Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 8

Donald S. Vogel
Figure in Garden

1989

About the Item

Donald Vogel’s paintings reflect his interest in seeking beauty in life and in sharing pleasure with his viewers. Vogel entreats us to "rejoice and celebrate each new day, knowing it is a gift in itself, and produce something of worth to be shared. That is the life that has served this artist's pilgrimage." Donald S. Vogel has been a set designer and technical director in the theater, a fine art dealer, and a writer, but first and foremost he is a painter. From a young age he was intrigued by the possibilities of creating images. The excitement and pleasure derived from the act of creation continued to be the force that compelled him to paint throughout his life. Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Donald S. Vogel began his formal art training at the Witte Memorial Museum in San Antonio when he was seventeen. His training, under the watchful eye of Eleanor Onderdonk, was briefly interrupted by a move to Washington, DC , where he took drawing classes at The Corcoran School of Art . He returned to San Antonio to finish high school and continued studying under Onderdonk. After graduation, he moved to Chicago in 1936 to enroll in The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. In the Impressionist and Post-Impressionist rooms of the Institute, a new world opened up to him, one that would forever influence the direction of his work. He saw art that dealt with the effects of atmosphere and light. The subjects and techniques used by these painters conveyed a sense of happiness, exuberance, and pleasure, which offered a stark contrast to the world outside stifled by the Great Depression. While studying at the Art Institute, Vogel roomed at the Artist Community House where many students lived. This environment served as a counterpoint to the academic training he received at the Institute. It afforded the students the freedom to discuss issues in contemporary art, and freely experiment with unconventional ideas and techniques. Most importantly, this fertile environment intensified Vogel's commitment to paint. Feeling the pinch of the Depression, Vogel left the Art Institute in 1940, and was accepted on the WPA Easel Project. This allowed him the luxury of drawing and painting from dawn to dusk. The freedom to paint at all hours focused his interest on the seemingly endless variations of light and atmosphere. With unlimited use of a model, he produced thousands of figure drawings until, eventually freed from the necessity of working from life, he began to paint purely from his imagination. In 1942, Vogel moved to Dallas. The previous year, while he was still living in Chicago, the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts had given Vogel a one-person show; in 1943, shortly after his arrival in Dallas, the DMFA gave him another. While working first as a set designer and then as technical director at the Dallas Little Theater, Vogel spent his free time at the easel. During the 1940's he gained recognition in the art community by promoting the work of fellow artists and winning coveted purchase awards and prizes in the Texas General and Allied Arts Exhibitions for his own paintings. In 1951, Vogel and his wife Peggy, alongside Dallas arts patron Betty McLean, opened the Betty McLean Gallery. It was the first gallery in Texas to deal in modern art on an international level. In 1954, the Vogels moved to a five-acre site north of Dallas and opened Valley House Gallery. The new setting at Valley House deeply inspired Vogel, serving as a source for ideas, and providing a place of serenity and contemplation. Vogel's work is characterized by his love of color, and his fascination with the changing qualities of light. A favorite subject, often revisited during the latter part of his career, is the greenhouse. He first experimented with this subject in 1976, and began using it in earnest in 1978. Having worked in a hothouse during his youth, he found it a natural subject for exploring the effects of atmosphere, light, and color. Like Monet's pond at Giverny, Vogel's greenhouses have become his signature: an imaginary place of endless fascination. Vogel produced many catalogues for gallery artists but he had never written for himself. In 1989, he penned two autobiographical short stories and published them under the title Charcoal and Cadmium Red. He found writing to be as challenging a process as painting. During his eighth decade, he wrote and painted with equal intensity. “The agony and ecstasy I felt while producing each work was welcomed, as each required the other to fulfill the quest. And the quest remains to produce works that should delight the eye, give pause for thought, heighten the spirit, and sense the awareness of our being,” wrote Donald S. Vogel in 1998, on the occasion of his Retrospective exhibition and catalogue. Donald S. Vogel's work is included in the following collections: Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois Beaumont Museum of Fine Art, Beaumont, Texas Charles Goddard Center, Ardmore, Oklahoma Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, Texas Fine Arts Museum of the South, Mobile, Alabama Ft. Worth Art Association, Ft. Worth, Texas Old Jail Foundation, Albany, Texas Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, Canyon, Texas Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philbrook Art Center, Tulsa, Oklahoma The Pennsylvania Trust, Radnor, Pennsylvania Tyler Museum of Art, Tyler, Texas Witte Museum, San Antonio, Texas Including the frame, the overall dimensions are 20 1/4 x 18 1/4 inches.
  • Creator:
    Donald S. Vogel (1917-2004, American)
  • Creation Year:
    1989
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 14 in (35.56 cm)Width: 12 in (30.48 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    Dallas, TX
  • Reference Number:
    Seller: B06961stDibs: LU2573303833

More From This Seller

View All
Shaded Path
By Donald S. Vogel
Located in Dallas, TX
Donald Vogel was inspired by gardens throughout his painting career. Before moving to Dallas, as a student at the Art Institute of Chicago in the late 1930's, Vogel's studio was a block away from Chicago's Lincoln Park...
Category

1980s American Impressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Panel, Oil

Garden Walk
By Donald S. Vogel
Located in Dallas, TX
Donald S. Vogel has been a set designer and technical director in the theater, a fine art dealer, and a writer, but first and foremost he is a painter. From a young age he was intrig...
Category

Late 20th Century American Impressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

Picnic Shade
By Donald S. Vogel
Located in Dallas, TX
Donald Vogel’s paintings reflect his interest in seeking beauty in life and in sharing pleasure with his viewers. Vogel entreats us to "rejoice and celebrate each new day, knowing it...
Category

1980s American Impressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Painter's Palette
By Miles Cleveland Goodwin
Located in Dallas, TX
After a tour of duty in the US Navy, Miles Cleveland Goodwin earned a BFA from Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland, Oregon, in 2007, and eventually returned to coastal Missi...
Category

2010s Contemporary Landscape Paintings

Materials

Oil, Egg Tempera, Panel

Greenhouse Yellows
By Donald S. Vogel
Located in Dallas, TX
Donald Vogel’s paintings reflect his interest in seeking beauty in life and in sharing pleasure with his viewers. Vogel entreats us to "rejoice and celebrate each new day, knowing it...
Category

Late 20th Century American Impressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

Greenhouse Shadows
By Donald S. Vogel
Located in Dallas, TX
Donald Vogel’s paintings reflect his interest in seeking beauty in life and in sharing pleasure with his viewers. Vogel entreats us to "rejoice and celebrate each new day, knowing it...
Category

1990s American Impressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

You May Also Like

Barnes Hole Beach
By Marc Dalessio
Located in Sag Harbor, NY
Painted en plein air, a group of kayaks rest on a beach. This contemporary landscape painting is charming and relatable. Painted on a beach in New York's famous summer destination fo...
Category

2010s American Impressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

"Ditch Plains Lifeguard" oil painting, beach scene, Hamptons Summer in Montauk
By Marc Dalessio
Located in Sag Harbor, NY
An oil painting by Marc Dalessio. Painted en plein air, on the beach (Ditch Plains) in Montauk, New York. Dalessio captures this picturesque & popular Ham...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Impressionist Landscape Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

The Coast- Vintage Marine Landscape in Moonlight, Nocturnal Oil Painting in Blue
Located in Denver, CO
The Coast is a vintage, original oil painting from the midcentury (circa 1950s-1970s) by renowned 20th-century New Mexico artist Marjorie Chambers (1923-2006). This captivating nocturne depicts a serene marine landscape illuminated by moonlight, rendered in soothing evening colors of blue, green, brown, and white. The painting is expertly crafted on a wood panel and is signed by the artist in the lower right corner. Titled on the reverse, it is presented in a custom frame with a dark finish and a gold lip, with outer dimensions measuring 18 ¼ x 21 ¾ x 1 inches. The image size is 11 x 15 inches. About the Artist: Marjorie Bell Chambers (also known as Marjorie Bell) was born in New York in 1923 and became a significant figure in both the arts and social activism. She graduated from Mount Holyoke College in 1943 with a Bachelor of Arts in Art History and Political Science and later earned a Master of Arts from Cornell University in 1948. Chambers moved to Los Alamos, New Mexico in the 1940s, where she raised her family and worked as a substitute teacher while her husband, physicist William H. Chambers, worked at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. In addition to her artistic pursuits, Chambers had a distinguished career in education and women's advocacy. She earned a PhD in History and Political Science from the University of New Mexico in 1974, later serving as a faculty member and dean at various institutions, including the University of Denver’s Colorado Women's College. As a lifelong advocate for women's rights, she was appointed to the National Advisory Council on Women's Educational Programs in 1976 and played an influential role as vice-chair of President Carter...
Category

Late 20th Century American Impressionist Landscape Paintings

Materials

Oil, Wood Panel

"Restaurant Cafe - Amsterdam" Impressionist Street Scene Oil Painting on Panel
By Cindy Shaoul
Located in New York, NY
A charming depiction of Restaurant Cafe, located in Amsterdam. A cozy impressionistic street scene with colors of vibrant turquoise, lush greens, and yellow ochres. This painting was...
Category

2010s American Impressionist Landscape Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

"The Train Station at Night in Winter" contemporary oil plein-air painting
By Marc Dalessio
Located in Sag Harbor, NY
An oil painting by Marc Dalessio. Painted en plein air at night. The setting appears to be a vast plaza lined with trees, and benches. A figurative statue centers the plaza. An illum...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Impressionist Landscape Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

Centre Street, Chinatown, NY
By Marc Dalessio
Located in Sag Harbor, NY
An oil painting of a street scene in Chinatown, in New York City. Cars are parked along the side of the street, and colorful awnings reach over the sidewalk. Painted on site, on the ...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Impressionist Landscape Paintings

Materials

Panel, Oil

Recently Viewed

View All