Skip to main content

Louis Schanker Art

American, 1903-1981

"Though much of my work is generally classified as abstract, all of my work develops from natural forms. I have great respect for the forms of nature and an inherent need to express myself in relation to those forms. No matter how far my experimental design may take me … there remains always a core of objective reality which I have no desire to destroy or even to impair but only to investigate, analyze, develop." Louis Schanker was one of many members of the American Abstract Artists who chose to base his art in the objects, patterns, and rhythms of nature. Although never a student of Hans Hofmann, Schanker's ideas about art had many parallels with Hofmann's. Concern for the spatial dynamics of a painting's surface, and an insistence on some aspect of nature as a starting point for art, are two areas that mirror a shared philosophy between the two artists. Although much of Schanker's later work is completely abstract, during the 1930s and 1940s he frequently used direct, identifiable themes—motifs drawn from sports, his early years working for a circus, and even socially conscious subjects not normally employed by abstract artists. During the mid 1930s, Schanker began making prints and subsequently became a graphic arts supervisor for the WPA. He also completed murals for radio station WNYC, the Neponsit Beach Hospital in Long Island, and the Science and Health building at the 1939 New York World's Fair. During World War II, Schanker worked as a shipfitter and began teaching the technique of color woodblock printing at the New School for Social Research. In 1949, he became an assistant professor at Bard College, where he remained until his retirement. Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, Schanker exhibited frequently in group shows both in museums and in commercial galleries. He became especially well known for his innovations as a printmaker. Schanker belonged to The Ten, a group that exhibited together in protest against the hegemony of Americanscene painting in Whitney exhibitions and in support of artistic experimentation and an international (rather than nativist) outlook in art.

to
8
8
8
4
3
1
Interior Scene with Figures
By Louis Schanker
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Interior Scene with Figures Ink and watercolor on paper, c. 1930's Signed with the Estate stamp lower center Condition: Loss upper right corner; two small tears lower margin ...
Category

1930s American Modern Louis Schanker Art

Materials

Watercolor

Cows in a Field (Recto) Two Figures in an Interior (Verso)
By Louis Schanker
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Cows in a Field (Recto) Two Figures in an Interior (Verso) Watercolor on heavy textured paper, 1938 Signed in ink verso image of Two Figures, unsigned ...
Category

1930s American Modern Louis Schanker Art

Materials

Watercolor

Abstract Composition
By Louis Schanker
Located in Wiscasett, ME
Tempura on heavy paper, signed and dated 1945 lower left. The piece measures 23" x 30" including the frame and presents very well overall. Provenance: Willard Gallery, NYC Brad...
Category

1940s Abstract Louis Schanker Art

Materials

Tempera, Watercolor

CARNIVAL
By Louis Schanker
Located in Portland, ME
Schanker, Louis CARNIVAL. Color woodcut, 1948. Edition of 30. Signed, titled and numbered 24/30 in pencil. 14 1/4 x 21 inches (image), 18 x 24 inches (sheet). Hinging residue, verso,...
Category

1940s Louis Schanker Art

Materials

Woodcut

FIGURE NO. 1
By Louis Schanker
Located in Portland, ME
Schanker, Louis (American 1903-1981). FIGURE NO.1. Johnson 99. Wood etching in colors, 1949. Edition of 6. Titled and signed in pencil. 25 1/2 X 13 3/8 inches (image). Framed to 33...
Category

1940s Louis Schanker Art

Materials

Woodcut

CAFE NO. 1
By Louis Schanker
Located in Portland, ME
Schanker, Louis (American 1903-1981). CAFE NO.1. Johnson 14. Woodcut in colors, 1938. Edition of 35. Titled, numbered 8/35 and signed in pencil. 9 x 5 1/2 inches (image), plus marg...
Category

1930s Louis Schanker Art

Materials

Woodcut

GIRL WITH LUTE
By Louis Schanker
Located in Portland, ME
Schanker, Louis (American 1903-1981). GIRL WITH LUTE. Johnson 18. Linocut in colors, 1938. Edition of 10. Titled, numbered 6/10 and signed in pencil. 5 1/2 x...
Category

1930s Louis Schanker Art

Materials

Linocut

CIRCLE IMAGE NO. 25
By Louis Schanker
Located in Portland, ME
Schanker, Louis. CIRCLE IMAGE NO. 25. Relief Print in color, 1954-1955. Edition of 210 published by IGAS. Signed and numbered 17/200 (the edition included 10 artist's proofs). 14 x 1...
Category

1950s Abstract Louis Schanker Art

Materials

Woodcut

Related Items
Rare Sighting- Surfing Art
By Marc Zimmerman
Located in Carmel, CA
Rare Sighiting - Surfing Art - Figurative - Woodcut Print By Marc Zimmerman Limited Edition 01/04 This masterwork is exhibited in the Zimmerman Gallery, Carmel CA. Immerse yoursel...
Category

2010s Contemporary Louis Schanker Art

Materials

Woodcut

Autumn Biogram of the Nelson
By Kory Twaddle
Located in Kansas City, MO
Artist : Kory Twaddle "Autumn Biogram of the Nelson" Newsprint, graphite, conté crayon pastel, charcoal, beeswax, cardboard, paper, gingko leaves, stickers, and Mixed Media on drawi...
Category

2010s Abstract Louis Schanker Art

Materials

Paint, Paper, Conté, Charcoal, Cardboard, India Ink, Newsprint, Acrylic,...

Chinese Theatrical Mask - Woodcut - Mid-20th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Vintage chinese woodcut print depicting a theatrical mask. Realized in the mid-20th Century. Framed under glass.
Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Louis Schanker Art

Materials

Woodcut

First Floor Biogram
By Kory Twaddle
Located in Kansas City, MO
Title : First Floor Biogram Materials : Acrylic, gouache, oil pastel, marker, charcoal, graphite, and conté crayon on paper Date : 2018 Dimensions : 24 x 18 x .1 in. Description : ...
Category

2010s Abstract Expressionist Louis Schanker Art

Materials

Conté, Permanent Marker, Oil Pastel, Paint, Graphite, Watercolor, Temper...

Abstract geometric composition with hints of the female body.
Located in Firenze, IT
Abstract geometric composition with hints of the female body Date: Circa 1970 Medium: Tempera on thick cardboard Dimensions: H 64 cm x W 50 cm approx. Description: This abstract geo...
Category

1970s Abstract Geometric Louis Schanker Art

Materials

Tempera, Illustration Board

Teruta-hime - Woodcut by Utagawa Kuniyoshi - 1842/43
By Utagawa Kuniyoshi
Located in Roma, IT
Teruta-hime is a woodcut print realized by Utagawa Kuniyoshi in 1842/43. Lifetime impression of chuban tate-e, it depicts Teruta-hime carrying a bucket of water through the snow, wi...
Category

Mid-19th Century Modern Louis Schanker Art

Materials

Woodcut

Sanjûroku Kase... - Woodcut by Mizuno Toshikata - 1893
By Mizuno Toshikata
Located in Roma, IT
Nishiki-e (woodcut print), in vertical oban format (31x20.5) realized by Mizuno Toshikata in 1893 (Meiji 26). Belongs to the Series "Sanjûroku Kasen" (Thirty-Six Beauties in Compari...
Category

1890s Modern Louis Schanker Art

Materials

Woodcut

Sanjûroku Kasen ... - Woodcut by Mizuno Toshikata - 1893
By Mizuno Toshikata
Located in Roma, IT
Nishiki-e (woodcut print), in vertical oban format (31x20.5) realized by Mizuno Toshikata in 1893 (Meiji 26). Belongs to the Series "Sanjûroku Kasen" (Thirty-Six Beauties in Compari...
Category

1890s Modern Louis Schanker Art

Materials

Woodcut

'Bullfight'— Mid-century American Surrealism
By Robert Vale Faro
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
Robert Vale Faro, 'Bullfight', wood engraving, 1945, edition 15. Signed, dated, titled, and numbered '105' (the artist's inventory number) and '13/15' in pencil. A fine, richly-inked impression, on cream wove paper, with full margins (1 1/16 to 2 3/8 inches), in excellent condition. Scarce. Matted to museum standards, unframed. Image size 5 1/16 x 4 1/16 inches (129 x 103 mm); sheet size 8 9/16 x 6 5/16 inches (217 x 160 mm). An impression of this work is included in the museum collection of the National Gallery of Art. ABOUT THE ARTIST Robert Vale Faro (1902-1988) was a well-known modernist architect and artist associated with the Chicago Bauhaus. He received his degree in architecture and design from the Armour Institute in Chicago and worked at L'Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris, from 1924-27, where he was influenced by Harry Kurt Bieg and Le Corbusier. Upon his return to Chicago, Faro worked with the important modernist Chicago architects George and William Keck under Louis Sullivan. Faro founded the avant-garde printmaking group Vanguard in 1945. The group counted Atelier 17 artists Stanley William Hayter, Sue Fuller, and Anne Ryan as New York members and Francine Felsenthal...
Category

1940s Surrealist Louis Schanker Art

Materials

Woodcut

'Chion-in Temple Gate' from 'Eight Scenes of Cherry Blossoms' — Jizuri Seal
By Hiroshi Yoshida
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
Hiroshi Yoshida, 'Chion-in Temple Gate (Sunset)' from the series 'Eight Scenes of Cherry Blossoms (Sakura hachi dai: Sakura mon)', color woodblock print, 1935. Signed in brush 'Yoshida' and in pencil 'Hiroshi Yoshida'. A superb, early impression, with fresh colors; the full sheet with margins, on cream Japan paper; an area of slight toning in the top right sheet corner, not affecting the image, otherwise in excellent condition. Marked with a jizuri (self-printed) seal, upper left margin. Self-published by the artist. Image size 9 5/8 x 14 3/4 inches (444 x 375 mm); sheet size 10 7/8 x 16 inches (276 x 406 mm). Archivally sleeved, unmatted. Provenance: M. Nakazawa, Tokyo. Literature: Japanese Landscapes of the 20th Century (Hotei Publishing calendar), 2001, May. Collections: Honolulu Museum of Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. ABOUT THE IMAGE Located in Kyoto, Chionin is the main temple of the Jodo sect of Japanese Buddhism, one of the most popular Buddhist sects in Japan, having millions of followers. The Sanmon Gate, Chionin's entrance gate, standing 24 meters tall and 50 meters wide, it is the largest wooden temple gate in Japan and dates back to the early 1600s. Behind the gate, a broad set of stairs leads to the main temple grounds. ABOUT THE ARTIST Painter and printmaker Yoshida Hiroshi (1876-1950) is regarded as one of the greatest artists of the Japanese 'shin hanga' (New Print) movement. Yoshida was born as the second son of Ueda Tsukane in Kurume, Fukuoka Prefecture, a schoolteacher from an old samurai family. In 1891 he was adopted by his art teacher Yoshida Kasaburo in Fukuoka and took his surname. In 1893 he went to Kyoto to study painting, and the following year to Tokyo to join Koyama Shotaro's Fudosha private school; he also became a member of the Meiji Fine Arts Society. These institutions taught and advocated Western-style painting, greatly influencing Yoshida’s artistic development. In 1899 Yoshida had his first American exhibition at Detroit Museum of Art (now Detroit Institute of Art), making the first of many visits to the US and Europe. In 1902 he helped reorganize the Meiji Fine Arts Society, renaming it the Taiheiyo-Gakai (Pacific Painting...
Category

1930s Showa Louis Schanker Art

Materials

Woodcut

African American Woman artist Mailou Jones Cezannian Cote d'Azur cubist village
Located in Norwich, GB
If you are interested in African American Art and in Women in the Arts, I will certainly not need to introduce Lois Mailou Jones (1905-1988). Often associated with the Harlem Renaissance, her work can be found in the collections of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Museum of Women in the Arts, the Brooklyn Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Muscarelle Museum of Art, and The Phillips Collection. I am proud to present an original watercolour painting by the artist which dates from the late 1940s or early 1950s. Jones was born in Boston, Massachusetts to a father who became the first African-American to earn a law degree from Suffolk Law School. Jones's parents encouraged her to draw and paint using watercolors during her childhood. She held her first solo exhibition at the age of seventeen in Martha's Vineyard. He career began in the 1930s and she continued to produce art work until her death in 1998 at the age of 92. Her style shifted and evolved multiple times in response to influences in her life, especially her extensive travels. She felt that her greatest contribution to the art world was "proof of the talent of black artists". Her work echoes her pride in her African roots and American ancestry. In 1937, Jones received a fellowship to study in Paris at the Académie Julian, bringing her to France for the first time. The French were appreciative of her paintings and talent and Loïs Mailou Jones was thrilled at the country’s racial tolerance, so different from her reality in the United States. She summered in France annually from 1945 to 1953, sharing studio with her lifelong friend Celine Marie Tabary in Cabris, France. It was during one of these sojourns that the lovely work presented here was created. Our painting depicts the village of Tourettes sur Loup, just north of Nice, in the Provence Cote d'Azur region, about 14 miles from Cabris. Please note its similarities with her painting "Arreau, Hautes-Pyrénées" in the National Museum of Women in the Arts. Her portrayal of the picturesque village nestled in a valley evokes landscape paintings by Paul Cézanne, a stylistic influence she acknowledged. Over the course of the following 10 years, Jones exhibited at the Phillips Collection, Seattle Art Museum, National Academy of Design, the Barnett-Aden Gallery, Pennsylvania's Lincoln University, Howard University, galleries in New York, and the Corcoran Gallery of Art. In 1952, the book Loïs Mailou Jones: Peintures 1937–1951 was published, reproducing more than one hundred of her art pieces completed in France.At the Barnett-Aden Gallery, Jones exhibited with a group of prominent black artists, such as Jacob Lawrence and Alma Thomas. These artists and others were known as the "Little Paris...
Category

Mid-19th Century American Modern Louis Schanker Art

Materials

Watercolor, Gouache, Handmade Paper

Takanawa no Kihan - Woodblock print by Utagawa Hiroshige - 1843-1847
By Utagawa Hiroshige
Located in Roma, IT
Takanawa no kihan is a modern artwork realized between 1843 and 1847 after Utagawa Hiroshige. Ukiyo-e color woodblock print from the Touto hakkei (The Eight Famous Views of the Capital of the East) series. Mounted under passepartout. The artwork depicts the port of Takanawa, a suburb of Minato in southern Tokyo, and is one of the very rare sheets by Utagawa Ando Hiroshige...
Category

Mid-19th Century Modern Louis Schanker Art

Materials

Woodcut

Previously Available Items
CYCLONE, CONEY ISLAND ca 1933
By Louis Schanker
Located in Santa Monica, CA
LOUIS SCHANKER (1903 – 1981) CYCLONE, CONEY ISLAND ca 1933 Lithograph 10 7/8 x 12 ½” signed, and with no. 1/10. Rare thus! Annotation: Coney Island. ...
Category

1930s American Modern Louis Schanker Art

Materials

Lithograph

Louis Schanker art for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Louis Schanker art available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Louis Schanker in woodcut print, paint, watercolor 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 Louis Schanker art, so small editions measuring 12 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Warrington Colescott, Fred Nagler, and Howard Norton Cook. Louis Schanker art prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $750 and tops out at $10,500, while the average work can sell for $1,500.

Artists Similar to Louis Schanker

Recently Viewed

View All