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David Humphrey Figurative Paintings

American, b. 1955
David Humphrey (born August 30, 1955) is an American painter, art critic, and sculptor associated with the postmodern turn in painting that began in the late 1970s. He is best known for his playful, cartoonish, puzzling paintings, which blend figuration and abstraction and create "allegories" about the medium of painting itself. Humphrey holds a BFA from Maryland Institute College of Art (1977) and a MA from New York University (1980), where he studied with film critic Annette Michelson; he also attended the New York Studio School from 1996 – 1997. He has been the recipient of many awards including the Guggenheim Fellowship in 2002, the Rome Prize in 2008, and the American Academy of Arts and Letters Purchase Award in 2011. He was born in Augsburg Germany and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He lives and works in New York City. Though his paintings, works on paper, and sculptures defy categorization, David Humphrey emerged as an artist in the late 1970s along with Postmodernism, an approach that continues to inform his heterogeneous compositions, visual pastiches that, in his words, “erase the breaks” between divergent styles. As he explains: “I suppose that the dynamic of relationship—the psychology of bonding, lovemaking, attachment, and so on—has kept me interested for a long time. I come back to it as a way to thicken the grammar of picture making.” In his paintings, this grammar includes gestural abstraction, cartoonish figuration, Pop Art, Surrealism, and Expressionism. His vibrant compositions feature human figures, narrative vignettes, animals, and objects interwoven into abstract passages. They read as sexually and psychologically charged dreamscapes, through which Humphrey breaks down boundaries to explore our relationships with each other and the world.
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Artist: David Humphrey
Impressionist Painting Nude Bathers by David Humphrey
By David Humphrey
Located in Rochester, NY
Nude bathers, fine early 20th century impressionist painting by David Humphrey (American 1872-1950.) Pastel on paper. Humphrey was born in Elkhorn, Wiscons...
Category

Early 20th Century Art Nouveau David Humphrey Figurative Paintings

Materials

Pastel

Probing
By David Humphrey
Located in Miami Beach, FL
The acclaimed David Humphrey (born 1955) has been exhibiting his work internationally since the 1980s when he first burst upon the New York art scene. His compositions often feature ...
Category

1980s Modern David Humphrey Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Pickpocket
By David Humphrey
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: David Humphrey, American (1955 - ) Title: Pickpocket Year: 1985 Medium: Oil on Canvas, signed verso Size: 84 in. x 66 in. (213.36 cm x 167.64 cm)
Category

1980s Contemporary David Humphrey Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

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David Humphrey figurative paintings for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic David Humphrey figurative paintings available for sale on 1stDibs. If you’re browsing the collection of figurative paintings to introduce a pop of color in a neutral corner of your living room or bedroom, you can find work that includes elements of blue and other colors. You can also browse by medium to find art by David Humphrey in canvas, crayon, fabric and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 20th century and is mostly associated with the contemporary style. Not every interior allows for large David Humphrey figurative paintings, so small editions measuring 16 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Bruno Surdo, Thomas Darsney, and Andrew S. Conklin. David Humphrey figurative paintings prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $2,700 and tops out at $20,000, while the average work can sell for $11,350.

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