WALTER SANFORD (AMERICAN, 1912–1987) OIL ON CANVAS 1948 H 13.5" W 9.5" EVE SHOULD HAVE BEEN FIRST

Signed, titled and dated verso, there is another artist's signature in the lower left recto. Walter Sanford was one of the first and only black social realism and abstract expressionist artists of the 20th century. He was heralded “Black Picasso” and “Detroit’s Picasso” for his cubist figure paintings and in 1958 he won the Prix de Paris La Grande Saison de Paris at the Raymond Duncan Galleries. He opened the first black-owned art gallery and exhibited at the first Negro Art Exhibition and Negro History Week in Detroit. Sanford was hailed as one of Michigan’s foremost modern art painters in 1952. Sanford was part of the Second Wave (1941-1960) of the Black Chicago Renaissance of African-American artists and embraced a range of styles and influences. Framed H 18.5" W 14.5"
Condition: with pale time staining, otherwise no visible abrasions.