Yoko Ono Lithograph Harold Town

Harold Town remains one of the most accomplished and fascinating characters from the Painters Eleven group. While Town coined the group's name (based on the number of artists, who simply attended their first meeting) his output was diverse, ever-changing and not restricted to painting. Somewhat ironically, his first significant body of work, which established his reputation as a group of monotypes - which he called Single Autographic Prints. Town was introduced to lithography by fellow painters Eleven member Oscar Cahen. The Single Autographic Prints were first exhibited in 1954. Two years later the National Gallery of Canada would successfully nominate him to represent the nation at the Venice Biennale. By the end of the decade, Town received international accolades for these works and had become one of the most admired artists in Canada. This complex mauve-hued example of a Single Autographic Print is Harold Town at his best; layered, rich colors creating a hypnotic inimitable abstract surface. This type of SAP is particularly sought-after as it is one of the earliest and features a distinct graphic collage-like composition made up of blocky shapes. Such elements would become signatures in Town's oeuvre. An essential work for any collection of post-war Canadian abstraction.

Bring energy and an array of welcome colors and textures into your space by decorating with figurative fine-art prints and works on paper.

Figurative art stands in contrast to abstract art, which is more expressive than representational. The oldest-known work of figurative art is a figurative painting — specifically, a rock painting of an animal made over 40,000 years ago in Borneo. This remnant of a remote past has long faded, but its depiction of a cattle-like creature in elegant ocher markings endures.

Since then, figurative art has evolved significantly as it continues to represent the world, including a breadth of works on paper, including printmaking. This includes woodcuts, which are a type of relief print with perennial popularity among collectors. The artist carves into a block and applies ink to the raised surface, which is then pressed onto paper. There are also planographic prints, which use metal plates, stones or other flat surfaces as their base. The artist will often draw on the surface with grease crayon and then apply ink to those markings. Lithographs are a common version of planographic prints.

Figurative art printmaking was especially popular during the height of the Pop art movement, and this kind of work can be seen in artist Andy Warhol’s extensive use of photographic silkscreen printing. Everyday objects, logos and scenes were given a unique twist, whether in the style of a comic strip or in the use of neon colors.

Explore an impressive collection of figurative art prints for sale on 1stDibs and read about how to arrange your wall art.