Exhibitions

July 20, 2018 - September 22, 2018: We are pleased to present three rare lithographs by Henrietta Shore, one of California's and, indeed, America's, foremost Modernist artists. Read More

June 2018: We are pleased to present several artworks by Victor Arnautoff just released by the Artist’s Estate. These artworks exemplify the breadth of talent of this versatile artist. They include lithographs, watercolors, a charcoal drawing and oil paintings. Read More

May 2018: We have been busy discovering new artworks for our clients and are pleased to share them with you. This exhibition features artwork by Betty F. Helfen, Thomas Flavell, Harvey Prusheck, Herman Lauter, Jerre H. Murry, and Lucretia Van Horn. Read More

March 2018: We are pleased to present four rare WPA mural studies created by Otis Oldfield, one of the leaders of the Bay Area Modernist movement. These mural studies were submitted in competition for the position of muralist in three different Federal buildings: the Stockton Post Office, the Modesto Post Office and the Rincon Annex Post Office in San Francisco. Read More

Winter 2018: Here are some of our newest art acquisitions. They are diverse and of both historical and aesthetic value. Discover artworks by Victor Arnautoff, Jerre H. Murry, Helen Clark Oldfield, Otis Oldfield, and Henry Sugimoto. Read More

December 2017 and Beyond: Here at Spencer Helfen Fine Arts we have some wonderful ideas of artworks that make for cherished gifts and memories. Read More

December 2017: We are proud to present five large-scale sculptures by Icelandic-born artist Nina Saemundsson – the first such grouping by any artist we have represented in our Gallery’s nearly 15-year history. The final five sculptures presented to our Gallery by the Estate of this highly accomplished artist are not only significant in scale, but are historically important and of great aesthetic beauty. Read More

June 2017 - October 31, 2017: We can hardly express our surprise and delight at the discovery by the Estate of Frede Vidar of six previously unknown artworks: two oil paintings and four works on paper! Read More

Special Announcement: We are extremely pleased to announce the publication of “Victor Arnautoff and the Politics of Art” by Robert W. Cherny, professor emeritus of history at San Francisco State University. This important work about one of California’s foremost Modernist artists helps solidify Arnautoff’s place in California as a prominent leader in the arts community during the tumultuous period that our Gallery has showcased and represented since our inception. Read More

Fall 2016: Presenting fresh, new acquisitions to the Gallery’s clientele always is exciting. We are especially pleased to present noteworthy artworks by Mabel Alvarez, Karoly Fulop, Robert Kennicott, Buckley MacGurrin, Jerre H. Murry, Nina Saemundsson, and Bernard Zakheim. Read More

Fall 2015: Each Fall season brings new and exciting inventory into our Gallery. From rare drawings by the master of Social Surrealism, Irving Norman, to sensitive, personal sculptures by highly acclaimed and Iceland-born sculptor Nina Saemundsson, to an ever so uncommon portrait by Edward Terada, there is something for art enthusiasts of every stripe. Read More

Spring and Summer 2015: It is with great pleasure that we present our new acquisitions for Spring 2015. This group of paintings represents in a significant way the diversity of California and American Modernism. Read More

Winter 2015: We are pleased to present three highly diverse artworks for your consideration this holiday season. This exhibition features artworks by Mac Harshberger, Arthur P. Koch, and Carl Thorp. Read More

Spring and Summer 2014: We are pleased to present our new acquisitions for Spring and Summer 2014 in conjunction with our ongoing exhibition California Modernism 1910 – 1950. These artworks are exceptional for their diversity and historical importance. Read More

April 2014: In our Back Room Gallery we are pleased to present Victor Arnautoff – Works on Paper, 1929 – 1955. The exhibition features drawings in charcoal and ink, watercolors and very rare lithographs. Read More

April 2014: We also are featuring a special collection of Emil Janel sculptures. These carvings were created by the artist in the 1930s, 1940s and early 1950s, and each carving depicts a good-natured character. Read More

February 2013: In 2013 we celebrate our tenth anniversary. This is a testament to the enduring majesty of the artwork created in California during the Modern period, i.e. 1910 - 1950. We are grateful to our clients and all others who have supported us in various ways throughout the years. Read More

February 2013: In an ongoing feature of our Gallery we again exhibit new work by contemporary artist Jeffrey Kirby. Kirby once again demonstrates his own fresh vision coupled with his inspiration derived from the Regionalist painters of the 1930s. Read More

Summer and Fall, 2012: In 2012 we discovered some lesser-known and rare work by California Modernists, as well as some artworks by artists that were familiar to us. Read More

November 5, 2011 - June 30, 2012: Our new exhibition is an important survey of images of women, as conceived by artists living and working in California from approximately 1910 to 1950. This exciting array of work was created by some of California’s foremost Modernists. Read More

November 5, 2011 - June 30 2012: Jeffrey Kirby's unique style and compositions are well exemplified in our newest selections from the Artist's studio. Read More

Ending October 22, 2011: Our ongoing exhibition includes a large selection of artworks created during the 1930s and 1940s by artists who were employed by the WPA and related Federal art programs. It also features some of the Gallery’s favorite artworks by California’s foremost Modernists. Read More

Summer and Fall, 2010: We are pleased to present a very diverse group of new acquisitions – as diverse as the artists who created them. Works on paper are a featured aspect of this exhibition, as well as oils, sculpture and European art. Read More

Ending October 22, 2011: Our ongoing exhibition includes a large selection of artworks created during the 1930s and 1940s by artists who were employed by the WPA and related Federal art programs. It also features some of the Gallery’s favorite artworks by California’s foremost Modernists. Read More

June 27, 2009 - December 12, 2009: We are pleased to introduce our latest acquisitions, featuring medals by sculptors Chester Beach and Albert Stewart, and artwork by Alexander Cañedo, Pele de Lappe, Erle Loran, Elmer Plummer, and Lucretia Van Horn. Read More

June 27, 2009 - December 12, 2009: Jeffrey Kirby's unique style and compositions are well exemplified in our newest selections from the Artist's studio. With a reach back to American Regionalism of the 1930s, Jeffrey's paintings are vibrant, exciting and utterly pleasing. Read More

Ending October 22, 2011: Our ongoing exhibition includes a large selection of artworks created during the 1930s and 1940s by artists who were employed by the WPA and related Federal art programs. It also features some of the Gallery’s favorite artworks by California’s foremost Modernists. Read More

December 13, 2008 - June 20, 2009: The breadth of California Modernism from the north to the south and from the early 1920s to 1950 is well represented in our latest exhibition. Read More

December 13, 2008 - June 20, 2009: The Portrait Personalities is a look at the faces of the 1920s and 1930s as described pictorially by Victor Arnautoff, John Langley Howard, Emil Janel, Peter Krasnow and Frede Vidar. Read More

June 21, 2008 - December 6, 2009: We are pleased to present one of our most historically significant exhibitions: Figurative Art in California During the Modern Period. In our new exhibition we travel through time in presenting paintings and sculpture that trace the early Modernist interpretations of the figure from as early as 1910 through 1950. Read More

December 15, 2007 - April 26, 2008: This exhibition features stunning and fresh artworks by Victor Arnautoff, Karoly Fulop, John Haley, Peter Krasnow, Erle Loran, Helen Clark Oldfield, Otis Oldfield, Zygmund Sazevich, and many others. Read More

August 4, 2007 – November 3, 2007: In classical antiquity the nude was a revered and frequently depicted artistic subject. The reverence for the nude as art would wax and wane over the centuries due in part to changing societal mores. This exhibition explores some of the ways that the California Modernists interpreted the most intimate of subjects – the human body. Read More

August 4, 2007 – November 3, 2007: This exhibition highlights a small portion of the artistic journey of one of California’s foremost Modernist artists. Read More

April 14, 2007 - July 28, 2007: The California Modernist Landscape is a sweeping overview of Modernist rural and urban landscape art by artists working in Northern and Southern California during the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. Read More

April 14, 2007 - July 28, 2007: We are pleased to introduce to our patrons Southern California artist Jeffrey Kirby. In his art, Mr. Kirby juxtaposes vibrant color with the sensual forms of nature, creating works that are inspired by and reminiscent of the important work of the American Regionalists of the 1930s. Read More

December 9, 2006 - April 7, 2007: Included in this exhibition are bright and fresh examples of early California Modernism, together with selections of our Gallery's favorite artworks by some of California's foremost Modernists of the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. The exhibition includes oil paintings, watercolors, sculpture, drawings and prints. Read More

December 9, 2006 - April 7, 2007: This versatile artist, who routinely commented on social inequities in his Depression-era art, also experimented with Cubism and other early Modernist styles. These striking and passionate works come from the Estate of the Artist. Read More

September 16, 2006 – December 2, 2006: This exhibition provides an uncompromising look at the vivid, colorful and historically innovative approach to portraiture by California’s foremost Modernists of the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. Read More

September 16, 2006 – November 11, 2006: We are pleased to present a selection of portraits in ink, watercolor and other media, featuring works by Victor Arnautoff, Edward Biberman, Francis de Erdely, Avis Zeidler, and others. Read More

July 1, 2006 - September 2, 2006: This exhibition is an extension of, and builds upon, our exhibition of our most recent acquisitions, highlighting California's foremost modernists of the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s, with a few works introducing the language of 1950s modernism to our Gallery visitors. Read More

March 11, 2006 – June 30, 2006: We are pleased to present our most recent acquisitions of important California Modernist paintings and sculpture from the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. Read More

March 11, 2006 – June 30, 2006: We are pleased to present a selection of works on paper in charcoal, graphite, gouache, watercolor and other media. Read More

November 5, 2005 - March 4, 2006: The work of Nils Gren, though representational, is as much about shape, texture, color, and shading as it is about the countryside, the towns, or the people and objects that inhabit his paintings. Read More

November 5, 2005 - March 4, 2006: Jacques Schnier’s sculptures and works on paper emphasized form, and incorporated rhythmic design and a purity of line, setting a standard for the Art Deco aesthetic. We are pleased to present sculptures, ink wash and graphite drawings by this Art Deco master. Read More

June 4, 2005 - October 29, 2005: This exhibition constitutes one of the most extensive and important surveys of art by California Women Modernists since the seminal 1995 museum exhibition: Independent Spirits - Women Painters of the American West, 1890 - 1945. Read More

March 5, 2005 - May 28, 2005: We are proud to present our most recent acquisitions of important California Modernist works of art from the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. Read More

March 5, 2005 - May 28, 2005: We are pleased to present a survey of works from 1920 to 1950 by John Emmett Gerrity (1895 - 1980) in our new Back Room Gallery. Read More

November 6, 2004 - January 29, 2005: Figurative art has been a mainstay for artists throughout the ages. But California Modernist interpretations of the figure during the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s brought a new boldness of color, composition and sensuality to the genre. We are pleased to present an extensive survey of interpretations of the figure by some of California's foremost Modernists. Read More

November 6, 2004 - January 29, 2005: We are pleased to present our new Back Room Gallery! Our first exhibition in the Back Room Gallery is The California Modernist Landscape, featuring works by Victor Arnautoff, Rinaldo Cuneo, Oscar Galgiani, Stanislaus Poray and Warren Newcombe. Read More

August 7, 2004 - October 30, 2004: As much as the painters in oil expanded the frontiers of Modernism in California, so too did those artists who worked in other media. This exhibition focuses exclusively on works on paper by important and lesser-known California Modernists working in the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s. Read More

May 5, 2004 - July 31, 2004: This exhibition is an important survey of the California Modernist approach to the still life during the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. The still life is a hallowed theme for artists. We are pleased to provide a rare glimpse into the methods and styles implemented by California artists to achieve and expand upon the Modernist still life genre. Read More

May 5, 2004 - July 31, 2004: Artists working in Southern California during the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s produced outstanding and iconoclastic paintings. This exhibition highlights five exceptional artists whose styles, themes and approaches to their subjects differed greatly and help to underscore the diversity of artistic expression and experimentation in this critical period in the history of California art. Read More

September 30, 2003 - January 10, 2004: Trends in Northern California Modernism is an unprecedented survey of Modernist themes and styles implemented by artists active in the 1930s in Northern California. Our second exhibition features fine paintings in oil, tempera, watercolor and graphite, as well as sculptures in wood and ceramic. Read More

June 28, 2003 - September 27, 2003: In our opening exhibition, Spencer Helfen Fine Arts presents the works of 16 artists who lived and worked in Southern California — offering a survey of Modernist themes, styles and techniques as expressed by these important Southern California Modernists. Read More