Charles Ragland Bunnell Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
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
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Artist: Charles Ragland Bunnell
“Man In His Search for God” 1939 Painting by Charles Bunnell Modernist Art
By Charles Ragland Bunnell
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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...
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1930s Futurist Charles Ragland Bunnell Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
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WPA 1940s Framed Figurative Village Landscape with Figures, Houses
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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...
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1940s American Modern Charles Ragland Bunnell Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor
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Charles Ragland Bunnell figurative drawings and watercolors for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic Charles Ragland Bunnell figurative drawings and watercolors available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Charles Ragland Bunnell in paper, archival paper, graphite 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 figurative drawings and watercolors, so small editions measuring 15 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Alfred Bendiner, Chaim Gross, and Frank Wilcox. Charles Ragland Bunnell figurative drawings and watercolors 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 $4,288.