose the insatiable slothfulness of consumerism. English transformed his early experience as an art reproducer to become a founding co-creator of illegal public art campaigns in the early 1980s. His controversial street art activities are the subject matter and explored extensively in POPaganda - The Art & Crimes of Ron English, a documentary directed by Pedro Carvajal. An acclaimed outlaw artist, English never became an official member, but he has participated with the Billboard Liberation Front, which practices culture jamming by altering billboards to change keywords and radically alter the message, often to make an anti-corporate statement. He frequently targets corporations and their mascots, including Joe Camel and Mickey Mouse. English seeks to inspire people to question consumer capitalism through his exaggerated, grotesque characters. English is a masterful oil painter working in a photorealist style. After earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of North Texas in Denton, and an MFA from The University of Texas, English moved to New York City, where he apprenticed with several artists and started selling his own work. English reworks art historical imagery, such as depictions of Picasso’s Guernica, as a template to explore universal issues. English’s work is in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, Paris, the Whitney Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the Paterson Museum in Paterson, New Jersey. He has exhibited at the Station Museum in Houston and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Washington DC. In November of 2021, English’s enormous immersive installation Sugar Circus opened an exhibition at The Nest in Q Plex in Nanshan District in Shenzhen, China. His work has been featured in solo and group shows around the world.

Creator: Ron English

Painted Silkscreen of John Lennon & Groucho Marx by Ron English

$4,750

Painted Silkscreen of John Lennon & Groucho Marx by Ron English

By Ron English

Located in Palm Springs, CA

A silkscreen on paper that has been painted over in acrylic or oil. It was done by Ron English as we have the same image signed done in different styles. This one is not signed or ma...

Category

Late 20th Century American Ron English Folk Art

Carved and Painted Six Whale Species Board Made by Nantucket Whaler, circa 1940

$18,000

H 18.25 in W 34.25 in D 4 in

Carved and Painted Six Whale Species Board Made by Nantucket Whaler, circa 1940

By Captain George Grant

Located in Nantucket, MA

Made by George Grant of Nantucket (1857-1942). Grant, the son of whaling captain Charles Grant, was born in 1857 during a whaling voyage. His mother, ...

Category

Early 20th Century American Folk Art Ron English Folk Art

Materials

Pine, Paint

Fabric Collage Floor Screen by Rose Lautman

$1,995

H 55 in W 22 in D 1.5 in

Fabric Collage Floor Screen by Rose Lautman

Located in Hanover, MA

Rose Lautman, worked exclusively in fabric collage with a meticulous hand and a fine needle. Rose's artwork was exhibited in galleries primarily in Sara...

Category

1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Ron English Folk Art

Materials

Fabric

70's Serigraph by Sister Corita Kent

$2,800

H 24 in W 24 in D 1.5 in

70's Serigraph by Sister Corita Kent

By Sister Corita

Located in Phoenix, AZ

Sister Mary Corita Kent (1918-1986) was known for her text-based pop influenced printmaking that conveyed her activism and spiritually-informed social...

Category

1970s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Ron English Folk Art

Materials

Paint

$1,720Sale Price / set|20% Off

H 34 in W 14 in D 16 in

Victorian Bent Oak Side Chair w/ Floral Seat by Thonet Hermanos, Set of 4

By Thonet

Located in Van Nuys, CA

Victorian era Thonet Hermanos side chair featuring an elegant, sculptural frame crafted from warm-toned bentwood with an Art Nouveau floral branded seat and back rest. Thonet Hermano...

Category

Late 18th Century German Vienna Secession Antique Ron English Folk Art

Materials

Oak

English Early 20th Century Amazing Scratch Built Locomotive

$10,584Sale Price|20% Off

H 16 in W 37 in D 11 in

English Early 20th Century Amazing Scratch Built Locomotive

Located in London, GB

Amazing scratch built locomotive We are proud to offer one of the best examples of English early 20th century scratch built Folk Art examples. Modelled on an English steam locomot...

Category

1930s British Folk Art Vintage Ron English Folk Art

Materials

Metal

Previously Available Items

silkscreen w/ paint of John Lennon & Groucho Marx by Ron English

Sold

silkscreen w/ paint of John Lennon & Groucho Marx by Ron English

By Ron English

Located in Palm Springs, CA

A nice signed Ron English silkscreen of John Lennon and Groucho Marx. New frame.

Category

Late 20th Century American Ron English Folk Art

Materials

Paint, Screen

Ron English folk art for sale on 1stDibs.

Ron English folk art are available for sale on 1stDibs. There are many options to choose from in our collection of Ron English folk art, although beige editions of this piece are particularly popular. If you’re looking for additional options, many customers also consider folk art by Purvis Young, Navajo, and Beatrice Wood. Prices for Ron English folk art can differ depending upon size, time period and other attributes — on 1stDibs, these items begin at $9,500 and can go as high as $9,500, while a piece like these, on average, fetch $9,500.