Charles Ragland Bunnell Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
American, 1897-1968
Charles Bunnell developed a love for art at a very young age. As a child in Kansas City, Missouri, he spent much of his time drawing. When he was unable to find paper he drew on walls and in the margins of textbooks for which he was often fined. Around 1915, Bunnell moved with his family to Colorado Springs, Colorado. He served in World War I and later used his GI Training to study at the Broadmoor Art Academy (later renamed the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center) during 1922 and 1923.
In 1922, he married fellow student, Laura Palmer. He studied with Ernest Lawson in 1927-1928 and, in the winter of 1928-1929, he served as Lawson’s assistant. In the late 1920’s, the Bunnell’s settled just west of Colorado Springs and 1928, they welcomed the first of their three children. Their one-acre homesite, which they referred to as “Old Home Place”, was situated between two sets of railroad tracks at the foot of Pike’s Peak. Charlie converted an old railroad boxcar into his studio, where he later gave lessons.
Beginning in 1931, Bunnell spent a year and a half studying under Boardman Robinson. The two men clashed constantly due to a generation gap and markedly different philosophies. Robinson encouraged his students not to stray from realism and though Bunnell mastered Robinson’s preferred style of American Scene painting, he regularly irritated his professor with his abstract sketches.
Bunnell taught at the Kansas City Art Institute during the summers of 1929, 1930, 1940, and 1941. Between 1934 and 1941, he painted and taught under federal projects which included assisting Frank Mechau on murals for the Colorado Springs Post Office. However, he did not take to mural making and, after criticism from Boardman Robinson about his use of “heavy daubs which have no place in mural work,” he abandoned mural-making altogether.
By the late 1930’s, Bunnell’s work departed from the American Scene/Modernist style he was trained in towards abstraction. This is marked by his “Black and Blue” series, consisting of 83 abstracted ink and watercolors. Affected by the Second World War and the loss of his 10-year old son, Bunnell’s work of the early 1940’s took on a Transcendental and Surrealist tone. The works from this period are moody and readily reflect the political and personal turmoil experienced by the artist.
In the late 1940’s, Bunnell began experimenting with Abstract Expressionism. He alone is credited with introducing Colorado Springs to the new style as it was excluded from the Fine Art Center’s curriculum by Boardman Robinson. Bunnell excelled in Abstract Expressionism and continued to evolve in the style through the 1950’s continuing to his death in 1968. He was recently recognized as a premier American Abstract Expressionist by his inclusion in the book American Abstract Expressionism of the 1950’s: An Illustrated Survey. © David Cook Galleries, LLC
to
1
2
1
1
3
Overall Width
to
Overall Height
to
7
3
3
1
4
1
5
2
3
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
5
5
2
2
1
20
971
401
359
279
7
7
7
Artist: Charles Ragland Bunnell
Charles Ragland Bunnell “Quitting Time” 1941 Black and Blue Abstract Painting
By Charles Ragland Bunnell
Located in Denver, CO
This original vintage painting by Charles Ragland Bunnell (1897–1968), titled Quitting Time from his Black and Blue Series (1941), exemplifies the artist’s signature Abstract Structu...
Category
1940s American Modern Charles Ragland Bunnell Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Charcoal, Ink, Watercolor
“Man In His Search for God” 1939 Painting by Charles Bunnell Modernist Art
By Charles Ragland Bunnell
Located in Denver, CO
This evocative 1939 original painting, titled “Man In His Search for God,” is a rare and powerful work from Charles Bunnell’s acclaimed Black and Blue Series. Executed in ink wash or...
Category
1930s Futurist Charles Ragland Bunnell Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Gouache
Original 1940s Retrofuturism Gouache Painting
Birth of Mind
in Black
White
By Charles Ragland Bunnell
Located in Denver, CO
This vintage 1941 gouache painting on paper, titled Birth of Mind, signed and dated lower right, is a striking example of retrofuturism by Charles Ragland Bunnell, a prominent artist from the Broadmoor Academy...
Category
1940s Futurist Charles Ragland Bunnell Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Gouache, Archival Paper
Charles Ragland Bunnell 1935 Graphite Drawing, Colorado Modernist Cityscape
By Charles Ragland Bunnell
Located in Denver, CO
This circa 1935 graphite on paper drawing by Charles Ragland Bunnell (1897–1968) depicts a modernist cityscape of houses perched on a hill in Colorado, reflecting the vibrancy and in...
Category
1930s American Modern Charles Ragland Bunnell Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Graphite
WPA 1940s Framed Figurative Village Landscape with Figures, Houses
Mountains
By Charles Ragland Bunnell
Located in Denver, CO
This evocative watercolor on paper painting, titled The Way War First Comes (1940), was created by noted American artist Charles Ragland Bunnell (1897-1968) during the Depression era...
Category
1940s American Modern Charles Ragland Bunnell Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Watercolor
Charles Ragland Bunnell 1938 Ink Drawing of Church in Rocky Mountains, Colorado
By Charles Ragland Bunnell
Located in Denver, CO
This vintage 1938 ink drawing by Charles Ragland Bunnell (1897–1968) beautifully depicts a church nestled amid the dramatic Rocky Mountains of Georgetown, Colorado. Executed in bold ...
Category
1930s American Modern Charles Ragland Bunnell Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Ink
Charles Ragland Bunnell Abstract Expressionist Watercolor, Mid-Century Modern
By Charles Ragland Bunnell
Located in Denver, CO
This original abstract expressionist watercolor by Charles Ragland Bunnell (1897–1968) is a striking example of mid-20th-century American abstraction. The composition features bold b...
Category
1950s Abstract Expressionist Charles Ragland Bunnell Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Watercolor
Related Items
Rainstorm Sunset
By Robert Noel Blair
Located in Buffalo, NY
You are viewing a modernist American watercolor painting by Robert Noel Blair.
Robert Noel Blair (American, 1912-2003) was an American artist, painter, sculptor, printmaker and te...
Category
American Modern Charles Ragland Bunnell Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Paper, Watercolor
Clinton Hill, (Nude #2), 1950, drawing, figure/abstraction
By Clinton Hill
Located in New York, NY
Clinton Hill (1922-2003), created quintessential mid-century images, but figures are unusual in his work. This is from a very early period. From 1949 to 1951 he attended the Brooklyn...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Modern Charles Ragland Bunnell Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Gouache
$720 Sale Price
20% Off
H 10.5 in W 8 in
1960s "Storm at Sea" Gouache and Oil Pastel Abstract SF Artist
By Gloria Dudfield
Located in Arp, TX
Storm at Sea
1960s
Gouache and Oil Pastel on paper
35.75"x33.25 float mount black wood frame measures 38.5"x1.5"x36"
Gloria (Fischer) Dudfield
July 12, 1922 – May 27, 2015
Came from...
Category
Mid-20th Century Abstract Charles Ragland Bunnell Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Paper, Oil Pastel, Gouache
$2,400 Sale Price
46% Off
H 38.5 in W 36 in D 1.5 in
1967 "Abstract 4 Pink, Blue and Yellow" Mid Century Watercolor Abstract
By Michael Knigin
Located in Arp, TX
Michael Knigin
Abstract 4 Pink, Blue and Yellow
1967
Ink brush and watercolor on paper
8.25"x11" unframed $675
Signed and dated in ink lower right
Came from artist's estate
*Custom f...
Category
Mid-20th Century Modern Charles Ragland Bunnell Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Paper, Ink, Watercolor
"NY Street Signs" Mid-20th Century WPA 1938 Modernist Abstract Realism Pop Art
By Stuart Davis
Located in New York, NY
"NY Street Signs" Mid-20th Century WPA 1938 Modernist Abstract Realism Pop Art
Stuart Davis (American, 1892-1964) "Street Signs" Modernist gouache and traces of pencil on paper in the proto-pop art style Davis is celebrated for, 1938, signed to lower right, framed. Image: 11 1/4 x 15 1/4 inches. Frame by Bark: 18 1/2 x 22 inches.
LITERATURE: A, Boyajian, M. Rutkowski, Stuart Davis, A Catalogue Raisonne, Vol. 2, New Haven, Connecticut, 2007, vol. II, p. 632, no. 1232, illustrated.
EXHIBITIONS: ACA Galleries, New York American Artists' Congress: Group Exhibition of Paintings and Sculpture, Dec. 3-16, 1939 (SDAB I, 12/3/39, p. 129). Outlines Gallery, Pittsburgh, Stuart Davis, Mar. 3-16, 1946. Coleman Art Gallery, Philadelphia, 5 Prodigal Sons: Former Philadelphia Artists: Ralston Crawford, Stuart Davis, Charles Demuth, Julian Levi, Charles Sheeler, Oct 4 - 30, 1947 (pamphlet), no. 12.
PROVENANCE: The artist; Mr. and Mrs. Frank Bowles, New York, Apr. 3, 1956; thence by descent, Private Collection, New York.
NOTES: According to the Catalogue Raissonne, "the title 'Street Signs' is recorded in the artist's account books...
Category
1930s American Modern Charles Ragland Bunnell Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Paper, Gouache, Pencil
$125,000
H 18.5 in W 22 in D 1 in
Purple and Black Modern Gestural Abstract Ink and Watercolor Drawing
By Arthur Turner
Located in Houston, TX
Modern abstract ink and watercolor drawing by Houston born artist Arthur Turner. The work features energetic black lines accented with blocks of purple. Signed and dated along the ri...
Category
1960s Modern Charles Ragland Bunnell Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Ink, Watercolor
$750
H 24.38 in W 30.25 in D 1 in
Houses in Zoar, Ohio Landscape, Early 20th Century Cleveland School
By August F. Biehle
Located in Beachwood, OH
August Frederick Biehle (1885-1979)
Houses in Zoar, c. 1921
Gouache, litho crayon, colored pencil and graphite on paper
Signed lower right
14 x 19 inches
20.25 x 25.25 inches, framed...
Category
1920s American Modern Charles Ragland Bunnell Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Crayon, Gouache, Color Pencil, Graphite
$7,250
H 20.25 in W 20.25 in
Chapel and houses along a lake, New England Landscape - American School, 19th C
Located in Middletown, NY
Watercolor and pencil on buff wove watercolor paper, 10 x 8 inches (255 x 203 mm). In good condition with overall minor toning. Some watercolor paint splatters on the verso, contem...
Category
Early 1900s American Modern Charles Ragland Bunnell Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Watercolor, Pencil
1950s "Abstract #4" Ink and Gouache Painting Univ of Paris
By Donald Stacy
Located in Arp, TX
Donald Stacy
"Abstract #4"
c.1950s
Ink & Gouache on paper
10.5x19.5" brown, ripple, wood frame 11.5”x1”x20.75”
Signed in pencil lower right with label on reverse
Came from artist's e...
Category
Early 20th Century Abstract Charles Ragland Bunnell Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Paper, Ink, Gouache
$787 Sale Price
25% Off
H 20.75 in W 11.5 in D 0.5 in
Abstract Work on Paper Mid-Century Modernism Greek American Gouache Drawing
By Jean Xceron
Located in New York, NY
Abstract Work on Paper Mid-Century Modernism Greek American Gouache Drawing.
A modernist artist who emigrated to America from Greece in 1904, when he was fourteen years old, Jean Xceron is described as having a reputation as an artist that has mysteriously fallen into obscurity---especially since he was reportedly quite prominent during his lifetime. However, a partial explanation of that omission is the fact that many of his papers and early records have been lost. He was a painter of biomorphic abstractions and did collages, which were influenced by Dadaism.
Xceron was active in New York City when modernism was gaining influence. Of him during this period, it was written that his artistic role was "a vital link between what is commonly termed as the first-generation (the Stieglitz group, the Synchromists, etc.) and second-generation, the American Abstract Artists, the Transcendental Painting...
Category
1940s American Modern Charles Ragland Bunnell Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Paper, Gouache
$6,000
H 24 in W 20 in D 2 in
Brookdale, New Jersey
By Oscar Florianus Bluemner
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Brookdale, New Jersey
Graphite on paper, 1922
Signed with the artist's initials l.l., and dated 1922 (see photo)
Annotated "Brookdale" front and back of sheet
Condition: Excellent
Ar...
Category
1920s American Modern Charles Ragland Bunnell Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Graphite
Original Painting. Colliers Magazine Cover Published 1933 Wedding Illustration
By Antonio Petruccelli
Located in New York, NY
Original Painting. Colliers Magazine Cover Published 1933 Wedding Illustration
Antonio Petruccelli (1907 - 1994)
The Wedding
Colliers published, June 17, 1933
17 1/4 X 11 1/2 inches (sight)
Framed 23 1/4 X 17 1/2 inches
Gouache on board
Signed lower right
BIOGRAPHY:
Antonio Petruccelli (1907-1994) began his career as a textile designer. He became a freelance illustrator in 1932 after winning several House Beautiful cover illustration contests.
In addition to 24 Fortune magazine covers, four New Yorker covers, several for House Beautiful, Collier’s, and other magazines he did numerous illustrations for Life magazine from the 1930s – 60s.
‘Tony was Mr. Versatility for Fortune. He could do anything, from charts and diagrams to maps, illustrations, covers, and caricatures,’ said Francis Brennan, the former art director for Fortune.
Over the course of his career, Antonio won several important design awards, designing a U.S. Postage Stamp Commemorating the Steel Industry and designing the Bicentennial Medal...
Category
1930s American Realist Charles Ragland Bunnell Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Gouache, Board
Previously Available Items
1940s Abstract Watercolor Mixed Media Painting by Charles Bunnell
By Charles Ragland Bunnell
Located in Denver, CO
Untitled (Crucifixion, Black & Blue Series) is an original watercolor, charcoal and ink on paper from the artist Charles Ragland Bunnell's (1897-1968) Black & Blue Series from 1941. Abstract composition created in shades of red, gray, white, and black. Presented in a vintage frame, outer dimensions measure 38 ⅝ x 30 ¾ inches. Image size is 29 x 22 inches.
Expedited and International shipping is available - please contact us for a quote.
About the Artist:
Born 1897
Died 1968...
Category
1940s American Modern Charles Ragland Bunnell Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Charcoal, Archival Ink, Watercolor, Archival Paper
Mine in the Mountains, Colorado, Modernist Landscape Line Drawing, Black
White
By Charles Ragland Bunnell
Located in Denver, CO
Mine in the Mountains of Colorado, vintage circa 1930s modernist, semi abstract landscape by Charles Bunnell (1897-1968). Black and White line drawing...
Category
1930s American Modern Charles Ragland Bunnell Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Graphite
Untitled (Black and Blue Series) Vintage 1941 Abstracted Structure Painting
By Charles Ragland Bunnell
Located in Denver, CO
Charles Bunnell original vintage 1941 signed painting from the artist's Black and Blue Series, Abstract Structure style. Watercolor, Ink and Charcoal on paper in colors of black, wh...
Category
1940s American Modern Charles Ragland Bunnell Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Charcoal, Ink, Watercolor
H 32.25 in W 27.75 in D 0.75 in
Kansas City Skyline, 1930s WPA Era Modernist Line Drawing, Black
White, Framed
By Charles Ragland Bunnell
Located in Denver, CO
Modernist, 1930s WPA era cityscape of the Kansas City Skyline by Charles Bunnell (1897-1968). Downtown skyscrapers and buildings are rendered in a black and ...
Category
1930s American Modern Charles Ragland Bunnell Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Graphite
H 10.25 in W 8.25 in D 0.75 in
Figure on a Cross, 1940s Framed Futurism Cubism Black White Drawing
By Charles Ragland Bunnell
Located in Denver, CO
Original drawing by Colorado artist, Charles Bunnell (1897-1968), a figure on a cross is depicted in a cubist/futurist style, rendered in graphite with white, gray and black tones. ...
Category
Mid-20th Century Futurist Charles Ragland Bunnell Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Archival Paper, Graphite
H 18.5 in W 14.5 in D 1 in
Untitled (Study of a Mountain Town, Colorado)
By Charles Ragland Bunnell
Located in Denver, CO
Original pen and ink drawing by 20th century Broadmoor Academy Colorado artist, Charles Bunnell (1897-1968) with houses and mountains, likely a Colorado mining...
Category
1930s American Modern Charles Ragland Bunnell Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Paper, Ink
H 11.5 in W 9.5 in D 0.75 in
Kansas City, Missouri, by Night
By Charles Ragland Bunnell
Located in Denver, CO
Housed in a custom frame with all archival materials and museum glass; outer dimensions measure 30 x 30 inches; image measures 18 x 18 inches.
About the Artist:
Charles Bunnell d...
Category
1930s American Modern Charles Ragland Bunnell Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Mixed Media
Charles Ragland Bunnell drawings and watercolor paintings for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic Charles Ragland Bunnell drawings and watercolor paintings available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Charles Ragland Bunnell in paper, paint, watercolor and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 20th century and is mostly associated with the modern style. Not every interior allows for large Charles Ragland Bunnell drawings and watercolor paintings, so small editions measuring 14 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Francis Chapin, William Thon, and Virginia Dehn. Charles Ragland Bunnell drawings and watercolor paintings prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $325 and tops out at $8,250, while the average work can sell for $2,500.