Thomas Downing Art
American, 1928-1985
Thomas Downing was born in Suffolk, Virginia. In 1950, after graduating from Pratt Institute in New York City, he received a grant from the Virginia Museum of Fine Art to study in Europe. Upon returning from Europe, he settled in Washington, DC to teach at Catholic University. In 1954 Downing became a friend of Kenneth Noland, whose life drawing course he attended. From 1955 to 1956 Downing shared a studio with Howard Mehring, another artist who came to be identified with the Washington Color School. Downing had his first one-man show at the Washington Workshop Center for the Arts in 1959.
In 1959 Downing first began using the small dot in his work, a motif he explored fully into the 1970s. Downing’s position in the Washington Color School came from his consistent approach to color. The canvas was the receptacle of color, on which Downing often worked in tonal modulations of a hue. Downing developed shaped canvases in 1966 as a structural solution to his deeper consideration of the “spatial definition” of color. After first working in a parallelogram shape, Downing next worked in chevron-shaped canvases that examined the illusionistic qualities of color. He exhibited these works in a solo exhibition at the Corcoran Gallery in 1966-1967 and later at the Allan Stone Gallery in New York in 1967. Downing’s second series of shaped canvases titled Folds were created in 1968. In the Fold series he discovered a new effect of relief and spatial depth within a flat work that could be enhanced by color. The projections and folding in the Fold paintings suggest the paintings exist in a world without gravity.
Downing exhibited in a group show at Jefferson Place Gallery in 1960 and had his first solo exhibition there in the spring of 1961. Downing had solo exhibitions in New York at Allan Stone Gallery in 1962, 1967, and 1968. He also had solo exhibition in New York at Stable Gallery in September 1963 and January 1965. In the early 1970s Downing had regular solo exhibitions at the Pyramid Galleries in DC.
Downing taught at the Corcoran School of Art and Design, Washington, DC from 1965 to 1968. There he was influential for the next generation of DC color artists including Sam Gilliam. He moved to New York in 1970 and taught at the School of Visual Arts. He then accepted a position at the University of Houston, Texas in 1975. Around 1976, Downing moved to Provincetown where he continued to paint until his death in 1985.
In 2007 Thomas Downing was included in Optic Nerve: Perceptual Art in the 1960s at the Columbus Museum of Art, Ohio and Lyrical Color: Morris Louis, Gene Davis, Kenneth Noland and the Washington Color School at the Phillips Collection, Washington, DC. to
2
2
1
1
1
Thomas Downing Watercolor, 1958 "Washington Color School"
By Thomas Downing
Located in Sharon, CT
Rare very early watercolor by this famous 'Washington D.C. Colorist'(from the group of Morris Louis, Kenneth Noland and Gene Davis), signed and dated L.L. 1958. Matted and framed in ...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Thomas Downing Art
Materials
Paint
Thomas Downing "Moon", 1985
By Thomas Downing
Located in Washington, DC
Painting by Thomas Downing (1928 - 1985).
"Moon", 1985
Acrylic on paper bag
35" x 15" (framed)
Dedication on reverse to his wife Helen.
Downing’s works are in many collections in...
Category
1980s Abstract Thomas Downing Art
Materials
Paper, Acrylic
Related Items
1980s American School Style Interior Scene of a Sitting Room Watercolor Painting
Located in Morristown, NJ
American School (20th c.), Interior scene, watercolor on paper, signed and dated "Wisner, '81" lower right. A charming, colorful and detailed representation of a beautiful room-scape. It makes me want to grab a good book and snuggle up by the fire.
The framing is by The House of Heydenryk...
Category
1980s American American Classical Vintage Thomas Downing Art
Materials
Glass, Wood, Paint, Paper
$595
H 21 in W 17.5 in D 0.5 in
19th C. Pair of Watercolors, American School
Located in Kittery Point, ME
Western Wild Birds, each monogrammed ES lower left.
Watercolor on Paper.
Category
19th Century American Antique Thomas Downing Art
Materials
Paper
Drawing, Ships, French School
Located in Kittery Point, ME
Two Ships, one called Le Fromidable
Dated 20 mai 92, situated Rochefort
Dated 20 mai 92, situated Rochefort
Category
19th Century French Antique Thomas Downing Art
Materials
Paper
Austrian School Artwork
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Charcoal drawing by art student.
Category
1960s Austrian Vintage Thomas Downing Art
Materials
Paper
Original French Architectural Watercolor
Located in Pembroke, MA
An original French pen and ink and watercolored drawing of a "Module Egypto-Grec", in the Beaux Arts style (circa 1850). The watercolored drawing has been recently matted and framed in a custom Larson Juhl...
Category
19th Century French Neoclassical Antique Thomas Downing Art
Materials
Paint, Paper
Watercolor, French School, 19th Century
Located in Kittery Point, ME
Landscape with River, Signed in red L de N.
Category
19th Century French Antique Thomas Downing Art
Materials
Paper
Queen of hearts - abstract red grey brown black painting and collage on panel
By Deborah T. Colter
Located in New York, NY
Deborah T Colter is a contemporary abstract painter who lives on the Island of Martha’s Vineyard. Deborah graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design with a Bachelor Degree of ...
Category
2010s Abstract Thomas Downing Art
Materials
Mixed Media, Acrylic, Archival Paper
Drawing, Continental School, Squirrels
Located in Kittery Point, ME
European red Squirrels
Inscribed indistinctly and dated 40 (lr)
Black and red chalk on paper.
Category
1940s European Vintage Thomas Downing Art
Materials
Paper
Watercolor by Paul Renner
Located in Alessandria, Piemonte
O/8182 - This is an unusual painting: the famous Austrian painter Paul Renner, on the occasion of his own wedding, painted a series of watercolors as a gift to friends invited to his wedding.
This one looks like steam coming out of a magic lamp...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Modern Thomas Downing Art
Materials
Paper
Misty Blue - abstract blue white beige brown painting and collage on panel
By Deborah T. Colter
Located in New York, NY
Deborah T Colter is a contemporary abstract painter who lives on the Island of Martha’s Vineyard. Deborah graduated from the Rhode Island School o...
Category
2010s Abstract Thomas Downing Art
Materials
Mixed Media, Acrylic, Archival Paper
$3,200
H 24 in W 24 in D 1.5 in
California Sunset - Blue, Red & Yellow Modern Abstract Landscape Seascape Art
By Margaret Francis
Located in Preston, GB
California Sunset - Blue, Red & Yellow Modern Abstract Landscape Seascape Painting art on thick washi paper mounted behind glass in a silver leaf frame
Art measures 30 x 23 inches ...
Category
1990s Abstract Expressionist Thomas Downing Art
Materials
Paper, Acrylic, Watercolor, Archival Paper, Washi Paper
$6,400 Sale Price
20% Off
H 30 in W 37 in D 2 in
Watercolor by Richard Beavis, 19th Century British School
Located in Kittery Point, ME
Richard Beavis (British, 1824-1896)
Near Arles on the Rhone
Initialed and titled lower left.
Ink and watercolor on paper/board.
With an old attribution to Bonnington.
Sight size: 6 x 13 in. The dimension given otherwise includes the frame.
Framed in a charming late 19th century frame.
Best known for his rural landscapes, the British painter Richard Beavis populated his scenes with picturesque grazing cattle and people hard at work as well illustrated in our watercolor.
Provenance: The estate of Sir Edwin A.G. Manton (1909-2005) a driving force in the creation of the American International Group (AIG), a collector of paintings by John Constable...
Category
Late 19th Century English Victorian Antique Thomas Downing Art
Materials
Paper
$1,120 Sale Price
20% Off
H 15 in W 21.75 in D 1 in
Thomas Downing art for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic Thomas Downing art available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Thomas Downing in acrylic paint, canvas, fabric and more. Not every interior allows for large Thomas Downing art, so small editions measuring 17 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Joseph Solman, Martin Canin, and Maureen Chatfield. Thomas Downing art prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $28,000 and tops out at $28,000, while the average work can sell for $28,000.