Head Nude Paintings

Lisa Martin - Nude Figure Study II, Year: circa 1996, Medium: Oil on Canvas, Size: 18 x 15 in. (45.72 x 38.1 cm)

This superb French 19th century oil painting, La Source, location previously unknown according to the Jean Jacques Henner Catalogue Raisonee, is a fantastic art historical re-discovery. It is by noted artist Jean Jacques Henner, a French painter, Henner was noted for his use of sfumato and chiaroscuro in painting nudes, religious subjects, and portraits. La Source, or Spring, is a magnificent, very large French Romantic oil painting depicting a subject for which Henner became famous. Painted in 1881 it was exhibited at the Paris Salon that year. The sitter is Dorothy Tenant (1855-1926) or Dolly, an English art pupil of Henner’s and also his model. (See her biography below). La Source is a painting of a beautiful young woman, Dolly, unclothed, with long auburn hair sat on the edge of a pool in a landscape. Her serene face and body are almost glowing against the darker landscape, all enhanced by the sfumato and chiaroscuro technique. Beyond is a patch of startling blue sky, reflected in the pool at her feet. The rough brush work in the flora and fauna around her, a precursor to French Impressionism, contrasts with the smoothness of her skin. A really stunning painting with excellent provenance. This painting is in the Henner Musee National catalogue raisonne by Isabelle de Lannoy, noted as location unknown and exhibited at the Salon in 1881. Also noted in the catalogue raisonne are two studies for La Source identifying the sitter as Dolly Tennant. One of the images is also shown on the front cover. Signed lower right. Provenance. Exhibited Paris Salon 1881 entitled La Source. Catalogue Raisonne, for National Museum of Jean Jacques Henner, France, p174. La Source, Salon 1881, location unknown. Plus study of Dolly Tennant for La Source and another study for La Source. . The New York Market for French Art in the Gilded Age, 1867-1893 by Dr Leanne Zalewski, published by Bloomsbury Visual Arts, 2022, page 39, La Source image 3.3. Formerly in the collection of Mary Jane Morgan (see below). Aitken Dott - The Scottish Gallery ref R9101. Sotheby sale 30th Dec 1985. Thomas Agnews and Sons. Condition. Oil on canvas, image size 35 inches by 27 inches and in good condition. Has been relined and had restoration during its life time. Housed in a fine frame, 45 inches by 37 inches, in good condition. Jean-Jacques Henner (15 March 1829 – 23 July 1905) was a French painter, noted for his use of painting nudes, religious subjects, and portraits. Henner was born at Bernwiller (Alsace). He began his studies in art as a pupil of Michel Martin Drolling and François-Édouard Picot. In 1848, he entered the École des Beaux Arts in Paris, and took the Prix de Rome with a painting of Adam and Eve finding the Body of Abel in 1858. In Rome, he was guided by Flandrin, and painted four pictures for the gallery at Colmar among other works. He first exhibited Bather Asleep at the Salon in 1863 and subsequently contributed Chaste Susanna (1865), now in the Musée d'Orsay. Other noted works include: Byblis turned into a Spring (1867); The Magdalene (1878); Portrait of M. Hayem (1878); Christ Entombed (1879); Saint Jerome (1881); Herodias (1887); A Study (1891); Christ in His Shroud and a Portrait of Carolus-Duran (1896); a Portrait of Mlle Fouquier (1897); and The Dream (1900).The Levite of the Tribe of Ephraim (1898) was awarded a first-class medal. Among other professional distinctions, Henner also took a Grand Prix for painting at the Paris Exposition Universelle of 1900. He was made Chevalier of the Legion of Honour in 1873, Officer in 1878, and Commander in 1889. In 1889, he succeeded Cabanel in the Institut de France. Henner's most widely known work is his 1885 portrait of Saint Fabiola. Although the original is now lost, it was copied by artists around the world for devotional purposes. Artist Francis Alÿs has collected over 500 copies of the portrait in a variety of media. The collection, known as the "Fabiola Project," is on exhibit at the Byzantine Fresco Chapel of the Menil Collection in Houston from May 21, 2016 - May 13, 2018. Henner had numerous pupils; among them were the American painter Mathilde Mueden Leisenring and the Romanian artist Dimitrie Serafim. From 1874 to 1889, organized with Carolus-Duran, what he called "the studio of the ladies" for women were not allowed entry to the École des Beaux-Arts. Some also served as his models. One of these was Dorothy Tennant who later married Henry Morton Stanley. Henner died at age 76 in Paris. SITTER BIOGRAPHY Dorothy Tennant (22 March 1855 – 5 October 1926) was an English painter of the Victorian era neoclassicism. She was married to the explorer Henry Morton Stanley. Tennant was born in Russell...

This acrylic and graphite on paper from the seminal artist Artis Lane is one of the many model paintings from her long and illustrious career. The subject i...

This mixed media on paper from the seminal artist Artis Lane is one of the many model paintings from her long and illustrious career. The subject is a nude woman sitting in pose. Artis Lane, in her many nudes, chose to depict a diversity of bodies, of all shapes, colors, and sizes. This work was recently exhibited adjunct to the "Steps Towards Justice: Artis Lane's Portraits of Rosa Parks" exhibition at Collected Detroit in 2021. The matte of this work is 31 x 25.75 inches while the image is 25.5 x 19 inches. Most recently in January 2021 Ms. Lanes' dynamic sculpture bust of Rosa Parks was chosen from the National Portrait Gallery in Washington DC to reside in the President's Oval Office as a reminder to all who visit or see it via press photographs of her courageous demand for equal rights. It is a constant source of inspiration. All my life I have worked on three levels of consciousness: Portraits, Social Injustice & Metaphysics. In my work I strive to heal, uplift and inspire viewers and collectors to find perfection in their own being. - Artis Lane Artis Lane lived and worked in Los Angeles for over twenty years. She knew many celebrities, movie stars and individuals who moved in those circles. She was a sought after portrait painter. This particular painting of the famous movie star, Zsa Zsa Gabor, shows why. Artis has captured the personal essence of her subject, a warm, friendly woman, though famous, is not absorbed in her notoriety. This piece is signed by the artist on the lower right. Born Artis Marie Shreve in 1927, near an all-Black village in North Buxton, Ontario, Canada. After three years of art college in Toronto, Canada, Artis moved to Detroit where she met and married journalist and activist Bill Lane. In Detroit Artis Lane continued her training at Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Cranbrook was designed by architect and faculty member, Eliel Saarinen who collaborated with Charles and Ray Eames on chair and furniture design. Numerous creative artists who are alumni of Cranbrook include: Harry Bertoia, Florence Knoll, Jack Lenor Larsen, Donald Lipski, Duane Hanson, Nick Cave, Hani Rashid, George Nelson, Urban Jupena (Nationally recognized fiber artist), Cory Puhlman (televised Pastry Chef extraordinaire), Thom O’Connor (Lithographs), Paul Evans (Brutalist-inspired sculpted metal furnishings), Eugene Caples (small bronze images/abstract), Morris Brose (Bronze Sculptures), Herb Babcock known for blown glass) and Larry Butcher (mixed media abstract artist.) While in the Motor City she painted and sculpted the portraits of many of the business and political leaders of the day; Governor George Romney, Ford family members and Coleman Young, the Mayor of Detroit. After her divorce, she was invited by Diahann Carroll to move from Detroit to come live in New York City where she met and married, Vince Cannon. They spent time in Texas, Ruidoso, New Mexico and traveled to Mexico City, Mexico to paint many of the prominent families in the region. Eventually she settled in Los Angeles and has recently relocated to Detroit. Her portrait and sculpture work has depicted dignitaries like Jaqueline Kennedy, Nelson Mandela, Gordon Getty, President Reagan, President Obama, First Ladies, Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama, Mrs. Walter Annenberg, Nancy Kissinger, including her most recent portrait commissioned by Academy Award winner, Jaime Fox. It’s an elegant painting of Oprah Winfrey, which was unveiled live on her show. Artis Lane has sculpted Don Cornelius, Quincy Jones, Lupita Nyong’o, Lena Horne, Stevie Wonder, and Magic Johnson, and many more. In the 1970’s, social issues became the next focus of her work, which included “Tear on the Face of America,” her civil rights statement, and “The Beginning,” a now famous painting depicting a young Rosa Parks seated in the fateful bus. Artis was honored by the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery in Washington DC during the installation of her bronze sculpture of civil rights leader and longtime friend, Rosa Parks. In 1999, she was selected to execute and design the Congressional Medal of Honor awarded to Ms. Parks. “My Civil Rights images led me naturally to ideas about what and who we are outside of race. I went from there to the most important body of work, the metaphysical images of generic man and generic woman emerging out of the ignorance of material concepts and evolving into spiritual awareness.” Artis Lane. The bigger challenge was to create art that could symbolize and communicate certain spiritual truths that have guided Lane’s life and creative endeavors for most of her adult years and led to her Metaphysical work. She leaves the workings of the foundry: the gaiting material, ceramic shell mold, etc., (the “birthing” materials of the foundry), on the bronze to symbolize generic man emerging out of material thinking into spiritual consciousness. She then shows the work in pairs… the traditional black patina bronze, with the ceramic shell pieces as a metaphor for the moralistic/materialistic conversations that mankind has wrestled with throughout eternity. The new millennium brought new challenges and celebrations of her work. At the age of 80, Lane was commissioned to create a 12ft bronze of her “Emerging First Man.” The sculpture was created for an 1100 acre private estate community in Atlanta, GA. In 2007, she was honored by The California African American Museum with a retrospective of her life’s work which included almost 100 works of art. In 2009, First Lady Michelle Obama unveiled Lane’s bust of Abolitionist and Suffragette, Sojourner Truth, which was the first African American woman to be installed in the new Emancipation Hall and is now a part of the collection of the United States Capitol. Ms. Lane’s solo exhibit, “The Art of Artis Lane,” at the Forest Lawn Museum, Glendale, Ca in 2011, brought a thought provoking retrospective of her art to the public including the “Divine Metaphysics” series. Her bust of Arnett Hartsfield, Jr., Pioneering Firefighter & Activist, unveiled at The African American Firefighter Museum in Los Angeles in 2012. The California African American Museum in Los Angeles, mounted a retrospective exhibition entitled “A Woman’s Journey: The Life and Work of Artis Lane” in 2007/2008 and subsequently honored her with its Lifetime Achievement Award. Lane presented an official portrait of Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, which was unveiled at City Hall by Mayor Eric Garcetti in 2014. All are merely a few recognitions of her achievements over the decades. Lane’s HistoryMakers interview was made a permanent part of the Library of Congress Collection in 2014. Her Artwork is displayed around the world. Artis has been a constant presence at the openings of her artistic colleagues in the region. As one of the honored “elders,” she provides encouragement and support for the younger African American artists who strive to use their own talents to express visions of social, ethical, and spiritual importance. She is, in short a force of nature whose life and work have graced both her native Canada...

This mixed media on paper from the seminal artist Artis Lane is one of the many model paintings from her long and illustrious career. The subject is a nude ...

This mixed media on paper from the seminal artist Artis Lane is one of the many model paintings from her long and illustrious career. The subject is a nude female lying in repose. Ar...

This mixed media on paper from the seminal artist Artis Lane is one of the many model paintings from her long and illustrious career. The subject ...

This mixed media on paper from the seminal artist Artis Lane is one of the many model paintings from her long and illustrious career. The subject is a nude male sitting with his hand...

This mixed media on paper from the seminal artist Artis Lane is one of the many model paintings from her long and illustrious career. The subject is a large...

A rare, early original self portrait by American artist Robert McIntosh(1916-2010) Robert McIntosh was extremely prolific and exhibited throughout his lifetime, including first pr...