Pennsylvania - Paintings

Dating to the late 1930s or early 1940s, this fabulous design -- entitled "Rhythm" -- for an Art Deco folding screen depicts several nude figur...

Painted with a brilliant palette and very fine detail, this depiction of a tropical fish swimming above a strand of seaweed and a giant clam, surrounded by a cloud of bubbles, is a c...

A oil on board painting of Bedouin men on beach in sunset, signed indistinctly lower left. Frame Size: 12:" H x 14.5" W

A German School oil painting on canvas depicting a lush green countryside landscape with several women strawberry picking, and seven children playing and eating from a basket of ber...

This detailed and highly-finished study by John Ramsey Conner for an allegorical painting depicts a relaxed grouping of nude figures executed in pale tones of ivory, mossy green and ...

Drenched with sun and full of optimism, this depiction of a shirtless farm worker, with scythe in hand, is a high-spirited paean to the American laborer, at a time when the Works Progress Administration and other institutions were commissioning murals that celebrated industry, agriculture and commerce. Here, the worker is lean and strong, and his face shows signs of sunburn from his hours in the open. The painter was Allyn Cox, son of the famous muralist Kenyon Cox...

Saturated with the brilliant hues of earth and sea, and filled with symbols and signs of Hawaii's spectacular landscape and rich history -- including an angry Hawaiian king with his traditional feathered headdress or "mahiole" -- this watercolor was painted in the wake of the attack on Pearl Harbor...

Entitled "Return, Return, O Shulemite," with a scene taken from the Song of Solomon, this painting depicts the legendary wife of King Solomon, who was ...

God's Gift Watercolor 1915. Beautiful and Emotional Masterpiece signed by E. Lochlilar

Perfumed with the heady colors and forms of tropical flowers such poppy and hibiscus, this arresting Art Deco watercolor was painted by Gustavo Cenci, best known for his part in pain...

This rich tapestry of life in and around a quiet courtyard in North Africa -- with domes, towers and minarets in the distance, and a woman lingering on a balcony to one side -- was p...

Painted in white and blue in a way that captures the blindingly bright sunlight of North Africa, this painting by Julius Bloch depicts a veiled woman carrying an earthenware jug, fra...

An early and important painting by renowned Grand Rapids artist Armand Merizon, this work depicts a ghostly figure -- reputedly the son of a dear family friend -- in the midst of the...

An attractive genre scene oil on panel depicting two German men engaged in conversation about the newspaper by Hedwig Oehring. The shopkeeper on the left appearing to be simply takin...

A charming portrait of a young Empire period gentleman with an earring, under glass in a period gild wood frame. Oil pastel on paper, French, circa 1800.

Exotic and highly atmospheric, this nocturnal Art Deco scene of the famed Egyptian prince, Saif ul Malook, from the fairy tale by Mian Muhammad Baskh, was painted by Gösta Adrian-Nil...

A color-rich reimagining of the mythological tale of Ceres, the Goddess of fertility and agriculture, this marvelous Art Deco painting shows a modern Ceres holding a pineapple in one...

Important both historically and artistically, this painting by Lyman Anderson of a railroad engineer feeding the engine with a fresh supply of coal was commissioned by the Coca Cola ...

Quintessentially western and modern and yet hinting at classical Chinese painting also, this double portrait of two stylized women, one holding a pink peony blossom, is a lovely example of decorative Art Deco work. The figures are expressed in lovely shades of gouache, while the background and highlights are executed in silver paint. The painter may have been Margaret Thomas...

In his early years, artist Ivan Bartlett was known for his WPA mural painting, such as for the Ada County courthouse in Boise, Idaho, but in the 1940s and 1950s he became famous for ...

A wonderful example of Art Deco painting by William Hentschel, this piece also reflects the influence of Surrealism in the stylized arch that seems to be made of fabric, and the plat...

Large Eugene Massin Acrylic Lucite Nude Woman Wall Art Light Box Sculpture 45x51. This item features of a boxed acrylic encased nude female form (31...

Painted by Dunbar Beck, one of America's finest muralists in the 1930s and 1940s, this classic example of Art Deco stylized allegorical painting served as a study for a series of mur...

This painting of a Black male nude, executed in rich, brilliant shades of burnt sienna, reddish brown, blue and green, was painted by a Brown County, I...

Daniel Belliard Enamel on Copper Small Framed Painting Yellow Countryside. Item features enamel on copper painting, wooden frame, artist signatu...

Perhaps set on or inspired by the gorgeous, sun-bleached island of Delos in Greece, this 1954 painting by Joseph Hanson -- the British-American figural painter -- depicts a kneeling ...

Painted in a kaleidoscopic array of brilliant colors -- tangerine, emerald green, scarlet, deep sky blue and black -- this Cubist work depicts a nude female figure and a parrot sitting on a circular perch, surrounded by a crazy quilt of patterns. The artist -- Joseph Popczyk -- was known for his vivid palette and love of Cubism, and in this case the chevrons and wavy patterns of Art Deco can...

FRANCOIS B. DE BLOIS Canadian/American, 1829-1913 River Landscape of Figures Fishing and Clamming (1874) Oil on canvas signed lower right "FB de Blois - 1874 -" Item # 404NKB21A ...

Peripatetic and brilliant, Hari Kidd, the painter who created this brilliant still life was associated with Philadelphia, Detroit, Key West and Tucson, but h...

"#9 Chinese Acrobats" - confetti of colors - Acrylic, oil, metal leaf and paint on canvas, signed lower right back and dated '89 - Framed dimensions: 31 in x 25 in.

Highly stylized and rich with geometric forms -- including concentric circles, stacks of triangles and a lightning bolt motif -- this original painting was clearly made for an Art De...

A classic example of WPA-period mural painting, this study was painted by Ralf Henricksen in the 1930s, probably for the U.S. Naval Training Station at Great Lakes, north of Chicago....

Brilliantly and confidently painted by an important French painter, Augusta de Bourgade, in 1914, this Impressionist painting depicts a group of laborers in the field interacting wit...

A cross between Grant Wood and Paul Cadmus, this remarkable American regional scene painting depicts a young man in a white t-shirt walking a group of cows down a country lane with p...

Brilliantly transposed from Biblical times to 1940s America, this vivid scene shows Samson and Delilah in a quintessentially domestic setting, complete with pink wallpaper...

One of the strongest Mid-Century portraits we have seen, this depiction of a young man in a vivid, emerald-green sweater was painted by Paul Zimmerman, an important artist who grew u...

Making liberal use of brilliant colors, dominated by grey-blue and deep pink, this painting depicts a seated harlequin/musician figure with a faint, knowing smile, contrasting with t...

"Frutta" painting, depicting a still life of pears, walnuts, and persimmons. Surrounded by wood gesso frame. - Oil on board, signed on rear of board. - Framed dimensions: 19.5 i...

Suffused with the soft, rich colors that Jacques Azéma was known for, this view of a Moroccan landscape ("Les Champs" in French) includes a seated male y...

Brilliantly painted in rich jewel tones -- emerald, sapphire and canary -- this high style Art Deco-cum-Fauvist painting depicts a female bather, swathed in a large towel, in conversation with a muscled male rower, high above the beach below. Sunbathers under their umbrellas can be seen in the distance, and above the couple is a vivid sky with bolts of blue and coral above hills of green, yellow and pink. The artist, Marius Woulfart...

Snowy Creek, creek with snow and trees - signed lower right - Unframed.

Painted with high good humor and a measure of slyness, this famed illustration of Jack Sprat and his cat with basket in hand, was painted in watercolor and gouache by Swedish-America...

Beautifully and sensitively painted, this WPA-period portrait of a young man in an unusual setting -- perhaps a boiler room or plumbing closet -- was executed by Dorothy Van Loan...

"Kalkberg", mountain covered in snow - Oil on canvas, signed lower right - Unframed.  

Impressionist large Provincetown Massachusetts - A sunny and prideful morning walk in Provincetown. Birds soaring over the hill, with sail boats drifting in the wind below. Centering...

One of a series of Art Deco paintings made by Eugene Savage in the 1930s to visualize and dramatize great works of Classical music, this painting celebrates "Afternoon of a Faun" by Claude Debussy, which later inspired the great ballet by Serge Diaghilev for the Ballet Russes. Savage, who became celebrated for his ambitious allegorical murals across America, packs the panting with a vividly-hued landscape populated by a series of mythological figures, including a drunken faun...

Extremely tall early 20th Century stage prop background scene oil pigment canvas painting of an old printing press. Unsigned. Some wear and water damage. Th...

A very interesting and unusual Lancaster Bridge Original Oil Painting by artist J. Earle Pfoutz. The painting is produced on artist board and comes complete with what appears to be an original artist decorated/painted frame. The painting is signed on the front by the artist. Overall frame Size approximately 42″ wide x 2″ deep x 30″ high J. Earle Pfoutz had a long and distinguished career as a self trained artist. More can be learned about him from reading this article produced by Gary Hawbaker at askART Earle Pfoutz Born: 1891 – Lancaster, Pennsylvania Died: 1957 Known for: Landscape, figure, still life painting An image of J Earle Pfoutz Biography from the Archives of askART J. Earle Pfoutz (John Earle Pfoutz) – (Oct 23, 1891-Nov 9, 1957) “A seventh generation descendant of a Swiss family which arrived in America early in the 17th Century, J. Earle Pfoutz was born in Lancaster, PA, son of John Bachman and Susan Allison Pfoutz. He painted houses for a living and pictures for a life. A self-taught artist, described as a primitive, he was distinctive for his vivid imagination and bold color application. He painted hundreds of Lancaster County scenes. Pfoutz traveled through the hills near his home and along the Susquehanna River in search of scenes. He began painting with a brush when he was fourteen, but added a palette knife after suffering an eye injury. He completed eighth grade in the Lancaster Public Schools and there his formal education ended. However, the Department of Public Instruction of the State of Pennsylvania thought so highly of his work as an artist that officials certified him as an art instructor and he taught for a year in the York (PA) public schools. He also was an art instructor under the program for disabled veterans, sponsored by the Veterans Administration, when he gave private instruction to veterans in their homes. In 1947, J. Earle Pfoutz finally earned national recognition as an artist. His painting, Opalescent October, was chosen by the Museum of Art of Dayton Ohio, to travel all over the country for a year with its Group Exhibition. Described as a “very colorful, calm scene, iridescent in color, sweeping in design,” the painting started on its journey around the country early in 1948. In an interview with the Sunday News (Lancaster, PA – Nov 2, 1947), Pfoutz stated that he didn’t know whether he was a “primitive” or an “impressionist.” No master taught him, no school channeled his style. “Sometimes I didn’t eat, but I always managed to paint,” he recalled. Many of his hundreds of canvases -most of them not sold, but given away to friends – found their way to other parts of the country. “I never remember the day when I did not love color,” Pfoutz said. “I was about 12 years old when I saw my first palette – a string of different colored paint paddles that graced the stores of that day. As a boy I had two great desires. One was to be able to eat all the strawberry jam I could, and the other to possess a string of those beautiful paint paddles. Well, I’ve got my fill of jelly, but I’ve never yet got my fill of beautiful colors.” In 1950, Pfoutz’s one man show of paintings made front page headlines in the Lancaster Intelligencer Journal: “Most of the twenty oil paintings on exhibition are landscapes, although there are several interesting figure studies. Colors again, as in all Pfoutziana are rich and full-bodied, but for the most part not as startlingly as in some of the earlier work. Most of the paintings were done during the past year, and also reveal the painter’s characteristic heavy impasto technique, in which the rich swirls of paint carry their own message. Among the figures, The Banjo Picker, and The Magician, are the most provocative. Both are character studies; the first being of a tramp musician whose drab clothing is set-off by a luminous aqua blue background. Modern in feeling and treatment is The Magician, a clown-faced wizard whose spinning ball in the air suggests the fourth dimension – space. The use of the primary colors in this picture serves to emphasize the theme effectively. A large colorful landscape, Opalescent October, depicting rolling hills against a late afternoon sky is new to Lancastrians, as it has just returned from Dayton, Ohio, where it hung in the Dayton Art Institute. Another landscape with soft dreamy colors is Fantasie D’Autumne, and one of the loveliest pictures in the show. Pennsylvania Dutch Country is another with eye appeal, and was one of the works which was hung in the Old Customs House in Philadelphia during Pennsylvania Week, and before that in a collection of Pfoutz work in the same place. In deep contrast to the sunny skies and brilliant foliage of many of the pictures, is the somewhat morbid Worry, in which the center of interest is a tremendous rat. This, the painter explains, was symbolic of 1948 in China, which was ‘The Year of The Rat’ in the Chinese calendar. Background material for the picture was furnished to Pfoutz by author Pearl Buck. Other pictures include Autumn Prelude, Miners Village, painted at Cornwall, PA; Humid Day, Saint Peters Kierch, at Middletown, PA; Lady Pfoutz, inspired by the painter’s wife; Sun Flowers, Sentimental Journey, Gyne, Luzon Woman, Old Bridge, The Cow Path. Lemures, based on Roman mythology, and Ethiopian, painted from an ebony wood carving from Kenya Province, S. Africa.” In 1953, Pfoutz was installed as President of the Lancaster County Art Association. A. Z. Kruse, New York City artist, writer and member of the faculty of the Brooklyn College and the Cartoonists and Illustrators School, Manhattan, was the guest speaker. In January of 1953, thirty-five Pfoutz oils were exhibited at the Old Custom House in Philadelphia, PA under the sponsorship of the Carl Schurz Memorial Foundation. Several Lancaster County landscapes and covered bridges were included as well as Katy, a Pennsylvania Dutch scene. Symbolic paintings included End of the Second Day, the artist’s visualization of the second coming of Christ, and Twilight, typifying the grief of mothers of all lands for sons lost in battle. In June of 1953, a Pfoutz oil made history in Lancaster. From the Lancaster New Era: “For the first in local art history, a painting has been withdrawn from an exhibition because of objections from viewers and hostesses serving at the show. The painting, Jeune Fille, a standing nude done by Pfoutz, was one of the paintings in the annual spring exhibition of the Art Association and had become the center of the controversy. Pfoutz said he took the painting down… ‘graciously but reluctantly.’ ‘From an artistic standpoint, there is nothing offensive about the painting,’ Pfoutz said. ‘This community just wants its nudes with clothes on.’ “It is most brilliant in color, and because it is so brilliant I thought it would make a nice lively spot for the show. This is the first time I’ve had to take a picture off the walls. I substituted a seascape for it.’ Pfoutz said he felt the painting brought a lot of viewers to the show because it was so controversial. It had never been exhibited before. ‘If this had been shown in a metropolitan city,’ he commented, ‘people wouldn’t have given it a second glance. But the viewpoint here is more conservative, even though I don’t think moderns would have minded.’ He said he felt the painting was neither ‘objectionable nor pornographic,’ but had complied with the wishes of fellow members of the Art Association who telephoned him to relay the protests they had received. The art controversy was the first to arise here publicly since the showing of Amish Grandmother, an oil by William Gropper which was part of the Gimbel Pennsylvania exhibit at the Griest Building several years ago. — Numerous viewers of Amish Grandmother, [a painting showing an Amish woman holding a white goose], expressed themselves quite vocally, calling it an affront to the Plain Folk. But it stayed on exhibit throughout the length of the Gimbel show. Pfoutz expressed no rancor, implying that if Gropper could take it so could he.” After his death, there were several shows of Pfoutz’ work organized by his son J. Earle, Jr. J. Earle, Jr. also saw to it that President Eisenhower would receive an oil called The Cow’s Path. The president first saw the painting in 1950 when, as president of Columbia University, he visited Lancaster to address a student assembly at Franklin and Marshall College. After his address was over, the then Gen. Eisenhower stopped at the Fackenthal Library on the campus to view an exhibition of Pfoutz’s paintings. The Cow’s Path intrigued him. For some time, as his aides fumed to get him back on his time schedule, Eisenhower and Pfoutz talked, as artist to artist. Prior to his death, Pfoutz requested that The Cow’s Path be given to the President if he wanted it. The painting was presented to Ike at the White House in November of 1959. Mrs. Eisenhower owned a Pfoutz painting titled, In the Manor. Though house painting was his livelihood, he worked for Millersville State Teachers College (now a university) for a time during World War II, and called himself “the Chimney Sweep of MSTC.” During that period he knocked out a dizzying canvas in the surrealist style (he thought it was terrible) and got into the campus newspaper when one of the students spotted it. Earle Pfoutz was not the humble, downtrodden artist, not the Douanier Rousseau type at all. As he developed his skill and style through the years, he also fashioned a resilient confidence in himself as an artist. Whether he was building his own home (he built two) or painting one for somebody else, he never lost faith in his ultimate recognition—though he was never sure he would live to see it. Whether he was working as a rigger for a hoisting company, in the Stehli Silk Mill of Lancaster, carving Cloister-style chairs, decorating old chests, cementing bricks from the old Safe...

Dated 1945, just before the end of World War II, this important and powerful painting by John De Forest Stull shows an embracing mother and father stand...

Edward McHugh Come On Join The Party, 2020-21 Acrylic, ink, thread, polyester resin on dibond 48 x 60 in

"Sunkissed House" painting. Depicting a large sun kissed house in Mediterranean. - Oil on Canvas, signed lower left - Unframed

This unusual presentation of Mercury, the Greek god of speed and communications, was painted by François-Louis Schmied, one of France's two leading artists specializing in high-end b...

Arguably the greatest work of Georg Pauli, one of Sweden's leading Modernist painters in the 1920s, 30s and 40s, this Art Deco-Cubist work depicts the great Nike sculpture on the grounds of the home of Prince Eugens on Cape Waldemar in central Stockholm (known in Swedish as Prins Eugens Waldemarsudde). The Prince was a great collector of modern art in the early 20th century, and today his home is a museum and much-beloved landmark in Stockholm. This painting shows the sculpture in the foreground, and in the background is a jumble of houses, factory chimneys and institutional buildings, the Swedish flag...

One of the most vivid and compelling accounts of the famed Century of Progress Exposition, which opened in Chicago in 1933, this view of the iconic Federal Building was painted in the second year of the fair by a Pennsylvania artist. The brilliantly-lit Art Deco...

Stunningly executed in deep tones of cobalt blue, burnt sienna, oxblood and jet black, this depiction of a partially nude male youth standing at an open window at sunset was painted ...

A large oil on masonite painting depicting a city view painting featuring a clock tower. Unsigned. Frame: 52.5" x 40"

A year after André Margat received a gold medal for his lacquerwork at the Exposition Universelle of 1937, the artist painted this beautiful and expressiv...

Brilliantly stylized, reminiscent of the work of George Bellows and other masters of the 1920s and 1930s, this watercolor presents a placid view of a riverside park...

"Cuxhaven" painting - oil on wood, estate stamp on back. - Boardwalk Harbor Scene with field Measure: 12"wide x 8" wide.

This elegant and lovely depiction of a shepherd with his staff, clearly influenced by classic Greek painting and pottery, was made by François-Louis Schmied, one of France's two lead...