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Leon Bibel Art

1913-1995

Leon Bibel, a painter, printmaker and sculptor, was born in Poland in 1913 but moved with his family to San Francisco as a child. He trained at the California School of Fine Arts and received a scholarship to study under the German Impressionist Maria Riedelstein. He worked in collaboration with Bernard Zackheim, a student of Diego Rivera, to create frescoes for the San Francisco Jewish Community Center and the University of California Medical School. In 1936, Bibel moved from California to join the Federal Art Project of the New York City Work Projects Administration. He was assigned to the Graphic Art Project and the Easel Project at Harlem Art Center. He also taught at both PS 94 Kings College School and Bronx House in New York City. Bibel’s program in the WPA ended in 1941 and he moved with his wife to South Brunswick, New Jersey, ceasing his artistic pursuits to support his family. He resumed his artistic work in the early 1960s and continued to explore the mediums of painting and sculpture until his death. A constant innovator, Bibel experimented with diverse printmaking mediums. His work is distinguished by its boldly conceived, dramatic composition and passionately executed expressionist renderings. Bibel's parents immigrated from Poland and he remained staunchly pacifist, even throughout WWII. Much of his work during this period focused on the destructiveness of war and the consequent suffering and alienation of humankind. An artist of the people, his work is imbued with a sense of humanity and a concern for social justice and the plight of the working man. Bibel’s numerous exhibitions include the solo exhibition at Newark Museum in 1966, Jersey City Museum in 1967, Hunterdon Art Museum, Rutgers State University and New Jersey State Museum in 1978. He has also exhibited at Rider College, in 1983, Rutgers Hillel Foundation from 1985–86. His work is held in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the Newark Museum, the Zimmerli Art Museum of Rutgers, the Amon Carter Museum of American Art, the Klutznick Museum and the New Brunswick State Theater, as well as many corporate and private collections.

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EUCALYPTUS TREE
By Leon Bibel
Located in Portland, ME
Bibel, Leon (American, born Poland, 1912-1995). EUCALYPTUS TREE. Screenprint, 1938. Edition of 25. Signed, titled, dated and numbered 14/25, all in pencil, and also signed in the mat...
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1930s Leon Bibel Art

Materials

Screen

'Archway' — 1930s American Modernism, WPA
By Leon Bibel
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
Leon Bibel, 'Archway', color serigraph, 1939, edition 25. Signed, dated, titled, and numbered ' /25' in pencil. A rich, painterly impression, with fresh colors, on buff wove paper; ...
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1930s American Modern Leon Bibel Art

Materials

Screen

'Abstract Boats' — 1930s American Modernism, WPA
By Leon Bibel
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
Leon Bibel, 'Abstract Boats', color serigraph, 1938, edition 12. Signed, dated, and numbered ' /12' in pencil. A fine, painterly impression, with fresh colors, on buff wove paper; t...
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1930s American Modern Leon Bibel Art

Materials

Screen

'Food Not Cannon' — rare WPA modernist work of Social Conscience
By Leon Bibel
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
Leon Bibel, 'Food Not Cannon', etching, 1937, edition 12 (an early state, probably unique). Signed in pencil. A fine impression, on cream wove paper, with full margins (7/8 to 2 1/8 ...
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1930s American Modern Leon Bibel Art

Materials

Etching

'Clown' — 1930s American Expressionism, WPA
By Leon Bibel
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
Leon Bibel, 'Clown', color serigraph, 1939, edition 20. Signed, dated, titled, and numbered '/20' in pencil. A fine, richly-inked, painterly impression, with fresh colors, on buff la...
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1930s American Modern Leon Bibel Art

Materials

Screen

"Shattered" WPA Mid 20th Century Modernism American Scene Surrealism Figurative
By Leon Bibel
Located in New York, NY
"Shattered" WPA Mid 20th Century Modernism American Scene Surrealism Figurative Estate stamp on the stretcher, verso. Provenance: Estate of the artist. 20 x 24 inches. BIO Leon Bibel continued painting through 1941 and resumed work in both painting and especially wood sculpture by 1960. He worked until his very last day in 1995. His last series of large wood sculptures were modeled on spice boxes, which were miniature buildings...
Category

1930s American Modern Leon Bibel Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"Drama Teacher" 1938 WPA Mid 20th Century American Theatre Surrealism Modernism
By Leon Bibel
Located in New York, NY
"Drama Teacher" 1938 WPA Mid 20th Century American Theatre Surrealism Modernism. 30 x 24 inches. Oil on Canvas. Signed land dated ’38 lower left. The photograph in the listing depicts the artist's friend who taught drama and about whom the painting is based Painter, printmaker and sculptor, Leon Bibel was born in San Francisco in 1913. He trained at the California School of Fine Arts and received a scholarship to study under the German Impressionist Maria Riedelstein. He worked in collaboration with Bernard Zackheim, a student of Diego Rivera, to create frescoes for the San Francisco Jewish Community Center and the University of California Medical School. In 1936 Bibel moved from California to join the Federal Art Project at Harlem Art...
Category

1930s American Modern Leon Bibel Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"Balcony" 1938 WPA Print Mid 20th Century American Broadway Theatre Modernism
By Leon Bibel
Located in New York, NY
"Balcony" 1938 WPA Print Mid 20th Century American Broadway Theatre Modernism. Silk screen on paper, 15” x 20". Numbered 15/20 lower left. Pencil si...
Category

1930s American Modern Leon Bibel Art

Materials

Paper, Screen

Unemployed Marchers — 1930s Modernism, WPA
By Leon Bibel
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
Leon Bibel, 'Unemployed Marchers', 2-color lithograph, c. 1938, edition 25. Signed, titled, and numbered '2/25' in pencil. A fine, richly-inked impression, on off-white wove paper, w...
Category

1930s American Modern Leon Bibel Art

Materials

Lithograph

"Audience" Mid 20th Century American Figurative Theatre Performance Contemporary
By Leon Bibel
Located in New York, NY
"Audience" Mid 20th Century American Figurative Theatre Performance Contemporary Leon Bibel (1912 - 1995) "The Audience," 52 ½ x 41 ¼ inches. Oil on canvas, c. 1963. Signed lower right. Framed. BIO Painter, printmaker and sculptor, Leon Bibel was born in San Francisco in 1913. He trained at the California School of Fine Arts and received a scholarship to study under the German Impressionist Maria Riedelstein. He worked in collaboration with Bernard Zackheim, a student of Diego Rivera, to create frescoes for the San Francisco Jewish Community Center and the University of California Medical School. In 1936 Bibel moved from California to join the Federal Art Project at Harlem Art...
Category

1960s American Modern Leon Bibel Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

War Machine — Spanish Civil War, Anti-fascism
By Leon Bibel
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
Leon Bibel, 'Untitled (War Machine)', brush and ink, c. 1936. Estate stamped, verso. A fine expressionist rendering, on cream wove drawing board, with marg...
Category

1930s American Modern Leon Bibel Art

Materials

Ink

Death March — Spanish Civil War, Anti-fascism
By Leon Bibel
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
Leon Bibel, 'Untitled (Death March)', brush and ink, c. 1936. Estate stamped, verso. A fine expressionist rendering, on cream wove drawing board, with margins (3/8 to 5/16 inch). Minor toning at the board edges, otherwise in very good condition. Image size 12 5/16 x 9 3/8 inches; sheet size 13 x 10 inches. Matted to museum standards, unframed. One of a series of powerful Anti-fascist brush and ink drawings created by the artist at the commencement of the Spanish Civil War...
Category

1930s American Modern Leon Bibel Art

Materials

Ink

George Washington Bridge
By Leon Bibel
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
Leon Bibel, 'G. W. Bridge', lithograph, 1938, edition 10. Signed 'L Bibel', dated, titled, and numbered '/10' in pencil. A superb, finely-nuanced impression, on off-white, wove paper...
Category

1930s American Modern Leon Bibel Art

Materials

Lithograph

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He reminisced in an interview three decades later that doing so was "plenty of fun," and that a lot of technology can be discovered through hard work, more so if it is worked on "little by little." Velonis was hired by Mayor LaGuardia in 1934 to promote the work of New York's city government via posters publicizing city projects. One such project required him to go on a commercial fishing trip to locations including New Bedford and Nantucket for a fortnight, where he primarily took photographs and notes, and made sketches. Afterward, for a period of roughly six months, he was occupied with creating paintings from these records. During this trip, Velonis developed true respect and affinity for the fishermen with whom he traveled, "the relatively uneducated person," in his words. Following this, Velonis began work with the Public Works of Art Project (PWAP), an offshoot of the Civil Works Administration (CWA), where he was assigned to serve the different city departments of New York. After the formation of the federal Works Progress Administration, which hired artists and sponsored projects in the arts, he also worked in theater. Velonis began working for the federal WPA in 1935. He kept this position until 1936 or 1938, at which point he began working in the graphic art division of the Federal Art Project, which he ultimately led. Under various elements of the WPA program, many young artists, writers and actors gained employment that helped them survive during the Depression, as well as contributing works that created an artistic legacy for the country. When interviewed in December 1994 by the Library of Congress about his time in the WPA, Velonis reflected that he had greatly enjoyed that period, saying that he liked the "excitement" and "meeting all the other artists with different points of view." He also said in a later interview that "the contact and the dialogue with all those artists and the work that took place was just invaluable." 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Conjuring Spirits (Jungle Drums)
By Thomas Hart Benton
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Mid-20th Century American Modern Leon Bibel Art

Materials

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Located in New York, NY
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1920s American Modern Leon Bibel Art

Materials

Etching

Vintage Poster Saul Steinberg Galerie Maeght Paris France
By Saul Steinberg
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1970s American Modern Leon Bibel Art

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1980s Contemporary Leon Bibel Art

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Screen

Previously Available Items
War Casualty — American Surrealism, Spanish Civil War, Anti-Fascism
By Leon Bibel
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
Leon Bibel, 'War Casualty', etching, 1937, edition 6. Signed, dated, titled, and numbered '5/6' in pencil. A fine, richly-inked impression, on cream wove paper, with full margins (1/2 to 1 7/8 inches); slight toning at the sheet edges, otherwise in excellent condition. Very scarce. Image size 7 3/8 x 9 7/8 inches (187 x 251 mm); sheet size 10 5/8 x 11 3/8 inches (270 x 289 mm). Archivally matted to museum standards, unframed. Created at the time of the Spanish Civil War and the rise of Hitler in Germany, this work stands as one of the most powerful surrealist/modernist anti-war images of the Work Progress Administration (WPA) period. ABOUT THE ARTIST Painter, printmaker, and sculptor, Leon Bibel, was born in Poland in 1913 but moved with his family to San Francisco as a child. He trained at the California School of Fine Arts and received a scholarship to study under the German Impressionist Maria Riedelstein. He worked in collaboration with Bernard Zackheim, a student of Diego Rivera, to create frescoes for the San Francisco Jewish Community Center and the University of California Medical School. In 1936 Bibel moved from California to join the Federal Art Project of the New York City WPA. He was assigned to the Graphic Art Project and the Easel Project at Harlem Art...
Category

1930s Surrealist Leon Bibel Art

Materials

Etching

Leon Bibel art for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Leon Bibel art available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Leon Bibel in canvas, fabric, oil paint and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 20th century and is mostly associated with the modern style. Not every interior allows for large Leon Bibel art, so small editions measuring 10 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Rockwell Kent, Arnold Ronnebeck, and Howard Norton Cook. Leon Bibel art prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $2,400 and tops out at $24,500, while the average work can sell for $5,500.

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