Ben Norris Paintings & Artwork for Sale | Ben Norris Art Value Price Guide

Jul. 16, 2024
Ben Norris (1910-2006), "Stripe XIII; Tidal II," 1964
Est: $300 - $500
Ben Norris (1910-2006) "Stripe XIII; Tidal II," 1964 Mixed media on Masonite Signed and dated lower right: Norris; dated again, titled, and inscribed, verso
John Moran Auctioneers
Apr. 16, 2024
Ben Norris (1910-2006), "Stripe XIII; Tidal II," 1964
Est: $600 - $800
Ben Norris (1910-2006) "Stripe XIII; Tidal II," 1964 Mixed media on Masonite Signed and dated lower right: Norris; dated again, titled, and inscribed, verso
John Moran Auctioneers
Apr. 12, 2024
1944 Ben Norris Watercolor - Mauna Loa Mountains
Est: $1,300 - $1,950
**Originally Listed At $800** Ben Norris (American, 1910-2006). "Mauna Loa Mountains" watercolor, 1944. Signed and dated at lower right. A beautiful watercolor painting of the Mauna Loa Mountains by Ben Norris that exemplifies the artist's Zen/spiritual interpretations of natural landscapes. Truly mesmerizing, Norris' masterful rendering of Mauna Loa's lofty peaks inspires awe with transcendent beauty that prompts the viewer to experience a meditative state. In Norris' words, "The act of painting is a combination of apprehension of the environment in which we live with the affirmation and the consolidation of the self within this setting." A very special and impressively large watercolor of the Mauna Loa Mountains by Ben Norris. Size: 23" L x 31" W (58.4 cm x 78.7 cm) About the artist: "Robert Benjamin Norris was born in 1910 in southern California, where he completed his undergraduate education, executed his first professional paintings, and first exhibited to critical acclaim. Although he continued to paint for 20 years after retiring to New York City and Philadelphia, he may be best known in Hawaii, where he spent the highly prolific middle part of his professional career. Norris has long been identified with the Southern California Watercolor School, which includes his colleagues, Phil Dike, Thomas Craig, Millard Sheets, Milford Zornes and Hardie Gramatky. Although he moved to Hawaii in 1936, he often returned to paint in southern California through the late 1940s and his style remained essentially that of the Southern California Watercolor School through that time. Norris studied at Pomona College, Harvard, and the Sorbonne, but supplemented his schooling by working directly with Stanton Macdonald-Wright, Jean Charlot, Josef Albers and Max Ernst. When the University of Hawaii resumed classes after World War II, Norris became Chairman of the Art Department and seized the opportunity to invite distinguished artists as visiting professors or artists-in-residence. Ernst exerted an especially potent influence, about which Norris later wrote: 'I had invited him to the University. He was both charming and accessible to us, giving me a chance to hear and to understand some authentic 'info' about Surrealism. I eventually merged some of the conventional Surrealist forms of automatic painting with Far Eastern paper handling techniques.' Ben Norris' abstract interpretations of the Hawaiian landscape Wind from the Sea I and The Pali, exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1950, were painted during this decade of artistic exploration. As a teacher, academic, and artist, Norris had an unquenchable thirst for knowledge and continued to master new stylistic methods throughout his career. While well known for his bold watercolors, Norris also became an accomplished printmaker, and experienced much success with his oil and acrylic paintings, as well as his collages. His varied work always seems to imbue a mystical or spiritual aspect, which Norris spoke of in a 1965 interview for Art in America: 'The act of painting is a combination of apprehension of the environment in which we live with the affirmation and the consolidation of the self within this setting. My home-grown Zen is hybridized from Max Ernsts surrealism, a number of contacts with psychiatry (the healing priesthood of our time), and the Religious Society of Friends, called Quakers.' Norris exhibited steadily from 1933 through 2001 in solo and group exhibitions, and garnered many awards including a Fulbright Professorship and a Yaddo Fellowship. He is represented in many permanent collections including the Honolulu Academy of Arts, the Honolulu Museum of Art, the Hawaii State Art Museum, The Smithsonian American Art Museum (Washington, D.C), the McNay Art Museum (San Antonio, Texas), the Oregon State University Memorial Union (Corvallis, Oregon), and the National Museum of American Art. His work has been exhibited nationally at museums across the country including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the New York Public Library, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, the deYoung Museum in San Francisco, and the Los Angeles Museum. Childs Gallery is proud to have represented this prolific and talented artist since 1998." (Source: website of Childs Gallery on Newbury Street in Boston, MA) Painting is accompanied by an old label inscribed with the title of the painting. Provenance: private Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA collection All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back. A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids. We ship worldwide and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience. #181998
Artemis Gallery
Mar. 01, 2024
1944 Ben Norris Watercolor - Mauna Loa Mountains
Est: $1,400 - $2,100
**Originally Listed At $800** Ben Norris (American, 1910-2006). "Mauna Loa Mountains" watercolor, 1944. Signed and dated at lower right. A beautiful watercolor painting of the Mauna Loa Mountains by Ben Norris that exemplifies the artist's Zen/spiritual interpretations of natural landscapes. Truly mesmerizing, Norris' masterful rendering of Mauna Loa's lofty peaks inspires awe with transcendent beauty that prompts the viewer to experience a meditative state. In Norris' words, "The act of painting is a combination of apprehension of the environment in which we live with the affirmation and the consolidation of the self within this setting." A very special and impressively large watercolor of the Mauna Loa Mountains by Ben Norris. Size (sight view): 22.25" L x 29.75" W (56.5 cm x 75.6 cm) Size (frame): 34.875" L x 42.75" W (88.6 cm x 108.6 cm) About the artist: "Robert Benjamin Norris was born in 1910 in southern California, where he completed his undergraduate education, executed his first professional paintings, and first exhibited to critical acclaim. Although he continued to paint for 20 years after retiring to New York City and Philadelphia, he may be best known in Hawaii, where he spent the highly prolific middle part of his professional career. Norris has long been identified with the Southern California Watercolor School, which includes his colleagues, Phil Dike, Thomas Craig, Millard Sheets, Milford Zornes and Hardie Gramatky. Although he moved to Hawaii in 1936, he often returned to paint in southern California through the late 1940s and his style remained essentially that of the Southern California Watercolor School through that time. Norris studied at Pomona College, Harvard, and the Sorbonne, but supplemented his schooling by working directly with Stanton Macdonald-Wright, Jean Charlot, Josef Albers and Max Ernst. When the University of Hawaii resumed classes after World War II, Norris became Chairman of the Art Department and seized the opportunity to invite distinguished artists as visiting professors or artists-in-residence. Ernst exerted an especially potent influence, about which Norris later wrote: 'I had invited him to the University. He was both charming and accessible to us, giving me a chance to hear and to understand some authentic 'info' about Surrealism. I eventually merged some of the conventional Surrealist forms of automatic painting with Far Eastern paper handling techniques.' Ben Norris' abstract interpretations of the Hawaiian landscape Wind from the Sea I and The Pali, exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1950, were painted during this decade of artistic exploration. As a teacher, academic, and artist, Norris had an unquenchable thirst for knowledge and continued to master new stylistic methods throughout his career. While well known for his bold watercolors, Norris also became an accomplished printmaker, and experienced much success with his oil and acrylic paintings, as well as his collages. His varied work always seems to imbue a mystical or spiritual aspect, which Norris spoke of in a 1965 interview for Art in America: 'The act of painting is a combination of apprehension of the environment in which we live with the affirmation and the consolidation of the self within this setting. My home-grown Zen is hybridized from Max Ernsts surrealism, a number of contacts with psychiatry (the healing priesthood of our time), and the Religious Society of Friends, called Quakers.' Norris exhibited steadily from 1933 through 2001 in solo and group exhibitions, and garnered many awards including a Fulbright Professorship and a Yaddo Fellowship. He is represented in many permanent collections including the Honolulu Academy of Arts, the Honolulu Museum of Art, the Hawaii State Art Museum, The Smithsonian American Art Museum (Washington, D.C), the McNay Art Museum (San Antonio, Texas), the Oregon State University Memorial Union (Corvallis, Oregon), and the National Museum of American Art. His work has been exhibited nationally at museums across the country including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the New York Public Library, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, the deYoung Museum in San Francisco, and the Los Angeles Museum. Childs Gallery is proud to have represented this prolific and talented artist since 1998." (Source: website of Childs Gallery on Newbury Street in Boston, MA) Painting is accompanied by an old label inscribed with the title of the painting. Provenance: private Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA collection All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back. A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids. We ship worldwide and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience. #181998
Artemis Gallery
Feb. 09, 2024
1944 Ben Norris Watercolor - Mauna Loa Mountains
Est: $1,500 - $2,250
Ben Norris (American, 1910-2006). "Mauna Loa Mountains" watercolor, 1944. Signed and dated at lower right. A beautiful watercolor painting of the Mauna Loa Mountains by Ben Norris that exemplifies the artist's Zen/spiritual interpretations of natural landscapes. Truly mesmerizing, Norris' masterful rendering of Mauna Loa's lofty peaks inspires awe with transcendent beauty that prompts the viewer to experience a meditative state. In Norris' words, "The act of painting is a combination of apprehension of the environment in which we live with the affirmation and the consolidation of the self within this setting." A very special and impressively large watercolor of the Mauna Loa Mountains by Ben Norris. Size (sight view): 22.25" L x 29.75" W (56.5 cm x 75.6 cm) Size (frame): 34.875" L x 42.75" W (88.6 cm x 108.6 cm) About the artist: "Robert Benjamin Norris was born in 1910 in southern California, where he completed his undergraduate education, executed his first professional paintings, and first exhibited to critical acclaim. Although he continued to paint for 20 years after retiring to New York City and Philadelphia, he may be best known in Hawaii, where he spent the highly prolific middle part of his professional career. Norris has long been identified with the Southern California Watercolor School, which includes his colleagues, Phil Dike, Thomas Craig, Millard Sheets, Milford Zornes and Hardie Gramatky. Although he moved to Hawaii in 1936, he often returned to paint in southern California through the late 1940s and his style remained essentially that of the Southern California Watercolor School through that time. Norris studied at Pomona College, Harvard, and the Sorbonne, but supplemented his schooling by working directly with Stanton Macdonald-Wright, Jean Charlot, Josef Albers and Max Ernst. When the University of Hawaii resumed classes after World War II, Norris became Chairman of the Art Department and seized the opportunity to invite distinguished artists as visiting professors or artists-in-residence. Ernst exerted an especially potent influence, about which Norris later wrote: 'I had invited him to the University. He was both charming and accessible to us, giving me a chance to hear and to understand some authentic 'info' about Surrealism. I eventually merged some of the conventional Surrealist forms of automatic painting with Far Eastern paper handling techniques.' Ben Norris' abstract interpretations of the Hawaiian landscape Wind from the Sea I and The Pali, exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1950, were painted during this decade of artistic exploration. As a teacher, academic, and artist, Norris had an unquenchable thirst for knowledge and continued to master new stylistic methods throughout his career. While well known for his bold watercolors, Norris also became an accomplished printmaker, and experienced much success with his oil and acrylic paintings, as well as his collages. His varied work always seems to imbue a mystical or spiritual aspect, which Norris spoke of in a 1965 interview for Art in America: 'The act of painting is a combination of apprehension of the environment in which we live with the affirmation and the consolidation of the self within this setting. My home-grown Zen is hybridized from Max Ernsts surrealism, a number of contacts with psychiatry (the healing priesthood of our time), and the Religious Society of Friends, called Quakers.' Norris exhibited steadily from 1933 through 2001 in solo and group exhibitions, and garnered many awards including a Fulbright Professorship and a Yaddo Fellowship. He is represented in many permanent collections including the Honolulu Academy of Arts, the Honolulu Museum of Art, the Hawaii State Art Museum, The Smithsonian American Art Museum (Washington, D.C), the McNay Art Museum (San Antonio, Texas), the Oregon State University Memorial Union (Corvallis, Oregon), and the National Museum of American Art. His work has been exhibited nationally at museums across the country including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the New York Public Library, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, the deYoung Museum in San Francisco, and the Los Angeles Museum. Childs Gallery is proud to have represented this prolific and talented artist since 1998." (Source: website of Childs Gallery on Newbury Street in Boston, MA) Painting is accompanied by an old label inscribed with the title of the painting. Provenance: private Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA collection All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back. A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids. We ship worldwide and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience. #181998
Artemis Gallery
Dec. 07, 2023
1944 Ben Norris Watercolor - Mauna Loa Mountains
Est: $1,600 - $2,500
Ben Norris (American, 1910-2006). "Mauna Loa Mountains" watercolor, 1944. Signed and dated at lower right. A beautiful watercolor painting of the Mauna Loa Mountains by Ben Norris that exemplifies the artist's Zen/spiritual interpretations of natural landscapes. Truly mesmerizing, Norris' masterful rendering of Mauna Loa's lofty peaks inspires awe with transcendent beauty that prompts the viewer to experience a meditative state. In Norris' words, "The act of painting is a combination of apprehension of the environment in which we live with the affirmation and the consolidation of the self within this setting." A very special and impressively large watercolor by Ben Norris, mounted in an attractive custom frame. Size (sight view): 22.25" L x 29.75" W (56.5 cm x 75.6 cm) Size (frame): 34.875" L x 42.75" W (88.6 cm x 108.6 cm) About the artist: "Robert Benjamin Norris was born in 1910 in southern California, where he completed his undergraduate education, executed his first professional paintings, and first exhibited to critical acclaim. Although he continued to paint for 20 years after retiring to New York City and Philadelphia, he may be best known in Hawaii, where he spent the highly prolific middle part of his professional career. Norris has long been identified with the Southern California Watercolor School, which includes his colleagues, Phil Dike, Thomas Craig, Millard Sheets, Milford Zornes and Hardie Gramatky. Although he moved to Hawaii in 1936, he often returned to paint in southern California through the late 1940s and his style remained essentially that of the Southern California Watercolor School through that time. Norris studied at Pomona College, Harvard, and the Sorbonne, but supplemented his schooling by working directly with Stanton Macdonald-Wright, Jean Charlot, Josef Albers and Max Ernst. When the University of Hawaii resumed classes after World War II, Norris became Chairman of the Art Department and seized the opportunity to invite distinguished artists as visiting professors or artists-in-residence. Ernst exerted an especially potent influence, about which Norris later wrote: 'I had invited him to the University. He was both charming and accessible to us, giving me a chance to hear and to understand some authentic 'info' about Surrealism. I eventually merged some of the conventional Surrealist forms of automatic painting with Far Eastern paper handling techniques.' Ben Norris' abstract interpretations of the Hawaiian landscape Wind from the Sea I and The Pali, exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1950, were painted during this decade of artistic exploration. As a teacher, academic, and artist, Norris had an unquenchable thirst for knowledge and continued to master new stylistic methods throughout his career. While well known for his bold watercolors, Norris also became an accomplished printmaker, and experienced much success with his oil and acrylic paintings, as well as his collages. His varied work always seems to imbue a mystical or spiritual aspect, which Norris spoke of in a 1965 interview for Art in America: 'The act of painting is a combination of apprehension of the environment in which we live with the affirmation and the consolidation of the self within this setting. My home-grown Zen is hybridized from Max Ernsts surrealism, a number of contacts with psychiatry (the healing priesthood of our time), and the Religious Society of Friends, called Quakers.' Norris exhibited steadily from 1933 through 2001 in solo and group exhibitions, and garnered many awards including a Fulbright Professorship and a Yaddo Fellowship. He is represented in many permanent collections including the Honolulu Academy of Arts, the Honolulu Museum of Art, the Hawaii State Art Museum, The Smithsonian American Art Museum (Washington, D.C), the McNay Art Museum (San Antonio, Texas), the Oregon State University Memorial Union (Corvallis, Oregon), and the National Museum of American Art. His work has been exhibited nationally at museums across the country including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the New York Public Library, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, the deYoung Museum in San Francisco, and the Los Angeles Museum. Childs Gallery is proud to have represented this prolific and talented artist since 1998." (Source: website of Childs Gallery on Newbury Street in Boston, MA) Provenance: private Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA collection All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back. A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids. We ship worldwide and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience. #181998
Artemis Gallery
Aug. 02, 2023
Robert Benjamin (Ben) Norris (1910-2006) Two Young Men 42 x 34 in. (106.7 x 86.4 cm) Painted in 1940. (In a Koa wood frame.)
Est: $6,000 - $8,000
Robert Benjamin (Ben) Norris (1910-2006) Two Young Men signed and dated 'BEN NORRIS 1940' (lower left) oil on canvas 42 x 34 in. (106.7 x 86.4 cm) Painted in 1940. In a Koa wood frame.
Bonhams
Apr. 29, 2023
1942 Ben Norris Aquatint Engraving "Old Tree on Tantalus" Hawaii
Est: $300 - $500
1942 Ben Norris (1910-2006) Aquatint Engraving "Old Tree on Tantalus" Oahu, Hawaii, signed and dated in pencil lower right "Ben Norris 1942" and titled lower left "Old Tree on Tantalus" remarked "2 nd State" under mat. With 1948 California State Library Prints Room exhibition label on reverse. Sight 6.5 in. x 8.5 in. Overall 19 in. x 14 in.
Rafael Osona Auctions
Oct. 05, 2019
Large Painting of Hawaiian/Hawaii Scene by Ben Norris
Est: $1,500 - $4,500
Gouache and Watercolor. Ben Norris (1910-2006). 'Mauna Lua Mountains', signed 'Ben Norris 1944', framed under glass. Frame: 89 x 109cm (35 x 43in), sight: 56 x 76cm (22 x 30in)
Ancient Objects
Nov. 13, 2017
BEN NORRIS | L.A. Industrial with Gas Tanks
Est: $20,000 - $30,000
oil on canvas
Sotheby's
May. 20, 2017
Mixed media, Ben Norris
Est: $600 - $900
Ben Norris (American, 1910-2006), "Kaena I, No. 240," 1963, mixed media acrylic and collage on board, signed and dated lower left and verso, titled verso, cat. no. 240, overall (with frame): 25"h x 19"w
Clars Auctions
Apr. 12, 2015
Norris, Mauna Loa Mountains, W/C
Est: $500 - $1,000
Ben Norris (American, 1910-2006), Mauna Loa mountains, watercolor, framed under glass, signed and dated 1944 lower right, 22" h x 30" w (view), 35" h x 43" w (frame). Provenance: From the Estate of the late Charles C. Hife, Stockton, CA.
Kaminski Auctions
Mar. 17, 2013
Ben Norris, Impending Storm over Rural California, 1935, watercolor
Est: $600 - $800
Ben Norris (Californian, 1910-2006), Impending Storm over California Hills, 1935, watercolor, signed and dated lower right, sight: 14.25"h x 21.75"w, overall: 28.5"h x 36"w
Clars Auctions
Sep. 09, 2011
Ben Norris (American, 1910-2006) Guarded (Kapu), 1963 Signed "Norris 1963" l.c., titled and inscribed "...Cat. No. 250 N.Y.C. Oct-No...
Est: $1,000 - $1,500
Ben Norris (American, 1910-2006) Guarded (Kapu), 1963 Signed "Norris 1963" l.c., titled and inscribed "...Cat. No. 250 N.Y.C. Oct-Nov 1963" on the stretcher. Mixed media (oil and paper collage) on Masonite, 48 x 36 in. (121.9 x 91.4 cm), framed. Condition: Minor surface grime. Provenance: A private New England collection.
Skinner
Sep. 09, 2011
Ben Norris (American, 1910-2006) Kapoho II, 1960 Signed and dated "NORRIS '60" u.r., identified on the artist's label and with a lab.
Est: $600 - $800
Ben Norris (American, 1910-2006) Kapoho II, 1960 Signed and dated "NORRIS '60" u.r., identified on the artist's label and with a label from Munson Gallery, New Haven, Connecticut, affixed to the reverse. Mixed media (oil, gold leaf, and paper collage) on Masonite, 24 x 16 in. (61.0 x 40.6 cm), framed. Condition: Minor surface dust. Provenance: A private New England collection.
Skinner
Nov. 20, 2010
Ben Norris (1910-2006, American), watercolor painting
Est: $1,500 - $2,500
Ben Norris (1910-2006, American), watercolor painting. "Mud Puddle with Tire Tracks", watercolor on paper, signed and dated "Norris - '80", upper right, 44.5" x 44.5" (sheet), framed under glass - Provenance: A.M. Sachs Gallery, NY - Condition Report: overall good and original, no damage observed
Millea Bros Ltd
Sep. 12, 2010
Ben Norris
Est: $600 - $900
Ben Norris Hawaii/California (1910-2006) SURREALIST PATH WITH TREES watercolor/gouache, unframed, signed & dated: lower right, Norris/'50 overall: H21 3/8" W14 1/8" Other Notes: Ben Norris grew up in California and moved to Hawaii in 1936. He taught at the University of Hawaii from 1937-1976 and was Chair of the Art Department. He exhibited at the Santa Monica Art Association, 1934; the California Watercolor Society, 1935-53; Pomona College, 1935, 1946; the Oakland Art Gallery, 1936; the New York World's Fair, 1939; the Crocker Art Gallery, 1946; and Santa Barbara Museum, 1946.
Charlton Hall
Feb. 20, 2007
Ben Norris (1910-2006 Honolulu, Hawaii)
Est: $1,000 - $2,000
signed and dated lower right: Ben Norris 1945, signed again and inscribed with title on mat verso
John Moran Auctioneers