Will Grefe Art

This gouache painting on illustration board was created by American artist Jack Leynnwood. Fascinated by aviation from a young age, Leynnwood did kit illustrations of everything from military aircraft to rigged ships, Rat Finks, Flash Gordon, space ships and Ed “Big Daddy...

Adolf Arthur Dehn Haitian Scene A, ca. 1951 Watercolor gouache on board Signed on the front Frame included: held in vintage modern frame Measurements: Framed: 11 inches vertical by 13 inches horizontal by .75 Painting 4.5 inches by 6 inches Watercolor gouache, hand signed; framed with AAA Gallery label verso Signed on the front bearing the original label on the verso of Dehn's longtime gallery, the prestigious Associated American Artists Gallery, New York City. Provenance Associated American Artists Frame included: held in vintage frame with original label as provenance Dehn, an influential artist and teacher (and author of the definitive textbook of his era on watercolor painting) joined Associated American Artists gallery in 1941. Although this painting is undated, it is likely circa early 1950s, as in 1951 Dehn won a Guggenheim Fellowship, which enabled him to travel to Haiti -- the subject of this work. It was part of a series inspired by Dehn's visit to Haiti. Dehn, an influential artist and teacher (and author of the definitive textbook of his era on watercolor painting) joined Associated American Artists gallery in 1941. Although this painting is undated, it is likely circa early 1950s, as in 1951 Dehn won a Guggenheim Fellowship, which enabled him to travel to Haiti. ADLOF DEHN Adolf Dehn, American Watercolorist and Printmaker, 1895-1968 Adolf Dehn was an artist who achieved extraordinary artistic heights, but in a very particular artistic sphere - not so much in oil painting as in watercolor and lithography. Long recognized as a master by serious print collectors, he is gradually gaining recognition as a notable and influential figure in the overall history of American art. In the 19th century, with the invention of the rotary press, which made possible enormous print runs, and the development of the popular, mass-market magazines, newspaper and magazine illustration developed into an artistic realm of its own, often surprisingly divorced from the world of museums and art exhibitions, and today remains surprisingly overlooked by most art historians. Dehn in many regards was an outgrowth of this world, although in an unusual way, since as a young man he produced most of his illustrative work not for popular magazines, such as The Saturday Evening Post, but rather for radical journals, such as The Masses or The Liberator, or artistic "little magazines" such as The Dial. This background established the foundation of his outlook, and led later to his unique and distinctive contribution to American graphic art. If there’s a distinctive quality to his work, it was his skill in introducing unusual tonal and textural effects into his work, particularly in printmaking but also in watercolor. Jackson Pollock seems to have been one of many notable artists who were influenced by his techniques. Early Years, 1895 - 1922 For an artist largely remembered for scenes of Vienna and Paris, Adolf Dehn’s background was a surprising one. Born in Waterville, Minnesota, on November 22, 1895, Dehn was the descendent of farmers who had emigrated from Germany and homesteaded in the region, initially in a one-room log cabin with a dirt floor. Adolf’s father, Arthur Clark Dehn, was a hunter and trapper who took pride that he had no boss but himself, and who had little use for art. Indeed, during Adolf’s boyhood the walls of his bedroom and the space under his bed were filled with the pelts of mink, muskrats and skunks that his father had killed, skinned and stretched on drying boards. It was Adolf’s mother, Emilie Haas Dehn, a faithful member of the German Lutheran Evangelical Church, who encouraged his interest in art, which became apparent early in childhood. Both parents were ardent socialists, and supporters of Eugene Debs...

Painted by Nura Woodson Ulreich (American, 1899-1950) as a full-page illustration for the book 'The Buttermilk Tree', unsigned and dated circa 1935. A rare example of a fully-develop...

Signed lower right 'Nura' for Nura Woodson Ulreich (American, 1899–1950). Titled, verso, 'Childhood', signed with artist's Paris address and dated 1926. This early twentieth-century...

WPA Mural Study Mid-Century Modern American Scene Social Realism Workers Anton Refregier (1905-1979) Mural Study, Untitled 7 ¾ x 22 inches (sight) Gouache, pencil, and charcoal on board, c. 1940s Unsigned Provenance: Estate of Seymour Fogel, noted verso Thomas McCormick Gallery...

A modern illustration by American artist Ray Quigley depicting two men inside of a church.

Original artwork for Manville Card Company. Circa 1975. Condition is very good. Watercolor and gouache on heavy card stock. Will be sold with original Christmas card with notations. Sheet size 9 by 10...

Original mixed media fashion illustration by the well known American artist, Maning Obregon. Composed of watercolor, oil pastel and gouache on archival paper. Signed lower right “Ma...

Original watercolor and gouache artwork on heavy card by the American artist, Justin Kilbourne. Signed lower left by the artist. Condition is excellent. Dated and artist address stamped verso. This artwork was used as a Christmas card by the Manville Greeting Card Company in 1980. Presently unframed but recently professionally matted. Overall matted measurements are 10 by 8 inches. Provenance: A Long Island, New York collector. Justin Kilbourne was a student of H.A. Wessel, and senior illustrator and designer at Gibson Greeting Cards. He had four watercolors commissioned by President Johnson...

Robert Konersman (American, 1889 - 1975) Signed: Konersman (Lower, Left) " Reading Before Bed " c. 1900-1920 Watercolor and Gouache on Paper Laid on Illustration Board Image Size...

Signed lower right, 'Nura' for Nura Woodson Ulreich (American, 1899-1950) and painted circa 1935. This early twentieth-century painter, lithographer, muralist, author, poet and ill...

John La Farge The Sphynx is Weary, She Dreams o'er the World, 1865 Initialed and dated lower right Gouache, watercolor and black chalk on illustration board 10 1/4 x 12 3/8 inches P...