Skip to main content

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.

to
1
1
Height
to
Width
to
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
8
101
77
39
38
Creator: William Sharp
"On the Dock" WPA Era Painting by William Sharp
"On the Dock" WPA Era Painting by William Sharp

"On the Dock" WPA Era Painting by William Sharp

By William Sharp

Located in Wiscasset, ME

Oil on canvas, estate sigend on the reverse, presented in a simple frame measuring 21.375" x 24.375" overall. William Sharp was born on June 13, 1900, in Lemberg, Austria, where h...

Category

Early 20th Century American American Craftsman William Sharp Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Paint

Related Items
Selection of Three WPA Era Paintings
Selection of Three WPA Era Paintings

Selection of Three WPA Era Paintings

$550Sale Price / item|83% Off

H 33.5 in W 27.5 in D 0.5 in

Selection of Three WPA Era Paintings

Located in Atlanta, GA

Group of Three WPA Era Paintings, American, circa 1930s-1950s. From left to right, they are: 1) Brick mason oil painting, American, circa 1930s. It ...

Category

1930s American Art Deco Vintage William Sharp Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Wood

"The Return of Thomas Pickering, " Important WPA-Period Oil Painting by Beck
"The Return of Thomas Pickering, " Important WPA-Period Oil Painting by Beck

"The Return of Thomas Pickering, " Important WPA-Period Oil Painting by Beck

Located in Philadelphia, PA

Full of atmosphere, rich color and drama, this fully realized oil on canvas study by Dunbar Beck was executed in preparation for his lobby painting at the US Post Office...

Category

1930s American Art Deco Vintage William Sharp Paintings

Materials

Paint

"Labor", Handsome WPA-Era Painting with Nudes by Muralist Lichtenauer
"Labor", Handsome WPA-Era Painting with Nudes by Muralist Lichtenauer

"Labor", Handsome WPA-Era Painting with Nudes by Muralist Lichtenauer

Located in Philadelphia, PA

Because Joseph Mortimer Lichtenauer is best known for his public murals, it's not surprising that this easel painting -- with its frieze-like array of nude and Classically dressed fi...

Category

1930s American Art Deco Vintage William Sharp Paintings

Materials

Paint

"The Return of Timothy Pickering, " WPA Mural Study Painting, 1939
"The Return of Timothy Pickering, " WPA Mural Study Painting, 1939

"The Return of Timothy Pickering, " WPA Mural Study Painting, 1939

Located in Philadelphia, PA

Full of atmosphere, rich color and drama, this mural study by Dunbar Beck was executed in preparation for his lobby painting at the US Post Office in Danvers, Massachusetts. Until it...

Category

1930s American Art Deco Vintage William Sharp Paintings

Materials

Gouache

"Acrobat and Circus Horse, " WPA-Era Painting, Semi-Nude Male Figure, Dark Pink
"Acrobat and Circus Horse, " WPA-Era Painting, Semi-Nude Male Figure, Dark Pink

"Acrobat and Circus Horse, " WPA-Era Painting, Semi-Nude Male Figure, Dark Pink

By William Schulhoff 1

Located in Philadelphia, PA

In an era when the circus provided an affordable and exotic form of entertainment for the Everyman, this vivid painting, glowing with the colors of red clay, slate and dusty pink, ca...

Category

1930s American Art Deco Vintage William Sharp Paintings

Materials

Paint

Vintage Painting of a Tropical Boat Dock
Vintage Painting of a Tropical Boat Dock

Vintage Painting of a Tropical Boat Dock

$4,750

H 27.5 in W 33.5 in D 2.5 in

Vintage Painting of a Tropical Boat Dock

Located in Palm Beach, FL

Transporting oil painting on canvas of a tropical bayscape, possibly the Florida Keys, with boats, pelicans and figures executed in a bold modern style. Signed in the lower right S. ...

Category

20th Century American Mid-Century Modern William Sharp Paintings

Materials

Wood, Paint

1936 WPA Era American Scene Modernist Painting "A Connecticut Day" Howard Ahrens
1936 WPA Era American Scene Modernist Painting "A Connecticut Day" Howard Ahrens

1936 WPA Era American Scene Modernist Painting "A Connecticut Day" Howard Ahrens

Located in Swedesboro, NJ

1936 WPA Era AMERICAN SCENE MODERNIST PAINTING A Connecticut Day HOWARD AHRENS Truly a museum quality artwork. Absolutely beautiful American modernist painting depicting a group of...

Category

Mid-20th Century American Modern William Sharp Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Paint

Large Oil On Canvas Painting By William Lester Stevens
Large Oil On Canvas Painting By William Lester Stevens

Large Oil On Canvas Painting By William Lester Stevens

Located in Essex, MA

Large seascape with cove and ship. Either Gloucester Mass or coastal Maine. Well rendered and showing a rocky cove with trees ,ocean etc. Lester Stevens 1888-1969 is a well noted Am...

Category

1930s American Vintage William Sharp Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Wood

1940s WPA School Winter Scene Oil Painting by A. Stuz
1940s WPA School Winter Scene Oil Painting by A. Stuz

1940s WPA School Winter Scene Oil Painting by A. Stuz

Located in Miami, FL

1940s WPA School Winter Scene Oil Painting by A. Stuz Offered for sale is a large 1940s WPA school oil painting on canvas of a playful wi...

Category

1940s Vintage William Sharp Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Linen, Wood, Paint

"Lying on the Sand, " WPA-Era Atmospheric Beach Scene with Male & Female Bathers
"Lying on the Sand, " WPA-Era Atmospheric Beach Scene with Male & Female Bathers

"Lying on the Sand, " WPA-Era Atmospheric Beach Scene with Male & Female Bathers

Located in Philadelphia, PA

In an era when Reginald Marsh, Paul Cadmus and many other painters loved to capture the joy and energy of crowded beach scenes in America, John Winters created this lovely genre scene of a male bather in his one-piece swim suit reposing on the sand (probably the Lincoln Park beach in Chicago...

Category

1940s American Art Deco Vintage William Sharp Paintings

Materials

Paint

"500 LB Lady, " Colorful and Charming WPA-Era Carnival Scene by Lincoln
"500 LB Lady, " Colorful and Charming WPA-Era Carnival Scene by Lincoln

"500 LB Lady, " Colorful and Charming WPA-Era Carnival Scene by Lincoln

Located in Philadelphia, PA

Full of energy and vivid color, this atmospheric and charming scene of a small-town carnival, complete with a barker, boys with balloons, a blue tent in the foreground and a sign announcing the "500 LB Lady," was painted by E. Wilder Lincoln in the 1930s or 40s. Painters and sculptors were fascinated with circuses and carnivals...

Category

1940s American Art Deco Vintage William Sharp Paintings

Oil on Canvas Painting of a Harbour and Dock Marine Scene by Seymour Remenick
Oil on Canvas Painting of a Harbour and Dock Marine Scene by Seymour Remenick

Oil on Canvas Painting of a Harbour and Dock Marine Scene by Seymour Remenick

By Seymour Remenick 1

Located in Philadelphia, PA

Seymour Remenick (1923-1999). An untitled oil on canvas painting of a marine scene with boats and a small dock on an inlet. Likely an Atlantic Seaboard scene from the Southern New...

Category

20th Century American William Sharp Paintings

Materials

Canvas

Previously Available Items
Large Abstract Modernist Cubist Jazz Painting, Oil on Canvas by William Sharp
Large Abstract Modernist Cubist Jazz Painting, Oil on Canvas by William Sharp

Large Abstract Modernist Cubist Jazz Painting, Oil on Canvas by William Sharp

By William Sharp

Located in Buffalo, NY

Wonderful oil on canvas depicting New Orleans Jazz Band hand executed by William Sharp 1900-1961. Amazing use of color, space, texture, William Sharp ...

Category

1940s American Folk Art Vintage William Sharp Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Paint

Modernist Cubist Abstract Oil on Canvas Painting by William Sharp
Modernist Cubist Abstract Oil on Canvas Painting by William Sharp

Modernist Cubist Abstract Oil on Canvas Painting by William Sharp

By William Sharp

Located in Buffalo, NY

Wonderful oil on canvas depicting workers, hand executed by William Sharp 1900-1961. Amazing use of color, space, texture, William Sharp was born on J...

Category

1940s American Folk Art Vintage William Sharp Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Paint

William Sharp paintings for sale on 1stDibs.

William Sharp paintings are available for sale on 1stDibs. If you’re looking for additional options, many customers also consider paintings by Kiki & Joost, Jeff Markowsky, and Lucien Delarue.