Peter Busa was a central figure in the New York School, a truly original thinker and a pioneer of modern art. Though difficult to categorize, his work was influenced by his close associations with Matta, Pollock, Motherwell, Baziotes, Kamrowski and Hofmann. His early work is of two types. The first was based on the automatic technique of the Surrealists. The paintings of this type relied heavily on poured or dripped paint and dated from the mid-40s typically. The second type of painting was more geometric, often angular, and these paintings were heavily influenced by Native American design motifs. These are commonly referred to as "Indian Space paintings." Busa's Indian Space paintings date from the late thirties to the late fifties. After abandoning Indian Space for styles more closely akin to straightforward abstract expressionism and geometric abstraction during the sixties and seventies, Busa returned to an evolved form of Indian Space painting in the eighties. In his introduction to the catalog for Peter Busa's 50-year retrospective exhibition, Life Colors Art, Robert Metzger summarized Busa's career by saying, "Busa has presented problems for…art historians since his highly original and diverse body of work and his mastery of styles…have made him difficult to pigeonhole. His expansive repertory of forms defies translation into verbal language for they reveal truths that cannot be expressed in words. …despite his successful exhibitions with such leading galleries as Peggy Guggenheim, Carlebach, and Bertha Schaefer he [has not yet] made it into the celebrity bandwagon of dealers,…collectors, and the art press. The personal poetry and awesome range and depth of his body of work remain one of the great undiscovered treasures of 20th-century American art…."
Abstract Expressionist Oil Painting Peter Busa
By Peter Busa
Located in Surfside, FL
Peter Busa, American (1914 - 1985) Oil on Panel Abstract Composition Hand signed Lower Right. Dimensions: Measures 23-1/4" x 19-1/4". Frame measures 30-3/4" x 26-1/2" Peter Busa...
Oil, Board
Bird. 2019, hardboard, oil, 41x28 cm
By Dmitry Lavrentjev
Located in Riga, LV
Bird. 2019, hardboard, oil, 41x28 cm
Oil, Cardboard
$375,000
H 97 in W 12.375 in D 12.375 in
Untitled: (Totem Pole) - Abstract Sculpture, c. 1960
By Elaine de Kooning
Located in Palm Desert, CA
A major figure in both the Abstract Expressionist and American Figurative Expressionist movements of the 1940s and 1950s, Elaine de Kooning's prolific output defied singular categorization. Her versatile styles explored the spectrum of realism to abstraction, resulting in a career characterized by intense expression and artistic boundary-pushing. A striking example of de Kooning's explosive creativity is Untitled (Totem Pole...
Canvas, Oil, Cardboard
$10,500
H 36 in W 24 in
"Symbiotic" (2025) by Dan McCaw, Abstracted, Figural Oil Painting
By Dan McCaw 1
Located in Denver, CO
Dan McCaw's (US based) "Symbiotic" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts three abstracted figures in an interior setting. Artist Statement: Born: 1942 A solid founda...
Oil, Board
$1,295
H 15 in W 11 in D 1 in
"Unfinished Story", Contemporary Expressionist Modern Self-Portrait
By Alexander Gore
Located in Soquel, CA
Evocative and expressive contemporary self portrait titled "Unfinished Story" by Alexander Gore (Russian, b. 1958), 2010. Signed upper left edge. Unframed. Image, 15"H x 11"W. Ale...
Oil, Paper, Cardboard
$8,500
H 24 in W 18 in
"Waiting" (2025) by Dan McCaw, Abstracted, Figural Oil Painting
By Dan McCaw 1
Located in Denver, CO
Dan McCaw's (US based) "Waiting" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts an abstracted figure in a warm interior setting. Artist Statement: Born: 1942 A solid foundati...
Oil, Board
$9,500
H 30 in W 24 in
"Textures" (2025) by Dan McCaw, Abstracted, Figural Oil Painting
By Dan McCaw 1
Located in Denver, CO
Dan McCaw's (US based) "Textures" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts an abstracted figure in a moody interior setting. Artist Statement: Born: 1942 A solid founda...
Oil, Board
"Waiting" by Dan McCaw, Abstracted, Figural Oil Painting
By Dan McCaw 1
Located in Denver, CO
Dan McCaw's (US based) "Waiting" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts an abstracted figure in an interior setting. Artist Statement: Born: 1942 A solid foundation o...
Oil, Board
"Untitled, " Oil Painting
By Dan McCaw 1
Located in Denver, CO
Dan McCaw's (US based) "Untitled" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts an abstracted figure standing in a striped interior setting. Artist Statement: Born: 1942 A s...
Oil, Board
$7,200
H 25.5 in W 19.5 in
"Untitled Abstract" Oil on Board, Abstract Expressionist, Signed by the Artist
Located in Detroit, MI
SALE ONE WEEK ONLY The energy and gusto of the applied paint in "Untitled Abstract" appears close to violent except for the calming influence of the circle in the middle. The red circle tempers the movement a little and brings all the strokes and wild directions into a harmony that is bursting with life. This is an extraordinarily expressive painting by Simpson. Simpson became the first African American to receive a prestigious five-year fellowship from the Charleston Scientific and Cultural Education fund and left South Carolina in 1949 for New York City after he finished high school. He attended New York University and Cooper Union while working in the frame shop of Herbert Benevy. Many well-known artists came to the frame shop and in time critiqued Simpson's work and developed a relationship with him. At NYU Simpson became acquainted with Hale Woodruff...
Oil, Board
$9,500
H 31.75 in W 25 in
"Textures" (2024) By Dan McCaw, Original Abstract Portrait Oil Painting
By Dan McCaw 1
Located in Denver, CO
Dan McCaw's "Textures" created in 2024, is a striking oil painting measuring 30 x 24 inches. This original artwork features an abstract composition of figures, rendered with rich tex...
Oil, Board
"Sisters" Interior Oil Painting
By Dan McCaw 1
Located in Denver, CO
Dan McCaw's (US based) "Sisters" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts two abstracted feminine figures sitting together as sunlight streams through a window as the rest ...
Oil, Board
$8,000
H 24 in W 19.5 in
"Resilient" (2024) By Dan McCaw, Original Abstract Portrait Oil Painting
By Dan McCaw 1
Located in Denver, CO
Dan McCaw's "Resilient" created in 2024, is a striking oil painting measuring 22 x 18 inches. This original artwork features an abstract composition of a figure, rendered with rich t...
Oil, Board
Sold
H 21 in W 27 in D 2 in
Mid Century Modern Indian Space Abstract Expressionist Original Oil Painting
By Peter Busa
Located in Buffalo, NY
Vintage Mid Century Modern abstract "Indian Space" still life attributed to Peter Busa (1914-1985). Oil on board, circa 1950. Unsigned. From an Amherst, ...
Canvas, Oil
Untitled Abstract Expressionist painting
By Peter Busa
Located in Wilton Manors, FL
Peter Busa (1914-1985). Untitled, ca. 1950. Oil on canvas, 19 x 25 inches. Signed lower right. No damage or conservation. Period wormy chestnut wood frame. ...
Oil