Louis Bosa Paintings
Italian, 1905-1981
Born in Codroipo, a small village only a few miles from Venice, Italy in 1905, the son of a stonemason. Bosa emigrated to the U.S. at age 18 after studies at the Accademia della Belle Arti in Venice and became an American citizen. He then studied under John Sloan, of the Ashcan School, at the Art Students League in New York. A distinguished painter, Louis Bosa's work has been likened to that of artists ranging from Pieter Breughel the Elder to John Sloan and the Ashcan School.
Being an acute observer of the human condition, Bosa's paintings, which are primarily oil on canvas, often focus on people and street scenes from his native Italy. Bosa was known to have followed his subjects around, making many sketches and mental notes, and combined his observations in the final work to create visionary, fantastical images. The subjects of his paintings are highly stylized and expressionistic, and border on caricature. "People are so funny at times they are sad," he said: The people in his paintings are accessible and seem to portray human emotion and everyday life, conquering such concepts as mortality, humility and sometimes futility. His work often reveals comedy in the midst of tragedy. Many of his paintings include whimsical images of nuns riding bicycles and similar authority figures engaged in mundane activities.
He traveled extensively through Europe and often returned to his native Italy. Bosa painted for the Works Progress Administration and the Whitney Museum. He taught at the Cleveland Institute of Art, the New York Art Students League, the Parsons School of Design, Syracuse University, and the University of Notre Dame at South Bend, Indiana. His paintings and watercolors are on display at many well-known art studios and museums across the United States such as:
The Metropolitan Museum of Art - New York The Whitney Museum - New York
The Philadelphia Museum - Pennsylvania
The Worcester Museum - Massachusetts
The Springfield Museum - Massachusetts
The Toronto Art Museum - Canada
Notre Dame University Museum
The Butler Museum - Ohio
The Columbus Museum of Arts and Crafts - Ohio
The University of Illinois - Illinois
The Montclair Museum - New Jersey
The James A. Michener Art Museum - Doylestown, Pennsylvania
The Clearwater Museum - Florida
The Wilmington Museum - Delaware
The Athenian Museum - Connecticut
The Herron Art Institute - Indiana
The Rochester Museum - New York
The Delgado Museum - New Orleans
The Richmond Art Museum - Virginia
The Academy of Arts and Letters
The Hosanna Fund
The Encyclopedia Britannica Collections
International Business Machines
The Syracuse Museum - New Yorkto
1
1
3
5
4
3
Overall Width
to
Overall Height
to
16
3
1
1
2
2
4
1
15
1
13
6
4
4
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
16
16
1
1
20
780
721
710
686
16
16
Artist: Louis Bosa
Boat Dock, Dark Night Seascape, 20th Century Italian-American Artist
By Louis Bosa
Located in Beachwood, OH
Louis Bosa (American, 1905-1981)
Boat Dock
Oil on board
Signed lower left, gallery label verso
15.5 x 19.5 inches
21.25 x 25.25 inches, framed
Born in Codroipo, a small village only...
Category
Late 20th Century Louis Bosa Paintings
Materials
Oil
To Market, Two Italian Priests on Bicycle with Birds in Cage
By Louis Bosa
Located in Beachwood, OH
Louis Bosa (American, 1905-1981)
To Market
Oil on canvas
Signed lower right
20 x 24.25 inches
27.75 x 32.75 inches, framed
Born in Codroipo, a small village only a few miles from Ve...
Category
Late 20th Century Louis Bosa Paintings
Materials
Oil
Viveros, 20th Century European Street Scene, Italian Town Landscape
By Louis Bosa
Located in Beachwood, OH
Louis Bosa (American, 1905-1981)
Viveros
Oil on masonite
Signed lower left and verso
17.75 x 35.5 inches
25.75 x 43.75 inches, framed
Born in Codroipo, a small village only a few mi...
Category
20th Century Louis Bosa Paintings
Materials
Oil
Fishing Wharf, Rockport, Massachusetts Scene w/ People
Boats
By Louis Bosa
Located in Beachwood, OH
Louis Bosa (American, 1905-1981)
Fishing Wharf Rockport
Oil on masonite
Signed lower left, signed
titled verso
12 x 16 inches
18 x 22 inches, framed
Born in Codroipo, a small ...
Category
Late 20th Century Louis Bosa Paintings
Materials
Oil
20th Century Bucks County Colorful Landscape Painting, Italian artist
By Louis Bosa
Located in Beachwood, OH
Louis Bosa (American, 1905–1981)
Bucks County, 1934
Oil on canvas
Signed and dated lower right
17.5 x 21.5 inches
25.5 x 29 inches, framed
Born in Codroipo, a small village only a f...
Category
1930s Expressionist Louis Bosa Paintings
Materials
Oil
Costa Brava, Spain, Nuns w/ Umbrellas
Chairs, Surrealist Scene
By Louis Bosa
Located in Beachwood, OH
Louis Bosa (American, 1905-1981)
Costa Brava, Spain
Oil on board
Signed lower right
14 x 24 inches
23 x 33 inches, framed
Born in Codroipo, a small village only a few miles from Ven...
Category
Mid-20th Century Surrealist Louis Bosa Paintings
Materials
Oil
Nuns in My Studio, Self-Portrait, 20th Century Italian-American Artist
By Louis Bosa
Located in Beachwood, OH
Louis Bosa (American, 1905-1981)
Nuns in My Studio
Oil on canvas
Signed lower right
10 x 14 inches
15.5 x 19.5 inches, framed
Born in Codroipo, a small village only a few miles from...
Category
Late 20th Century Louis Bosa Paintings
Materials
Oil
Flood in Venice, Italian Artist, Humorous Landscape/Seascape Scene
By Louis Bosa
Located in Beachwood, OH
Louis Bosa (American, 1905-1981)
Flood in Venice, c. 1970
Oil on canvas
Signed Bosa lower left and verso
34 x 50.5 inches
40.5 x 56.5 inches, framed
Exhibited: 148th Annual Exhibiti...
Category
1970s Louis Bosa Paintings
Materials
Oil
Skinny Dippers, 20th Century Landscape, Swimming Family, Italian Artist
By Louis Bosa
Located in Beachwood, OH
Louis Bosa (American, 1905-1981)
Skinny Dippers
Oil on board
Signed lower right
15.5 x 20 inches
21.25 x 25.5 inches, framed
Born in Codroipo, a small village only a few miles from ...
Category
1960s Louis Bosa Paintings
Materials
Oil
Two Wagons, Bucks County, PA 20th Century Farm Landscape
By Louis Bosa
Located in Beachwood, OH
Louis Bosa (American, 1905–1981)
Two Wagons, Bucks County, PA, 1934
Oil on canvas
Signed and dated lower right
20 x 24 inches
30 x 34 inches, framed
Born in Codroipo, a small villag...
Category
1930s Expressionist Louis Bosa Paintings
Materials
Oil
$1,400 Sale Price
68% Off
20th century painting of monks in Venice, Italian pink figural work
By Louis Bosa
Located in Beachwood, OH
Louis Bosa (Italian-American, 1905–1981)
Island of the Monks, c. 1930
Oil on masonite
Signed lower right
14 x 24 inches
23 x 33 inches, framed
Born in Codroipo, a small village only...
Category
1930s Expressionist Louis Bosa Paintings
Materials
Oil
Industrial Railroad WPA Mid 20th Century American Scene Rural Modern Realism
By Louis Bosa
Located in New York, NY
Industrial Railroad WPA Mid 20th Century American Scene Rural Modern Realism
Large oil on canvas genre painting depicting laborers working on a railroad, with rural landscape in the...
Category
1940s American Realist Louis Bosa Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Moody Beach Scene, Surreal Mid-Century Figurative Familial Scene Italian Artist
By Louis Bosa
Located in Beachwood, OH
Louis Bosa (American, 1905-1981)
The Beach, c. 1960
Oil on board
Signed lower left
11.75 x 19.5 inches
20 x 28 inches, framed
Born in Codroipo, a small village only a few miles fro...
Category
1960s Louis Bosa Paintings
Materials
Oil
Rockport, Massachusetts Seascape, Cape Ann, Shoreline, Italian American Artist
By Louis Bosa
Located in Beachwood, OH
Louis Bosa (American, 1905, 1981)
Rockport , 1971
Oil on Masonite
Signed lower right, signed, dated and titled verso
10 x 16 inches
17 x 23 inches, framed
Born in Codroipo, a small ...
Category
1970s Louis Bosa Paintings
Materials
Oil
Cathedral in Venice, large 20th century oil painting, Italian-American artist
By Louis Bosa
Located in Beachwood, OH
Louis Bosa (American, 1905-1981)
Cathedral in Venice
Oil on canvas
Signed lower left
60.25 x 40.25 inches
66.5 x 46.5 inches, framed
Born in Codroipo, a small village only a few mi...
Category
Mid-20th Century Expressionist Louis Bosa Paintings
Materials
Oil
The Serenade, 20th Century Italian-American Artist
By Louis Bosa
Located in Beachwood, OH
Louis Bosa (American, 1905-1981)
The Serenade, c. 1950
Oil on board
Signed lower left
7.5 x 23.5 inches
15 x 31 inches framed
Born in Codroipo, a small village only a few miles from...
Category
1950s Louis Bosa Paintings
Materials
Oil
Related Items
Yin Yang (2022) By Hadley Rampton, Original Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
"Yin Yang" by Hadley Rampton (United States) is a handmade landscape painting that is unframed, but ready to hang.
Hadley Rampton’s paintings are an amalgamation of her love of comp...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Louis Bosa Paintings
Materials
Oil
"Run Off" (2022) By Judd Mercer, Original Oil Painting
By Judd Mercer
Located in Denver, CO
Judd Mercer's (US based) "Run Off" (2022) is an original handmade oil painting depicting a small waterfall on a run off from a river.
Artist bio/statement
Judd Mercer is a contempo...
Category
2010s Impressionist Louis Bosa Paintings
Materials
Oil, Wood Panel
Piazza di Spagna Roma
By Yves Brayer
Located in London, GB
'Piazza di Spagna, Roma' oil on canvas, by Yves Brayer (1933). At the bottom of the Spanish Steps, is one of the most famous squares in Rome. It owes ...
Category
1930s Expressionist Louis Bosa Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
"End of the Line" - Oil on Canvas Nocturne Landscape With Desert Cabin
By Mark Harrison
Located in Denver, CO
Mark Harrison’s 2024 oil painting "End of the Line" is a hauntingly atmospheric depiction of a solitary desert cabin illuminated against the vast quiet of the American Southwest. Ren...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Louis Bosa Paintings
Materials
Oil, Canvas
$2,750
H 15.75 in W 39.37 in
"Fast and Fleeting" (2022) By Judd Mercer, Original Oil Painting
By Judd Mercer
Located in Denver, CO
Judd Mercer's (US based) "Fast and Fleeting" (2022) is an original handmade oil painting depicting a rocky waterfall in a forest.
Artist bio/statement
Judd Mercer is a contemporary...
Category
2010s Impressionist Louis Bosa Paintings
Materials
Oil, Canvas, Panel
"Southern Colorado Skies" by Michael Magrin, Landscape Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Michael Magrin's ( US based) "Southern Colorado Skies" is an original, handmade oil painting of a vast sky above the Colorado plains. This piece is fram...
Category
2010s Realist Louis Bosa Paintings
Materials
Oil, Linen, Wood Panel
Contact
By Airom
Located in Santa Monica, CA
Painting depicts contact, ambiguous as to whether it could be adverse contact or intimate contact between the focal characters.
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Louis Bosa Paintings
Materials
India Ink, Oil
Bright Green Impressionist Landscape with Figure in Dunes Mid 20th Century
By Claude Marin
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Impressionist Landscape
by Claude Marin (French 1914-2001)
signed oil on canvas, framed
Framed: 19 x 22 inches
Canvas : 13.5 x 16.5 inches
Inscribed Verso
Provenance: private collect...
Category
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Louis Bosa Paintings
Materials
Oil
"Secret Garden" (2023) by Leigh Ann Van Fossan, Original Oil Painting
By Leigh Ann Van Fossan
Located in Denver, CO
Leigh Ann Van Fossan's "Secret Garden" (2023) is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a path surrounded by colorful flowers and trees arching over.
Van Fossan was born in...
Category
2010s Expressionist Louis Bosa Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
$630
H 12 in W 12 in D 2 in
"Passing Through" - Oil on Canvas Landscape Painting with Mountains and River
By Mark Harrison
Located in Denver, CO
Mark Harrison’s "Passing Through" is a panoramic oil painting that captures the majesty and solitude of the natural world. Completed in 2024, this original, handmade work transports ...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Louis Bosa Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
$2,750
H 15.75 in W 39.37 in
"Prism Sky" (2024) by Seth Winegar, Oil painting, Sunset Landscape
Located in Denver, CO
Seth Winegar's (US based) "Prism Sky" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a landscape with a brilliant sunset illuminating a cloudy sky.
Bio/artist statement:
Seth W...
Category
2010s Impressionist Louis Bosa Paintings
Materials
Oil, Board
$4,400
H 22.75 in W 28 in
"Late Afternoon Taos Pueblo, " Southwestern Landscape Oil Painting
By Lorenzo Chavez
Located in Denver, CO
"Late Afternoon Taos Pueblo" by Lorenzo Chavez (US based) is a handmade oil painting that depicts a rural road around the old Taos Pueblo.
“Late Afternoon Taos Pueblo” I love explo...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Louis Bosa Paintings
Materials
Oil
Previously Available Items
Winter in the City
, Ashcan School, Metropolitan Museum, ASL, WPA, Whitney
By Louis Bosa
Located in Santa Cruz, CA
Signed, verso, 'Bosa' for Louis 'Luigi' Bosa (Italian-American, 1905-1981).
Born in Codroipo, a small village only a few miles from Venice, Italy in 1905, the son of a stonemason. ...
Category
1940s Louis Bosa Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
H 8 in W 15.75 in D 0.13 in
Industrial Railroad WPA Mid 20th Century American Scene Rural Modern Realism
By Louis Bosa
Located in New York, NY
Industrial Railroad WPA Mid 20th Century American Scene Rural Modern Realism
Large oil on canvas genre painting depicting laborers working on a railroad, with rural landscape in the...
Category
1940s American Realist Louis Bosa Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
An Evening Prayer, Italian church scene with nun and priests
By Louis Bosa
Located in Beachwood, OH
Louis Bosa (American, 1905-1981)
An Evening Prayer
Oil on canvas
Signed lower left, titled verso
20.5 x 18 inches
29.75 x 27.75 inches, framed
Provenance:
Kleemann Galleries, New Y...
Category
20th Century Expressionist Louis Bosa Paintings
Materials
Oil
Louis Bosa paintings for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic Louis Bosa paintings available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Louis Bosa in oil paint, paint, canvas and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 20th century and is mostly associated with the Expressionist style. Not every interior allows for large Louis Bosa paintings, so small editions measuring 17 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Giulio da Milano, David Leviathan, and Jennifer Lowe. Louis Bosa paintings prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $3,250 and tops out at $15,000, while the average work can sell for $6,440.