M. E.'Mike' Bailey Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Colorful study of grape leaves in autumn with abstracted elements and a pink/magenta background by California artist Les (Leslie Luverne) Anderson (American, 1928-2009). From the est...

Figurative drawing with graphite, charcoal, and conte crayon on Arches paper 30 x 19 inches, unframed One piece of 30 x 19 inch Arches paper. Two drawings on opposite sides. These u...

Charming watercolor of red and green apples with an interesting composition by P. Dymond (American, 20th Century), circa 2000. Signed upper right corner. Presented in a metal frame. ...

A black and white figure study of a nude male, from 1951, by artist Harold Haydon. Matted to 24" x 20". Provenance: Estate of the Artist. Estate stamped on reverse. Harold Emers...

Pencil, coloured pencil and chalk on paper, titled (lower left), signed (lower right), 31cm x 46cm, (51cm x 68cm framed). John Koch was an American painter and teacher, and an impo...

'Jungalow' 2021 by Kate Roebuck. Ink and watercolor on handmade watercolor paper with decked edge. 30 x 22 inches. This work features a classic botanical ...

A nude viewed from behind, with black hair , inscribed on the lower right by the artist John Begg "Mature Nude" c.1953 Outlined in black ink and with som...

Lovely abstracted floral watercolor painting of bearded irises by artist Jean Warren (American, b. 1945). Signed "J. Warren" lower edge, bi...

A rare 1963 Ink on Paper drawing of an enraptured couple by Milton Hebald, beautifully executed on a lovely blue Italian rag paper. Drawn during his years in Rome where he had been awarded the prestigious 'Prix de Rome Fellowship to the American Academy' three years in a row - 1955, 1956 and 1957. Hebald is regarded as one of the most important American figurative sculptors...

Vibrant and detailed depiction of three bird of paradise flowers by unknown artist "Albright" (20th Century). Three flowers are shown with seve...

Roses Still Life Watercolor by M Boyer Cooper 1915 Water of bouquet of Roses by California artist M Boyer Cooper circa 1915. (aunt of Opal Nelson Dean). Signed lower right "M. Cooper...

This very early original red conte drawing is signed "Jack L. Nesbitt, 4/21/34". On the back of the drawing, Nesbitt has written "Quick sketch from fountain on Plaza". Jack was a student of Thomas Hart Benton at the Kansas City Art Institute during this period. The figure on the drawing is of a nude young boy with both arms in the air. A very rare early work by this fine artist. Jackson Lee Nesbitt, a noted printmaker and painter of the American Scene, dedicated his artistic career to the portrayal of ordinary people going about the business of their lives. A native of Oklahoma, Nesbitt created scenes from the Midwest during the 1930s and 1940s, but in the 1950s, when interest in his work diminished, he moved to Atlanta and established a second career in advertising. Thirty years later, Nesbitt sold his business and resumed his artistic career from Atlanta. He was born in McAlester, Oklahoma, on June 16, 1913, the only child of LuCena Grant and Howard Nesbitt. The family resided in Muskogee, Oklahoma, where his father owned a commercial printing business. Jack, as Nesbitt was known, helped out in the family business until 1931, when he enrolled at the University of Oklahoma in Norman. Two years later Nesbitt enrolled at the Kansas City Art Institute in Missouri. As a first-year student, he learned etching from John deMartelly, attended Ross Braught's painting class, and met his future wife, Elaine Thompson, who was a costume design student. Thomas Hart Benton, who joined the faculty in the fall of 1935, quickly became a close friend and mentor to the younger artist. In 1937 the management of the Sheffield Steel Corporation contacted deMartelly concerning an etching commission. Because Nesbitt was an outstanding student, his teacher suggested him for the job. When Nesbitt arrived at the plant one afternoon, he was taken to the open-hearth furnace area, where he diligently sketched anonymous workers in that dramatic setting until five o'clock the following morning. On the strength of his sketches, he was commissioned to create a series of etchings illustrating different phases of the steel industry. The commission launched Nesbitt's career as a professional artist. The commission with Sheffield Steel Corporation provided the financial security that enabled Jack and Elaine Nesbitt to marry on June 1, 1938. He graduated from the Kansas City Art Institute about the same time. Working as a freelance artist, Nesbitt augmented his commissioned work with genre scenes of the Midwest, and he routinely went with Benton on sketching trips to rural Arkansas. Beginning in 1939 Nesbitt's work gained widespread recognition. Open Hearth Door, a Sheffield Steel Corporation painting, was chosen to represent Missouri in the American Art Today exhibition at the New York World's Fair. Associated American Artists selected one of his etchings, Watering Place, for an edition of 250 prints that were sold through subscription. Having a print published by the association ensured national distribution, and four more of Nesbitt's works, all of rural southern genre scenes, were later selected by the print publisher. Over the next decade Nesbitt's work was exhibited in California, Colorado, Illinois, Missouri, New York, and Oklahoma. He was awarded the Eames Prize by the Society of American Etchers in 1946, and his work was included in the book American Prize Prints of the Twentieth Century, by Albert Reese. Major corporations with operations in the Midwest, including Brown and Bigelow, Butler Manufacturing Company, Humble Oil and Refining Company, Omaha Steel Works, Pratt and Whitney...