Ben Culwell Sold at Auction Prices

Painter, b. 1918 - d. 1992

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    • Culwell, Ben L.
      Jan. 24, 2015

      Culwell, Ben L.

      Est: $12,000 - $18,000

      Just Before Sundown on a Dog Day of Summer in Love, c. 1972

      David Dike Fine Art
    • BEN L. CULWELL "NO. 51-2, ROOF SERIES NO.4" OIL
      Sep. 10, 2014

      BEN L. CULWELL "NO. 51-2, ROOF SERIES NO.4" OIL

      Est: $3,750 - $4,750

      BEN L. CULWELL "NO. 51-2, ROOF SERIES NO.4" OIL ON BOARD,1951. PROVENANCE: MCNAY INSTITUTE S.A. Height: 21 in. by Width: 31 in. by Depth: 2IN

      Lewis & Maese Antiques & Auctions
    • BEN L. CULWELL (American, 1918-1992) Untitled ,
      Jan. 24, 2009

      BEN L. CULWELL (American, 1918-1992) Untitled ,

      Est: $3,000 - $5,000

      BEN L. CULWELL (American, 1918-1992) Untitled , 1978 Oil on board 20 x 26-1/2 inches (50.8 x 67.3 cm) Initialed lower right: BLC Titled, dated, and signed verso: Untitled / 1978 / Ben L. Culwell

      Heritage Auctions
    • BEN L. CULWELL (American, 1918-1992) Lust/Love
      Jan. 24, 2009

      BEN L. CULWELL (American, 1918-1992) Lust/Love

      Est: $2,000 - $4,000

      BEN L. CULWELL (American, 1918-1992) Lust/Love Mixed media on board 8 x 10 inches (20.3 x 25.4 cm) Titled, dated, and signed verso: "Lust/Love" / 1946-86 / Ben L. Culwell

      Heritage Auctions
    • BEN L. CULWELL (American, 1918-1992) Mr. Cooper's
      Jan. 24, 2009

      BEN L. CULWELL (American, 1918-1992) Mr. Cooper's

      Est: $2,000 - $3,000

      BEN L. CULWELL (American, 1918-1992) Mr. Cooper's Funeral Mixed media on board 18-1/4 x 19-3/4 inches (46.4 x 50.2 cm) Initialed lower left: BLC Titled, inscribed, and signed verso: "Mr. Cooper's Funeral" / 1949-1985 / Ben L. Culwell Texas artist Ben Culwell, was part of the 1946 exhibition of "Fourteen Americans" at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. This seminal show also displayed the works of artists Robert Motherwell, Arshile Gorky, and Isamu Noguchi and caused New Yorker art critic Robert Coates to coin the term "Abstract Expressionism." In the same article, Coates specifically points to Culwell's work as a particular example of the combination of Abstraction and Expressionism. Subsequent "American" exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art also included Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, and Robert Rauschenberg, among many others, and heralded the popularity of the Abstract Expressionist movement. These three paintings are a result of Culwell's continuing development of the painterly, abstract surface. Using a mixture of oil paint, enamel, and lacquer, he builds heavy layers of impasto with bits of gravel, glass, and other various objects for additional texture. His work has a three-dimensional quality which evokes relief paintings or modern sculpture. In this deeply layered surface Culwell buries images which reveal the sometimes violent realities of human life while remaining pleasing to the eye. When discussing the general nature of his artistic goals in the "Fourteen Americans" catalogue, he wrote that he tries to "express the sum of relationships which is a total human being" and states that the big problem of art is to keep human beings "abreast of the techniques and the inventions of material culture-to achieve adequate modern spiritual integrity." These three works are quintessential examples of this often overlooked, but important, artist's style as well as being aesthetically rich paintings.

      Heritage Auctions
    • BEN CULWELL (1918-1992)
      Dec. 02, 2006

      BEN CULWELL (1918-1992)

      Est: $2,000 - $4,000

      BEN CULWELL (1918-1992) No. 70-1, 1970-1978 Oil on masonite 32.5in. x 12.5in. Signed lower right This Abstract Expressionist painting by Ben Culwell has paint built up almost one-half inch on parts of its surface. It is worked and reworked with both brush and knife. A bold statement in block letters on the back says "Hang Any Side Up." Provenance: Acquired by descent from the artist by the present owner

      Heritage Auctions
    • BEN CULWELL (1918-1992)
      Dec. 02, 2006

      BEN CULWELL (1918-1992)

      Est: $2,000 - $4,000

      BEN CULWELL (1918-1992) Mickey Mouse Landscape, 1949-1968 Oil on masonite 11in. x 15in. Signed all four corners Signed, dated, and titled verso Ben Culwell was born in San Antonio, grew up in Houston, and graduated high school in Dallas. He attended college at Southern Methodist University and Columbia University under Walter Pach. Pach was one of the organizers of the Amory Show and was a leading proponent of modernism. After graduation, Culwell began to exhibit and teach art at the Texas State College for Women, Denton, Texas, until he enlisted in the navy. During the war he executed a series of ground-breaking paintings that would forever change the history of American Art. These paintings were the basis for what a few years later would be called the Abstract Expressionist Movement. The news article below from the Temple Daily Telegram, dated April 7, 1992, upon the death of Ben Culwell, does an excellent job of explaining Culwell's importance as a painter. This painting, Mickey Mouse Landscape, is one of the early works of the Abstract Expressionist Movement. As the verso indicates, its date of creation is 1949-1968. This is very common of Culwell's paintings. He often worked and reworked his paintings over months, years, and sometimes decades. Culwell's paintings are signed in all four corners because they are meant to hang in any orientation. Provenance: Acquired by descent from the artist by the present owner

      Heritage Auctions
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