Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 11

Rudolph Pen
A Fabulous, Abstract 1960s Mid-Century Modern Painting of a Sleeping Female Nude

circa 1960s

About the Item

A Fabulous, Abstract 1960s Mid-Century Modern Painting of a Sleeping Female Nude by Noted Chicago Artist, Rudolph Pen. A sensuous, intimate studio depiction of a sleeping nude female model, the painting is executed in the abstracted figural style for which Pen's work is today best recognized. Artwork size: 14 1/2” x 26 1/2”; Framed size: 14 3/4” x 26 3/4". Signed "Pen" lower right. Provenance: Estate of the artist. Rudolph T. Pen, a prolific American artist, was a Chicago native. He graduated from the Art Institute of Chicago and served on its faculty from 1948 until 1963. His long association with the "Institute" included service as President of the Alumni Association and Director of Oxbow, the Art Institute's summer school of painting. His work has been exhibited in numerous galleries. Pen is the recipient of numerous prizes and awards, including a Huntington Hartford Foundation Grant, an award from the National Academy of Design in New York City and the Art Institute of Chicago's prestigious Joseph Ryerson Fellowship. The work of Rudolph Pen may be seen in public collections (The Library of Congress, The Vincent Price Collection, The Davenport Museum, Art Institute of Chicago) as well as in private collections throughout America. Subject and Medium: Pen's work embraces a large variety of subject matter, inspired by his extensive travel in Europe, South and Central America, the Caribbean, and North Africa. His subjects include landscapes, seascapes, horse races, boat races, still lifes, dancers and musicians as well as medical, religious and political works. As a courtroom artist, Pen's work was often seen on TV during a particularly exciting time in Chicago's history. He worked in a wide range of media including oil, acrylic, watercolor, ink, charcoal and pastel. He was a member of the American Watercolor Society. Additionally, there is a large selection of prints and drawings. Style and Philosophy: Rudolph Pen understood on an instinctive and molecular level that all things move. His work explores the way in which things move within unusual (often trapezoidal) shapes. Pen believed that our eyes rarely look at anything steadily and directly. His work leads the viewer beyond the confinement of the "square." Most importantly, Pen felt that innovation is the key to art. He is documented as the first artist to advocate shaped canvases.
  • Creator:
    Rudolph Pen (1918 - 1989, American)
  • Creation Year:
    circa 1960s
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 14.75 in (37.47 cm)Width: 26.75 in (67.95 cm)Depth: 2 in (5.08 cm)
  • Medium:
    Canvas,Oil
  • Movement & Style:
    American Modern
  • Period:
    Mid-20th Century
  • Condition:
    Very good, original estate condition. See photos.
  • Gallery Location:
    Chicago, IL
  • Reference Number:
    Seller: #219741stDibs: LU2591216047692

More From This Seller

View All
A Dynamic Abstract, 1950s Mid-Century Modern Standing Female Nude in an Interior
Located in Chicago, IL
A Large, Dynamic, 1950s Mid-Century Modern Painting of an Abstract, Standing Young Female Nude in a Studio Interior by Noted Chicago, Artist Rudolph Pen. Artwork size: 40” x 13”; ...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

A Dynamic Abstract, 1950s Mid-Century Modern Standing Female Nude in an Interior

Rudolph Pen
A Dynamic Abstract, 1950s Mid-Century Modern Standing Female Nude in an Interior, circa 1950s

$1,600
A 1940s Painting of a Seated Female Nude in Summer Landscape, Ox-Bow School
By Francis Chapin
Located in Chicago, IL
A beautiful 1940s painting of a seated female nude in a summer landscape by renowned Chicago artist, Francis Chapin (Am. 1899-1965). Painted at the Oxbow School in Saugatuck, Michig...
Category

1940s American Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

A 1940s Painting of a Seated Female Nude in Summer Landscape, Ox-Bow School

Francis Chapin
A 1940s Painting of a Seated Female Nude in Summer Landscape, Ox-Bow School

$1,800
A Fabulous 1960s Mid-Century Modern Painting of an Embracing Couple, Lovers
Located in Chicago, IL
A Fabulous 1960s Mid-Century Modern Painting of an Embracing Couple, Lovers, by noted Chicago Artist, Rudolph Pen. A wonderful example of the artist's uniquely expressive, abstract...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Modern Nude Paintings

Materials

Masonite, Oil

A Fabulous 1960s Mid-Century Modern Painting of an Embracing Couple, Lovers

Rudolph Pen
A Fabulous 1960s Mid-Century Modern Painting of an Embracing Couple, Lovers, circa 1960s

$850
A Large Exceptional Mid-Century Modern Painting of a Chicago Night Club Showgirl
Located in Chicago, IL
A Large, Sensational Mid-Century Modern Painting of a Chicago Night Club Showgirl. Painted in the 1950s, this is a large, vertical, abstracted portrayal of a standing Burlesque danc...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Masonite, Oil

A Large Exceptional Mid-Century Modern Painting of a Chicago Night Club Showgirl

Rudolph Pen
A Large Exceptional Mid-Century Modern Painting of a Chicago Night Club Showgirl, circa 1950s

$1,800
An Exceptional Mid-Century Modern Oil Painting of a Reclining Nude Female Model
Located in Chicago, IL
An Exceptional Mid-Century Modern Oil Painting of a Reclining Nude Female Model by Noted Chicago Artist, Rudolph Pen. Painted in the 1960s, the painting exemplifies the stylized, ab...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Modern Nude Paintings

Materials

Oil, Masonite

An Exceptional Mid-Century Modern Oil Painting of a Reclining Nude Female Model

Rudolph Pen
An Exceptional Mid-Century Modern Oil Painting of a Reclining Nude Female Model, circa. 1960s

$1,600
A Large, Sensational Mid-Century Modern Painting of a Showgirl, Burlesque Dancer
Located in Chicago, IL
A Large, Sensational Mid-Century Modern Painting of a Chicago Night Club Showgirl. Painted in the 1950s, this is a large, vertical, abstracted portrayal of a standing Burlesque danc...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Masonite, Oil

A Large, Sensational Mid-Century Modern Painting of a Showgirl, Burlesque Dancer

Rudolph Pen
A Large, Sensational Mid-Century Modern Painting of a Showgirl, Burlesque Dancer, circa 1950s

$1,800

You May Also Like

Bathers, Modernist Nudes, Oil on Canvas, Signed and Titled
By Leon Kelly
Located in Doylestown, PA
"Bathers" by Philadelphia born modernist painter Leon Kelly, is a fantasy nude scene of two female figures, one with towel in hand, one only depicted as a portrait within the paintin...
Category

20th Century American Modern Nude Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Bathers, Modernist Nudes, Oil on Canvas, Signed and Titled

Leon Kelly
Bathers, Modernist Nudes, Oil on Canvas, Signed and Titled

$4,125 Sale Price
44% Off
Woman in Bloom - Figurative Nude Study Oil on Canvas
By Patricia Gren Hayes
Located in Soquel, CA
Woman in Bloom - Figurative Nude Study Oil on Canvas A nude woman, seemingly pregnant, sits reclined in a chair with her hands at the base of her belly holding a flower. This striki...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Woman in Bloom - Figurative Nude Study Oil on Canvas

Patricia Gren Hayes
Woman in Bloom - Figurative Nude Study Oil on Canvas, Mid-20th Century

$2,120 Sale Price
20% Off
Three Poses - Nude Figure Study by Patricia Gren Hayes
By Patricia Gren Hayes
Located in Soquel, CA
Three Poses - Nude Figure Study by Patricia Gren Hayes Three nude women serving as models in an art class, showing different expressions by American painter, Patricia Gren Hayes (Ca...
Category

1970s American Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Three Poses - Nude Figure Study by Patricia Gren Hayes

Patricia Gren Hayes
Three Poses - Nude Figure Study by Patricia Gren Hayes, 1960s

$1,200 Sale Price
20% Off
Queen of the Night, narrative, partial nude figure, red colors, ethnic fabrics
By Audrey Anastasi
Located in Brooklyn, NY
ABOUT the artist: Audrey Frank Anastasi is a prolific feminist artist, working in painting, drawing, collage, mixed media, & printmaking. She is also curator, gallerist, educator and arts advocate. Most of Ms. Anastasi's figurative works are painted with her non-dominant left hand. She has created large bodies of works of birds, animals and birch trees. She has had 20 solo & 200 group shows. Her "ref-u-gee" series will be shown in 2020 at Medgar Evers College in collaboration with the Valentine Museum of Art, Brooklyn. Accompanying the show will be a limited-edition monograph w/ over 180 images and a foreword by Phyllis Braff. Ms. Anastasi's collage series was exhibited at Welancora Gallery, Brooklyn, in May, 2019. In 2018, ten paintings were exhibited in "Painting to Survive," curated by Yale critic Jonathan Weinberg. Book and catalog publications include "Stations of the Cross", SPQR press, BREUCKELEN magazine, “Audrey Frank Anastasi”, catalog essay Cindy Nemser, and "Collage," essay by Giancarlo T. Roma. Public art includes a portrait of Jo Davidson...
Category

2010s American Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Queen of the Night, narrative, partial nude figure, red colors, ethnic fabrics

Audrey Anastasi
Queen of the Night, narrative, partial nude figure, red colors, ethnic fabrics, 2012

$2,600
“Woman with Birds”
By Nahum Tschacbasov
Located in Southampton, NY
Original mid-century modern oil on canvas board painting of a woman with birds by the well known Russian/American artist Nahum Tschacbasov. Signed and ...
Category

1950s American Modern Nude Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

“Woman with Birds”

Nahum Tschacbasov
“Woman with Birds”, 1956

$4,200
"Cowboy Boots" - Bay Area Figurative Movement
By Patricia Gren-Haynes
Located in Soquel, CA
Bay Area School figurative of a cowboy and hats by Berkeley artist Patricia Gren Hayes (American, b- 1932), circa 1983. Signed "Gren Hayes 1983" upper center and signed and titled "Cowboy Boots" on verso. Unframed. Size: 16"H x 20"W. Bay Area Figurative...
Category

1980s American Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"Cowboy Boots" - Bay Area Figurative Movement

Patricia Gren-Haynes
"Cowboy Boots" - Bay Area Figurative Movement, 1983

$1,495

Recently Viewed

View All

More Ways To Browse

Midcentury Nude
Vintage African Nude
Mid Century South African Art
Vincent Nudes
Large Model Boat
South African Seascapes
Female Nude Paintings On Felt
African American Charcoal
African American Art Pen Drawing
Midcentury Pen And Ink Nude
Vintage Molecular Model
Salvador Dali Large
Signed Dali Lithography
The Finch
Vintage Correspondence
1955 Vintage Dresses
African Violet
Ali Muhammad
View All Popular Nude Paintings Searches