William Sommer Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
American, 1867-1949
William Sommer is seen as a key person in bringing European modernism to Northeast Ohio. He was born in Detroit, Michigan, and in his youth apprenticed for seven years to a lithographer.
He briefly studied at an art academy in Germany and then worked as a lithographer in New York before moving to Cleveland, where he was awarded a major contract with the Otis Lithography Company. There he became friends with sculptor and painter William Zorach, and the two, determined to be fine artists, began painting together on weekends. They also became intrigued by avant-garde movements, especially after Zorach's trip to Paris in 1910.
In 1911, Sommer co-founded a group in Cleveland called the Kokoon Club, a mixed group of commercial artists and radical modernists who sought the freedom to pursue their independent tendencies. They converted a tailor's shop into a studio and held exhibitions and lectures and organized an annual masked ball that became the focus of Cleveland's bohemian life.
In 1913, he and his colleagues began painting at Brandywine, about 30 miles south of Cleveland and made a school house into a studio. They devoted increasing time to watercolor painting because they could work spontaneously and it would dry quickly. Rejecting the conventional ideas of beauty, they strove for the expression of emotion and spontaneity and fantasy. One of Sommer's most successful students was Charles Burchfield.
As he was perfecting his mature style, he had financial difficulties because he made his living from commercial lithography, which was becoming obsolete, and the Depression was hitting the nation causing him to lose his job. He became a WPA artist, doing murals in northeastern Ohio.
After his death at age 82, he was largely forgotten until 1980 when Hilton Kramer, a "New York Times" critic, praised his work. In May to July, 1994, the Ohio Arts Council held a retrospective of his work at the Riffe Gallery in Columbus. His work is found in many public collections including the National Museum of American Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Whitney Museum of American Art.to
1
Overall Width
to
Overall Height
to
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
16
187
72
60
51
1
Artist: William Sommer
Female Nude in Profile
By William Sommer
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Woman
Pen and ink on paper, c. 1925-1928
Signed in pencil lower left
Exhibited: Akron Art Institute (Akron Art Museum),
William Sommer Retrospective, Oct. 25 to Nov. 29,
1 970
Illu...
Category
1920s American Modern William Sommer Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink
Related Items
African Mama - Vintage Illustration in Ink and Watercolor
By Irene Pattinson
Located in Soquel, CA
African Mama - Vintage Illustration in Ink and Watercolor
A charming illustration, by Irene Pattinson (American, 1909-1999), shows a woman with a...
Category
1950s American Modern William Sommer Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, India Ink, Watercolor, Pen
H 13 in W 10 in D 0.25 in
Alfred Bendiner, Baccaloni in Rosenkavalier
By Alfred Bendiner
Located in New York, NY
The Italian opera singer, Salvatore Baccaloni (1900-1969) often took comic roles. He worked with several opera companies in Philadelphia between 1951 and 1966. Bendiner was a world t...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Modern William Sommer Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Gouache
Alfred Bendiner, (Baseball Hitter and Pitcher -- The Philadelphia Phillies?)
By Alfred Bendiner
Located in New York, NY
Of course it's possible that these baseball players aren't from a Philadelphia team, but I doubt it. There was so much drama and intrigue with both the Philadelphia Phillies...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Modern William Sommer Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
India Ink, Watercolor
'Portrait of a Young Navajo', Native American, Arizona, California Woman artist
By Victoria Creech Stewart
Located in Santa Cruz, CA
Signed lower left 'Creech PSWC' and created circa 1975
A compelling pastel study showing the subject dressed in brightly-colored ceremonial robes and gazing past the viewer. An eleg...
Category
1970s American Modern William Sommer Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Pastel, Archival Paper
Lounge Chair Nap - Vintage Illustration in Ink and Watercolor
By Irene Pattinson
Located in Soquel, CA
Lounge Chair Nap - Vintage Illustration in Ink and Watercolor
A man lazes in a lounge chair, book still in hand, as he dozes off with a content e...
Category
1950s American Modern William Sommer Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, India Ink, Pen
H 12 in W 9 in D 0.25 in
Indian Dancer - Vintage Illustration in Ink and Watercolor
By Irene Pattinson
Located in Soquel, CA
Indian Dancer - Vintage Illustration in Ink and Watercolor
A stoic, dark-haired woman in elaborate dress is sitting cross-legged in this illustration by Irene Pattinson (American, 1909-1999). Pattinson uses fine ink line detail and a vibrant pink watercolor for a splash of color.
Signed at the bottom, "Irene Pattinson."
Provenance: The Artist, Estate of Irene Pattinson: David Carlson; Estate of Larry Miller Fine Art, Robert Azensky Fine Art.
Presented in a new white mat with foam core backing.
Mat size: 16"H x 12"W
Paper size: 11.75"H x 8.5"W
Image size: 7.5"H x 6.5"W
Irene Pattinson (American, 1909-1999) studied at the California School of Fine Art (now The San Francisco Art Institute), San Francisco State College and The Marion Hartwell School of Design. She was President of the San Francisco Woman Artists Association 1955-56.
Provenance: The Artist, Estate of Irene Pattinson: David Carlson; Estate of Larry Miller Fine Art, Robert Azensky Fine Art.
Solo Exhibitions: Lucien Labaudt Gallery 1955; San Francisco Museum of Art, 1961 (39 works).
Selected Group Exhibitions: San Francisco Art Association Annual 1948, 54, 55; San Francisco Woman Artists, 1957-1960; Oakland Art Museum Annual, 1951, 58; California Palace of the Legion of Honor, 1960; Richmond Art Center, 1955, 56, 57, 58; San Francisco Art Institute 1959, 60. The Art Bank of the San Francisco Art Association, 1958, 59, 60, 62, 63; Winter Invitational, California Palace of The Legion of Honor, San Francisco, 1960; Fourth Winter Invitational, California Palace of The Legion of Honor, San Francisco, 1963.
Awards: First Place, San Francisco Woman Artists Assoc., 1957, 1959; San Francisco Art Festival 1957;Literature: San Francisco Art Institute - A catalog of the Art Ban 1962/63; San Francisco and the Second Wave: The Blair Collection
Exhibitions:
1963 The Art Bank of the San Francisco Art Association, San Francisco, CA
1963 California Palace of The Legion of Honor: Forth Winter Invitational, San Francisco, CA
1962 The Art Bank of the San Francisco Art Association, San Francisco, CA
1961 San Francisco Museum of Art, San Francisco, CA
1960 California...
Category
1950s American Modern William Sommer Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, India Ink, Watercolor, Pen
H 16 in W 12 in D 0.25 in
'Self-Portrait with Black Hat' — Mid-Century American Impressionism
By Robert Philipp
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
Robert Philipp, 'Self-Portrait with Black Hat', ink and color pastel, c. 1945. Signed in ink, lower right. A fine, spontaneous drawing, on heavy, buff wove paper; the artist's tack holes in the top and bottom left sheet corners, minor rippling in the bottom sheet edge; otherwise in good condition. Image size 16 1/4 x 11 1/4 inches; sheet size 19 1/4 x 12 3/4 inches. Matted to museum standards, unframed.
Provenance: Art Students League, from the artist’s personal portfolio.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Robert Philipp (1895–1981) was a celebrated American Post-Impressionist painter known for his nudes, still lifes, and portraits. Noted art critic Henry McBride named Philipp one of America's top six painters of his generation. Philipp was an instructor of painting at the Art Students League, New York, for 33 years. Philipp was Secretary of the National Academy of Design, a National Academician, and a Benjamin Franklin Fellow at the Royal Society of Arts in London. His composition and painting style has been compared to the art of Edgar Degas and Pierre Auguste Renoir.
In 1940, Philipp was invited to Los Angeles by Hollywood producer Louis B. Mayer to paint portraits of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer movie stars. The same year, Walter Wanger, producer of ‘The Long Voyage Home’, directed by John Ford and based on plays by Eugene O'Neill, contracted with Reeves Lewenthal, head of the Associated American Artists gallery in Manhattan, to bring nine well-known artists to the set and paint scenes from the movie and portraits of the actors in character. The artists included Robert Philipp, Thomas Hart Benton, Grant Wood, Ernest Fiene, George Schreiber, Luis...
Category
1940s American Modern William Sommer Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Pastel, Ink
Flapper Fanny - Female Cartoonist of the Golden Age
Located in Miami, FL
Flapper Fanny - Female Cartoonist of the Golden Age
Sylvia Sneidman was originally a fashion illustrator, but assumed the helm of the famous jazz-age panel cartoon "Flapper Fanny Sa...
Category
1940s American Modern William Sommer Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
India Ink, Archival Paper
Rare 1950s Original Syndicated Ink Drawing Cartoon Strip Susie Q Smith Comic Art
Located in Surfside, FL
SUSIE Q. SMITH
Medium: Newspaper comics
Distributed by: King Features Syndicate
First Appeared: 1945
Creators: Linda and Jerry Walter
6 X 18.25
Like her contemporaries, Aggie Mack,...
Category
1950s American Modern William Sommer Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Ink
"Marc Chagall" Original Drawing Illustration Caricature William Saroyan book
By Albert Al Hirschfeld
Located in New York, NY
"Marc Chagall" Original Drawing Illustration Caricature William Saroyan book
This drawing was published in the 1976 edition of William Saroyan's SONS ...
Category
1970s American Modern William Sommer Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink, Board
"Isadora Duncan (Blue), " Pen, Ink, & Watercolor signed by Abraham Walkowitz
By Abraham Walkowitz
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"Isadora Duncan (Blue)" is an original mixed media drawing created by Abraham Walkowitz. It is made with pen & ink, graphite, and watercolor piece on cream paper. The artist signed t...
Category
1920s American Modern William Sommer Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Ink, Watercolor, Graphite
Mission Impossible Original TV Guide Drawing Illustration Caricature Mid Century
By Albert Al Hirschfeld
Located in New York, NY
"Mission Impossible" Original TV Guide Drawing Illustration Caricature Mid Century NYC with Greg Morris, Barbara Bain, and Steve Hill. This original drawing...
Category
1960s American Modern William Sommer Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink, Board
Previously Available Items
Flapper in a Black Hat
By William Sommer
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Flapper in a Black Hat
Ink and watercolor on paper, mounted to support paper, c. 1915
Signed with the artist's Estate Stamp B lower right (see photo)
Condition: colors very fresh and...
Category
1920s American Modern William Sommer Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor
Self Portrait
By William Sommer
Located in Greenwich, CT
Cubist infleunced self-portrait of William Sommer .
Great execution and economy of means , proof of the artist's talent.
As one of the first artists in Ohio to embrace early mo...
Category
1930s Cubist William Sommer Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink, Watercolor
William Sommer portrait drawings and watercolors for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic William Sommer portrait drawings and watercolors available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by William Sommer in paint, watercolor and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 1920s and is mostly associated with the modern style. Not every interior allows for large William Sommer portrait drawings and watercolors, so small editions measuring 10 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Alfred Bendiner, Albert Al Hirschfeld, and Linda Newman Boughton. William Sommer portrait drawings and watercolors prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $2,500 and tops out at $10,000, while the average work can sell for $6,250.