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"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 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

Juanita Bellavance Glow 2, fantasy landscape, pink, blue, luminous, sunset, waterfall, 2019

$2,500

H 36 in W 36 in D 1.5 in

Glow 2, fantasy landscape, pink, blue, luminous, sunset, waterfall

By Juanita Bellavance

Located in Cumming, GA

"Glow 2" transports viewers into a mesmerizing fantasy landscape, where the boundaries of reality blur with the ethereal. Dominated by hues of pink ...

Category

2010s Abstract Impressionist Thomas Downing Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Andrea SpinelliUrban Abstraction (ripped off posters) Italian Expressionist Painting on Canvas, 1980- 1990

$1,377

H 20.87 in W 32.68 in D 1.19 in

Urban Abstraction (ripped off posters) Italian Expressionist Painting on Canvas

By Andrea Spinelli

Located in Firenze, IT

The present work of art titled "Urban Abstraction (ripped off posters)" is part of a series of paintings that the artist composed in the 1980s and 1990s inspired by the observation of the urban reality of those years. The artist take the cue from his walks in Florence, both in the center and in the suburbs, and by the observation of billboards and posters scattered throughout the city. The mass of information, colors, messages and words were carried on the canvas with acrylic colors, ideally reconstructing the tears and overlaps of all the information and advertising contained on these huge sheets of paper that invade our cities. The geometric lines are overlaid with jagged lines, overlaps and color dripping and also the choice in the color palette, with different shades of white, gray, rose, orange red and blue helps in rendering the result of the tears and ripped paper. The result is a beautiful multicolored modern abstract canvas, both aesthetically and ethically, with many rich layers of color, texture and expression in which the artist leaves his own message. The painting is housed in a simple modern white lacquer wood frame. Andrea Spinelli...

Category

Late 20th Century Abstract Expressionist Thomas Downing Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Watercolour on Paper Depicting a Man Lying Down, 20th Century.

$895

H 28.75 in W 29.93 in D 0.08 in

Watercolour on Paper Depicting a Man Lying Down, 20th Century.

Located in Saint-Ouen, FR

Watercolour on paper depicting a man lying down, 20th century. Watercolour on paper, 20th century, depicting a man lying on his back. H: 73cm, W: 76cm, D: 0.2cm Please contact us b...

Category

20th Century French Modern Thomas Downing Art

Materials

Paper

Original Watercolor & Ink Cartoon by DB Donte, 1958

$295

H 8.5 in W 22.75 in D 0.63 in

Original Watercolor & Ink Cartoon by DB Donte, 1958

Located in Philadelphia, PA

Original Watercolor & Ink Cartoon "Caution Goafer Holes and Falling Rocks Ahead" signed DB Donte, 1958 "in original condition and frame" "frame needs to be replaced" "will look ama...

Category

1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Thomas Downing Art

Materials

Paper

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

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

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

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

Steve BalkinAbstract Painting on Canvas by Warhol Factory Artist Steve Balkin 'RAIN FOREST', 2007

$3,250

H 20 in W 16 in D 0.5 in

Abstract Painting on Canvas by Warhol Factory Artist Steve Balkin 'RAIN FOREST'

By Steve Balkin

Located in Hudson, NY

Steve Balkin (1938-2023) This painting was purchased from Balkin's estate. It came from his home in upstate NY. It is titled "Rain Forest", dated 8/2007 a...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Expressionist Thomas Downing Art

Materials

Acrylic, Canvas

WALTER SPIES Insect Studies WATERCOLORS – Set of 4

$7,400 / item

H 25 in W 19.5 in D 1.5 in

WALTER SPIES Insect Studies WATERCOLORS – Set of 4

Located in Hawthorne, CA

Set of 4 Signed Walter Spies Watercolor Insect Studies – Gold-Gilt Framed & Custom Matted Walter Spies was a German primitivist painter, composer, mu...

Category

19th Century German Mid-Century Modern Antique Thomas Downing Art

Materials

Paper, Paint

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

Pair of Oval Portraits of Children, School of Thomas Lawrence

$8,500 / set

H 11.75 in W 9.75 in D 1.5 in

Pair of Oval Portraits of Children, School of Thomas Lawrence

Located in Kittery Point, ME

One drawing depicting a girl, the other one a young boy. Ink and watercolor over black chalk on paper. Sir Thomas Lawrence was the leading British portrait painter of the early 19t...

Category

19th Century English Adam Style 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.