The Imagery of Jean-Michel Basquiat

In a life that ended tragically early, Jean-Michel Basquiat (12/22/60 – 8/12/88) established a remarkable visual vocabulary that has not only influenced a generation of artists, but has pervaded popular culture as well. From his beginnings as a Brooklyn punk graffiti artist, he quickly attracted the attention of Uptown New York galleries, becoming a driving [...]

Fernand Leger and Cubism

Fernand Léger, photograph by Arnold Newman, 1941. Initially influenced by Impressionism, Fernand Leger, French painter, sculptor, and film maker went on to develop his own populist and figurative form of Cubism for which he is known today. His unsentimental treatment of the human figure derives from his belief that the human form should be treated [...]

Man Ray: Versatile & Misunderstood Painter

Man Ray’s career spanned more genres and geography than perhaps any other artist of his time. Influenced by Cubism, Futurism, Dada and Surrealism, Ray lived and worked in Paris, New York, and Hollywood. While most remembered for his ‘Rayographs’, (photograms) he primarily regarded himself as a painter. The Woodshed Gallery will offer two rare signed [...]

Hans Hofmann in Provincetown

Hans Hoffman painting in the Provincetown dunes. Hans Hoffman is probably best remembered for his vividly colorful, exuberant compositions. From paintings of geometric color fields to canvases featuring wild flights of fancy, Hoffman had a successful career as an Abstract Expressionist that spanned from the late 1940’s to the mid sixties. What is sometimes overlooked [...]

Understanding the Stories of Marc Chagall

Marc Chagall at Woodshed Art Auctions
Village Berger Descending Marc Chagall was born in 1887 in what is now Belarus. The eldest of nine children, he attended the local Jewish religious school which was the only option at the time, since mixing of different racial groups was prohibited. His early education stressed Hebrew and the Old Testament, themes that would prove [...]

Leonard Baskin, Printmaker 1922-2000

The son of an orthodox rabbi, Baskin’s figurative art was strongly influenced by his interest in classical forms, Greek mythology, and Jewish tradition. His avoidance of abstraction grew out of his belief that the human being was the center of the universe as we know it, stating “man is glorious”. His often pessimistic view of [...]

Understanding Mondrian

The young Piet Mondrian, whose father was a drawing teacher frequently drew and painted along the River Gein near his home in Amersfoort, in the Netherlands. Born in 1872 and raised in a strict Protestant family, Mondrian entered the Academy for Fine Art in Amsterdam in 1892. His early pastoral paintings featured windmills and rivers. [...]

A Closer Look at Dr Seuss

Theodor Seuss Geisel – better known as Dr Seuss sold over 600 million books which have been translated into more than 20 languages. Before becoming a household name, Theodor Seuss Geisel, born in Springfield Massachusetts in 1904, had a full career as an advertising illustrator. While studying at Dartmouth College, Geisel adopted the pen name [...]

Before the Soup Cans – Early Warhol

A Young Andy Warhol Andy Warhol began his career long before the advent of Pop Art. Born to immigrant parents in Pittsburgh PA in 1928 Andrew Warhola was a reclusive and sickly child which he later credited as being very important in the development of his personality. With a gift for drawing and writing Andy [...]