One of the most important and recognizable genres in 20th century american painting and sculpture is the Social Realist/ the WPA era. Many of these great artists came to the fore during the great depression when President Roosevelt and Congress initiated programs to put people back to work including artists of all types. The art was strong, robust, and heroic. Today it is a genre most respected and honored and the paintings have become extremely collectable.

Owen Smith has incorporated the style and iconography of that era into his contemporary work. He uses rich color and bold figure compositions to tell his stories. His paintings recall the lurid covers of pulp magazines and paperback novels of the 1940’s and 50’s.

Owen’s award winning paintings are featured in books about the New Yorker and Rolling Stone and have hung in galleries in the New York, Los Angeles, Rome and Milan. He creates illustrations for book jackets and children’s books. Recently he designed a series of mosaic murals that were permanently installed in a New York City Subway station.

Owen Smith client list includes The Atlantic Monthly, Business Week, Esquire Magazine, German Vogue, Newsweek, The New Yorker, New York Times Magazine, Playboy Jazz Festival, Sports Illustrated, Times, U.S. News and World Report, and Washington Post Magazine.

The piece available today is titled ‘Painting the Iron Horse’. See details below:

To learn more about Richard Solomon, Artist Representative or to commission one of his artists for your project, see below:

* To visit Richard Solomon’s official website, click here

* To visit Richard’s “Art on a Grand Scale” website, click here