David Barnett Gallery Paintings

John Steuart Curry "Cockfight in Cuba," 1946 oil on canvas Image: 38.25 x 46.25 in Frame: 43.75 x 51.5 in Signed on reverse with initials JSC on lower right stretcher bar John Steu...

"Descanso, Peru (Woman)" by Ernesto Gutierrez, 1986, oil on jute canvas, signed lower right. 25" x 30" art 35" x 40" frame Artist Bio: Ernesto Gutierrez was born in Lima, Peru in ...

"Log Cabin Humble Beginnings" is a watercolor painting created by Barbara Kohl-Spiro. From 1984 this comes from a series of paintings based on quilt designs. This example depicts the...

John Steuart Curry "Sketching Wisconsin," 1946 oil on canvas 31.13 x 28 inches, canvas 39.75 x 36.75 x 2.5 inches, frame Signed and dated lower right Overall excellent condition Presented in a 24-karat gold leaf hand-carved wood frame John Steuart Curry (1897-1946) was an American regionalist painter active during the Great Depression and into World War II. He was born in Kansas on his family’s farm but went on to study art in Chicago, Paris and New York as young man. In Paris, he was exposed to the work of masters such as Peter Paul Rubens, Eugène Delacroix and Jacques-Louis David. As he matured, his work showed the influence of these masters, especially in his compositional decisions. Like the two other Midwestern regionalist artists that are most often grouped with him, Grant Wood (American, 1891-1942) and Thomas Hart Benton (American, 1889-1975), Curry was interested in representational works containing distinctly American subject matter. This was contrary to the popular art at the time, which was moving closer and closer to abstraction and individual expression. Sketching Wisconsin is an oil painting completed in 1946, the last year of John Steuart Curry’s life, during which time he was the artist-in-residence at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. The painting is significant in Curry’s body of work both as a very revealing self-portrait, and as a landscape that clearly and sensitively depicts the scenery of southern Wisconsin near Madison. It is also a portrait of the artist’s second wife, Kathleen Gould Curry, and is unique in that it contains a ‘picture within a picture,’ a compositional element that many early painting masters used to draw the eye of the viewer. This particular artwork adds a new twist to this theme: Curry’s wife is creating essentially the same painting the viewer is looking at when viewing Sketching Wisconsin. The triangular composition of the figures in the foreground immediately brings focus to a younger Curry, whose head penetrates the horizon line and whose gaze looks out towards the viewer. The eye then moves down to Mrs. Curry, who, seated on a folding stool and with her hand raised to paint the canvas on the easel before her, anchors the triangular composition. The shape is repeated in the legs of the stool and the easel. Behind the two figures, stripes of furrowed fields fall away gently down the hillside to a farmstead and small lake below. Beyond the lake, patches of field and forest rise and fall into the distance, and eventually give way to blue hills. Here, Curry has subverted the traditional artist’s self-portrait by portraying himself as a farmer first and an artist second. He rejects what he sees as an elitist art world of the East Coast and Europe. In this self-portrait he depicts himself without any pretense or the instruments of his profession and with a red tractor standing in the field behind him as if he was taking a break from the field work. Here, Curry’s wife symbolizes John Steuart Curry’s identity as an artist. Compared with a self-portrait of the artist completed a decade earlier, this work shows a marked departure from how the artist previously presented and viewed himself. In the earlier portrait, Curry depicted himself in the studio with brushes in hand, and with some of his more recognizable and successful canvases behind him. But in Sketching Wisconsin, Curry has taken himself out of the studio and into the field, indicating a shift in the artist’s self-conception. Sketching Wisconsin’s rural subject also expresses Curry’s populist ideals, that art could be relevant to anyone. This followed the broad educational objectives of UW’s artist-in-residence program. Curry was appointed to his position at the University of Wisconsin in 1937 and was the first person to hold any such position in the country, the purpose of which was to serve as an educational resource to the people of the state. He embraced his role at the University with zeal and not only opened the doors of his campus studio in the School of Agriculture to the community, but also spent a great deal of time traveling around the state of Wisconsin to visit rural artists who could benefit from his expertise. It was during his ten years in the program that Curry was able to put into practice his belief that art should be meaningful to the rural populace. However, during this time he also struggled with public criticism, as the dominant forces of the art market were moving away from representation. Perhaps it was Curry’s desire for public acceptance during the latter part of his career that caused him to portray himself as an Everyman in Sketching Wisconsin. Beyond its importance as a portrait of the artist, Sketching Wisconsin is also a detailed and sensitive landscape that shows us Curry’s deep personal connection to his environment. The landscape here can be compared to Wisconsin Landscape of 1938-39 (the Metropolitan Museum of Art), which presents a similar tableau of rolling hills with a patchwork of fields. Like Wisconsin Landscape, this is an incredibly detailed and expressive depiction of a place close to the artist’s heart. This expressive landscape is certainly the result of many hours spent sketching people, animals, weather conditions and topography of Wisconsin as Curry traveled around the state. The backdrop of undulating hills and the sweeping horizon, and the emotions evoked by it, are emphatically recognizable as the ‘driftless’ area of south-central Wisconsin. But while the Metropolitan’s Wisconsin Landscape conveys a sense of uncertainty or foreboding with its dramatic spring cloudscape and alternating bands of light and dark, Sketching Wisconsin has a warm and reflective mood. The colors of the foliage indicate that it is late summer and Curry seems to look out at the viewer approvingly, as if satisfied with the fertile ground surrounding him. The landscape in Sketching Wisconsin is also revealing of what became one of Curry’s passions while artist-in-residence at UW’s School of Agriculture – soil conservation. When Curry was a child in Kansas, he saw his father almost lose his farm and its soil to the erosion of The Dust Bowl. Therefore, he was very enthusiastic about ideas from UW’s School of Agriculture on soil conservation methods being used on Wisconsin farms. In Sketching Wisconsin, we see evidence of crop rotation methods in the terraced stripes of fields leading down the hillside away from the Curry’s and in how they alternate between cultivated and fallow fields. Overall, Sketching Wisconsin has a warm, reflective, and comfortably pastoral atmosphere, and the perceived shift in Curry’s self-image that is evident in the portrait is a positive one. After his rise to favor in the art world in the 1930’s, and then rejection from it due to the strong beliefs presented in his art, Curry is satisfied and proud to be farmer in this self-portrait. Curry suffered from high blood...

"Papaya & Mexican Pitcher" is an original signed oil painting by Warren Brandt. Brandt, an American painter originally influenced by Abstract Expressionism, became a "child of Matiss...

This set of four birthday collage cards are rare early examples of the small-scale collages that American artist Joel Jaecks began producing in the 1980s. Jaecks began working in wat...

This painting is one of the series of cubist cityscapes that the Peruvian artist Ernesto Gutierrez was experimenting with in the early part of his career. The entire composition is c...

The present painting, titled 'Black Mat,' is a small and intimate work by the American artist Fred Reichman. An intimate work measuring only ten by ten i...

The present work is an excellent example of the narrative paintings of Randall Berndt. In the painting, we see a woman in a carved canoe among sculptures ...

"Image" is an original acrylic and pastel painting on paper by Reginald K. Gee. The artist initialed the piece on the back. It features abstracted, simplified figures and faces in fr...

"Pajaro Caballo (Bird House)" is an original acrylic painting on canvas by Miguel-Casto Lenero. Abstract representations of animals are rendered in thick acrylic paint in dark pastel...

"Cat Scratching Table" is an original oil painting on canvas by Nicolas Dreux. The artist signed the piece lower left. It depicts a cat and a bird in a pastel-colored interior. 18" x 14" art 27 1/4" x 23 1/4" frame Nicolas Dreux was born on March 10, 1956 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. He began to paint as a student of painter Calixte Henri...

"Autumn Trees" is an original, unique landscape oil painting on canvas by Michael Boyle. The artist signed the piece lower right and dated it lower left. This piece depicts a line of...

"Russian Village Scene" is an original oil painting on canvas by Olga Vasilevlkay. The artist signed the painting in the lower right. This piece depict...

"The Saint of the Flaming City" is an original oil painting on canvas by Raymond Breinin. It depicts a group of figures looking over an abstracted and green city as the colors of fire rage through the sky. The artist signed and dated the piece in the lower right. This painting was lent by the David Barnett Gallery to the Art Institute of Chicago for their 52nd Annual Exhibition. 30" x 40" art 39 3/4" x 49 3/4" frame Raymond Breinin, Russian/American painter & designer (1910-2000), was born in Vitebsk, Russia, where he commenced his art studies with Uri Pen (who was also the first teacher of Marc Chagall) and later attended the Vitebsk Academy of Art where Malevitch was the director. He came to the United States with his family in 1922. When he came to America he attended classes at the Art Institute of Chicago and the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts. A painter of murals for the WPA, he was invited to join the Downtown Gallery in New York City, one of the foremost galleries at the time, where he exhibited in one man shows and group shows over a period of 18 years. The winner of numerous major prizes at the Chicago Art Institute and other museums, he also won the $1000 purchase prize at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's "Artists for Victory" exhibition. He designed the sets and costumes for Anthony Tudor's ballet, "Undertow" produced by the American Ballet Theater. He executed commissions for "Life", "Fortune" and "Redbook" magazines, for the Capehart Corporation, Eli Lilly...

"Y Un Dia, Mi Muerte" or "And One Day, My Death" is an original oil and acrylic painting by Monica Flores Martinez. The artist signed the painting in the lower right. This piece depi...

"Self Portrait" is an original oil painting on masonite board by Francesco Spicuzza. The artist signed the piece in the lower left. It depicts the artist holding a pipe in front of a...

"After Sweeping the Garden" is an original work in alkyd paint on canvas by Fred Reichman. The artist signed the painting in the darker pink section in t...

"Quercus Day at Mr. Ichthyik's House" is an original acrylic painting on canvas by Randal Berndt. It depicts fish coming out of the ground and a few mythological figures. "Ichthyik" means "fish-like" and "Quercus" refers to oak trees. 49" x 67" art 50 1/2" x 68 1/2" frame Randall Berndt grew up on a farm near Markesan, Wisconsin, and holds an M.F.A. degree in painting from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His work has been exhibited in many museum and gallery shows, both juried and invitational. These include, in recent years, the Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown, Ohio (where he received the Juror's Choice Award), the Sioux City...

"Artist in Heliopolis" is an original acrylic painting by Randall Berndt. It depicts a skipping artist with a few other distorted figures. "Heliopolis", in the title of the painting, may refer to the ancient Egyptian city. 50" x 64" canvas Artist signature along top edge of back frame Randall Berndt grew up on a farm near Markesan, Wisconsin, and holds an M.F.A. degree in painting from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His work has been exhibited in many museum and gallery shows, both juried and invitational. These include, in recent years, the Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown, Ohio (where he received the Juror's Choice Award), the Sioux City...

"St. Icaremus in the Lumber Yard" is an original acrylic painting on canvas by Randall Berndt. This painting depicts a male figure with wings and a bird head in a lumber yard. There are three pillars of carved heads staring at him. Artwork Size: 44" x 52 1/4" Artist Bio: Randall Berndt grew up on a farm near Markesan, Wisconsin, and holds an M.F.A. degree in painting from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His work has been exhibited in many museum and gallery shows, both juried and invitational. These include, in recent years, the Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown, Ohio (where he received the Juror's Choice Award), the Sioux City...

"King's Canaries" is an original acrylic painting on canvas by Randall Berndt. It depicts a male figure in the woods with a vase of flowers, three birds, and what looks like a boat f...

"The Sauna" is an original oil painting on canvas signed by the artist Alicia Czechowski. It depicts six nude female figures lounging in a sauna. These figures have a wide variety of...

"Inset-Red" is a monochromatic abstract painting in oil and bronze pigment from 1980. The colored marks blend together in a mix of red,...

Rich, colorful, expressionist still life by American artist Warren Brandt featuring a decorative vase with white flowers, an assortment of fruit, and a small wooden sculpture...