William Sommer Art

Vintage view of storefronts in Estes Park, Colorado, near Rocky Mountain National Park by James Russell Sherman (1906-1989). Watercolor and ink on paper, signed by the artist in the ...

"Shovel Handles" is an original 1953 semi-abstract modernist oil painting by mid-20th century Denver artist Paul K. Smith (1893-1977). Signed and dated by the artist in the lower mar...

"Times Square" Mid 20th Century 1937 Modernism Broadway Drawing NYC Cityscape Philip Goodwin (20th Century) "Times Square," 23 ½ x 17 ¼ inches. Gouache...

At the Pool - Mid Century Illustration in Watercolor and India Ink on Paper Lovely watercolor of a sunny day at a public pool by an unknown artist (20th Century). People are swimmin...

"Tropical Little Palms" is an abstract expressionist painting by Romina Milano where a dance of black gestures unfolds across colorful brushstrokes infused with raw emotion. Romina...

Blanche Grambs, whose career started with the WPA, was an extremely skilled draftsperson. Her birds are masterful. This charming piece places the yooun...

Signed lower left "John Faulkner, RHA" (Anglo-Irish, 1835-1894), titled, 'Return from the Meadows' and painted circa 1880. A substantial nineteenth century watercolor and gouache s...

If you are interested in African American Art and in Women in the Arts, I will certainly not need to introduce Lois Mailou Jones (1905-1988). Often associated with the Harlem Renaissance, her work can be found in the collections of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Museum of Women in the Arts, the Brooklyn Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Muscarelle Museum of Art, and The Phillips Collection. I am proud to present an original watercolour painting by the artist which dates from the late 1940s or early 1950s. Jones was born in Boston, Massachusetts to a father who became the first African-American to earn a law degree from Suffolk Law School. Jones's parents encouraged her to draw and paint using watercolors during her childhood. She held her first solo exhibition at the age of seventeen in Martha's Vineyard. He career began in the 1930s and she continued to produce art work until her death in 1998 at the age of 92. Her style shifted and evolved multiple times in response to influences in her life, especially her extensive travels. She felt that her greatest contribution to the art world was "proof of the talent of black artists". Her work echoes her pride in her African roots and American ancestry. In 1937, Jones received a fellowship to study in Paris at the Académie Julian, bringing her to France for the first time. The French were appreciative of her paintings and talent and Loïs Mailou Jones was thrilled at the country’s racial tolerance, so different from her reality in the United States. She summered in France annually from 1945 to 1953, sharing studio with her lifelong friend Celine Marie Tabary in Cabris, France. It was during one of these sojourns that the lovely work presented here was created. Our painting depicts the village of Tourettes sur Loup, just north of Nice, in the Provence Cote d'Azur region, about 14 miles from Cabris. Please note its similarities with her painting "Arreau, Hautes-Pyrénées" in the National Museum of Women in the Arts. Her portrayal of the picturesque village nestled in a valley evokes landscape paintings by Paul Cézanne, a stylistic influence she acknowledged. Over the course of the following 10 years, Jones exhibited at the Phillips Collection, Seattle Art Museum, National Academy of Design, the Barnett-Aden Gallery, Pennsylvania's Lincoln University, Howard University, galleries in New York, and the Corcoran Gallery of Art. In 1952, the book Loïs Mailou Jones: Peintures 1937–1951 was published, reproducing more than one hundred of her art pieces completed in France.At the Barnett-Aden Gallery, Jones exhibited with a group of prominent black artists, such as Jacob Lawrence and Alma Thomas. These artists and others were known as the "Little Paris...

White Poppies - Botanical Watercolor on Paper Detailed floral watercolor by Harry Federico (American, 1922-2022). Several white poppies ...

Blanche Grambs, whose career started with the WPA, was an extremely skilled draftsperson. Her birds are masterful. Although we use the word 'pencil' fo...

Shops in a Small Town - Original Watercolor on Paper Beautiful watercolor painting a small town main street by Ken L. Stephens (American, 20th Century). There are several colorful b...

Original 1933 drawing, "Pinto" by New Mexico modernist, Hilaire Hiler (1898-1966), black and white line drawing of a Native American Indian figure wearing a feather bonnet headdress on horseback. Ink on vellum, signed lower right. Custom framing is available. About the Artist: Hilaire Hiler was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, and was raised in Providence, Rhode Island. Hiler took art classes as a child at the Rhode Island School of Design. When he was older, Hiler studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, the Pennsylvania School of Industrial Art, Wharton School of Finance and Commerce, and William Server’s studio. He also studied at the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Denver, Golden State University, and National College in Ontario, Canada. He continued on to France, studying at the University of Paris in 1919. Hiler lived in Paris from 1919-1934, supporting himself as a jazz musician and a piano player for The Jockey Club. Hiler moved back to America in 1934, settling in San Francisco. He was commissioned by the Works Progress Administration to paint murals in the Aquatic Park...