Massachusetts - Figurative Paintings

John Edward Costigan, N.A. American, 1888-1972 Woman and Child Oil on canvas Signed ‘J.E. Costigan N.A.’ lower left 24 by 30 in. W/frame 32 by 38 in. John Costigan was born of Irish-American parents in Providence, Rhode Island, February 29, 1888. He was a cousin of the noted American showman, George M. Cohan, whose parents brought the young Costigan to New York City and was instrumental in starting him on a career in the visual arts. They were less successful in encouraging him to pursue formal studies at the Art Students League (where, however, he later taught) than in exposing him to the commercial art world through the job they had gotten him with the New York lithographing firm that made their theatrical posters. At the H. C. Miner Lithographing Company, Costigan worked his way up from his entry job as a pressroom helper, through various apprenticeships, to the position of sketch artist. In the latter capacity he was an uncredited designer of posters for the Ziegfeld Follies and for numerous silent films. Meanwhile, he had supplemented his very meager formal studies in the fine arts with a self-teaching discipline that led to his first professional recognition in 1920 with the receipt of prizes for an oil painting and watercolor in separate New York exhibitions. A year earlier, Costigan had wed professional model Ida Blessin, with whom he established residence and began raising a family in the sleepy little rural New York hamlet of Orangeburg, the setting for the many idyllic farm landscapes and wood interiors with which he was to become identified in a career that would span half a century. John Costigan’s first national recognition came in 1922 with his winning of the coveted Peterson Purchase prize of the Art Institute of Chicago for an oil on canvas, “Sheep at the Brook.” It marked the start of an unbroken winning streak that would gain him at least one important prize per year for the remainder of the decade. The nation’s art journalists and critics began to take notice, making him the recurring subject of newspaper features and magazine articles. The eminent author and critic Edgar Holger Cahill was just a fledgling reporter when he wrote his first feature, “John Costigan Carries the Flame,” for Shadowland Magazine in 1922. Costigan had his first one-man show of paintings at the Rehn Gallery on New York’s 5th Avenue in November, 1924, to be followed less than three years later by another at the Art Institute of Chicago. In addition, Costigan’s work has been—and continues to be included, side-by-side with that of some of America’s most high-profile artists, in museum and gallery exhibitions throughout the country. His renown had peaked in the early 1930s, by which time his work had been honored with nearly every major award then being bestowed in the fine arts and had been acquired for the permanent collections of several prestigious American museums, including New York’s Metropolitan (which only recently, in 1997, deaccessioned his “Wood Interior,” acquired in 1934). Although Costigan’s celebrity had ebbed by the late 1930s, the Smithsonian Institution saw fit in 1937 to host an exhibition exclusively of his etchings. And, in 1941, the Corcoran Gallery (also Washington, D.C.) similarly honored him for his watercolors. (Another Washington institution, the Library of Congress, today includes 22 Costigan etchings and lithographs in its permanent print collection.) During World War II, Costigan returned briefly to illustrating, mainly for Bluebook, a men’s pulp adventure magazine. A gradual revival of interest in his more serious work began at the end of the war, culminating in 1968 with the mounting of a 50-year Costigan retrospective at the Paine Art Center and Arboretum in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Oils, watercolors and prints were borrowed from museums and private collections throughout the country, and the exhibition was subsequently toured nationally by the Smithsonian Institution. John Costigan died of pneumonia in Nyack, NY, August 5, 1972, just months after receiving his final prestigious award —the Benjamin West Clinedinst Medal of the Artist’s Fellowship, Inc., presented in general recognition of his “...achievement of exceptional artistic merit...” in the various media he had mastered in the course of his career. This painting depicts one of the artist's favorite themes --the farm family bathing...

George Botti Italian, 1923-2003 Ballon Man Oil on canvas 36 by 36 in. W/frame 42 by 42 in. Signed lower right Barrel George Botti was born on  24 Mar...

Signed verso. Based in New York, John MacConnell received his BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore and his MFA from the School o...

Artist: Heather Wilcoxon Title: Blow Out Medium: Oil on Board Year: 2007 Size: BFA San Francisco Art Institute, Painting MFA San Francisco Art Insti...

Chase Langford has created a distinctive visual language that is grounded in the natural and built environment while embarking into uncharted territory. His impactful depictions reca...

Artist Commentary: This painting captures a young boy during a contemplative moment in a lake. It is part of an ongoing series of paintings of figures underwater, as I am fascinated ...

Artist: Leslie Bostrom Title: In Spite of Everything Medium: Mixed Media on Canvas and Plywood Size: 110 x 140 inches Year: 2017 Leslie Bostrom is a Professor of Art at Brown Univer...

Myron Barlow American, 1873-1937 Woman with Strawberries Oil on canvas 29 by 29 in. W/frame 35 by 35 in. Unsigned Studied: Art Institution of Chicago; Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Gerome...

Signed top left: "Polonsky". Titled verso: "The Wagner Mirror".

Affen Segun was born in 1993 in Lagos, Nigeria. A native of Bayelsa State, he discovered his love for art at a young age, and later got enrolled in a roadside art shop to start to ho...

Signed and dated top left: Raphael Jaimes-Branger '99. Medium: Silver leaf and acid on four wood panels. Each panel measures 25 x 25 inches.

Wendy Artin is an American contemporary artist who works primarily in watercolor and charcoal. Her work is figurative and classical and explores the timeless interaction of light and pigment on surface, with subjects ranging from the human figure to fresh fruits and vegetables, architectures, statues and city walls. "I love paper, and the way pigments are transported along a thin surface of transparent water then dry. Although my paintings are often classical, I studied at the Museum School in Boston and the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris when marks, gesture and atmosphere were of greatest importance. As I travelled more and more, the charcoal and oils gave way to a small watercolor box and brushes. Through the streets of Rome, Paris, Barcelona, Boston, New York, Mexico and Guatemala, I have painted indoors and out, subjects from the eternal to the fleeting. The human form and the humble strawberry are endlessly inspiring." “When I paint with watercolor, I try to make each mark count, to make each stroke of the brush describe what I am looking at, to get the right puddle on the paper and capture life. Sometimes the puddle has a skinny red edge, sometimes a soft burst of pigment, sometimes a lucky watery accident.” Artistic Advisor at the American Academy in Rome, Wendy Artin completed her undergraduate studies with honors in Painting and French...

Artist: Greg Ludlow Title: Images of Valley Medium: Acrylic on Canvas Size: 7 x 6 feet Year: 2021 Greg Ludlow is a Canadian artist who lives in London, O...

The work of Santiago Garcia explores the wondrous, colorful and always intriguing world between figuration and abstraction. Through contextualization of reality, the Uruguayan artist...

Artist: Greg Ludlow Title: Lac (Lake) Medium: Acrylic on Canvas Size: 60 x 84 inches Year: 2021 Greg Ludlow is a Canadian artist who lives in London, Ont...

Titled Josephine and Jaia, this painting evokes strength and confidence. "Isham's work becomes a catalogue of the human experience that exists outside of any time, space or cultural ...

Lily Sol’s current work “Flower Goddess” is a symbol of blooming into her true self and honoring the divine femine energy within all of us. Through her paintings she is able to celebrate the fierce women in her life and shine light on the diverse and unique beauty of cultures around the world. She loves exploring different mediums in her art journal, playing with collage, acrylic paints, watercolors, and pressed blooms. While painting she tries to stay in an intuitive mindset and allow her works to transform naturally—always seeking the harmony between staying loose yet in control, yin & yang of life. Bright colors, a playlist she can dance...

“Spending a lifetime of summers on Martha's Vineyard my work has evolved into natural forms of coastal scenes. My connection to the island developed a deep concern with natural forms...

Signed lower right: "Zerbe". In fine condition

From an incandescent sunset on Long Island Sound to an iconic pop-kitsch ice storage bin at the neighborhood corner store, Rob Brooks offers us a visual journey from the real to surr...

Signed lower right: "Flood". Titled, dated, and signed verso: "Scouting with Kevin / 2016/19 / Sean Flood".

Pheobe is part of a series of abstract portraits Donna Isham created in 2022. Bold brush strokes and the use of brilliant colors form into confident and strong female images.

The work of Santiago Garcia explores the wondrous, colorful and always intriguing world between figuration and abstraction. Through contextualization of reality, the Uruguayan artist...

"I throw myself into the water almost every day- it grounds me, the body floats and the mind drifts. The "Swimmer series" has followed me over the years, resurfacing and evolving. Pr...

Wendy Artin is an American contemporary artist who works primarily in watercolor and charcoal. Her work is figurative and classical and explores the timeless interaction of light and...

Affen Segun was born in 1993 in Lagos, Nigeria. A native of Bayelsa State, he discovered his love for art at a young age, and later got enrolled in a roadside art shop to start to ho...

Wendy Artin is an American contemporary artist who works primarily in watercolor and charcoal. Her work is figurative and classical and explores the timele...

John Baker’s “Young Son with his Parents” is an acrylic painting on canvas with collage 39 x 30 inches in rich, mid-range blues with maroon and yellow accents. The son has triumphed: two of his four hands are clasped above his head in celebration like those of a victorious boxer, while his upended parents express their inverted and subordinate positions in the nuclear family...

Strong and deliberate brush strokes. A tender moment captured in bold colors. “I am fascinated by a strong sense of color, balance, form and harmony. Some are characterized by dens...

Michael Azgour's work has been extensively collected, awarded and celebrated worldwide. He is a painting and drawing teacher at Stanford University and his works can be seen in publi...

John Baker’s “Cramming for the Exam” is an acrylic portrait painting on canvas with collage 30 inches by 30 inches in dark blues and straw yellows. Although sparks of understanding f...

"Milan" is an exceptional example of Michael's most recent body of work, continuing his exploration of perception vs. reality. Michael's work has received many accolades and awards, ...

John Edward Costigan, N.A. American, 1888-1972 Bathing Group Oil on canvas board Signed ‘J.E. Costigan N.A.’ lower left 12 by 16 in. W/frame 20 by 24 i...

"I throw myself into the water almost every day- it grounds me, the body floats and the mind drifts. The "Swimmer series" has followed me over the years, resurfacing and evolving. Pr...

Signed and dated verso: "Jorge R. Pombo / 20-4/6". Inscribed verso: "81 x 65 cms / Oil on linen and old Venetian fabrics". Titled verso: "Variation on Singer Sargent's 'The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit' (6)". JORGE POMBO...

Blurred is the title of this painting. A softer pallet of grays with touched of red gives a more gentle image of the female than her newer works.

A native of Boise, Idaho, Adrian received his BFA from the Lyme Academy College of Fine Art. This gifted oil painter has already caught the eye of collectors who appreciate his compe...