Paper Paintings

Mixed-media on paper by Dan Miller, mostly shades of grey with blue, red and gold overtones. White highlights on center robot's face give this a tribal feel. Art work size is 18.5" h...

Pair of 1950s African ink drawn portraits, framed and signed "Ute Alcortzo" Measures with frame: 32x24x2cm.  

Vintage Nantucket Old North Slip watercolor by Doris & Richard Beer, circa 1940, a watercolor on paper view of Old North Slip (Wharf), signed in pencil power right. Doris and Richard Beer (1898-1967 and 1893-1959 respectively) produced a well-known series of watercolor miniatures featuring popular Nantucket scenes. Working at their Wharf Head Studio on Old North Wharf for 18 years, the couple worked together on these copyrighted creations, photo-duplicating Doris's line sketch and Doris and Richard completing the watercolor. One of a large collection of beer watercolors...

Naomi Vicas (b. 1920), French artist. Gouache on paper. Still life. Mid-20th century. Visible dimensions: 42 x 29 cm. Total dimensions: 69 x 48 cm. The frame measures: 1.5 cm. In...

1965 Mel Ramos litho “Chic” Screenprint in colors, on heavy wove paper. signed and numbered 100/200 in pencil (there were also 50 artist's proofs), published by Original Editions, New York. Hamburger Girl, offset color lithograph About: Mel Ramos American, 1935-2018 Mel Ramos’s provocative, humorous paintings mix idealized nude women with the imagery of popular culture—Coca Cola bottles, movie posters, and the like. A prolific artist from his emergence in the 1960s onward, Ramos has often based his nudes on the female celebrities of the day, from Marilyn Monroe to Scarlett Johansson. His style references the sensuality and glossy flatness of pin-ups and Playboy spreads and has drawn the ire of feminists and art critics alike, despite Ramos’s assertion that his works are “apolitical”. Though clearly aligned with Pop art in his appropriation of imagery from mass media and consumer products, Ramos calls his practice rooted in Surrealism and its emphasis on “absurd conjunctions”—in his case, a beautiful nude woman emerging from a Snickers wrapper or lounging seductively in a banana split...

Japanese Four Panel Screen: Banana Grove, early Showa period (late 1920s-1930s) painting of life-size fruiting banana trees in a style that ...

Lully (born in Switzerland 1936) has spent most of her successful career in Paris. The painting is signed and dated "Isis Lully 69" in the bottom right corner; displayed in a custom...

Lovely trees with pine and azelea. Mineral pigment on paper. Showa period (1926-1989).

French 1940s signed and numbered lithograph of a pastel drawing of a woman Original French framing.

Jane Peterson Autograph with Magazine Article. July 1943 Americana Illustrated volume XXXVII, number 3. This was a publication of "The American Historical Company," New York City. Wi...

Ok this is so fun and whimsical yet beautifully done. A figure coming back from a Venetian ball having a dramatic smoke in his costume and mask. Note his cigarette holder and pointed toe are in sync! Most likely gouache or watercolor with oil stick on paper...

Executed and hand-watercolored by the artist, James Sheppard, this large and impressive print depicts three boxers in various stages of undress in a men's locker room, the figures hi...

Giuseppe Napoli (1929 - 1967) mixed media on paper (collage / watercolor). An integral part of the 1950s - '60s Greenwich Village artist community and New York School, Napoli was an...

A large watercolor and collage. Signed on lower right. And also on verso.

1949 Fernand Léger lithograph, pochoir Medium Remarks: black ink Estelle Aimee (illustration for "Les Illuminations" by Arthur Rimbaud) Lux...

Lithograph by Mihail Chemiakin, Russian / American. 1960s.

Artist Benjamin Jorj Harris Birth: 1904 Death: 1957 Lived/Active New York Often known for Illustration-watercolor Features: 1940s da...

Abstract expressionist still life drawing on paper by Salvatore Grippi, 1960s. Gorgeous colored graphite still-life on paper. Signed and dated. From artist’s estate.

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...

Framed gouache painting of a young man by Matthew William Boyhan (unsigned). The subject gazes past the viewer with an air of pensive absorption, his lean torso and ruddy brow aglow...

Albert Ferenz (1907-1994), Germany. Watercolor on paper. "In the mountains". Mid-20th century. Visible dimension: 45.5 x 33.5 cm. Total dimensions: 69 ...

A painting with the motif fruits in a bowl painted, which was painted with watercolors by Emil Fiala. Emil Fiala (1869-1960) was a member of the Austrian Künstlerbund formerly Hagen...

Erwin Schott (1913-1987, Munich) Artist group ZEN 49 (ZEN 49 Group of the non-objective - founded after the 2nd World War) Gouache Informel / oil paint on thick paper, ca. 1958 - es...

Watercolor painting on paper of a tropical scene with houses, palm trees, and figures executed in a lush pallet. Signed by American artist Margaret Morrish in 1956 at Port Antonio Ja...

Mid-Century Modern vintage landscape painting with motif Schneeberg in Lower Austria in pastel tone color blue, grey, silver, green and white with watercolor on cardboard behind glas...

Original gouache on paper by French artist Pierre Dmitrenko. Abstract style signed and dated 1942 lower right. Nice condition with slight wear. Image size is 19.13" W x 13.32" H, Ove...

A vibrant celebration of spring using a colorful ensemble of coxcomb, irises, lilies, hybiscus, and a blossoming cherry tree. Great examples of "tarashikomi" or "painting-in", a Rim...

A vintage limited edition print after Samuel Chamberlain etching titled "The Hospital, Santa Cruz Toledo", lower right pencil numbered 59/100 and lower left artist-signed Samuel Cham...

Ricardo Santamaria (1947-2004), acrylic and collage on canvas titled "Blue Recomposition" dated 1968. Measure: Format 93/77 cm Member of the Zaragoza Group, Ricardo Santamaria is a...

Postwar Hawaiian airbrush tropical hibiscus floral on paper in original period white wood frame. Signed by artist Hammis Measures: Art 26" x 36" ...

Ricardo Santamaria (1947-2004), acrylic and newspapers on canvas titled "Between the lines", dated 1969 on the back. This creation is part of the beginnings of the artist's Parisian ...

Original Post-War Hawaiian Airbrush zebra in original period white painted wood frame with large mat border, Pair. Art: 21" X 26" Frame: 25.25" X 28.25"

Mid- Century hand painted watercolor by Pol Antonis displays the artist's keen impressionistic talent in the media with a comfortable waterfront home. Entitled in Dutch "The Grassy P...

Pierre Bordeaux, Paris View of the Seine, 1934. Vintage April in Paris ambience to this hand-painted watercolour rendered in soft blue, grey, celadon a...

Artist: Rolph Scarletti (Canadian, 1889 – 1984) Object: Modernist Abstract Composition Period: Ca. 1950’s Medium: Guache on paper, framed Dimensions (unframed): Height: 9-1/3” Width: 12” Dimensions (framed): Height: 22-3/4”” Width: 25-3/4” Rolph Scarlett (Canadian, 1889 – 1984) was a consummate explorer of twentieth-century abstract painting. Never afraid of trying new styles, curious and opinionated, constantly engaged with the world around him while steadfastly aware that he was on his own path and his alone, Scarlett more than once proved to be at the artistic zeitgeist of the eras in which he lived. Exposed very early on to the work of Paul Klee through a chance meeting in Europe with the artist himself, Scarlett took up abstraction with a fervor that never diminished during his long and impressive career. To create something that had never existed before: this was Scarlett’s great cause. And that is what is most obvious when you look at Scarlett’s work—you have never seen anything quite like it. Scarlett was Canadian-born, came of age in the Midwest, and spent few important years in Hollywood, where he designed stage sets. His work from this early period echoes Klee’s use of color, his confidence in naïve, primitive forms, and his blend of abstraction and figuration. In its flat spatial qualities it prefigures the Indian Space painting of the 1940s by a decade. He moved to New York in 1933 and eventually found his first great patron at the Museum of Non-Objective Painting, directed by Baroness Hilla Rebay and art patron Solomon R. Guggenheim. Guggenheim would collect over 60 works by Scarlett for his collection, more than any other artist outside of Vasily Kandinsky and Rudolf Bauer. As a frequent exhibitor and lecturer at the Museum of Non-Objective Painting (MNOP), Scarlett honed his sensitive feel for bodies in space and capitalized on his trademark use of bright, vivacious colors into accomplished, perfectly harmonized geometric works. However, Scarlett soon morphed these hard-edged forms into a nuanced expressionistic abstraction which, at its best, seems to be populated by dancing forms that animate the canvases. Along this way he was advised by Rudolf Bauer, the German expatriate and one of the originators of non-objective painting in the teens. Bauer had the idea for the Museum, and Rebay, his champion, had found in Solomon Guggenheim a patron for manifesting it. When Bauer emigrated just before World War II, he wanted to meet Scarlett. The two became friends, and Bauer advised Scarlett on his work over the course of many years. Even in a 1979 interview, Scarlett began to tear up as he recalled his first meeting with Bauer, a man whose work he "worshipped," describing that, "It was a touching moment for me, I’ll tell you." Scarlett and Rebay also had a close, important relationship, one in which he bore the brunt of her sometimes condescending, if motherly, critiques and admonitions with tolerance and gratefulness. Eventually, though, he had to push back. In a letter from 1951 he writes, "I have noticed with growing amazement that during the past three years you have accepted less and less of my work—and, that same work, which you rejected has been accepted and shown in the best and largest shows all over this country." This period—the late 1940s to the early 1950s—did in fact correspond to Scarlett’s most critical success, and to a return to the fanciful forms and characters of his pre-war work. At the same time, he found his own rhythm and complexity using a drip style similar to, though denser and more opaque than, the one made famous by Jackson Pollock, who had worked for many years at the MNOP and with whom he shared common influences. In 1949 he had a very well received solo show in 1949 at the Jacques Seligmann Gallery, reviewed very favorably in The New York Times: "The impression made by these paintings is one of originality and strength." He was also included in a juried show "American Painting Today" at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1950 and in the Whitney Annual of 1951. The curator for the Whitney show in fact bypassed a selection of Scarlett’s careful geometrics in favor of a new "lyrical" drip painting—one which he describes as having had "a helluva good time" making. Rebay articulated her loss of control over Scarlett very keenly in one of her last official letters to him: "So your way ended in the horrid jungle it is in now; even a Mr. Pollock’s smearage was not bad enough for you to have a try at; and betraying yourself, you betrayed art and my faith in you, and my present disgrace by my failure to foresee such an outrageous possibility—since you even paint objectively now." Yet, despite the fact that he was moving in his own direction when the change in leadership took place at the Museum of Non-Objective Painting and Rebay was forced out as director, Scarlett was hit hard. He understood this change rightly as a betrayal by the establishment. Scarlett was a unique individual and soul, and was affected personally and philosophically by the idea that the movement with which Scarlett had aligned his talents seemed to disappear overnight, and his life’s work rendered valueless. Without the Museum’s support, Scarlett decided eventually to move to the artists’ community of Shady, New York, just outside of Woodstock. He had occasional shows throughout the years, but mostly settled down to regional obscurity. He began making jewelry, which had been his first trade, and it was following a show of his jewelry in 1975 at the Jaro Gallery, that he was rediscovered by Samuel Esses, and his wife Sandy. Samuel Esses was a successful businessman and an avid collector. He always sought out that which was unusual and, like Scarlett, was ahead of his time in many ways. For example, in 1979, Sam became enthralled with the early graffiti appearing on the New York subway trains. With the sole goal of preserving these groundbreaking yet short lived works of art he was inspired to create "The Esses Studio," a painting warehouse and workshop for graffiti artists to work in a studio, collaborate, and paint on canvas. The biggest names of graffiti writing participated—Futura, Crash, Dondi, Zephyr, and Daze to name a few. The project was well received and provided critical validation at an important time for this alternative form of abstraction to be recognized by the established art world. The success of the "Esses Studio" helped fuel an alternative fire that would propel gallerists and curators to acknowledge other street artists and provide a foundation of acceptance for the early careers of Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat. It is not a stretch to say that what Esses saw in the graffiti art of the 1970s was very similar to what he saw in 1950s-era Scarletts—something raw, honest, and melding many twentieth century influences into one unique form. Inspired by the importance of the collection and the passion of the collector, Weinstein Gallery...

Vintage Nantucket orange street watercolor by Doris & Richard Beer, circa 1940, a watercolor on paper view of orange street, signed in pencil power right. Doris and Richard Beer (1898-1967 and 1893-1959 respectively) produced a well-known series of watercolor miniatures featuring popular Nantucket scenes. Working at their Wharf Head Studio on Old North Wharf for 18 years, the couple worked together on these copyrighted creations, photo-duplicating Doris's line sketch and Doris and Richard completing the watercolor. One of a large collection of Beer watercolors...

Japanese two-panel screen: Dog Resting Beside a Thorny Hedge, Showa period (1926 - 1989) painting of a white dog through an exaggerated thorny ...

A boxed, abstract construction of colorful quilled paper by American artist Paul Shaub.

Japanese two panel screen: Chrysanthemums Through the Mist Obara Paper Art Screen. Surreal and masterful rendering of chrysanthemums cloaked in mist that varies in opacity made entirely of carefully arranged mulberry paper fibers in a Japanese art practice called Obara. Accented with gold leaf. Unique in terms of both execution and dreamlike mood. Made by Yamauchi Issei (b. 1929), stamped in the corner. Issei is well known throughout Japan as the leading artist in Obara Paper Art. Starting in 1948, he apprenticed with Fuji Tatsukichi, a leading proponent of the arts and crafts movement in Japan who worked to revive many cultural traditions on the brink of extinction. Issei started exhibiting in the Nitten in 1953, won the gold medal in 1963, and eventually became a juror. His artwork was given as a gift to the Showa Emperor of Japan, as well as dignitaries such as General Douglas MacArthur...

This ink and watercolor figurative abstract expressionist piece on paper is signed by its creator, noted New York School artist Salvatore Grippi. Though undated, the piece is fits in...

Abstracted painting of ships moored in the background. Painted by Nishide Kofuku and exhibited at the 1963 Nitten National Exhibition. Kofuku was born in 1926 in Shiga Prefecture. He...

A mixed media painting by Robert Libeski, which shows a Lady with Dog, 1946 in soft colors. Robert Libeski ( 1892 - 1988 ) Robert Libeski was activ in...

Bucolic watercolor by Saturday Evening Post illustrator, Stevan Dohanos, (1907-1994). The painting measures: 7" H x 8" W. Frame size is approximately 18" H x 18 3/4" W. It is in ex...

An oversized vintage floral still life painting depicts bouquet of garden flowers (possibly peonies), artist signed lower right, mat...

This Mid-Century Modern piece dates to the 1950s-1960s and depicts the Manhattan Bridge and is a mixed media of oil on canvas and paper collage (cars). Note: Signed on the verso an...

Exceptional acrylic painting by Spanish artist Antonio Guanse' (1926-2008). Signed lower left, titled and dated on verso Colors are bright and intense...

A 1930s futurist watercolor painting of a motorbike race by Italian futurist artist Aris Bacci. Mounted in original geometric cream mottled frame, with stun...

A pair of midcentury paintings depicting women as amazons. The feeling of Jazz, Dance, Miles Davis, Paris, clubs. The erotic in movement....

Drawing with watercolor and oil on paper - All original in custom gallery double frame and non-reflective UV glass. Signed in pen to lower right. This is a wonderful monochromatic Pi...

Composition by Rune Hagberg, Sweden. 1960s. Rune Fredrik Hagberg was a renowned Swedish artist that took much of his inspiration from Zen Buddhism spirituality and Eastern Calligraphy. He is represented at, among many others, the Modern Museum and the Norrköping Art Museum. Hagberg’s meditative informalism is placed between the concretism and expressionism of the 1950s, his art becoming simpler until he reduced it so far that only tightly closed picture...

During her first years in New York Blaine's work, which had previously been tightly realist, turned abstract, inspired by Mondrian, Leger and Jean Helion. At one time she was the you...

Full of atmosphere and fresh color, this watercolor painting depicts a group of eight nude male figures in a wooded setting, holding hands, talking, admiring the view, and stealing o...

During her first years in New York Blaine's work, which had previously been tightly realist, turned abstract, inspired by Mondrian, Leger and Jean Helion. At one time she was the you...

This ink figurative abstract Expressionist piece on paper is signed by its creator, noted New York School artist Salvatore Grippi. Though undated, the piece is similar in form and st...

"About the artist Félix Labisse, born March 9, 1905 in Marchiennes and died January 29, 1982 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, was a French surrealist painter whom the surrealists, however, refused to recognize as one of their own. On the fringes of André Breton’s movement, he was linked in 1947-1948, because of his friendship with Christian Dotremont...

Painted in an era when African or African American figures were increasingly featured in painting and sculpture, both in America and Europe, this sensuous depiction of a black male figure by Rowena Meeks Abdy...

A handsome portrait of Rudolf Nureyev, signed indistinctly lower right and dated '65, pencil on paper. Measures: Unframed: 11 by 14.5 inches Framed: 16...

Raphael Soyer Original Lithograph - Watercolor added by the artist's hand, 1955 The image measures 13" H x 8 ½" W. Frame measures: 23 1/4"H x 1...