Conté Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Boleslaw Cybis (1895-1957). Lowicz Girl, ca. 1930's. Conte on paper, sheet measures 18 x 23 inches. Signed by the artist some years after its creation in blue ink, on verso bottom...

Boleslaw Cybis (1895-1957). Taos (Timeless Ritual), Indian Negro Series, 6 of 18. Conte on paper, sheet measures 18 x 23 inches. Small tear in sheet left margin. Evidence of alteration of image lower left where writing was probably removed before photographs require to create lithograph. The area has oxidized consequently. Signed by the artist some years after its creation in blue ink, lower left, ca. 1950's. the sheet is hinged at top margin, not glued down to backing board. Provenance: Cybis Archive. This original drawing was created in 1939-40 during an extensive visit to the Southwest US. The artist created 18 portraits and titled the series "Indian Negro Serie". Of the 18 images, 9 were selected to be included in a limited edition lithographic series some 30 years after creation. 1000 editions were printed. This is the original drawing upon which one of the images is based, and is thus unique. Of the 18 original drawings, 2 are owned by the polish government, 5 are in our collection and the other 11 are whereabouts unknown. The artist and his wife opened a porcelain factory in the 1950's, Cybis Studios. The only non-porcelain retail offering from the Cybis studio was a 1970s art issue called the Folio One. This was a limited edition reproduction series taken from nine conté drawings of Native Americans made by Boleslaw Cybis in 1939. Conté is the name of a type of crayon made of compressed charcoal or graphite mixed with wax or clay. The artist Georges Seurat was particularly fond of using conté for his drawings. Boleslaw Cybis was fascinated by the Native American (then typically referred to as American Indian) culture and peoples. This may seem odd when you consider that much of his ceramic-based works were distinctly Rococo and/or Old World European in style….a pretty stark contrast, I’d say! But Cybis was nothing if not eclectic in his tastes. The originals were reproduced as color lithographs, in an edition of 1000, in 1970. This meant “1000 of each individual print.” At present its original issue pricing is unknown, but a Spring 1972 dealer price list shows the full set of nine at $500. Individual prints could also be purchased at either $50 (for Comanche, Shoshone, or Apache) or $65 (for any of the other six)… representing a $40 savings when buying the entire folio at once versus singly. The Spring 1981 price list is the final one that shows the Folio One set for sale, still at the same price ($500) as it was a decade earlier. Individual prints are not available on that list. According to the 1979 Cybis catalog text “Each of the 12″ x 20″ prints is hand-numbered on heavy Beckett rag-content paper, with a specially designed validating hallmark in the lower right-hand corner, and carries an accompanying page with a brief tribal history.” The hallmark is blind-embossed, not surface printed. However, the Spring 1972 dealer price list cited above described the prints as being 17″ x 23″ in size. Checking past auction listings for the set, the actual prints are indeed 17″ x 23″, which means that the 12″ x 20″ size probably refers to the image area. The overall size of the set’s burlap-covered box is 18.5″ x 24.5″. These nine portraits represent seven different tribes: the Comanche, Shoshone, Taos, Apache, Hopi, Mohave, and Yuma. A bit of trivia is that only two of those tribes (Apache and Shoshone) were featured within the modern studio’s North American Indians porcelain...

Boleslaw Cybis (1895-1957). Prancing Ram, ca. 1930's. Conte on paper, sheet measures 18 x 23 inches. Signed by the artist some years after its creation in blue ink, on verso botto...

Conté crayon on paper Signed and dated, l.r. This artwork is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City. Mark Beard, born in 1956 in Salt Lake City, now lives in New York City. ...

Vortex is a contemporary figurative charcoal and conté drawing on watercolour paper that explores motion, gravity, and the expressive potential of the human form. Rendered in rich mo...

Violet Oakley (1896-1961). Portrait of a Baby, ca. 1930. Conte crayon and pencil on laid paper, sheet measuring 11 x 14 inches. Framed measurement: 13.5 x 16.5 inches. Signed low...

This is a drawing by James Childs (1945-2020) offered by CLAMP in New York City. Nick Xylouris 2004 Signed and titled, recto Graphite and Conté crayon on paper 12 x 8.25 inches

'Openings (Catherine)' is a brilliant and original work of art from Kenyan born African-American artist Stephen Namara who is widely known for creating paintings and masterful drawin...

Boleslaw Cybis (1895-1957). Mother and Baby, Indian Negro Series, image #15 of 18 unique image that comprise the drawing series. Conte on paper, sheet measures 18 x 23 inches. Si...

A pair of original red conte crayon drawings in their original frames featuring two young women in period clothing.

Boleslaw Cybis (1895-1957). Apache (Image Makers), Indian Negro Series, image #15 of 18 unique image that comprise the drawing series. Conte on paper, sheet measures 18 x 23 inche...

A portrait of a male head, in profile by BenFenske. The artist uses a variety of colors to convey a naturalist impression. Artist Bio Ben Fenske (b. 1978) although a native of Minn...

Boleslaw Cybis (1895-1957). Yuma (Vanished Dreams), Indian Negro Series, image #7 of 18 unique image that comprise the drawing series. Conte on paper, sheet measures 18 x 23 inches. Unsigned. Staining lower left is a consequence of removal of writing prior to lithographic photography process. Small hole on paper, lower region, patched with white tape. The sheet is hinged at top margin, not glued down to backing board. The sheet has an 9 notation on back signifying that it is the 9th and final image selected for the lithographic series. Provenance: Cybis Archive. This very unusual portrait is titled Apache ‘Image Makers’ and depicts the ritual Devil Dancer or Spirit Dancer headdress and fully-swathed face. In Apache culture and legend, the Devil Dancer is a somewhat mischievous although benevolent spirit. This original drawing was created in 1939-40 during an extensive visit to the Southwest US. The artist created 18 portraits and titled the series "Indian Negro Serie". Of the 18 images, only 9 were selected to be included in a limited edition lithographic series some 30 years after creation. 1000 editions were printed. This is the original drawing upon which one of the images is based, and is thus unique. Of the 18 original drawings, 2 are owned by the polish government, 5 are in our collection and the other 11 are whereabouts unknown. The artist and his wife opened a porcelain factory in the 1950's, Cybis Studios. The only non-porcelain retail offering from the Cybis studio was a 1970s art issue called the Folio One. This was a limited edition reproduction series taken from nine conté drawings of Native Americans made by Boleslaw Cybis in 1939. Conté is the name of a type of crayon made of compressed charcoal or graphite mixed with wax or clay. The artist Georges Seurat was particularly fond of using conté for his drawings. Boleslaw Cybis was fascinated by the Native American (then typically referred to as American Indian) culture and peoples. This may seem odd when you consider that much of his ceramic-based works were distinctly Rococo and/or Old World European in style….a pretty stark contrast, I’d say! But Cybis was nothing if not eclectic in his tastes. The originals were reproduced as color lithographs, in an edition of 1000, in 1970. This meant “1000 of each individual print.” At present its original issue pricing is unknown, but a Spring 1972 dealer price list shows the full set of nine at $500. Individual prints could also be purchased at either $50 (for Comanche, Shoshone, or Apache) or $65 (for any of the other six)… representing a $40 savings when buying the entire folio at once versus singly. The Spring 1981 price list is the final one that shows the Folio One set for sale, still at the same price ($500) as it was a decade earlier. Individual prints are not available on that list. According to the 1979 Cybis catalog text “Each of the 12″ x 20″ prints is hand-numbered on heavy Beckett rag-content paper, with a specially designed validating hallmark in the lower right-hand corner, and carries an accompanying page with a brief tribal history.” The hallmark is blind-embossed, not surface printed. However, the Spring 1972 dealer price list cited above described the prints as being 17″ x 23″ in size. Checking past auction listings for the set, the actual prints are indeed 17″ x 23″, which means that the 12″ x 20″ size probably refers to the image area. The overall size of the set’s burlap-covered box is 18.5″ x 24.5″. These nine portraits represent seven different tribes: the Comanche, Shoshone, Taos, Apache, Hopi, Mohave, and Yuma. A bit of trivia is that only two of those tribes (Apache and Shoshone) were featured within the modern studio’s North American Indians porcelain...

Boleslaw Cybis (1895-1957). Comanche (Indomitable Spirit) Indian Negro Series, image #8 of 18 unique image that comprise the drawing series. Conte on paper, sheet measures 18 x 23 inches. Signed by the artist some years after its creation in blue ink, lower left, ca. 1950's. The sheet is hinged at top margin, not glued down to backing board. The sheet has an encircled 1 notation on back signifying that it is the first of 9 images selected for the lithographic series. Provenance: Cybis Archive. This original drawing was created in 1939-40 during an extensive visit to the Southwest US. The artist created 18 portraits and titled the series "Indian Negro Serie". Of the 18 images, only 9 were selected to be included in a limited edition lithographic series some 30 years after creation. 1000 editions were printed. This is the original drawing upon which one of the images is based, and is thus unique. Of the 18 original drawings, 2 are owned by the polish government, 5 are in our collection and the other 11 are whereabouts unknown. The artist and his wife opened a porcelain factory in the 1950's, Cybis Studios. The only non-porcelain retail offering from the Cybis studio was a 1970s art issue called the Folio One. This was a limited edition reproduction series taken from nine conté drawings of Native Americans made by Boleslaw Cybis in 1939. Conté is the name of a type of crayon made of compressed charcoal or graphite mixed with wax or clay. The artist Georges Seurat was particularly fond of using conté for his drawings. Boleslaw Cybis was fascinated by the Native American (then typically referred to as American Indian) culture and peoples. This may seem odd when you consider that much of his ceramic-based works were distinctly Rococo and/or Old World European in style….a pretty stark contrast, I’d say! But Cybis was nothing if not eclectic in his tastes. The originals were reproduced as color lithographs, in an edition of 1000, in 1970. This meant “1000 of each individual print.” At present its original issue pricing is unknown, but a Spring 1972 dealer price list shows the full set of nine at $500. Individual prints could also be purchased at either $50 (for Comanche, Shoshone, or Apache) or $65 (for any of the other six)… representing a $40 savings when buying the entire folio at once versus singly. The Spring 1981 price list is the final one that shows the Folio One set for sale, still at the same price ($500) as it was a decade earlier. Individual prints are not available on that list. According to the 1979 Cybis catalog text “Each of the 12″ x 20″ prints is hand-numbered on heavy Beckett rag-content paper, with a specially designed validating hallmark in the lower right-hand corner, and carries an accompanying page with a brief tribal history.” The hallmark is blind-embossed, not surface printed. However, the Spring 1972 dealer price list cited above described the prints as being 17″ x 23″ in size. Checking past auction listings for the set, the actual prints are indeed 17″ x 23″, which means that the 12″ x 20″ size probably refers to the image area. The overall size of the set’s burlap-covered box is 18.5″ x 24.5″. These nine portraits represent seven different tribes: the Comanche, Shoshone, Taos, Apache, Hopi, Mohave, and Yuma. A bit of trivia is that only two of those tribes (Apache and Shoshone) were featured within the modern studio’s North American Indians porcelain...

Portrait of a man at Flanders in 1918 by Eduard Dollerschell (German b. 1887 d. 1946.) Beautiful and delicately rendered portrait of a man done in gouache, pencil, and conte crayon....

Face and Body is a stunningly gorgeous original work of art from Kenyan born American artist Stephen Namara who is widely known for creating paintings and masterful drawings created ...

Amalia Polleri, 'Untitled (Sleeping Children)', Conté crayon on cream wove drawing paper, signed and dated '43 in ink beneath the image, lower right; with 1/4 margins all around. Arc...

Stately sanguine portrait of Leopold Hamilton Myers (Novelist) by Sir William Rothenstein (English, 1872-1945). Captured in Rothenstein's characteristic style, Myers looks directly at the viewer with a neutral expression. Although this portrait uses only two colors and minimal shading, the likeness of Myers is incredibly well captured. Leo (Leopold) Hamilton Myers (1881 – 1944) was a British novelist. Numerous examples like this one of the writer are in the Tate Museum. Initialed and dated in the lower right corner ("W.R. 1936") Inscription on verso indicating materials, subject, and artist. Presented in a new cream colored mat with foamcore backing. Mat size: 18"H x 12"W Paper size: 15.25"H x 10.75"W William Rothenstein (English, 1872-1945) was born into a German-Jewish family in Bradford, West Yorkshire. His father, Moritz, emigrated from Germany in 1859 to work in Bradford's burgeoning textile industry. Soon afterwards he married Bertha Dux, and they had six children, of which William was the fifth. Rothenstein was knighted in 1931. Rothenstein left Bradford Grammar School at the age of sixteen to study at the Slade School of Art*, London (1888-1893), where he was taught by Alphonse Legros, and the Académie Julian* in Paris (1889-1893), where he met and was encouraged by James McNeill Whistler, Edgar Degas and Henri Toulouse-Lautrec. Whilst in Paris he also befriended the Anglo-Australian artist Charles Conder, with whom he shared a studio in Montmartre. In 1893 he returned to England to work on "Oxford Characters" a series of lithographic* portraits. In Oxford he met and became a close friend of the caricaturist* and parodist Max Beerbohm, who later immortalised him in the short story Enoch Soames (1919). During the 1890s Rothenstein exhibited with the New English Art Club* and, in 1900, won a silver medal for his painting The Doll's House at the Exposition Universelle. In 1898 he co-founded the Carfax Gallery in St. James' Piccadilly with John Fothergill. During its early years the gallery was closely associated with such artists as Charles Conder, Philip Wilson Steer, Charles Ricketts and Augustus John. It also exhibited the work of Auguste Rodin, whose growing reputation in England owed much to Rothenstein's friendship and missionary zeal. The gallery was later the home for all three exhibitions of The Camden Town Group*, led by Rothenstein's friend and close contemporary Walter Sickert. Rothenstein is best known for his portrait drawings of famous individuals and for being an official war artist in both World War I and World War II. He was also a member of the International Society of Sculptors, Painters & Gravers. The style and subject of his paintings varies, though certain themes reappear, in particular an interest in 'weighty' or 'essential' subjects tackled in a restrained manner. Good examples include Parting at Morning (1891), Mother and Child (1903) and Jews Mourning at a Synagogue (1907) - all of which are owned by the Tate Gallery. The National Portrait Gallery owns over two hundred of his portraits. In 2011 the BBC and the Public Catalogue Foundation began cataloguing all of his paintings in public ownership online. Between 1902 and 1912 Rothenstein lived in Hampstead, London, where his social circle included such names as H.G.Wells, Joseph Conrad and the artist Augustus John. Amongst the young artists to visit Rothenstein in Hampstead were Mark Gertler...

'Fagmented', A sublime d drawing. A brilliant and original work of art from Kenyan born African-American artist Stephen Namara who is widely known for creating paintings and masterful drawings with...

De Lappe, Pele (American, 1916-2007). PORTRAIT OF THE ACTRESS LAUREN BACALL. Pencil on paper, 1945. Signed "Pele" and dated "45" in pencil. 18 x 12 inches (sheet). In very good condi...

Stately portrait of George Arliss by Ivan Opffer (Danish, 1897-1980). Mr. Arliss is depicted wearing his signature monocle, looking directly at the viewer. Although this piece appears to be done rapidly, there is a clear confidence in Opffer's work - he was an accomplished portrait artist - and the resemblance to the subject is unmistakable. George Arliss (born Augustus George Andrews; 10 April 1868 – 5 February 1946) was an English actor, author, playwright, and filmmaker who found success in the United States. He was the first British actor to win an Academy Award – which he won for his performance as Victorian-era British prime minister Benjamin Disraeli in Disraeli (1929) – as well as the earliest-born actor to win the honour. He specialized in successful biopics, such as Disraeli, Voltaire (1933), and Cardinal Richelieu (1935), as well as light comedies, which included The Millionaire (1931) and A Successful Calamity (1932). Signed and dated "Ivan Opffer 1934" in the lower right. Titled "Mr. Arliss" in the lower left. Presented in a new off-white mat with foamcore backing. Mat size: 22"H x 16"W Art size: 17.5"H x 12"W Ivan Opffer (Danish, 1897-1980) was born in Nyborg, Denmark, on June 4, 1897, to a family of Danish scholars and journalists. His brother was Emil Opffer, a Danish merchant seaman and journalist who was known for his relationship with American writer Hart Crane. Ivan was raised in Mexico City and New York, where his anarchist father was the editor of a radical Danish-language newspaper. His involvement in painting and drawing began at an early age. At a summer workshop, he met and studied drawing with Winslow Homer, then went on to study at the National Academy of Design and the Art Students League of New York. When the US entered World War I, Opffer was one of the members of the American Army Camouflage Corps, headed by Homer Saint-Gaudens (whose mother was a relative of Winslow Homer), the son of Augustus Saint-Gaudens. As a camoufleur, Opffer served with other artists and architects, some of whom became well-known, including Barry Faulkner, Sherry Edmundson Fry, Kimon Nicolaides, Robert Lawson, Abraham Rattner, Kerr Eby, and others. It was this same unit, while still in training in at Camp American University in Washington DC, that launched a camp newspaper called The Camoufleur. Only three issues were published before the unit’s deployment to France in late 1917. In the October 31 issue, a satirical portrait by Opffer of Homer Saint-Gaudens (titled “Our Boss”) was published on page 5. After the war, Opffer returned to New York, where he became known for his caricatures of leading Modern writers, among them James Joyce, Edgar Lee Masters, Siegfried Sassoon, George Bernard Shaw, Carl Sandburg, G.K. Chesterton, and Thomas Mann. In the years between the wars, Opffer married Betty à Beckett Chomley, and settled in Paris, where he was a student at the Academie Julliard. He also lived in London and Copenhagen, where his drawings were frequently published in newspapers and magazines. With the outbreak of World War II, he and his family returned to New York and lived in Greenwich Village. Among his friends in that era were William Butler Yeats, F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald...

A colorful self-portrait from Ben Fenske, staring at the viewer straight-on. Hues of red dominate. Unframed. Ben Fenske (b. 1978) although a native of Minnesota, and has been worki...

PORTRAIT of a young woman, 1967 Giuseppe Cavaliere (b.1932) Conte crayon on paper, sheet measuring 11 x 14 inches. Signed and dated lower left. Unframed.

Painter Crouching on a Chair Conté crayon on paper 15 x 10 inches (38.1 x 25.4 cm) This work is offered by ClampArt in New York City.

Graphite and conté crayon on paper Signed and dated, l.r. This artwork is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City. Mark Beard, born in 1956 in Salt Lake City, now lives in Ne...

A portrait drawing by contemporary artist, Steven Assael (b. 1957, New York, NY) of the profile of a woman, with red hair, beside the profile of a statuesque ram's head. Assael's tec...

Conté crayon on paper Signed and dated, l.r. This artwork is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City. Mark Beard, born in 1956 in Salt Lake City, now lives in New York City. ...

Profile of a Woman Conté crayon on paper 12.25 x 6.75 inches (31.1 x 17.1 cm) This work is offered by ClampArt in New York City

Conté crayon on paper Signed, l.r. This artwork is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City. Mark Beard, born in 1956 in Salt Lake City, now lives in New York City. His works ...

A bit of a mystery scholarly sanguine drawing. Very well executed portrait of a Lady dated either 1904, 1907, or 1909 in Venice. It is signed but I cannot make it out. The paper meas...

Apple and Evelyn is a stunningly gorgeous original work of art from Kenyan born American artist Stephen Namara who is widely known for creating paintings and masterful drawings creat...

Wasim Kapoor - Untitled - 30 x 34 inches ( unframed size ) Oil and Conte on Canvas. . The listed price if for the rolled work . Should you wish to receive it framed the shipping shou...

Brightly colored portrait by Michael William Eggleston (American, 20th Century). A cubist-style portrait depicts an abstracted person wearing an orange mask over their eyes. This pie...

Vintage watercolor portrait by Doris Ann Warner (American, 1925-2010). Signed "Warner" in the lower right corner. Dated "1978". Unframed. Doris Ann Warner began as an Abstract Expre...

Pastel and conté crayon with partial foil star on Rives BFK paper Signed and dated, l.r. This artwork is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City. Mark Beard, born in 1956 in ...

A colorful sketch of a female bust, in the style of contemporary academic realism. Artist Bio Ben Fenske (b. 1978) although a native of Minnesota, a...

An early work on paper, by American Impressionist painter, Ben Fenske. It's rare to see a drawing like this from Fenske, especially of a self portrait. Fenske uses classical draftin...

Circle of Charles Angrand (1854-1926) The Loving Couple Pencil and stump on paper, 30 x 22 cm Dated "10.4.19" lower left. Trace of a dedication Otherwise unsigned. Provenance: Pr...

Head Study, 1930 John Sloan (1871-1951) Signed Lower Right 10.5" x 9" Unframed 19" x 16.5" Framed Born in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, John Sloan became one o...