Two Against White - Charles Sheeler

Charles Sheeler (1883-1965) - Two Against White (1957)
USA 32c Stamp issued 1998

Sheeler's works are stark - they are defined by clean lines, urban expanses, but there are very few people.   - he is known as one of the founders of modernism in art in America.  The work that was depicted in this 1998 stamp was reasonably abstract, but many of his works are very realistic depictions of buildings and interiors that are absent of any people, and idealised in an almost dream like manner - it is like you are looking at a perfectly sparse place in a dream, rather than a real place that has imperfections.  An Australian artist, Jeffrey Smart, appears to paint in a similar manner, but his paintings include many solitary figures.


He was also a pioneer in completing artworks across different emerging media in the early 20th century, as he worked with film and photography in addition to painting.

Alex Colville - Family and Rainstorm

Alex Colville (1925-    ) - Family and Rainstorm (Nova Scotia) (1955)

Canada 30c Stamp issued 1982

National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa

Colvillewas a Canadian painter who emerged after WWII from the East Canadian provinces, depicting the naturalism and everyday life of post WWII democracy.  In this painting, the individuals are starkly depicted with clean lines in a pleasant environment.  However, I see some sense of foreboding or gloom - the clouds are dark on the horizon and the metallic industrial frame of the car door are centrally placed in this painting.  The people do not communicate with the audience.


This was one of 12 paintings that were depicted on 1982 Canada Day stamps - all ten provinces and 2 territories of Canada were represented - this painting is from Nova Scotia

Rita Angus - Central Otago Landscape

Rita Angus (1908-1970) - Central Otago Landscape 1953-56

New Zealand 30c Stamp issued 1983

Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

Rita Angus was a well established New Zealand artist during the art deco period, with her work being heavily influenced by the cubism movement and Byzantine art. She lived in the South Island of New Zealand and was mainly known for landscape works.

This work is the result of a trip to Central Otago by the artist in 1953. The stamp is one of a series of 4 works by Rita Angus that were depicted on NZ stamps in 1983.

Paul-Emile Borduas - Untitled No. 6

Paul-Emile Borduas (1905-1960) - Untitled No. 6 

Canada 35c Stamp issued 1981

Museum of Contemporary Art - Montreal Canada

Borduas was the leader of the Automatiste group of artists in Montreal Canada that became prominent in the 1940s.  These artists supported the theory of surrealist automatism - this the the type of "automatic" drawing that is developed when you do not impose self-censorship during the drawing process.  Montreal was a conservative place at that time, and Borduas eventually moved to New York City and Paris in the 1950s before his untimely death in 1960 from a heart attack.

1998 Time Article on Borduas and the Automatists

Ian Fairweather - Kite Flying

Ian Fairweather (1891-1974) - Kite Flying (1958)

Australian $1.20 Stamp Issued 1995

Held at the Queensland Art Gallery

This is the second of four modern art paintings that were issued by Australia Post in 1995.  Others in the series included work by Russell Drysdale, Guy Grey-Smith and Robert Juniper.  

Extract from Queensland Art Gallery Website:

Kite flying 1958, one of Fairweather's most significant works, exemplifies the artist's approach to painting. Lines inspired by Chinese calligraphy cross the work, exposing layers of underpainting. Figures, kites and balloons dance in and out of focus in a fusion of shapes and colours.

The work is based on a 2000-year-old Chinese kite flying festival, which celebrates the protection of loved ones against misfortune. The festival commemorates the story of Huan Ching, a man from the Han period in China, who was warned by a sage to take his wife and children to the mountains.

Taking this advice, he took his family kite flying, and so escaped the massacre that befell their livestock. The felicity of this occasion is reflected in the painting's joyous vibrancy.