USA - Still-life Drawings and Watercolors

Highly detailed patterned abstract composition by Patricia "Patti" Omori Shepp (American, b. 1954). This piece has a repeating pattern across the width, reflected on itself. Texture ...

Hachiya Persimmons & Fan, Modern Still Life with Red-Orange and Blue Lovely modern still-life of a fan and persimmons by Santa Cruz, California artist Anita Heckman (American, b.20th Century). This 1987 mixed media work on paper depicts three vivid Hachiya persimmons on a windowsill beside an elegant paper fan with a tassel. A decorative window drape...

'Camellia no. 1' by master watercolorist Gary Bukovnik, who fuses sensual vitality with fluid yet powerful colorations to create floral images of great depth, intensity, and size. ...

Vibrant and detailed depiction of three bird of paradise flowers by unknown artist "Albright" (20th Century). Three flowers are shown with seve...

Beautiful mid-century floral watercolor still-life of a bouquet of colorful wildflowers by Jane Boyd (20th Century), c.1960s. The beautiful bouquet features a coral pink flower in fu...

A ca. 1945, Cubist black & white graphite drawing of fruit by artist Illinois and Michigan artist Stanley Bielecky. Image size: 4" x 5". Archivally matted to: 13 1/4" x 16". Stanley Bielecky was an Indiana artist who painted the American scene, from the factories and workers around East Chicago to the bucolic settings of Mackinac Island...

Susan Manchester’s drawings of feathers and flora are meditations on the ephemeral nature of life, and they reflect the artist’s fascination with beau...

This part of a series titled Restless Still Lie by the artist depicting everyday objects engaged in some particular drama hence the title. It is soft pastel on toned archival sanded...

Hummingbird IX 40x26 unframed Ink, Watercolor, Paper Keith Carrington’s experiences have led him to express his talents through the fluid & exacting mediums of watercolor & ink. He has honed his skills, clarified his vision, experimented, explored and expanded his expression steadily over the years, the results of which thus far culminate here. Clearly, Keith’s extensive travels have roots in the luminous quality of his work, eminently holding the utmost possibilities of beauty and significance. Keith’s most recent paintings explore a spiritual path, he integrates them with transformative healing energies and infuses his enthusiasm into these dynamic pieces that you see here today. GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2015 Renata Fine Arts, Hudson, New York 2013 @60″ New York, NY 2012 @60″ New York, NY curated sale with Harry Heisman 2011 KL/Karen Lynne Gallery, Boca Raton, Florida & Beverly Hills, California 2003 Dupont Gallery, Milwaukee Wisconsin 1994 Jack Shainman Gallery, New York, NY 1994 The Roger Smith Gallery, New York, NY 1993 Ambassador Galleries, New York, NY 1992 Elaine Benson Gallery, Bridgehampton, New York 1983 Manor House Gallery, Rhinebeck, New York SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2014 & 2015, 2010: C. Bell, Palm Beach, Florida 1995: Luxe Energy Aesthetics, West Palm Beach, Florida 1991: Time Warner Publishing, New York, NY 1990: Imperial Hotel Gallery, Chestertown, Maryland 1988 & 1987: National Symphony Show House, Washington, DC 1986: International Jumping Derby, Jockey Club, Newport, Rhode Island Elijah Locke House, Rye Beach, New Hampshire 1984: Washington Design Center, Washington, D.C. SELECTED CORPORATE COLLECTIONS Bovis Inc., New York, NY The Kiplinger Collection, Washington, D.C. The International Monetary Fund, Washington, D.C. Hopkins & Sutter, Washington, D.C. McKenna, Conner, & Cuneo, Washington, D.C. Oliver T. Carr Company, Alexandria, Virginia SELECTED PRIVATE COLLECTIONS RuPaul, Beverly Hills, California Kelly Klein, New York, NY Governor & Mrs. Bruce Sundlun, Providence, Rhode Island Mr. & Mrs. William Aylward...

Colorful still life with flowers and fruit by Les (Leslie Luverne) Anderson (American, 1928-2009). Unsigned but was acquired from the estate of Les Anderson in Monterey, California. Unframed. Image; 14"H x 20"W. Les (Leslie Luverne) Anderson(American, 1928-2009) owned and operated the Bear Flag Gallery in San Juan Bautista, California for many years and was known for his plein air watercolor...

Maria C. Bernhardsson is a colorful artist who lives and paints in Sweden. Most of her works are influenced by the architecture and geometry of houses. Bernhardsson travels the world...

Design-quality illustration of a Philco Ford Television set by Edward T. Liljenwall (American, 1943-2010). The TV is expertly rendered against an olive green gradient background, wit...

Delicate watercolor, pen and ink floral study of cyclamen, with brilliant attention to detail and a signature delicate style blending into line drawing by California artist Deborah E...

Pears - sill life composition - exquisite highly contemporary still life drawing / mixed media work, created with dry pigment and conte crayon on 350 pound archival rag paper that is...

Finely detailed historical figurative fashion illustration painted in watercolor in 1921, of a lady in 17th century dress; complete with a full blac...

Bright watercolor of several flowers by Marge Shugart a California watercolor artist (American, 20th Century). Several flowers are depicted against a multicolor background, with a slightly abstracted quality. Signed in the lower right corner. Dated "12/93" on verso, with notes from the artist about color. Presented in a warm grey mat. Paper size: 15"H x 22"W Mat size: 20"H x 28"W Marge Shugart was a San Louis...

Demon Mask with Skull Helmet in Neo-Japanese Style Boldly colored depiction of a demon mask by an unknown artist. A bright yellow mask stares out at the viewer, with a broad grin. A...

Charles Demuth was one of the most complex, talented, and deeply sensitive artists of the American modern period. Whether he was painting floral still lifes, industrial landscapes, or Turkish bathhouses, art was, for Demuth, fraught with personal meaning. A fixture of the vanguard art scene in New York, Demuth navigated the currents of Modernism, producing some of the most exquisite watercolors and original oil paintings in twentieth-century American art. Demuth was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, the only child of a well-to-do family. He had an awkward and introverted childhood shaped by a childhood illness, Perthes, a disease of the hip that not only left him permanently lame, but, as part of the “cure,” bedridden for two years in the care of his mother. This long period of incapacitation had a deep impact on Demuth, who came to see himself as an invalid, an outsider who was different from everyone else. It was perhaps during this period of indoor confinement that his keen interest in art developed. Several relatives on his father’s side had been amateur artists, and, following his convalescence, his mother encouraged his artistic pursuits by sending him to a local painter for instruction. The majority of his early pictures are of flowers, a subject for which Demuth maintained a lifelong passion. Following high school, Demuth enrolled at the Drexel Institute of Art in Philadelphia, a school renowned for its commercial arts program. He advanced through the program rapidly, and, in 1905, at the encouragement of his instructors, he began taking courses at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. The two leading teachers then at the Academy were William Merritt Chase and Thomas Anshutz. Anshutz, himself a former student of Thomas Eakins, was well liked by his students, and is best known as the teacher of Robert Henri, John Sloan, and several of the other artists of the Ashcan School. Demuth, too, adopted a similar idiom, working in a controlled, realistic manner while at the Academy, where he remained until 1910. In 1907, Demuth made his first trip to Europe, staying in Paris. He spent time on the periphery of the art scene composed of the numerous American artists there, including John Marin and Edward Steichen. He returned to Philadelphia five months later, and immediately resumed courses at the Academy. Despite his introduction to advanced modern styles in Europe, Demuth’s work of this period retains the academic style he practiced before the trip. It wasn’t until he had summered at New Hope, Pennsylvania, in 1908 and 1911, that his style began to evolve. New Hope was a prominent American Impressionist art colony whose members were largely affiliated with the Pennsylvania Academy. Demuth dropped the conservative tone of his style and adopted a freer and more colorful palette. Although he remained based in Philadelphia, Demuth frequently went to New York during this period. Many of the same American artists of the Parisian art scene Demuth had encountered on his earlier European trip now formed the nucleus of New York’s avant-garde, which centered around Alfred Stieglitz’s 291 gallery. It wasn’t long before Demuth began to apply modernist-inspired strategies to his work. He was particularly influenced by the watercolor work of John Marin, also a former student of Anshutz, whose bold use of color in the medium Demuth freely adapted into looser washes of color. In 1912, Demuth again left for Paris, this time studying in the Académie Moderne, Académie Colorossi, and Académie Julian. In Paris Demuth met the American modernist Marsden Hartley. Hartley, a principal figure in the expatriate art circle, acted as a mentor to Demuth, and introduced him to the wide array of modern styles currently practiced in Europe. Hartley also introduced Demuth to many of the members of the Parisian avant-garde, including Gertrude Stein. Demuth was an aspiring writer, and he spent many hours in conversation with Stein. He wrote extensively during this period, and published two works shortly after his return to America. He also developed an interest in illustrating scenes from literary texts. From 1914 to 1919, Demuth produced a series of watercolors of scenes from books such as Emile Zola’s Nana and Henry James’s The Turn of the Screw. Upon his return to America, Demuth settled in New York. In 1914, Demuth had his first one-man show at Charles Daniel’s gallery, which promoted emerging modern American artists, including Man Ray, Rockwell Kent, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Stuart Davis, and Max Weber. Demuth drew closer to the artistic vanguard in New York, becoming friends with many in the Stieglitz and Daniel circles, including Georgia O’Keeffe, Marcel Duchamp, Carl Van Vechten, and Edward Fiske. New York’s cosmopolitan atmosphere and active nightlife appealed greatly to Demuth. In a sketchy style well suited to watercolor, he painted many vaudeville and circus themes, as well as nightclub, café, and bathhouse scenes. Often with Duchamp, Demuth took part in an urban subculture replete with nightclubs, bars, drugs, and sexual permissiveness, which, for a homosexual artist like himself, allowed room for previously unattainable personal expression. Demuth’s pictures of sailors, bathhouses, and circus performers embody a sensual and sexual undercurrent, expressing the artist’s sense of comfort and belonging in the bohemian subculture of New York. Simultaneously, Demuth deepened his interest in floral pictures, painting these almost exclusively in watercolor. His style evolved from the broad color washes of his earlier pictures to more spare, flattened, and sinuous compositions, inspired by the drawings of Aubrey Beardsley and other artists of the Aesthetic Movement. Demuth’s flower watercolors are moody and atmospheric, sensuous and elegant, introspective and yet full of expressive power. Moreover they are beautiful, and are unequivocally among the finest still lifes in American art. Despite numerous subsequent artistic undertakings that led him in a variety of directions, Demuth never stopped painting flower pictures, ultimately adding fruits and other still-life objects to his repertoire. In 1916, Demuth began to develop a style later known as Precisionism, a form of landscape painting infused with Cubism, in which space is divided into precisely drawn geometric regions of color. Demuth first began to paint the landscape in an appropriated Cubist mode while on a trip with Hartley to Bermuda. In these early landscapes, in which the curvilinear forms of trees intersect the geometrically articulated architectural forms, Demuth explored ideas that shaped the future development of modernism in America. The full realization of Demuth’s explorations came after his return to America in 1917, when he turned his attention to industrial subjects. These works derive from a “machine aesthetic,” espoused by New York artists such as Francis Picabia, Joseph Stella, Albert Gleizes, and Duchamp, by which artists viewed machines as embodying mystical, almost religious significance as symbols of the modern world. Rather than painting the skyscrapers and bridges of New York as did most of his like-minded contemporaries, Demuth returned to his home town of Lancaster, where he painted factories and warehouses in a Precisionist idiom. The titles for these pictures are often contain literary references, which serve as clues for the viewer to aid in the decoding of the artist’s meaning. In 1923, Demuth planned a series of abstract “poster portraits” of his friends and contemporaries in the New York art and literary scene. In these “portraits,” Demuth combined text and symbolic elements to evoke the essential nature of his sitters’ distinguishing characteristics. In this fashion, he painted portraits of such artists as Georgia O’Keeffe, John Marin, and Arthur Dove. His most famous poster portrait, I Saw the Figure 5 in Gold...