Skip to main content

Will Barnet Paintings

American, 1911-2012
At the beginning of his career, Will Barnet was known for his figural depictions of domestic scenes. But, as he continued to stylistically develop, Barnet arrived at abstract geometric paintings far removed from his original career. A part of the Indian Space Painters group, Barnet was inspired by Native American art in creating these divergent images. Throughout his career, Barnet oscillated between representational and abstract paintings, never fully settling on one. He has received the National Medal of Arts in 2011, and his work has been displayed at the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
to
1
1
1
2
Overall Width
to
Overall Height
to
4
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
3
1
3
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
4
4
1
1
1
68
784
756
753
663
1
4
Artist: Will Barnet
Portrait of a Child
Portrait of a Child

Will BarnetPortrait of a Child

$9,750Sale Price|35% Off

Portrait of a Child

By Will Barnet

Located in Buffalo, NY

An original modern abstract portrait of a child by American artist Will Barnet. The work has a letter of provenance from the artist's wife. The i...

Category

1930s American Modern Will Barnet Paintings

Materials

Oil, Wood

Dark Image Abstract Oil Painting, Signed, 1960, Framed, 55.5x32.875
Dark Image Abstract Oil Painting, Signed, 1960, Framed, 55.5x32.875

Dark Image Abstract Oil Painting, Signed, 1960, Framed, 55.5x32.875

By Will Barnet

Located in New York, NY

Dark Image, 1960 by Will Barnet (1911-2012) Oil on canvas 53 x 30 ½ inches unframed (134.62 x 77.47 cm) 55 ½ x 32 ⅞ inches framed (140.979 x 96.2152 cm) Signed and dated on top right on the reverse Description: This abstract oil painting by Will Barnet uses minute gradations in value to achieve a work that presents a contextual understanding of color. Upon first inspection, it looks as if Barnet has created a completely black canvas with some hints at forms in the darkness; however, upon a closer look, the canvas is, in fact, not black, but instead comprised of varied shades of dark, muted blues, grays, and purples. Barnet presents us with an illusion of vision, asking the viewer to question his perspective and understanding of color interplay. At the beginning of his career, Will Barnet was known for his figural depictions of domestic scenes. But, as he continued to stylistically develop, Barnet arrived at abstract geometric paintings far removed from his original career. A part of the Indian Space...

Category

1960s Abstract Will Barnet Paintings

Materials

Oil

The Caller
The Caller

Will BarnetThe Caller, 1974

Price Upon Request

The Caller

By Will Barnet

Located in Long Island City, NY

Artist: Will Barnet, American (1911 - 2012) Title: The Caller Year: 1974 - 1976 Medium: Oil on Canvas, signed and dated l.r. Size: 91.5 x 31.5 in. (232....

Category

1970s Contemporary Will Barnet Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Related Items
"Summer Pier Fishing" American Scene Social Realism WPA Mid-20th Century Modern
"Summer Pier Fishing" American Scene Social Realism WPA Mid-20th Century Modern

"Summer Pier Fishing" American Scene Social Realism WPA Mid-20th Century Modern

By Syd Browne

Located in New York, NY

"Summer Pier Fishing" American Scene Social Realism WPA Mid-20th Century Modern Syd J. Browne (1907-1991) "Summer Pier Fishing" 22 x 30 inches Oil on canvas. c. 1930s Signed lower r...

Category

1930s American Realist Will Barnet Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

A Captivating 1930s Modern Portrait of a Young Woman by Francis Chapin
A Captivating 1930s Modern Portrait of a Young Woman by Francis Chapin

A Captivating 1930s Modern Portrait of a Young Woman by Francis Chapin

By Francis Chapin

Located in Chicago, IL

A captivating, 1930s portrait painting of a young woman by famed Chicago artist, Francis Chapin (Am. 1899-1965). A sensitive, skilled portrait of a young female model, most likely h...

Category

1930s American Modern Will Barnet Paintings

Materials

Masonite, Oil

"Georgia Moonshiner, c. 1935" by Athos Menaboni (1895-1990) American WPA Era Oil
"Georgia Moonshiner, c. 1935" by Athos Menaboni (1895-1990) American WPA Era Oil

"Georgia Moonshiner, c. 1935" by Athos Menaboni (1895-1990) American WPA Era Oil

Located in Yardley, PA

A fantastic WPA-era painting of a Georgia moonshiner by famed Italian-American artist Athos Menaboni (1895-1990). This work depicts an older man sporting a brown hat, brown jacket, ...

Category

1930s American Modern Will Barnet Paintings

Materials

Masonite, Oil

“Sierra Heights” by Paul Grimm Sierra Nevada Mountains California Landscape Oil
“Sierra Heights” by Paul Grimm Sierra Nevada Mountains California Landscape Oil

“Sierra Heights” by Paul Grimm Sierra Nevada Mountains California Landscape Oil

By Paul Grimm

Located in Yardley, PA

About this work: “Sierra Heights, 1971” by Paul Grimm (1892-1974). A beautiful view of the Sierra Nevada mountains by Grimm, one of the most beloved painters of the California lands...

Category

1970s American Realist Will Barnet Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

A Fabulous 1950s Mid-Century Modern Portrait of a Seated Woman, "Southern Belle"
A Fabulous 1950s Mid-Century Modern Portrait of a Seated Woman, "Southern Belle"

A Fabulous 1950s Mid-Century Modern Portrait of a Seated Woman, "Southern Belle"

By Francis Chapin

Located in Chicago, IL

A Fabulous 1950s Mid-Century Modern Portrait of a Seated Woman, "Southern Belle" by Noted Chicago Artist, Francis Chapin (Am. 1899-1965). A colorful Southern painting depicting a ...

Category

Mid-20th Century American Modern Will Barnet Paintings

Materials

Masonite, Oil

"Snowy City Scene" American Scene Social Realism WPA Era Mid-20th Century Modern
"Snowy City Scene" American Scene Social Realism WPA Era Mid-20th Century Modern

"Snowy City Scene" American Scene Social Realism WPA Era Mid-20th Century Modern

By Syd Browne

Located in New York, NY

"Snowy City Scene" American Scene Social Realism WPA Era Mid-20th Century Modern Syd J. Browne (1907-1991) "Snowy City Scene" 22 x 30 inches Oil on canvas. c. 1930s Signed lower lef...

Category

1930s American Realist Will Barnet Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

A Large, Captivating 1930s Modern Portrait of a Jamaican Man in a Linen Suit
A Large, Captivating 1930s Modern Portrait of a Jamaican Man in a Linen Suit

A Large, Captivating 1930s Modern Portrait of a Jamaican Man in a Linen Suit

By Francis Chapin

Located in Chicago, IL

A Large, Captivating 1930s Modern Portrait of a Jamaican Man in a Linen Suit by famed Chicago artist, Francis Chapin (Am. 1899-1965). A skilled and colorful portrait of a black man seated in a white linen suit, most likely completed during Chapin's trip to Kingston, Jamaica in the 1930s. Chapin exhibited examples of his Jamaican paintings...

Category

1930s American Modern Will Barnet Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

NYC EL American Scene Social Realism Mid 20th Century Modern WPA Era Figurative
NYC EL American Scene Social Realism Mid 20th Century Modern WPA Era Figurative

NYC EL American Scene Social Realism Mid 20th Century Modern WPA Era Figurative

By Cecil Crosley Bell

Located in New York, NY

NYC EL American Scene Social Realism Mid 20th Century Modern WPA Era Figurative Cecil Bell (1906 – 1970) Street Life Under the EL 22 x 30 inches Oil on canvas, c. 1930s Signed upper...

Category

1930s American Realist Will Barnet Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Untitled Jacques Rouby (1953-2019) Contemporary abstract art painted cardboard
Untitled Jacques Rouby (1953-2019) Contemporary abstract art painted cardboard

Untitled Jacques Rouby (1953-2019) Contemporary abstract art painted cardboard

By Jacques Rouby

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...

Category

1990s Abstract Will Barnet Paintings

Materials

Oil, Cardboard

- 21st Century Contemporary realistic Painting of a bird
- 21st Century Contemporary realistic Painting of a bird

- 21st Century Contemporary realistic Painting of a bird

By Ria Koreman

Located in Nuenen, Noord Brabant

Ria Koreman Wren 30 x 24 cm (framed included in price 35 x 29 cm) Ria Korenman paints what many people overlook: the magic in everyday life. Especially birds, with a soft spot for t...

Category

2010s Contemporary Will Barnet Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Previously Available Items
"Untitled (Abstract), " Will Barnet, American Modernism
"Untitled (Abstract), " Will Barnet, American Modernism

"Untitled (Abstract), " Will Barnet, American Modernism

By Will Barnet

Located in New York, NY

Will Barnet (1911 - 2012) Untitled (Abstract), 2012 Oil on canvas 17 3/4 x 18 inches Signed and dated on the reverse Provenance: The artist Art Students League, New York (gift from the above) Acquired by the present owner from the above, 2016 Born in 1911 in Beverly, Massachusetts, as a child Barnet enjoyed climbing the hills to watch the ships in the harbor, playing baseball, and reading at the local public library. He was excited to discover the art section. As he remembers, " I used to bury myself in those rooms day after day. It was practically my whole life. That's where my first yearning for art began." (1) At the age of 12 he established a studio in his parent's basement where he drew and painted. He made frequent trips to Boston and Salem to explore the collections of the Peabody and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Continually dissatisfied with high school, in his last year he decided to leave. In 1927 Barnet enrolled at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston where he learned drawing, painting, anatomy, and art history in the European tradition. After several years, Barnet decided to continue his study at the Art Student's League in New York, where he developed an interest in lithography, etching, and woodcutting. Between 1932 and 1942 Barnet became an avid printmaker, using the medium to capture the economic and social despair of the Depression years. He was a member of the Graphic Art Division of the Works Progress Administration Federal Art Project and knew the Mexican artists José Clemente Orozco, for whom he printed lithographs, and Diego Rivera. In 1935 he married the painter and fellow student Mary Sincliar and the following year was appointed instructor of graphics at the Art Student's League. He would subsequently teach at the New School for Social Research, at New Jersey State Teachers College, and from 1945-1978 at Cooper Union in New York. Following the birth of his first son in 1938, Barnet made his wife and children his sole artistic subjects. He painted scenes of domesticity such as "Soft Boiled Eggs...

Category

2010s American Modern Will Barnet Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Summer Idyll, Limited Edition Hand Signed Lithograph by Will Barnet
Summer Idyll, Limited Edition Hand Signed Lithograph by Will Barnet

Summer Idyll, Limited Edition Hand Signed Lithograph by Will Barnet

By Will Barnet

Located in Buffalo, NY

Vintage American modernist lithograph titled, "Summer Idyll" by Will Barnet. Hand signed and numbered, circa 1980. Displayed in a period modernist frame. Image, 38"L x 30"H, overa...

Category

1980s Modern Will Barnet Paintings

Materials

Lithograph

Ahab

Will BarnetAhab, 1961

Sold

H 78 in W 20 in

Ahab

By Will Barnet

Located in Buffalo, NY

A major original oil on canvas painting by American modernist Will Barnet.

Category

1960s American Modern Will Barnet Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Wood

February, Emily Dickinson

February, Emily Dickinson

By Will Barnet

Located in Buffalo, NY

A modern realist painting by American artist Will Barnet from the artist series of works created to accompany the poetry of Emily Dickinson. rom Bever...

Category

1980s American Realist Will Barnet Paintings

Materials

Oil, Archival Paper

Will Barnet paintings for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Will Barnet paintings available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Will Barnet in oil paint, paint, canvas and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 20th century and is mostly associated with the modern style. Not every interior allows for large Will Barnet paintings, so small editions measuring 15 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Arthur Beecher Carles, Stanley Twardowicz, and Herbert Kornfeld. Will Barnet paintings prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $8,500 and tops out at $85,000, while the average work can sell for $39,000.