William Ellisworth Artis Paintings & Artwork for Sale | William Ellisworth Artis Art Value Price Guide

Oct. 03, 2024
WILLIAM E. ARTIS (1914 - 1977) Untitled (Vessel).
Est: $3,000 - $5,000
WILLIAM E. ARTIS (1914 - 1977) Untitled (Vessel). Glazed earthenware, circa 1964-66. 393x228x127 mm; 15 1/2x9x5 inches. Signed in glaze on the underside. Provenance: collection of the artist; gifted to the collection of Jim and Jeannette Cantrell; private collection. The artist traded this vessel for a painting by his friend, Jim Cantrell. William Artis was teaching at Chadron State College in Nebraska, and Cantrell was teaching at Sidney public school, Nebraska, 1964 - 1966. Born in Washington, NC, William E. Artis moved to New York during the Harlem Renaissance like fellow North Carolina native artists Charles Alston and Romare Bearden. Artis took private sculpture lessons with Augusta Savage and studied with Robert Laurent at the Art Students League with a Harmon Foundation scholarship. After service in the US Air Force during World War II, Artis studied at the New York State College of Ceramics. He exhibited at the Syracuse Ceramic Nationals in 1940, and 1947 through 1951. He was awarded the Rosenwald Fund fellowship in 1946 and collaborated with the Croatian sculptor Ivan Mestrovic (1883-1962). William Artis moved to the Midwest in the early 1950s to study the Sioux Indian culture and teach art at the Holy Rosary (now Red Cloud) School on the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota. He then joined the Nebraska State Teachers College (now Chadron State College) faculty as an assistant instructor in 1954, eventually becoming professor of sculpture and ceramics until his departure in 1965 to teach at Mankato State College in Mankato. Artis received a retrospective at Fisk University in 1971. William Artis's artwork today is in the collection of the Smithsonian American Museum of Art, the Museum of Nebraska Art, the Schein-Joseph International Museum of Ceramic Art, New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University and Chadron State College. Schulman p. 134; Nolting pp. 58-59, 89.
Swann Auction Galleries
Sep. 14, 2024
William Ellsworth Artis, 1914-1977, Head of a Young Girl
Est: $15,000 - $25,000
William Ellsworth Artis 1914-1977 Head of a Young Girl c. 1945 terra cotta on a wood base 4-1/2 inches (sculpture) 5-1/2 inches (overall height, including base) signed WArtis
Black Art Auction
Sep. 14, 2024
William Ellsworth Artis, 1914-1977, untitled
Est: $10,000 - $15,000
William Ellsworth Artis 1914-1977 untitled 1960-1970 ceramic vessel 22 inches high; 10 inches top opening signed Provenance: the artist to his friend and fellow artist, Earl Hooks, Sr; thence by descent
Black Art Auction
Dec. 02, 2023
William Ellsworth Artis, 1914-1977, Head of a Young Girl
Est: $15,000 - $25,000
William Ellsworth Artis 1914-1977 Head of a Young Girl c. 1945 terra cotta on a wood base 4-1/2 inches (sculpture) 5-1/2 inches (overall height, including base) signed WArtis
Black Art Auction
Oct. 24, 2023
WILLIAM ELLISWORTH ARTIS (1914-1977) Bust of a Young Girl1930sterracotta, wood base, incised 'WArtis' on back of neckheight of bust 4 1/2in (11.5cm); width of bust 2 1/2in (6.5cm); overall height including base 5 1/2in (14cm)
Est: $4,000 - $6,000
WILLIAM ELLISWORTH ARTIS (1914-1977) Bust of a Young Girl 1930s terracotta, wood base, incised 'WArtis' on back of neck height of bust 4 1/2in (11.5cm); width of bust 2 1/2in (6.5cm); overall height including base 5 1/2in (14cm)
Bonhams
Oct. 06, 2022
WILLIAM E. ARTIS (1914 - 1977) Untitled (Vessel).
Est: $5,000 - $7,000
WILLIAM E. ARTIS (1914 - 1977) Untitled (Vessel). Glazed earthenware, circa 1964-66. 393x228x127 mm; 15 1/2x9x5 inches. Signed in glaze on the underside. Provenance: collection of the artist; gifted to the collection of Jim and Jeannette Cantrell; private collection. The artist traded this vessel for a painting by his friend, Jim Cantrell. William Artis was teaching at Chadron State College in Nebraska, and Cantrell was teaching at Sidney public school, Nebraska, 1964 - 1966. Born in Washington, NC, William E. Artis moved to New York during the Harlem Renaissance like fellow North Carolina native artists Charles Alston and Romare Bearden. Artis took private sculpture lessons with Augusta Savage and studied with Robert Laurent at the Art Students League with a Harmon Foundation scholarship. After service in the air force during World War II, Artis studied at the New York State College of Ceramics. He exhibited at the Syracuse Ceramic Nationals in 1940, and 1947 through 1951. He was awarded the Rosenwald Fund fellowship in 1946 and collaborated with the Croatian sculptor Ivan Mestrovic (1883- 1962). William Artis moved to the Midwest in the early 1950s to teach art and to study the Sioux Indian culture - he taught at the Holy Rosary (now Red Cloud) School on the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota. Then he joined the Chadron State College faculty as an assistant instructor in 1954 - then named Nebraska State Teachers College. Artis was professor of sculpture and ceramics at Chadron State College until 1965. He then was an associate professor at Mankato State College in Mankato, Minnesota until 1975. Artis received a retrospective at Fisk University in 1971. William Artis's artwork today is in the collection of the Smithsonian American Museum of Art, the Museum of Nebraska Art, the Schein-Joseph International Museum of Ceramic Art, New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University and Chadron State College. Schulman p. 134; Nolting pp. 58-59, 89.
Swann Auction Galleries
Jul. 11, 2020
William Artis, 1914-1977, Untitled, ceramic vase, 15 1/2 x 9 x 5 inches
Est: $2,500 - $3,500
William Artis 1914-1977 Untitled ceramic vase c. 1960s signed A ceramic bowl by Artis is illustrated in American Negro Art, Cedric Dover, p. 158 Through the 1960s his ceramic jars, jugs, and vases seemed to reach upward, some from stemlike bases to bulbous bodies with conical lids. This movement toward stretching organic shapes may have been affirmed when Artis worked as an assistant to Claire Falkenstein and Piotr Kowalski at the International Sculpture Symposium at Long Beach State College in the summer and fall of 1965. (REF: St James Guide to Black Artists, Thomas Riggs; essay by Theresa Leininger-Miller, p. 23) 15 1/2 x 9 x 5 inches
Black Art Auction
May. 16, 2020
William Artis, 1914 - 1977, Untitled, Head of a Boy, Cast Bronze with medium brown patina (from a terracotta image, 1940), 9 x 7 x 5-1/2 inches (without base) 6 x 5 x 5 inches (base)
Est: $20,000 - $30,000
William Artis 1914 - 1977 Untitled, Head of a Boy Cast Bronze with medium brown patina (from a terracotta image, 1940) 1940 Signed Provenance: The Collection of Dr. Dianne Whitfield-Locke and Dr. Carnell Locke, Maryland Exhibited: Building on Tradition, The Collection of Dr. Dianne Whitfield-Locke and Dr. Carnell Locke, Hampton University Museum, October 12, 2013-December 7, 2013. Literature: International Review of African American Art, vol. 24, 3B, Hampton University Museum, VA, p. 16. This is a rare bronze version of an image Artis originally executed in terra cotta (pictured in: Against the Odds African-American Artists and the Harmon Foundation, Gary Reynolds and Beryl Wright, 1989, p. 153; and Black Artists on Art, vol 2, Samella Lewis and Ruth Waddy, 1970, p. 86-87) 9 x 7 x 5-1/2 inches (without base) 6 x 5 x 5 inches (base)
Black Art Auction
Jan. 30, 2020
WILLIAM E. ARTIS (1914 - 1977) Vessel.
Est: $2,000 - $3,000
WILLIAM E. ARTIS (1914 - 1977) Vessel. Glazed earthenware, circa 1970. Approximately 533 mm; 21 inches high. Inscribed initials "WEA" on the underside. Provenance: the Johnson Publishing Company, Inc., Chicago. This striking mid-century vessel is a scarce pottery or ceramic artwork by sculptor William E. Artis, and possibly the first to come to auction. Artis exhibited at the Syracuse Ceramic Nationals in the years of 1940, 1947 through 1951. Born in Washington, NC, William E. Artis moved to New York during the Harlem Renaissance like fellow North Carolina native artists Charles Alston and Romare Bearden. Artis took private sculpture lessons with Augusta Savage and studied with Robert Laurent at the Art Students League with a Harmon Foundation scholarship. After service in the air force during World War II, Artis studied at the New York State College of Ceramics. He was awarded the Rosenwald Fund fellowship in 1946 and collaborated with the Croatian sculptor Ivan Mestrovic (1883- 1962). William Artis moved to the Midwest in the early 1950s to teach art and to study the Sioux Indian culture - he taught at the Holy Rosary (now Red Cloud) School on the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota. Then he joined the Chadron State College faculty as an assistant instructor in 1954 - then named Nebraska State Teachers College. Artis was professor of sculpture and ceramics at Chadron State College until 1965. He then was an associate professor at Mankato State College in Mankato, Minnesota until 1975. Artis received a retrospective at Fisk University in 1971. William Artis's artwork today is in the collection of the Smithsonian American Museum of Art, the Museum of Nebraska Art, the Schein-Joseph International Museum of Ceramic Art, New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University and Chadron State College. Schulman p. 134, Nolting pp. 58-59, 89.
Swann Auction Galleries
Apr. 06, 2017
WILLIAM E. ARTIS (1914 - 1977) Mosaic in Oil.
Est: $7,000 - $10,000
WILLIAM E. ARTIS (1914 - 1977) Mosaic in Oil. Oil on board, circa 1959. 457x1219 mm; 18x48 inches. With a typed paper label on the verso, which reads "ARTIST William Artis, TITLE Mosiac in Oil, TOWN Chadron, Nebraska." Provenance: private collection, Michigan. This striking mid-century abstraction is the first painting in oil by the artist we have located. According to an article on the artist''s Chadron roots by George Ledbetter, William Artis moved to the Mid-West in the early 1950s to teach art and to study the Sioux Indian culture - he taught at the Holy Rosary (now Red Cloud) School on the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota, where he supervised a pottery production project for two years. Then he joined the Chadron State College faculty as an assistant instructor in 1954. Artis was a professor of sculpture and ceramics at Chadron State College until 1965. According to Ledbetter, "Chadron encompassed other media as well, and generated some controversy in 1959, when a large, brightly colored mural in a modernistic style, created as part of his study for a doctoral degree, was installed in the foyer of Memorial Hall. Artis defended the piece as symbolic of man''s reaction to his environment, however, the piece remained in place for some 25 years before it was removed during a 1984 remodeling." There is also an abstract mosaic in tile in the college''s William Artis Collection of twenty five art works.
Swann Auction Galleries
Oct. 09, 2014
WILLIAM E. ARTIS (1914 - 1977) Untitled.
Est: $4,000 - $6,000
WILLIAM E. ARTIS (1914 - 1977) Untitled. Woodcut on tan Japan paper, circa 1950s. 1175x457 mm; 46 1/4x18 inches, wide margins. Proof, aside from an edition of unknown size. Illustrated: Cedric Dover, American Negro Art, pp. 179, plate 99. The artist is pictured standing next to the framed artwork. This large and modern print is the only known example of a print by renowned sculptor William Artis that we have been able to locate.
Swann Auction Galleries
Oct. 09, 2014
WILLIAM E. ARTIS (1914 - 1977) Vernon.
Est: $20,000 - $30,000
WILLIAM E. ARTIS (1914 - 1977) Vernon. Terra cotta, mounted on a wood base, circa 1946-50. Approximately 356 mm; 14 inches high. 560 mm; 22-inches high, including the base. Signed in the turtle neck collar, verso. Provenance: Richard A. Long, Atlanta; thence by descent to his estate. Vernon is a large and stylized head by William E. Artis and is typical of his beautiful modern sculpture in terra cotta. Like his Michael in the collection of the North Carolina Museum of Art, and Head of a Boy in the Amistad Research Center, Vernon is a fine example of his 1940s portraits of African-American youth that he made with a distinctive and sensitive realism. Born in Washington, NC, William Ellisworth Artis moved to New York during the Harlem Renaissance like fellow North Carolina native artists Charles Alston and Romare Bearden. Artis took private sculpture lessons with Augusta Savage and studied with Robert Laurent at the Art Students League with a Harmon Foundation scholarship. After service in the Air Force during World War II, Artis studied at the New York State College of Ceramics. Following the successful completion of his second certificate program, according to Daniel Schulman, Artis applied to the Rosenwald Fund in 1946 (for the second time); he was awarded a fellowship "to work with the native clays of Alabama in the production of creative sculpture and sculptured free form ceramic ware." Artis decided late in the process to collaborate with the Croatian sculptor Ivan Mestrovic (1883- 1962), newly appointed to Syracuse University, who was known for his attention to surface effect and finish. Schulman p. 134; Nolting pp. 58-59, 89.
Swann Auction Galleries
Jun. 01, 2014
William Ellsworth Artis (American, 1914-1977) Head of a Young Boy
Est: $10,000 - $15,000
William Ellsworth Artis (American, 1914-1977) "Head of a Young Boy", c. 1950; terra cotta, 9"h, signed; mounted to a wooden base.
Toomey & Co. Auctioneers
Feb. 13, 2014
WILLIAM E. ARTIS (1914 - 1977) Michael (Head of a Boy).
Est: $8,000 - $12,000
WILLIAM E. ARTIS (1914 - 1977) Michael (Head of a Boy). Cast bronze, with a greenish-copper patina, circa 1950. Edition size unknown; cast from a 1940 terracotta. Approximately 230 mm; 9 inches high. Inscribed signature in the neck, just at the base edge, lower left. Provenance: collection of the photographer William Anderson, Jr.; private collection. This beautiful bronze is an unusual medium for this sculptor, but the geometric simplification of this African-American head is typical of his mid-century sculpture. Another cast of this head is in the the University of Delaware's Paul R. Jones collection. Artis usually worked in clay or stone and only a handful of his terra cotta works have come to auction. Born in Washington, NC, William E. Artis moved to New York during the Harlem Renaissance like fellow North Carolina native artists Charles Alston and Romare Bearden. Artis took private sculpture lessons with Augusta Savage and studied with Robert Laurent at the Art Students League with a Harmon Foundation scholarship. After service in the air force during World War II, Artis studied at the New York State College of Ceramics. Following the successful completion of his second certificate program, according to Daniel Schulman, Artis applied to the Rosenwald Fund in 1946 (for the second time); he was awarded a fellowship 'to work with the native clays of Alabama in the production of creative sculpture and sculptured free form ceramic ware." Artis decided late in the process to collaborate with the Croatian sculptor Ivan Mestrovic (1883- 1962), newly appointed to Syracuse University. According to Rosenwald scholar Jonathan R. Nolting, Artis improved his technical skills and learned new media in sculpture under Mestrovic. In his master's thesis, Nolting uses Michael to show Artis how now used texture and geometric abstraction to instill his heads with both a naturalism and the influence of African sculpture, particularly masks of the Dan peoples. Schulman p. 134, Nolting pp. 58-59, 89.
Swann Auction Galleries
Apr. 23, 2013
William Ellsworth Artis (1914-1977 New York, NY)
Est: $15,000 - $25,000
Head of an African American woman, incised with signature and date along the base: W. Artis 39, terracotta, 10'' H x 9.5'' W x 8'' D, est: $15,000/25,000. Note: William Artis was an important African American ceramist, sculptor and educator. The present work is from his best known series, created in the 1930s and 40s, consisting of terracotta and stoneware portrait busts of black youths. With realism and sympathy, Artis focuses the viewer's attention on the young girl's thoughtful features emerging from under a plain head cloth. Originally from North Carolina, Artis arrived in New York in the late 1920s and by 1933 was studying at the Art Students League where he won the prestigious William E. Harmon Foundation award for Distinguished Achievement among Negros, in the category of fine art. He continued his studies at Syracuse University after serving in World War II, and also studied at the Harlem Community Art Center under Selma Burke (1900-1995) and Augusta Savage (1892-1962).
John Moran Auctioneers
Dec. 04, 2011
William E. Artis (American, 1914-1977) "Head," c.
Est: $20,000 - $30,000
William E. Artis (American, 1914-1977) "Head," c. 1946, earthenware sculpture, 13.5"h, signed, a similar example is held in the collection of the Schein-Joseph International Museum of Ceramic Art, New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, Alfred, New York. Provenance: acquired as a gift from the artist, thence by descent
Toomey & Co. Auctioneers
May. 06, 2007
William E. Artis (American, 1914-1977), "Portrait
Est: $20,000 - $30,000
William E. Artis (American, 1914-1977), "Portrait of Young African-American Man", c. 1956; terra cotta sculpture, 17"h x 9"w x 6"d, signed and dated. Exceptionally rare and important work by this artist.
Toomey & Co. Auctioneers