"Villa Sébastian, Hammamet, Tunisia, " by Porter Woodruff, 1930s Art Deco

This sensitive depiction of St. Sebastian, pierced by a myriad of arrows but not yet expired, was painted by Porter Woodruff in a gorgeous combination of watercolor, gouache and ink. The saint is shown against an Ionic column, with a dark and turbulent sky behind that is punctuated by a row of poplars pointing skyward. Woodruff was best known for his paintings and illustrations for Vogue magazine -- one of five American fashion illustrators who worked for the magazine -- as well as House & Garden. Woodruff was born in Tennessee, but spent much of his creative life in Paris and Tunisia, where he lived with Georges Sébastian, an important Hungarian-born, French orchestra...

This portrait of a handsome young man with cleft chin, wavy hair and a steady gaze was drawn by Porter Woodruff in pastel and sanguine on pale yellow paper in the 1930s. The artist is best known for his paintings and illustrations for Vogue magazine -- one of five American fashion illustrators who worked for the magazine -- as well as House & Garden. Woodruff was born in Tennessee, but spent much of his creative life in Paris and Tunisia, where he lived with Georges Sébastian, an important Hungarian-born, French orchestra...

Evidence of Western Europe's fascination with Native American culture, dress and way of life for over a century, this vivid drawing uses watercolor, gouache and crayon to capture a g...

An extraordinary example of Art Deco painting with allegorical meaning -- like so many murals painted in the 1920s and 1930s -- this large work by William L'Engle depicts five nude male figures laboring in the field, symbolizing life in Provincetown, Massachusetts. A Black male figure in the foreground is planting crops, while two other figures in the distance are pulling a rope, perhaps alluding to fishing boats tied up at the dock, while another nude seems to be sinking into sleep beneath a pier -- all with the waters of the Atlantic Ocean in the background. L'Engle called this "The Five Josephs," perhaps referring to Joseph of Arimathea and other figures in the New Testament. William L'Engle was a towering figure in the Provincetown art colony, and was extremely well connected with America's artistic elite, starting with his trip to Europe as a young man with Waldo Pierce and George Biddle. Over time, William and his life Lucy became close to a wide range of important figures in painting, theater and the arts, including Charles Hawthorne, Eugene O'Neill, Gerrit Beneker, John Dos Passos, Edmund Wilson and Mary McCarthy, William and Marguerite Zorach, Edna St. Vincent-Millay, Charles Demuth, Childe Hassam, George Biddle, Edwin Dickinson...

The painter Iver Rose is best known for his work which brought attention to the plight of workers in Depression Era America. This painting of quarry workers in Rockport, Massachusett...

Beautifully conceived, dramatically set and very finely painted, this gouache and ink painting by Willis R. Lohse is a paean to the hard work and nobility of the black farmer in America, hat in hand as he marvels at the beauty of the day. Full of lovely colors -- lemon yellow, cerulean and fresh green -- Lohse captures a lovely moment where the farmer pauses to look upward, amidst sprays of birch trees and expanses of rolling fields. Lohse was a German-American artist who is best known for his illustrations for fiction and fantasy books published between the 1920s and 1950s, including "The Boy Who Found the King," "Raff, the Jungle Bird...

American intra-war artist and illustrator Porter Woodruff (1894-1959). Arabian Horse scene, oil and gold leaf on board with chalky gouache. Signed Woodruff on lower right of painting. Signature somewhat obscured by frame. His Art Deco-influenced paintings are highly decorative and appealing, the compositions complex and well-thought out. The gold leaf background is decorative and elegant. His are rare Modernist paintings by an artist who found himself at the very heart of design, fashion and celebrity life in the early part of the century. Label at back for Pitt & Scott Ltd London - well known for its expertise in handling antiques, works of art and fragile artefacts. Dimensions: 11.5"h x 15.5"w (sight) 12.5"h x 17.5"w (frame) Porter Woodruff, was an illustrator artist and contributor to Vogue Magazine and Home & Garden (including covers for both). He was one of five artists stationed in Paris in 1923 for Vogue. Woodruff spent considerable time in Tunisia, North Africa, residing with his romantic partner, Romanian socialite George Sebastian. Sebastian owned a lavish, coastal property in then-trendy Hammamet, near Tunis on the Mediterranean. Sebastian fell in love with the simple beauty of the quiet fishing port of Hammamet and was the first of the international set of the times to build his villa there. He started a trend that has never ceased. Frank Lloyd Wright is said to have claimed Dar Sebastian to be ”the most beautiful house I have ever seen”. American and European intelligentsia and upper-crust were attracted to the area between the wars. The artists Cocteau, Elsa Schiaparelli, Paul Klee, Andre Gide, the Sitwells, and Cecil Beaton enjoyed visiting, partying, and undertaking what someone once described as indulging the opportunity to do 'some rather elaborate sinning'. Other visitors included Art Deco designer Jean-Michel Frank, Wallis Simpson, Somerset Maugham, and Greta Garbo, among others. The onset of war disrupted this scene and it never truly regained its former glory. Dar Sebastian was requisitioned by the 'Desert Fox', German General, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel...

Oil on canvas painting by Emil Fiala (1869-1960) with the motif Gladioli in a glass vase. Signed by Emil Fiala Prof. Emil Fiala had many exhibitions and the membership of the Künstle...

Art Deco Oil on carton painting by Emil Fiala (1869-1960) with the motif Autumn Leaves Bouquet signed, 1930. Emil Fiala provided an excellent understanding of transmitting the mood of the autumn time. He had many exhibitions and the membership of the Künstlerbund (formerly the Hagenbund). This painting is set in a golden authentic Biedermeier...

Art Deco watercolor vintage painting wildflowers by Emil Fiala 1930s Vienna. Emil Fiala (1869-1960) was from 1915-1937 member of the Austrian Künstlerbund (formerly Hagenbund). The d...

This stunning painting was created by the French artist Paul Jouve (1866-1924) in the 1930's and depicts two parrots. Paul Jouve was an illustrator and sculptor who had a lifelong p...

Art Deco painting in oil on canvas illustrating a young nude woman, pensive, half lying down, in front and the face resting on her right hand. Her skin is clear and she wears a short hairstyle in the fashion of the 30s. A certain light emanates from this work which takes up a classic theme of Western art: the female nude. This Art Deco painting is not signed but can be linked to the work of the French...