1968
The Lithuanian-American artist Irving Norman was a social Surrealist who painted large-scale and highly detailed critiques of contemporary life with hopes that viewers would consider the consequences of their actions and change their behavior.
Influenced by the dire conditions of the Great Depression, Norman’s massive canvases feature armies of clone-like figures behaving in the clockwork manner in which they have been programmed. He moved from New York to Los Angeles in 1934 before helping to defend the Spanish Republic from the fascist Franco dictatorship.
Norman survived the Spanish Civil War and in 1939 settled on Catalina Island off the Southern California coast, where he began drawing and painting from the atrocities he had witnessed. In 1940, he moved to San Francisco and had a solo exhibition at the San Francisco Museum of Art two years later. Norman then traveled to Mexico City and saw the murals of Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco and David Alfaro Siqueiros before moving to New York City to study at the Art Students League from 1946 to 1947. He returned to San Francisco in the late 1940s. In 1988, fire destroyed Norman’s home, studio, artwork and personal papers.
Find original Irving Norman paintings and prints on 1stDibs.
(Biography provided by Heather James Fine Art)
Man and Time Surrealist Oil on Canvas Painting, Signed, 20th Century
By Irving Norman
Located in Palm Desert, CA
"Man and Time" is an American surrealist oil on canvas painting by Irving Norman in 1986. The artwork is 58 x 30 inches and 59 1/8 x 31 1/8 x 1 1/2 inches with the frame, weighing le...
Oil
Snapshots
By Irving Norman
Located in Palm Desert, CA
"Snapshots" is a modern surrealist oil on canvas painting by Irving Norman in 1986. The artwork is 40 x 90 inches and 41 3/8 x 91 1/4 x 1 5/8 inches with the frame, weighing less than 50 lbs. It is signed and dated lower right, "I.N. '68". Norman's surrealist paintings transport viewers into dystopian realms where human figures meld with machinery, creating haunting landscapes of industrialized chaos and existential reflection. This painting uses a series of vignettes or "snapshots" of human couples in various states of health and vigor. The grotesque nature of some of the bodies is juxtaposed in the bright swimsuits as children play under an ominous sky...
Oil
State Power
By Leonid Lamm
Located in Palm Desert, CA
An oil on canvas painting by contemporary artist Leonid Lamm. "State Power" is an abstracted work executed in greens, yellows and reds and depicts an abstracted, mask like face abov...
Canvas, Oil
Bacchanal
By Irving Norman
Located in Palm Desert, CA
A painting by Irving Norman. "Bacchanal" is a macabre social surrealism painting, oil on canvas in a dark palette of reds, blues, and blacks by artist Irving Norman. The artwork is u...
Canvas, Oil
Untitled
By Francisco Toledo
Located in Palm Desert, CA
A mixed media on paper work by Latin American artist Francisco Toledo. Executed mainly in white and ochre, with red and blue, the work depicts two abstracted faces. Signed lower midd...
Canvas, Mixed Media
American Street Scene
By Irving Norman
Located in Palm Desert, CA
A painting by Irving Norman. "American Street Scene" is a macabre social surrealism city scape, oil on canvas in a bold palette of reds, blues, and yellows by artist Irving Norman. T...
Canvas, Oil
20th Century Surrealist Oil Painting on Canvas
Located in Hoddesdon, GB
20th century modernist oil painting on canvas . Signed with artists monogram and Dated 1991. This large and impressive painting evokes a range of emotions and interpretations. With...
Oil
Important 1944 Surrealist Oil on Canvas by Erle Loran
By Erle Loran
Located in Minneapolis, MN
Fresh to the market, this painting was purchased directly from Erle Loran (1905-1999) in his Berkeley Hills home in the mid-1990s. Loran's surrealist work from the mid-1940s is highl...
Canvas, Wood, Paint
"Characters", Surrealist John Devoluy (1903-1982) Oil on canvas
Located in New York, NY
John Devoluy (1903-1982) Characters, 1950 c. Oil on canvas 28 3/4 x 24 inches l 73 x 61 cm With frame: 30 3/4 x 26 inches l 78 x 66 cm John Devoluy was born in 1903 and became a cen...
Canvas, Oil
20th Century Surrealist Painting Oil on Board by Phillip Krevoruck (1919-1999)
By Philip Krevoruck
Located in Hoddesdon, GB
Philip Krevoruck (1919–1999), WPA Artist Surrealist oil on board, painted during the 1950s, in its original 1950s frame, signed in the lower right-hand corner. Philip Krevoruck was...
Oil, Board
Surrealist Portrait, 1977 Signed Oil Painting by Roberto Soto
Located in Long Island City, NY
Surrealist Portrait by Roberto Soto, Argentinian (1926–1986) Date: 1977 Oil on Masonite, signed and dated l.r. Size: 28 in. x 23.5 in. (71.12 cm x 59.69 cm) Frame Size: 31 x 27 inches
Masonite, Oil
Latin American Modern Surreal Figure Painting, 1950's
Located in Washington, DC
Wonderful Surreal Latin American painting. Painting is oil on masonite board with original frame. Appears to be unsigned. Condition is excelle...
Masonite, Oil
This piece may look like Pop art fun, but embedded within is a message of a planet on the brink.
More than three decades after his death, the prolific Pop artist and cultural icon's body of work continues to captivate. Here's a primer of some of his most notable motifs and mediums.
