A new discovery in the art world is something always searched for and rarely found. Surely there was no shortage of artists during the 20th century, but to find someone of immense talent and individuality that has seemingly slipped under the radar of galleries, critics and collectors is rare. An instance where this might occur is when an artist may have been his or her own harshest critic and, for fear of rejection or criticism, such an artist might choose to never show their work in major venues. Somewhere along the way in the promising career of Tobias “Ted” Musicant, his personal insecurity kept his artistic genius from the field of his peers. After participating in numerous prestigious exhibitions early in his career, Musicant became reclusive and kept his art from the public eye. Since the relatively recent death of this artist, a small but powerful body of Modernist paintings has been discovered. These works range in date from 1940 to 1965 and begin in a representational modernist style, evolving into a very interesting and appealing semi-representational hard-edged geometric series that incorporate a flavor of Native American influence. The latest of his paintings are of a surrealist style where the artist includes elements such as birds, fruit, a myriad of unusual objects and architecture into his compositions. His work bears similarities to that of Marsden Hartley, Stuart Davis, Louis Stone and Salvador Dali.
Tobias Musicant was the son of a carpenter and born in Philadelphia in 1921. An artist since childhood, after high school, Musicant attended the Pratt Institute in New York from 1939–41. However, his art studies would be interrupted by World War II as he served his country in the United States Army Air Force, seeing action in England. After the war, Musicant continued his studies at the Art Students League from 1945–48. He lived in Brooklyn in the 1940s and 1950s, eventually moving to Plainsboro, New Jersey, with his sister Alice Musicant, also an artist, where they would both remain throughout their lives. His paintings were exhibited in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, the Philadelphia Print Club, the Newark Museum, the Brooklyn Museum, the Butler Institute, and the Princeton Art Council, among other venues. He also had one-man shows at Heffers Gallery in Cambridge, England and the Contemporary Arts Gallery in New York City. In addition to his paintings, Musicant worked in enamels and made silver jewelry.
"Agitation in the Agora"
By Tobias Musicant
Located in Lambertville, NJ
Jim’s of Lambertville is proud to offer this artwork by: Tobias Musicant (1921 – 2004) A new discovery in the art world is something always searched for and rarely found. Surely th...
Oil, Board
“Talking heads”
By Tobias Musicant
Located in Warren, NJ
Tobias Musicant New Jersey Arcylic painting modernist abstract Titled Talking Heads 11 x 7 Frame 20 x 16 Signed lower right Titled lower left Painting under glass black medal frame
Acrylic
$1,600Sale Price|20% Off
Tobias Musicant, Gates to the City
By Tobias Musicant
Located in New York, NY
Any work by Tobias Musicant is terrific. These New Jersey-made, mid-century near abstractions are generally scarce. The pieces I know are master works of American Modernism. Cubist c...
Linocut
"Turkish Troops with Tambourines"
By Tobias Musicant
Located in Lambertville, NJ
Jim’s of Lambertville is proud to offer this artwork. Signed upper right. Framed. Tobias Musicant (1921 – 2004) A new discovery in the art world is something always searched for...
Masonite, Oil
Landscape with Orange Sky
Located in Wilton Manors, FL
James Earl Ray (1928-1998). Landscape with Orange Sky. ca. 1975. Oil on masonite panel measures 6.5 x 8.5 inches, 10.5 x 12.5 inches framed. Signed lowe...
Masonite, Oil
Vintage American Thick Impasto Framed Abstract Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Vintage American abstract oil painting. Oil on board. Measuring: 14 by 15 inches overall and 12 x 13 inches painting alone. Framed in a white molding. Excellent condition, ready to...
Oil, Board
A Summer's Sunset
Located in San Francisco, CA
In this abstract landscape, artist Geneva Cross conveys the mood of a dreamlike summer evening that might be remembered by any of us in its universality. Blending the basic elements ...
Masonite, Oil
Harbor abstract in Deep Blues
By Donald Roy Purdy
Located in New York, NY
Signed lower left: Purdy A very cool example of mid-century 50"s abstraction. Harbor is done in a style that was being experimented with particularly in the New York and California ...
Oil, Masonite
Boats Near Shore - Abstracted Seascape
By Robert Canete
Located in Soquel, CA
Abstracted seascape of three boats near the shore with broad, painterly strokes of blue, turquoise, and neutrals by Robert Canete (American, b. 1948). Signed lower right. Image: 16"H...
Masonite, Oil
$950
H 8 in W 6 in
"Afternoon Tea" (2024) By Danny McCaw, Original Abstract Portrait Oil Painting
By Danny McCaw
Located in Denver, CO
Danny McCaw's (US based) "Afternoon Tea" is an original, handmade oil painting with impasto brushstrokes that depicts an ambiguous human figure of white and grey with a cup of tea on...
Oil, Board
$1,840Sale Price|20% Off
H 24.25 in W 30.25 in D 0.875 in
'Abstract Landscape', by Katherine Westphal, Oil on Board
Located in Oklahoma City, OK
Katherine Westphal's oil on board painting titled 'Abstract Landscape' embodies the stylistic qualities of abstract painting. Using a diverse color palette of orange, red, yellow, bl...
Masonite, Oil
$15,000
H 36 in W 48 in D 0.3 in
Ozymandias (unique, signed Abstract Expressionist painting by renowned painter)
By Ben Wilson
Located in New York, NY
Ben Wilson Ozymandias, 1989 Oil on masonite board Boldly signed by Ben Wilson on the back 36 × 48 inches Unframed Provenance: acquired from the Estate of Ben Wilson This work is titled "Ozymandias" after the famous sonnet written by Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822). Shelley's poem is one of the most poignant meditations on the fleeting nature of human power and the inevitability of decline. The poem serves as a reminder that time erodes even the most imposing empires and leaders and that the pursuit of lasting fame and control is ultimately futile. Depending on how one views Ben Wilson's Abstract Expressionist painting of "Ozymandias" -- some of the imagery might reveal the head of an angry king and a sickle. Shelley's poem Ozymandias reads: I met a traveler from an antique land...
Masonite, Oil
$5,781
H 47.25 in W 31.5 in
Untitled Jacques Rouby (1953-2019) Contemporary abstract art painted cardboard
Located in Paris, FR
Painted sculpted cardboard Unique work Coming from the artist's studio Jacques ROUBY, the aesthetics of mystery "Experimental dreamer, passionate about graphic adventures, delibera...
Oil, Cardboard
$950
H 16 in W 14 in
"Thick to Thin" (2024) By Danny McCaw, Original Abstract Portrait Oil Painting
By Danny McCaw
Located in Denver, CO
Danny McCaw's (US based) "Thick to Thin" is an original, handmade oil painting with impasto brushstrokes that depicts an ambiguous human figure on a black, red, and white background....
Oil, Board
$5,781
H 40.16 in W 31.5 in
Untitled Jacques Rouby (1953-2019) Contemporary abstract art sculpted cardboard
Located in Paris, FR
Painted sculpted cardboard Unique work Coming from the artist's studio Jacques ROUBY, the aesthetics of mystery "Experimental dreamer, passionate about graphic adventures, delibera...
Oil, Cardboard
$5,781
H 40.16 in W 31.5 in
Untitled Jacques Rouby (1953-2019) Contemporary abstract art sculpted cardboard
Located in Paris, FR
Painted sculpted cardboard Unique work Coming from the artist's studio Jacques ROUBY, the aesthetics of mystery "Experimental dreamer, passionate about graphic adventures, delibera...
Oil, Cardboard
"House in Fragments"
By Tobias Musicant
Located in Lambertville, NJ
Jim’s of Lambertville is proud to offer this artwork by: Tobias Musicant (1921 – 2004) A new discovery in the art world is something always searched for and rarely found. Surely th...
Oil, Board