Pair Portraits Paintings of Women "Sisters" circa 1940s by Helen Sawyer American

View Similar Items

WPA Style Portrait Painting of a Gentleman, American, 1930s-1940s

Raphael Soyer (American, 1899–1987) Portrait of a Young Woman, c. 1940s

American Regionalist Oil, Sag Harbor, NY, Circa 1940s

Sisters, Painting by American Painter Fay Singer

Irina Shtenberg, Portrait of a Young Woman, Watercolor on Paper, circa 1940s

"Two Women Lounging", Richly-Imagined Portrait of Figures in Satin & Silk, 1940s

1940s Italian Signed Framed Portrait

Stephen Etnier Modernist Painting of a Harpswell, Maine Seascape, Circa 1940s

American Landscape Portrait Canadian Goose Signed Lithograph by Helen Rundell

Antique California Portrait Oil Painting of Sisters by Wanda Neumann

1940s Landscape Painting

Vintage Portrait of Women Painting

About the Item

Pair of midcentury portrait paintings by Helen Sawyer (1900-1999). Both are signed, circa 1940. In excellent quality Mid-Century Modern style frames. Landscape and still-life painter Helen Alton Sawyer was the daughter of a prominent Washington, D.C. family. She spent much of her childhood in Spain where she was exposed to fine art and other elements of culture. Her father was painter Wells M. Sawyer with whom she studied as well as in New York City at the National Academy of Design and the Art Students League, and with painter Charles Hawthorne on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Her talent manifested itself early, and she and her father exhibited in a two-person show in 1921 in New York City at the Babcock Galleries. Sawyer married artist Jerry Farnsworth from Dalton, Georgia, whom she met when they both studied with Hawthorne. He referred to his wife as a "born artist, while terming himself a made artist" (Sternberg, 107). She continued to use her maiden name of Sawyer throughout her career. Her painting career is primarily associated with Cape Cod where from 1933, she and her husband founded an art school, which in 1940, they had near their home at North Truro. In 1943, they also founded an art school in Sarasota, Florida where the Ringling Brothers Circus had their headquarters. Both Helen and her husband painted circus scenes. Sawyer evidenced a very personal style with elements of the the Primitive combined with impressionism. She used both oil and watercolor. Her oil, "Road to Shankpainter Pond, Provincetown," is a landscape depiction with two tiny figures on a road between clustered foreground cottages that contrast with one isolated in the middle distance. This lonely house appears to be their physical destination, but thanks to the artist's handling, is also the symbolic goal of their emotional or spiritual journey. The artist's seascapes also tend to be rich in mood, often expressing a certain loneliness. Another example of her talent is her 1950 painting, "Circus Wagon," an image of a worn-out wagon whose blocky forms are strongly painted in intense, moody, dark colors, and almost savagely expressive of loss and abandonment. She was elected an Associate of the National Academy of Design in 1937 and an Academician in 1950. She was also a member of the National Association of Women Artists, the National Arts Club, Washington Society of Artists, the Hudson Valley Art Association, Washington Art Club; Yonkers Art Association, New York; and Provincetown Art Association, Massachusetts. She regularly exhibited with those groups as well as venues including the Pennsylvnaia Academy, Art Institute of Chicago, Corcoran Gallery, Ringling Museum and Atlanta Museum. Her work was included in the "American Art Today" New York World's Fair exhibit in 1939 and the 1933-34 Century of Progress Internation Exposition in Chicago. Helen Alton Sawyer died in 1999. From Jules and Nancy Heller, North American Women Artists of the 20th century Paul Sternberg Sr., Art by American Women. # WPA modernist impressionist Art Deco.

Dimensions:
Height: 18.75 in (47.63 cm)Width: 17.5 in (44.45 cm)Depth: 1 in (2.54 cm)
Style:
Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
Materials and Techniques:
Paint,Wood
Place of Origin:
United States
Period:
Mid-20th Century
Date of Manufacture:
circa 1940's
Condition:
Wear consistent with age and use.
Seller Location:
Rochester, NY
Reference Number:
Seller: 450071stDibs: LU1585236296742

More From This Seller

View All

Impressionist Painting Nudes by American Artist David Humphrey circa 1910

Located in Rochester, NY

Nude bathers, fine early 20th century impressionist painting by David Humphrey (American 1872-1950.) Pastel on paper. Humphrey was born in Elkhorn, Wisconsin in 1872. He studied at t...

Category

Early 20th Century American Paintings

Materials

Paint, Paper

Impressionist Painting Nudes by American Artist David Humphrey circa 1910

$2,250

$3,500

Mid-20th Century American Paintings

Materials

Canvas

WPA Style Portrait Painting of a Gentleman, American, 1930s-1940s

$1,850

$1,593 Sale Price

34% Off

Irina Shtenberg, Portrait of a Young Woman, Watercolor on Paper, circa 1940s

Located in New York, NY

Unsigned. Attributed to Irina Valeryanovna Shtenberg. Period frame. Dimensions (unframed): Height: 13”, width: 11” Dimensions (framed): Height: 15”, width: 12-7/8” All the w...

Category

Vintage 1940s Russian Mid-Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Paper

Irina Shtenberg, Portrait of a Young Woman, Watercolor on Paper, circa 1940s

$1,500

"Two Women Lounging", Richly-Imagined Portrait of Figures in Satin & Silk, 1940s

Located in Philadelphia, PA

Voluptuous in its approach to scene and palette, this sumptuous portrait of two women, lounging side by side amongst pillows and fabrics in satin and silk, was painted by Rudolph Sch...

Category

Vintage 1940s American Art Deco Paintings

Materials

Paint

"Two Women Lounging", Richly-Imagined Portrait of Figures in Satin & Silk, 1940s

$12,500