Using an innovative technique he called “rough collage,” Benny Andrews created vivid portraits of everyday people that mixed painting with pieces of clothing and other textural materials.
Andrews grew up in a family of sharecroppers in rural Georgia, his creativity nurtured by his father, who was a self-taught artist, and his mother, who believed in the importance of education. He was the first in his family to complete high school and attended Fort Valley State College on a 4-H Club scholarship. Andrews was limited by the lack of art courses available to him at Fort Valley, and in 1950 he enlisted in the Air Force and served in the Korean War. On the G.I. Bill, he studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC). While fellow students focused on Abstract Expressionism, Andrews developed his own expressive style; one of his earliest portraits was of the janitors at SAIC. After he graduated in 1958, he moved to New York. Andrews’s first solo show was in 1960 at Paul Kessler Gallery in Provincetown, Massachusetts.
Visibility and social justice were at the forefront of Benny Andrews’s paintings, which meditated on scenes of daily life, drawing on memories of the artist’s childhood in the South. His subjects included his family members as well as other artists, such as Alice Neel, Norman Lewis and Howardena Pindell.
A longtime educator, including for three decades at New York’s Queens College, Andrews avidly promoted opportunities for Black artists, such as cofounding with Clifford R. Joseph the Black Emergency Cultural Coalition in 1969, which advocated for inclusion in museum exhibitions. One of his final works —completed between 2004 and 2006 — was the Migrant Series in which he retraced the forced relocation of Indigenous people on the Trail of Tears, the Dust Bowl migration and the displacement of Hurricane Katrina survivors.
Andrews’s work has continued to garner acclaim after his death in 2006, with posthumous exhibitions including “Benny Andrews: Portraits, a Real Person Before the Eyes” at Michael Rosenfeld Gallery in New York in 2020.
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Woman with Flowers
By Benny Andrews
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Benny Andrews, American (1930 - 2006) Title: Woman with Flowers Year: 1976 Medium: Oil and Collage on Canvas, signed and dated l.r. (and ...
Oil, Canvas
$3,500
H 30 in W 24 in
Reflections - Portrait of a Female Against Silvery Backdrop, Original Oil
By Bruno Surdo
Located in Chicago, IL
The subject gazes downward in Bruno Surdo's portrait titled "Reflections". The contrast between the silvery backdrop and the model's flawless skin is pure perfection. This intimate portrait is painted with a black trimmed edge therefore not requiring framing however, please contact the gallery for framing options. Bruno Surdo Reflection oil on canvas 30h x 24w in 76.20h x 60.96w cm BRS125 Bruno A. Surdo b. Chicago, 1963 EXHIBITIONS 2023 New Work, Gallery VICTOR, Chicago, IL 2021 Ethos + Truth, Gallery Victor Armendariz, Chicago, IL 2020 Realities, Gallery Victor Armendariz, Chicago, IL 2018 Liberation, Gallery Victor Armendariz, Chicago, IL Blood Sport, Gallery Victor Armendariz, Chicago, IL Art on Paper 2018, Gallery Victor Armendariz, Pier 36, New York, NY SOFA Chicago 2018, Gallery Victor Armendariz, Navy Pier, Chicago, IL 2017 POP!ARAZZI, Gallery Victor Armendariz, Chicago, IL Coming Attractions, Gallery Victor Armendariz, Chicago, IL 2015 SOFA Chicago 2015, Ann Nathan Gallery, Navy Pier, Chicago, IL Bruno Surdo: Allegories, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL 2014 Bruno Surdo: Respond, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL Modern Metaphors, Rockford Art Museum, Rockford, IL 2013 Bruno Surdo: Revelations, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL Vice + Virtue, Northern Illinois University Museum of Art 2012 Contemporary Realism Biennial, Fort Wayne Museum of Art, Fort Wayne, IN 2011 Bruno Surdo, University of St. Francis School of Creative Arts, Fort Wayne, IN Uncensored, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL 2010 Art Chicago 2010, Ann Nathan Gallery, Merchandise Mart, Chicago, IL 2009 Art Chicago 2009, Ann Nathan Gallery, Merchandise Mart, Chicago, IL 2007 Bruno Surdo, Art Institute of Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN 2006 Context/Content: Making Meaning with the Figure, University of Arkansas, Conway, AR Creative Imaginings, Mobile Museum of Art, Mobile, AL Bruno Surdo: Cycles, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL 2005 Art Chicago 2005, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL 2004 Tragedy, Memory, & Honor, Richard M. Daley Center, Chicago, IL Art Chicago 2004, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL Group Show, Arcadia Gallery, New York, NY Drawings VII, Koplin Del Rio Gallery, West Hollywood, CA Armory Show, New York Armory, New York, NY 2003 Paintings & Drawings, College of Lake County, Grayslake, IL The Art Show, New York, NY Bruno Surdo: New Work, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL Art Chicago 2003, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL 2003-10 International Show of Contemporary Artists, Chicago Art Open, Chicago, IL 2002 Bruno Surdo: Perception of Appearance, Frye Museum, Seattle, WA Tragedy, Memory, & Honor, Richard M. Daley Center, Chicago, IL Bruno Surdo: Transcendence, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL Art Chicago 2002, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL Tragedy, Memory, & Honor, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL 2001 Magic Vision, Arkansas Art Center, Little Rock, AR 1998 Evanston and Vicinity Artists, Evanston Art Center, Evanston, IL 1996 Bruno Surdo: A Personal View, University of Wisconsin, Kenosha, WI 1995 Bruno Surdo: Recent Works, College of Lake County, IL AIDS in Our Society, Loyola University, Chicago, IL Bruno Surdo: Life, Struggle, and Hope, Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago, IL 2001 Magic Vision, Arkansas Art Center, Little Rock, AR Bruno Surdo: Dualities of Life, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL 1999 Group Show, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL 1998 Group Exhibition, Fine Arts Building Gallery, Chicago, IL 1995 Spiritual Inquiries, Struve Gallery, Chicago, IL 1994 Recent Works, The 14th Annual Juried Exhibition for Lake County Artists, Grayslake, IL Go Figure, Figurative Works on Paper, Chicago Printmakers Collaborative, Chicago, IL SELECTED COLLECTIONS The Re-Birth of Venus, Temporary Loan, Fort Wayne Museum of Art Arkansas Art Center, Little Rock, AR College of Lake County, Greyslake, IL Flashpoint Academy, Chicago IL John Robert Wiltgen Design Shoemaker Ruud Collection Julie & Thomas Danilek Michael Vozzella and Mike Silver Benjamin Fernandez Tom Braake Betsy Colburn Michael Diemand & Lor LaRose Michael Staab & Kathy Brock Bruce Leep Frank Tzurect Mary Foley Rosalyn Carlson Mimmy Turney Janet Long Halstead Billy Hunt Carol Galli Myles Kerrigan Honorable & Mrs. Edwin Berman Theodore Gage Northrop Art Museum Past Present & Future Company Dr. James & Peggy Kemmler Salvatore Monastero Nix & Virginia Lauridsen Joel Miller David & Marlene Zerkel Ann & Andy Abel Claudia Rush Marc Miller Leonard Goldberg Lawrence Pucci Howard Tullman Collection Susan & Manny Kramer James Rinnert Richar Interiors Michael & Nancy Colt Khalid Altijir Dr. Joe Grodman Beryl & Jack Gore Larry Wolf & Eric Naegle Chuck Wolandi Jack Schwab & David Sandelin Thomas Kaczmarek Marti Dinerstein Craig & Michael Golden Mike & Jill Rose SELECTED PUBLICATIONS Bruno Surdo: The Method Artist Responds, by Lucia Mauro, June 26, 2014, anitathemovie blog An Exhibition of Exhibitionism: Bruno Surdo’s ‘Respond’, by Carrie McGath, July 1, 2014, The Chicagoist Website, Arts and Entertainment “Inspired Environs: A renowned designer decks out his Loop abode in art and texture” Modern Luxury, Men’s Book, Spring 2014 “Master Class” What’z Up Magazine, Fort Wayne, 2011 ”9/11 Painting will be on Display” Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, 2011 “Illuminated Images” Fort Wayne Reader, 2011 “Two Faces of Beauty” American Art Collector Magazine, Issue #3 and #59, 2006/2010 “Art and Calamity” Art Papers, 2009 “Versions of the Present, Techniques of the Past” American Artist Magazine, 2004 “Living Artists” Crow Book Publishing, Chicago, IL 2004 “The New Master” by Craig Keller, Chicago Social Magazine, 2004. “Tragedy, Memory, and Honor,” by William Hageman, Chicago Tribune, March 28, 2002 “Mural Depicts Tragedy of 9/11” Art Section, Chicago Sun Times, 2002 Review by Dennis Raverty, Art Papers Magazine, July 2001 WTTW Channel 11...
Canvas, Oil
$3,750Sale Price|25% Off
H 30 in W 38 in D 1 in
TURNING INTO STONE 3 surreal original oil/canvas Paula Craioveanu large 30x38in
By Paula Craioveanu
Located in Forest Hills, NY
"Turning into Stone 3 " . Original, unique painting. oil on canvas, 30x38in. Shipped stretched ready for display in the US, and shipped rolled in a tube to Europe and to the rest of...
Canvas, Oil
$3,500Sale Price|30% Off
H 30 in W 38 in D 1 in
Philosopher Original Oil Painting Canvas Surreal 30x38in Signed Paula Craioveanu
By Paula Craioveanu
Located in Forest Hills, NY
"Philosopher" . Original, unique painting. oil on canvas, 30x38in. Shipped rolled in a tube from Europe to the USA using DHL or FedEx, no custom or import fees in the US. Shipped rol...
Oil, Canvas
Allow Me to Be Your Friend
By Roxana Khonkulova
Located in Zofingen, AG
“Allow Me to Be Your Friend” is a formulation that sounds both like a choice and a risk at the same time. Here, closeness emerges in the moment of acknowledgment - when a person offe...
Canvas, Oil
$8,400
H 30 in W 40 in
"Congregation" the sun sets on the ocean, beach balls gathered on the shore
By Rob Brooks
Located in Edgartown, MA
From an incandescent sunset on Long Island Sound to an iconic pop-kitsch ice storage bin at the neighborhood corner store, Rob Brooks offers us a visual journey from the real to surr...
Canvas, Oil
$2,500
H 38 in W 48 in D 1.5 in
«Sh*t Happens» Figurative Oil Painting by Samantha Van Heest
By Samantha Van Heest
Located in Oslo, NO
Shit happens sometimes. In this piece, the artist wanted to create an unsettling and claustrophobic space where people feel most private and vulnerable. Inspired by artist Tala Madani, she created a cartoon figure to act as the voyeur, a bright and unwelcome disturbance that cannot be ignored. Samantha Van Heest...
Canvas, Oil
$3,100
H 24 in W 18 in
"Pelted", winter wonderland, a young boy gets ready to throw a snowball
By Fred Calleri
Located in Edgartown, MA
Fred Calleri was born in Maryland and has slowly moved westward towards his current home in Santa Barbara, California. On his way, he earned an Illustration and Graphic Design degree...
Canvas, Oil
L’exil et la liberte (Exile and Liberty)
By Théo Tobiasse
Located in Rancho Santa Fe, CA
Signed upper left Titled lower right Provenance Opera Gallery, New York Private collection, New York City (Purchased from above, 2005) This work is available for viewing in our New...
Canvas, Oil
$698
H 21.26 in W 15.36 in D 0.4 in
If I Marry You - Paint by Alberto Gallerati - 1970s
By Alberto Gallerati
Located in Roma, IT
Oil on plywood realized by Alberto Gallerati (b. 1945) in 1970s. Hand signed. Very good condition.
Canvas, Oil
$5,700
H 39.4 in W 39.4 in
Young Woman Under the Apple Tree II (pattern, abstract, impressionist, landscape
Located in New York, NY
Oil on canvas
Canvas, Oil
$18,000
H 34 in W 40 in D 3 in
"Cop on Vacation" Brute Gay LGBT Contemporary NYC Male Portrait Painting
By Robert Loughlin
Located in New York, NY
"Cop on Vacation" Brute Gay LGBT Contemporary NYC Male Portrait Painting Robert Loughlin (1949-2011) "Cop on Vacation" Oil and mixed media on canvas 24 h x 30 w inches Signed and ti...
Canvas, Oil
$4,000Sale Price|20% Off
H 30 in W 38 in D 1 in
Classical Memory in Neon Light Oil Painting on Canvas, Surreal, 30x38in, Signed
By Paula Craioveanu
Located in Forest Hills, NY
"Classical Memory in Neon Light" . Original, unique painting. oil on canvas, 30x38in. Shipped rolled in a tube from Europe using DHL or FedEx, no custom or import fees in the US/ and...
Canvas, Oil
Sold
H 15.5 in W 19.5 in
"New York Cafe" Benny Andrews, 1966 African-American Social Realist Work
By Benny Andrews
Located in New York, NY
Benny Andrews New York Cafe, 1966 Signed, titled and numbered in pencil, lower margin Lithograph on wove paper Image 10 1/2 x 14 1/4 inches Sheet 13 x 18 inches Edition 201/250 Ben...
Paper, Lithograph