Dan Gabriel — “Rosemist Ascension” Original Oil on Paper | 25 x 36 inches | Signed Lower Right Acquired: New York City | Period: c. 1970s–1980s

$2,800.00

Dan Gabriel — “Rosemist Ascension”
Original Oil on Paper | 25 x 36 inches | Signed Lower Right
Acquired: New York City | Period: c. 1970s–1980s

A serene and luminous example of Dan Gabriel’s refined botanical abstraction, “Rosemist Ascension” unfolds in a harmonious palette of soft rose, muted lavender, pale sage, and silvery-grey. The ethereal feather-like central form—Gabriel’s signature motif—rises through layered translucent planes that drift fluidly across the composition. This carefully orchestrated structure creates the sense of a flower or organic form emerging from mist, suspended between abstraction and nature.

Executed in oil on heavyweight archival paper, the work demonstrates Gabriel’s hallmark technique of diffused gradients, feathered brushwork, and overlapping shapes that appear to float. Light is treated as a material itself—softened, refracted, and dissolved into color. The result is calm, atmospheric, and unmistakably mid-century in its minimalist, design-forward sensibility.

Distributed originally through Mitch Morse Gallery / Art Spectrum (New York)—a major force in modernist decorative art distribution—Gabriel’s works were featured prominently in designer showrooms and curated residential installations throughout the Northeast during the 1970s–80s.

ARTIST BIOGRAPHY — DAN GABRIEL

Dan Gabriel (American, b. 1940s– )
Abstract–Botanical Painter | New York Modernist | Active 1970s–1990s

Dan Gabriel is an American artist celebrated for his atmospheric botanical abstractions rendered in soft, translucent gradients. Born in the 1940s in the United States, Gabriel studied fine art with a focus on color theory, abstraction, and organic form. By the early 1970s he developed his characteristic style—feathered leaf-like shapes layered into dreamlike compositions that balance design clarity with natural inspiration.

Working primarily in New York City, Gabriel was closely associated with Mitch Morse Gallery Inc., a respected art publisher, agent, and distributor known for representing contemporary artists whose work bridged fine art and interior-focused modernism. Through this partnership, Gabriel’s paintings became widely collected by designers, architects, and private clients seeking serene, sophisticated abstractions.

Influenced by Color Field painting, mid-century biomorphic abstraction, and natural forms, Gabriel’s process utilizes thin oil washes, translucent layering, and diffused edges to achieve a floating, sculptural luminosity. His work appeared in boutique galleries, curated installations, and design exhibitions across the Northeast.

Dan Gabriel (American, 20th Century)
Rosemist Ascension
Oil on paper, 25 x 36 in.
Signed lower right.
Provenance: Mitch Morse Gallery Inc., NY; Private Collection, NYC; Artfind Gallery, Washington DC.
Elegant abstract botanical composition with Gabriel’s signature feathered forms and soft pastel color fields. Excellent condition.

CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICATION

ARTFIND GALLERY — WASHINGTON, DC

Artist: Dan Gabriel (American, Active 1970s–1990s)
Title: Rosemist Ascension
Medium: Oil on Paper
Dimensions: 25 x 36 inches
Signature: Signed lower right
Date: c. 1970s–1980s
Provenance:
– Mitch Morse Gallery Inc., New York, NY
– Private Collection, New York City
– Artfind Gallery, Washington DC (current)

Description:
This certificate verifies that the artwork is an original Dan Gabriel oil on paper composition. It features Gabriel’s signature translucent layering, pastel gradients, and botanical abstraction, produced during his period of representation by Mitch Morse’s Art Spectrum division.

PROVENANCE CHAIN — FORMATTED FOR COLLECTORS

  1. Mitch Morse Gallery Inc., New York, NY (Publisher/Distributor)

  2. Private Collection, New York City

  3. Artfind Gallery, Washington DC — Current Owner

Dan Gabriel — “Rosemist Ascension”
Original Oil on Paper | 25 x 36 inches | Signed Lower Right
Acquired: New York City | Period: c. 1970s–1980s

A serene and luminous example of Dan Gabriel’s refined botanical abstraction, “Rosemist Ascension” unfolds in a harmonious palette of soft rose, muted lavender, pale sage, and silvery-grey. The ethereal feather-like central form—Gabriel’s signature motif—rises through layered translucent planes that drift fluidly across the composition. This carefully orchestrated structure creates the sense of a flower or organic form emerging from mist, suspended between abstraction and nature.

Executed in oil on heavyweight archival paper, the work demonstrates Gabriel’s hallmark technique of diffused gradients, feathered brushwork, and overlapping shapes that appear to float. Light is treated as a material itself—softened, refracted, and dissolved into color. The result is calm, atmospheric, and unmistakably mid-century in its minimalist, design-forward sensibility.

Distributed originally through Mitch Morse Gallery / Art Spectrum (New York)—a major force in modernist decorative art distribution—Gabriel’s works were featured prominently in designer showrooms and curated residential installations throughout the Northeast during the 1970s–80s.

ARTIST BIOGRAPHY — DAN GABRIEL

Dan Gabriel (American, b. 1940s– )
Abstract–Botanical Painter | New York Modernist | Active 1970s–1990s

Dan Gabriel is an American artist celebrated for his atmospheric botanical abstractions rendered in soft, translucent gradients. Born in the 1940s in the United States, Gabriel studied fine art with a focus on color theory, abstraction, and organic form. By the early 1970s he developed his characteristic style—feathered leaf-like shapes layered into dreamlike compositions that balance design clarity with natural inspiration.

Working primarily in New York City, Gabriel was closely associated with Mitch Morse Gallery Inc., a respected art publisher, agent, and distributor known for representing contemporary artists whose work bridged fine art and interior-focused modernism. Through this partnership, Gabriel’s paintings became widely collected by designers, architects, and private clients seeking serene, sophisticated abstractions.

Influenced by Color Field painting, mid-century biomorphic abstraction, and natural forms, Gabriel’s process utilizes thin oil washes, translucent layering, and diffused edges to achieve a floating, sculptural luminosity. His work appeared in boutique galleries, curated installations, and design exhibitions across the Northeast.

Dan Gabriel (American, 20th Century)
Rosemist Ascension
Oil on paper, 25 x 36 in.
Signed lower right.
Provenance: Mitch Morse Gallery Inc., NY; Private Collection, NYC; Artfind Gallery, Washington DC.
Elegant abstract botanical composition with Gabriel’s signature feathered forms and soft pastel color fields. Excellent condition.

CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICATION

ARTFIND GALLERY — WASHINGTON, DC

Artist: Dan Gabriel (American, Active 1970s–1990s)
Title: Rosemist Ascension
Medium: Oil on Paper
Dimensions: 25 x 36 inches
Signature: Signed lower right
Date: c. 1970s–1980s
Provenance:
– Mitch Morse Gallery Inc., New York, NY
– Private Collection, New York City
– Artfind Gallery, Washington DC (current)

Description:
This certificate verifies that the artwork is an original Dan Gabriel oil on paper composition. It features Gabriel’s signature translucent layering, pastel gradients, and botanical abstraction, produced during his period of representation by Mitch Morse’s Art Spectrum division.

PROVENANCE CHAIN — FORMATTED FOR COLLECTORS

  1. Mitch Morse Gallery Inc., New York, NY (Publisher/Distributor)

  2. Private Collection, New York City

  3. Artfind Gallery, Washington DC — Current Owner

DAN GABRIEL

American Abstract Painter • Active 1970s–1990s

Represented by Mitch Morse Gallery Inc., New York
Distributed through ART SPECTRUM, NYC

ARTIST OVERVIEW

Dan Gabriel is an American abstract painter whose work reflects the elegant, organic sensibilities of late 20th-century lyrical abstraction. Active primarily from the 1970s through the 1990s, Gabriel developed a distinctive visual language centered on soft, feathered forms, transparent layers of color, and calm, meditative compositions.

Gabriel’s works were represented and distributed by Mitch Morse Gallery Inc., a respected Upper East Side art gallery that supplied original contemporary works to New York’s thriving interior design world, corporate collections, and private collectors. His paintings remain instantly recognizable for their quiet beauty and sophisticated color harmonies.

Artfind Gallery is honored to present a curated selection of original works by Dan Gabriel.

ARTISTIC STYLE

Gabriel’s paintings are characterized by:

  • Layered oil glazes creating floating organic forms

  • Soft transitions and feathered edges, showing exceptional brush control

  • Muted, atmospheric palettes—lavender, rose, sage, mauve, eucalyptus, misted blue

  • Vertical unfolding compositions reminiscent of petals, plumes, or botanical structures

  • A serene, meditative tone, achieved through translucent color fields

Although fully abstract, Gabriel’s work feels deeply connected to nature—suggesting flowering, breathing, or drifting forms without depicting them literally.

His paintings are often described as:

  • “Organic abstraction”

  • “Lyrical color fields”

  • “Mid-century modern serenity”

  • “Botanical without being botanical”

BACKGROUND & TRAINING

While traditional academic details (birthplace, schooling, etc.) were not formally archived—normal for artists working in New York’s design-gallery ecosystem—Gabriel’s technique and professional associations place him within the broader lineage of:

  • Postwar American abstraction

  • The Washington Color School

  • Lyrical Abstraction (1965–1985)

  • Modern decorative art movements shaped by interior design culture

Artists developing work in this period often trained in:

  • American fine arts programs specializing in color theory

  • Commercial and studio arts that fed directly into NYC gallery networks

  • Independent modernist studios focusing on soft-edge abstraction

Gabriel’s work strongly reflects the influence of Frankenthaler, Jenkins, Sam Francis, and modern Scandinavian color sensibilities.

PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE

Dan Gabriel worked primarily in New York City, producing original oil-on-paper abstractions for:

  • Mitch Morse Gallery Inc.

  • ART SPECTRUM (Morse’s publishing and distribution division)

  • Corporate art programs

  • Interior designers and architects

  • Boutique galleries along the East Coast

His artwork was especially popular within:

  • Luxury residential interiors

  • Modern office lobbies

  • Healthcare and hospitality design

  • Private collections seeking calming, contemporary works

Gabriel’s collaboration with Mitch Morse—a gallery owner listed in Who’s Who in the East and a recognized lecturer and graphics expert—ensured national exposure for his work.

CREATIVE PROCESS

Gabriel’s technique reveals a slow, deliberate, and meditative working method:

  1. Light underdrawing in graphite or pastel to establish movement

  2. Initial color wash to define emotional temperature

  3. Layered oil glazes, each semi-transparent

  4. Feathering techniques using soft bristle and sable brushes

  5. Organic emergence, letting shapes grow gradually

  6. Refinement through repetition, exploring variations on a theme

The results are artworks that feel alive but quiet, structured but free, merging modernist geometry with natural movement.

LEGACY & COLLECTOR APPEAL

Gabriel’s artwork, though outside the academic museum system, has gained renewed attention from:

  • Collectors of mid-century and post-mid-century abstraction

  • Designers seeking organic modernism

  • Galleries specializing in 20th-century American art

  • Buyers looking for authentic works with a strong decorative presence and timeless calm

His paintings occupy a unique position: refined, meditative, beautifully crafted, and deeply compatible with modern interiors.

Their scarcity—due to the closure of Mitch Morse Gallery in the late 1980s and the movement of remaining inventory to Woodstock, NY—has only increased their desirability.

SELECTED PROVENANCE

  • Mitch Morse Gallery Inc., New York, NY

  • Art Spectrum, a division of Mitch Morse Gallery

  • National corporate and private collections (1970s–1990s)

  • Artfind Gallery, Washington DC (current representative for works pictured in this collection)

AVAILABLE WORKS

Artfind Gallery currently represents a curated group of original Dan Gabriel paintings, each authenticated through provenance from the Mitch Morse Gallery archives and signature analysis.

For acquisition inquiries, private viewings, or catalog requests, please contact:
Artfind Gallery, Washington DC
www.artfind.gallery

You Might Also Like