William Sharp Paintings

1900-1961

William Sharp was born on June 13, 1900, in Lemberg, Austria, where he attended college and the Academy for Arts and Industry. He later studied in Kraków, Poland, Berlin and Munich. Sharp began his career as a designer of stained-glass windows and as a painter of murals. He served in the German army during World War I. After the war, he became a newspaper artist in Berlin and a well-known etcher. Sharp drew political cartoons that were bitterly critical of the growing Nazi movement. As the influence of National Socialism intensified, he began to contribute drawings, under a pseudonym, to publications that were hostile to Hitler. After Hitler assumed power, Sharp was confronted with these drawings and told that he would be sent to a concentration camp. However, in 1934, he escaped to the United States. His first newspaper assignment in America was making courtroom sketches for The New York Mirror at the trial of Bruno R. Hauptmann for the kidnapping of the Lindbergh baby. As a staff artist at Esquire, where he continued to produce political cartoons, Sharp also illustrated stories by Ernest Hemingway and Thomas Mann. He was a longtime contributor to The New York Times magazine and also worked for LIFE magazine, Collier's magazine, Coronet and The New York Post. Sharp also did book illustrations for several leading publishers, with Dickens’s, The Old Curiosity Shop for Heritage Press being his first assignment. He illustrated several books for limited editions, including The Diary of Samuel Pepys in 10 volumes. Sharp published several portfolios of etchings and lithographs about the legal and medical professions. Sharp's precisionist work is represented in many museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Queens Museum, the Library of Congress, the Carnegie Institute and the New York Public Library. William Sharp died in New York City on April 1, 1961.

Artist: William Sharp

William Sharp"Colonial Sand and Stone Company, New York, " Industrial WPA Scene, Precisionist

$19,500

"Colonial Sand and Stone Company, New York, " Industrial WPA Scene, Precisionist

By William Sharp

Located in New York, NY

William Sharp (1900 - 1961) Factory on the River Oil on canvas 20 1/2 x 28 1/2 inches Initialed lower left: WS Provenance: Estate of the artist Private Collection, New York Swann Auction Galleries, American Art, June 13, 2019, Lot 178 Private Collection, New York Colonial Sand and Stone Co., founded by Generoso Pope, was once the country’s largest sand and gravel business, providing the concrete for much of New York City’s skyline, including the Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center, Radio City Music Hall, airports and subways. William Sharp was born on June 13, 1900, in Lemberg, Austria, where he attended college and the Academy for Arts and Industry. He later studied in Kraków, Poland, and in Berlin and Munich, Germany. Sharp began his career as a designer of stained-glass windows and as a painter of murals. He served in the German army during World War I. After the war he became a newspaper artist in Berlin and a well-known etcher. Sharp drew political cartoons that were bitterly critical of the growing Nazi movement. As the influence of National Socialism intensified, he began to contribute drawings, under a pseudonym, to publications that were hostile to Hitler. After Hitler assumed power, Sharp was confronted with these drawings and told that he would be sent to a concentration camp. However, in 1934, he escaped to the United States. His first newspaper assignment in America was making courtroom sketches for The New York Mirror...

Category

Mid-20th Century American Realist William Sharp Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Paint, Oil

William Sharp"Factory on the River" Modernist and Precisionist WPA Industrial New York Scene

$7,000

"Factory on the River" Modernist and Precisionist WPA Industrial New York Scene

By William Sharp

Located in New York, NY

William Sharp (1900 - 1961) Factory on the River Oil on canvas 17 1/2 x 23 1/4 inches Initialed lower right: WS Provenance: Estate of the artist Private Collection, New York Swann Auction Galleries, American Art, June 13, 2019, Lot 178 William Sharp was born on June 13, 1900, in Lemberg, Austria, where he attended college and the Academy for Arts and Industry. He later studied in Kraków, Poland, and in Berlin and Munich, Germany. Sharp began his career as a designer of stained-glass windows and as a painter of murals. He served in the German army during World War I. After the war he became a newspaper artist in Berlin and a well-known etcher. Sharp drew political cartoons that were bitterly critical of the growing Nazi movement. As the influence of National Socialism intensified, he began to contribute drawings, under a pseudonym, to publications that were hostile to Hitler. After Hitler assumed power, Sharp was confronted with these drawings and told that he would be sent to a concentration camp. However, in 1934, he escaped to the United States. His first newspaper assignment in America was making courtroom sketches for The New York Mirror...

Category

Mid-20th Century American Realist William Sharp Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Paint, Oil

John KochVermont Barns - Neutral Monochromatic Study in Grays, Circa 1940

$22,000

H 16 in W 12 in

Vermont Barns - Neutral Monochromatic Study in Grays

By John Koch

Located in Miami, FL

Understated town-scape in grays and muted blues. It's a painting that looks better as you get closer to it. Koch brings the same serene intimacy to an outdoor scene as his interiors....

Category

1950s American Realist William Sharp Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

Willard DixonMendocino Evening, 2025

$8,000

H 30 in W 40 in

Mendocino Evening

By Willard Dixon

Located in Burlingame, CA

Willard Dixon is celebrated for contemporary landscapes that offer viewers a place of quiet reflection. Known for his luminous depictions of the American West, he captures space, lig...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Realist William Sharp Paintings

Materials

Oil

Willard DixonTwo Girls by the Sea, 2025

$5,000

H 18 in W 44 in D 2.75 in

Two Girls by the Sea

By Willard Dixon

Located in Burlingame, CA

Willard Dixon is celebrated for contemporary landscapes that offer viewers a place of quiet reflection. Known for his luminous depictions of the American West, he captures space, lig...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Realist William Sharp Paintings

Materials

Oil

Willard DixonYellow Horizon, 2025

$10,000

H 48 in W 48 in

Yellow Horizon

By Willard Dixon

Located in Burlingame, CA

Willard Dixon is celebrated for contemporary landscapes that offer viewers a place of quiet reflection. Known for his luminous depictions of the American West, he captures space, lig...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Realist William Sharp Paintings

Materials

Oil

Willard DixonFoggy Horizon, 2025

$10,000

H 48 in W 48 in

Foggy Horizon

By Willard Dixon

Located in Burlingame, CA

Willard Dixon is celebrated for contemporary landscapes that offer viewers a place of quiet reflection. Known for his luminous depictions of the American West, he captures space, lig...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Realist William Sharp Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Willard DixonEvening Ocean, 2017

$12,000

H 48 in W 60 in D 2 in

Evening Ocean

By Willard Dixon

Located in Burlingame, CA

Serene and calm sky, ocean, horizon, sunrise or sunset, oil painting from American Realist Willard Dixon, who bridges realism with natural abstraction in his series of breathtaking and etherial sky paintings. A contemporary sky scape with soft clouds in blue, purple peach and gold. Unframed and ready to hang and enjoy. The original painting is 48 x 60 inches. Signed by the artist verso. One of our finest American contemporary realist painters, Willard Dixon has painted Northern California and western landscapes for over 35 years. His work captures the undeniable beauty of the West with its grand and humble spirit. Dixon’s work can be found in numerous important public collections including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the Oakland Museum of Art in California, as well as numerous private art collections worldwide. Proudly presented by Andra Norris Gallery, northern California. The artist was born: Kansas City MO, 1942 Education: Art Students League, New York, NY Cornell University Brooklyn Museum School San Francisco Art Institute, M.F.A. 1969 Awards and Commissions N.E.A. Fellowship Grant- 1989 California Supreme Court Mural Commission- 1998 Las Vegas Federal Courthouse Commission, G.S.A.-1998 Teaching 1989-90: San Francisco State University 1975: San Francisco Art Institute Realism Seminar 1974-76: Academy of Art College, San Francisco, CA 1973-74, 1976: California College of Arts and Crafts, Oakland, CA 1971-72: California State University, Hayward, CA One Man Exhibitions 2015: Willard Dixon Portraits College of Marin Fine Art Gallery, Kentfield 2014: SFMOMA Artists Gallery, San Francisco, CA. 2008: SFMOMA Artists Gallery, San Francisco, CA. 2005: Fischbach Gallery, NYC,NY 2005: Dolby Chadwick Gallery, San Francisco, CA 2004: Fischbach Gallery, NYC, NY. 2002: Earl McGrath Gallery, Los Angeles, CA 2002: Bolinas Museum, Bolinas, CA 2001: Hackett Freedman Gallery, San Francisco, CA 2000: Fischbach Gallery, NYC , NY 2000: Hearst Art Gallery, St. Mary’s College, Moraga, CA 1998: Hackett Freedman Gallery, SF, CA 1997: Tatistcheff/Rogers Gallery, Los Angeles, CA 1996, 1995: Contemporary Realist Gallery (now Hackett Freedman Gallery) 1994: Fischbach Gallery 1993: Contemporary Realist Gallery 1992: Fischbach Gallery 1991: Earl McGrath Gallery, 454 North, Los Angeles, CA 1990: Fischbach Gallery 1989: William Sawyer Gallery, San Francisco, CA 1988: Gallery 454 North, Los Angeles, CA 1987: Fischbach Gallery 1987: Gallery 454 North 1986: William Sawyer Gallery 1985: Fischbach Gallery 1984: Harris Gallery, Houston, Tx 1984: William Sawyer Gallery 1983, 1982: Fischbach Gallery 1981: William Sawyer Gallery 1980,1979: Tortue Gallery, Los Angeles, CA 1976, 1975: William Sawyer Gallery 1973, 1972: William Sawyer Gallery Selected Group Exhibitions 2017: SHIFT / with Elizabeth Barlow, Kim Frohsin, Erin Parrish, Irene Zweig, Andra Norris Gallery, Burlingame, CA 2015: REAL with Elizabeth Barlow Gallerie Citi, Burlingame, CA. 2014: Stillness and Activity / A father and daughter exhibition, Gallerie Citi, Burlingame, CA. 2013: Outwin Boocher Portrait Competition 2013 Exhibition” Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, Washington, D.C. Hey Everybody / Portraits, Diablo Valley College 2012: Artistic Visions of the Golden Gate Bridge”, George Krevsky Gallery, S.F., CA. Introduction Two/ Gallerie Citi, Burlingame, CA. 2011: California: A Landscape of Dreams/ Fresno Art Museum 2010: Self Portrait Invitational/ Julie Nester Gallery, Park City UT 2009: On Beauty /I. Wolk Gallery, St. Helena, CA. 2008: At Water’s Edge / I. Wolk Gallery, St. Helena, CA. 2007: San Francisco Scenes/ George Krevsky Gallery, S.F., CA Ten Years- A Retrospective/ Dolby Chadwick Gallery, S.F., CA. 2006: Our Planet, Our Home/ SFMOMA Artists Gallery, S.F. CA 2005: 2005 Spring Group Show/ Earl McGrath Gallery, L.A., CA 2002: H2O’02, Paintings of Water/ Fischbach Gallery, NYC Scene in Oakland 1852-2002 Oakland Museum Oakland, CA The Garden/ Art Foundry Gallery, Sacramento, CA The Moving Still Life/ Fischbach Gallery, New York, NY Bay Area Printmakers/ works from Trillium Press, Art Foundry Gallery, Sacramento, CA California Landscape Paintings/ College of Marin Art Gallery, Kentfield, CA Bay Area Printmakers/ SF Museum of Modern Art/Artists Gallery, San Francisco, CA Visions: Northern California/ Bank of America, San Francisco, CA 2001: Opening Exhibit: Group Show, Fischbach Gallery, NY, NY 2000: Hackett Freedman Gallery Artists/ Shasta College Art Gallery, Redding, Ca 1999: Homage to the Art Institute, Artists Who Transformed American Culture, Hackett Freedman Gallery, San Francisco, CA 1999: What is Art For? What are Museums For? What are You For? curated Curated for the Oakland Museum by William T. Wiley & Mary Hull Webster, Oakland, CA 1998: Paintings of Marin County Past and Present/ The North Point Gallery, San Francisco, CA 1997: 10th Anniversary Exhibition/ Hackett Freedman Gallery, S.F., CA 1996: Rediscovering the Landscape of the Americas/ Gerald Peters Gallery, Santa Fe, NM (traveling exhibition) Contemporary American Realist Painters/ Halls Crown Center Gallery, Kansas City, MO 1996: Foundation for the Future: Celebrating 125 Years at the San Francisco Art Institute/ One Bush St., S.F., CA 1996: New Work by Selected Gallery Artists, Tatistcheff/Rogers Gallery, Los Angeles, CA Flower Paintings/ Contemporary Realist Gallery, S.F., CA 1995: Facing Eden: 100 Years of Landscape Art in the Bay Area / De Young Museum, S.F., CA Contemporary Still Life Painting/ David Klein Gallery...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Realist William Sharp Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Gail Chase-BienTen Mile Beach Diptych, Oil on Canvas, American Realist, 21st Century, 2020

$22,000

H 48 in W 96 in D 2 in

Ten Mile Beach Diptych, Oil on Canvas, American Realist, 21st Century

By Gail Chase-Bien

Located in Burlingame, CA

Gail Chase Bien paints thinly layered oil on linen over extended periods (from months to years) to complete a single work of art. Taking cues from nature’s extraordinary visual offerings — specifically, the play of light as it touches upon water and earth — her nature-inspired works bridge realism and abstraction, and they convey a thin veneer of the of human spirit. Complex, rich, and slow in the making, the paintings, with their serene simplicity, are intended to be viewed and enjoyed over time. Ten Mile Beach...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Realist William Sharp Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Gail Chase-BienBlue Tide, Oil on Linen Painting, American Realist, 21st Century, 68x72, 2020-2023

$26,000

H 68 in W 72 in D 2.5 in

Blue Tide, Oil on Linen Painting, American Realist, 21st Century, 68x72

By Gail Chase-Bien

Located in Burlingame, CA

Blue Tide, 68 x 72 inches, is an exquisite oil on linen by American artist Gail Chase Bien, whose work explores water and landscape as reflections of the human spirit. Rendered in a ...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Realist William Sharp Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Linen

Willard DixonThree Stacks, 2026

$6,500

H 15 in W 60 in D 2.75 in

Three Stacks

By Willard Dixon

Located in Burlingame, CA

Willard Dixon is celebrated for contemporary landscapes that offer viewers a place of quiet reflection. Known for his luminous depictions of the American West, he captures space, lig...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Realist William Sharp Paintings

Materials

Oil

Willard DixonBolinas Lagoon, 2026

$8,500

H 36 in W 48 in

Bolinas Lagoon

By Willard Dixon

Located in Burlingame, CA

Willard Dixon is celebrated for contemporary landscapes that offer viewers a place of quiet reflection. Known for his luminous depictions of the American West, he captures space, lig...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Realist William Sharp Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Willard DixonGolden Gate Dusk, 2025

$6,000

H 20 in W 30 in

Golden Gate Dusk

By Willard Dixon

Located in Burlingame, CA

Willard Dixon is celebrated for contemporary landscapes that offer viewers a place of quiet reflection. Known for his luminous depictions of the American West, he captures space, lig...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Realist William Sharp Paintings

Materials

Oil

Willard DixonLeaving Stinson, 2026

$12,000

H 48 in W 60 in

Leaving Stinson

By Willard Dixon

Located in Burlingame, CA

Willard Dixon is celebrated for contemporary landscapes that offer viewers a place of quiet reflection. Known for his luminous depictions of the American West, he captures space, lig...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Realist William Sharp Paintings

Materials

Oil

William Sharp paintings for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic William Sharp paintings available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by William Sharp in canvas, fabric, oil paint and more. Not every interior allows for large William Sharp paintings, so small editions measuring 24 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Edmund Quincy, Nicholas Berger, and Stephen Wright. William Sharp paintings prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $7,000 and tops out at $19,500, while the average work can sell for $13,250.