Michael Kotasek Figurative Paintings

Arnold Friedman worked as a clerk for decades at the Station Y, the branch at 3rd Avenue and East 67th Street in New York City. This present work was done two years after his retirem...

Mid Century Seascape and Figural Original oil painting on Linen 1956 Solitary figure on wharf by California artist Robert Watson, painted 1956 (1923 - 2004)The following, is from To...

As they take center stage, four acrobats are depicted, forming an architectural structure composed of contorted human bodies. The small gallery of onlookers displays a variety of ex...

**Technical Sheet** **Title:** "Street of the Old Quarter" **Author:** British School, 19th Century **Date:** 1892 **Technique:** Oil on canvas **Dimensions:** 14.17 x 10.63 inc...

This mural study is part of our exhibition America Coast to Coast: Artists of the 1930s Industry and Commerce, 1936, tempera on panel, 16 ½ x 39 ½ inches, signed verso “John Ballator, Portland Ore.” provenance includes: J.C. Penney Company, represented by Russell Tether Fine Arts Assoc.; presented in a newer wood frame About the Painting Industry and Commerce is a prime example of WPA Era muralism. Like a Mediaeval alter, this mural study is filled with icons, but the images of saints and martyrs are replaced with symbols of America's gospel of prosperity through capitalism. Industry and Commerce has a strong narrative quality with vignettes filling the entire surface. Extraction, logistics, design, power generation, and manufacturing for printing, chemicals, automobiles and metal products are all represented. To eliminate any doubt about the mural's themes, Ballator letters a description into the bottom of the study. Ballator also presents an idealized version of industrial cooperation, as his workers, lab-coated technicians and tie-wearing managers work harmoniously toward a common goal in the tidy and neatly designed environments. Although far from the reality of most industrial spaces, Ballator's study reflects the idealized and morale boosting tone that many mural projects adopted during the Great Depression. About the Artist John R Ballator achieved success as a muralist, lithographer, and teacher during the Great Depression. Born in Oregon, he studied at the Portland Museum Art School, the University of Oregon and at Yale University where he received a Bachelor of Fine Art. In 1936, Ballator was commissioned to paint a mural panel for the new Department of Justice Building in Washington DC, an important project that spanned five years with several dozen artists contributing a total of sixty-eight designs. Ballator completed murals for the St. Johns Post Office and Franklin High School, both in Portland, Oregon. He also contributed to the 1938 murals at Nathan Hale School in New Haven, Connecticut. During the late 1930s, Ballator taught art for several years at Washburn College in Topeka, Kanas, where he completed a mural for the Menninger Arts & Craft Shop before accepting a professorship at Hollins College...

American School, Portrait of a Girl, Oil on Panel, signed "W. Gaylen" lower right, carved giltwood frame. Image: 9.5" H x 7.25" W; frame: 20" H x 17.75" W x 1.5" D. Provenance: Fro...

Clyde Singer captures the moment when two friends open a letter with shocking news. A master of capturing the small and significant moments of everyday life, Singer realistically po...

This charming rural winter scene of ice skaters fully displays Norman Rockwell's America, but it was painted by female artist Charlotte Joan Sternberg. She combines the mid-century A...

Self Portrait at 43

Mark Harrison's (UK based) "Ham Rock" is an oil painting that depicts an arid landscape with clouds and towering rock formations. Sometimes they are silent epic landscapes of the D...

LOOK FOR FREE SHIPPING AT CHECKOUT Rock Me is a 14 x 20 figurative oil painting by E. Melinda Morrison. It was painted in 2019. Rock Me shows the movement of the water rocking the ...

This modern still life diptych by Gio Bellagio is inspired by ancient Greek ceramic vessels. The pots are adorned with minimalist patterns reminiscent of Greek geometry, emphasising...