Wednesday, October 27, 2021

American Art: The WPA and Beyond

 Helicline Fine Art.

October 25 through January 30

American Art: The WPA and Beyond is the new digital exhibition from Helicline Fine Art. About three dozen paintings, works on paper and sculptures, can be seen on their site, on artsy.net and 1stDibs.com.
 

Some of the artists represented include: Gerrit Beneker, Cecil Bell, Max Arthur Cohn, Ralph Fasanella, Malvina Hoffman, Max Kalish, Konrad Cramer, Kyra Markham, Paul Meltsner, Dale Nichols, Robert Riggs, Joseph Solman, and William Zorach, among others.
Reginald Marsh
Trew Hocker
The Works Progress Administration (WPA), created by President Roosevelt in 1935, ran through 1943. It was a time, post-depression, when the US government paid artists to create works, many for public buildings. The majority of works in the exhibition were created in the 1930s and 40s.

“The WPA period is off the radar of most museum curators and is one the least popular periods of American art today. That’s reason for celebrating it, along with the spirit of the worker, the forgotten person, simple moments of everyday life, industry, muscular men, abstracts, mural studies, and more. Actually, artwork from the first half of the 20th Century is the stuff in our hearts, and has been for years,” said Helicline’s Keith Sherman.

The works in this new exhibition, all American, many from immigrants, offer a look at the pre-and-post WPA era in our country by both established and several below the radar artists who are still being discovered in 2021. Artworks are available at a wide price range for beginning as well as established collectors. 
 
Helicline Fine Art specializes in modernism, American scene, social realism, mural studies, industrial landscapes, regionalism, abstraction and more. Located in a private space in midtown Manhattan, Helicline is open by appointment. The artworks on the site represent a sampling of available works. 
 
At New York's 1939 World's Fair the omnipresent image was the iconic Trylon and Perisphere. These were in fact monumental sculptures and entertainment venues the size of huge buildings, which represented the future and the hope of a better tomorrow. Just as the Helicline ramp connected these two symbols, our mission at Helicline Fine Art is to connect people with art. 


 

William Zorach (1887 – 1966)

Pioneer Family

23 1/2h x 15w x 10d inches

Plaster. c. 1927

Unsigned

The Smithsonian has a cast of this sculpture in its collection

Pictured on the cover of “The Sculpture of William Zorach”



















 

Cecil Bell (1906 – 1970)

Under the El

18 x 24 inches

Oil on Canvas

Signed and dated 1943 lower right and on the stretcher

 

 

 

 

Ralph Fasanella (1914-1997) 

Victory and After

26 1/2 x 36 inches

Gouache on paper

Signed, titled and dated 1945 lower left

$75k


Trew Hocker (1913 – 1963)

New York Subway

36 x 48 inches

Oil on Masonite, c.

Signed and dated ’47 upper left

$39k

 


Malvina Hoffman (1885 – 1986)

Breton Wrestlers

20 h, 6 ½ w x 5 ¼ d inches

Bronze

Signed on the base

Inscribed on the front Breton Wrestlers, Paris, 1929

$45k

Abraham Harriton (1893 – 1986)

Barn Dance

30 x 40 inches

Oil on canvas, c. 1940s

Signed lower right

 

 


Paul Meltsner (1905 – 1966)

Carmen Miranda

35 ¼ x 30 inches

Oil on canvas, 1942

Signed lower right

Titled and signed on the stretcher

 

 

Reginald Marsh (1898 – 1954)

Manhattan Bridge

20 x 14 inches

Watercolor and pencil on paper, 1938

Signed lower right

 

 

 

Thornton Oakley (1881 – 1953)
Industry
40 x 30 inches
Gouache and pastel on paper, c. 1940s
Signed lower left

SOLD