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.

Thomas Downing Watercolor, 1958 "Washington Color School"

$2,000

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"Untitled" Thomas Downing, Washington Color School, Dots, Red, White, Abstract, 1972

$60,000

"Untitled" Thomas Downing, Washington Color School, Dots, Red, White, Abstract

By Thomas Downing

Located in New York, NY

Thomas Downing Untitled, 1972 Acrylic on canvas 39 1/4 x 84 1/4 inches Thomas Downing received his BA in 1948 from Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Virginia, and then moved to Ne...

Category

1970s Abstract Thomas Downing Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Thomas DowningSwap Series #9, 1967

$454,250

Swap Series #9

By Thomas Downing

Located in London, GB

Thomas Downing Swap Series #9, 1967 Signed by the artist Acrylic on canvas, in three parts 289.6 x 373.4 cm 114 x 147 inches

Category

1960s Abstract Thomas Downing Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Drawing, Flemish School, 18th Century

$1,920Sale Price|20% Off

H 14.625 in W 18 in D 1 in

Drawing, Flemish School, 18th Century

Located in Kittery Point, ME

Ancient Ruins with Strollers. Brown wash and graphite.

Category

Mid-18th Century Dutch Neoclassical Antique Thomas Downing Art

Materials

Paper

American Steel Engraving of George Washington in Orig. Gilt Starred Frame C 1800

$45,000

H 32.5 in W 23 in D 1.75 in

American Steel Engraving of George Washington in Orig. Gilt Starred Frame C 1800

By John Trumbull

Located in Charleston, SC

American Steel Engraving of General George Washington "Before the Battle of Trenton" By John Trumbull Under Original Wavy Glass and Thirteen Starred Gilt Frame, Early 19th Century. T...

Category

Early 1800s American American Colonial Antique Thomas Downing Art

Materials

Steel

Rafael RuzRuz 3071 abstract acrylic canvas painting, 2012

$3,450

H 57.49 in W 38.19 in D 0.79 in

Ruz 3071 abstract acrylic canvas painting

By Rafael Ruz

Located in CORAL GABLES - MIAMI, FL

original abstract acrylic canvas painting Ruz, Rafael (Barcelona 1956) While contemplating the painting of Ruz, we are inclined to talk about real ‘psychodrama’, in the same sense t...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Thomas Downing Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

1980s American School Style Interior Scene of a Sitting Room Watercolor Painting

$595

H 21 in W 17.5 in D 0.5 in

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

19th C. Pair of Watercolors, American School

$3,250 / set

H 15 in W 12.5 in D 1 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

Austrian School Artwork

$1,000

H 32 in W 25.5 in D 1 in

Austrian School Artwork

Located in Los Angeles, CA

Charcoal drawing by art student.

Category

1960s Austrian Vintage Thomas Downing Art

Materials

Paper

orientalist watercolor 2

$170Sale Price|62% Off

H 13.39 in W 9.85 in D 1.19 in

orientalist watercolor 2

By Societé anonyme francaise

Located in TARBES, FR

Discover this magnificent orientalist watercolor, dating from the end of the 20th century. This masterpiece captures the vibrant and mysterious essence of the Orient through soft col...

Category

1990s Algerian Islamic Thomas Downing Art

Materials

Paper

Drawing, Ships, French School

$1,000Sale Price|20% Off

H 12.5 in W 15.75 in D 0.5 in

Drawing, Ships, French School

Located in Kittery Point, ME

Two Ships, one called Le Fromidable
Dated 20 mai 92, situated Rochefort

Category

19th Century French Antique Thomas Downing Art

Materials

Paper

Landscape with River Watercolor, Signed, French School, 19th Century

$1,200Sale Price|20% Off

H 12.375 in W 15.375 in D 1 in

Landscape with River Watercolor, Signed, 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

Drawing, 17th Century Dutch School

$1,250

H 11.5 in W 14.125 in

Drawing, 17th Century Dutch School

Located in Kittery Point, ME

Drawing, Attributed to Bartholomeus Breenbergh (Deventer 1598-1657 Amsterdam). Ruins of an old fort on a hilltop inscribed 'A. no.2' black chalk, pen and brown ink, grey wash, pen ...

Category

18th Century and Earlier Dutch Antique Thomas Downing Art

Materials

Pen

Original French Architectural Watercolor

$4,700Sale Price|20% Off

H 39 in W 50.75 in D 1.63 in

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 by John Varley, 1812

$5,200Sale Price|20% Off

H 15.75 in W 27.5 in D 1 in

Watercolor by John Varley, 1812

By Ernest William Varley

Located in Kittery Point, ME

'Llanberis Lake at the Foot of Mount Snowdon' in Wales. Watercolor on paper, signed and dated "J. Varley 1812" ll, identifying info on verso. sight size: 8 x 19 3/4 in. John Varley is known as an English landscape painter in watercolor and a close friend of William Blake. Varley represents the transition between tinted topographical drawing and the bolder, more fully developed manner of watercolor painting characteristic of the 19th century. As well as being a leading painter, he was the most popular and enthusiastic teacher of his day: his pupils included Cox, De Wint, Linnell, Mulready (his brother-in-law), and Samuel Palmer, and he published various instructional works, including one with Blake. In his early years Varley was influenced stylistically by the work of Thomas Girtin...

Category

1810s English Neoclassical Antique Thomas Downing Art

Materials

Paper

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.