Dusti Bongé | Early Works

Dusti Bongé’s early work is characterized by a modern style influenced by Cubism. Inspired by the surroundings of her native Biloxi, she would often sketch during her walks collecting rents from the seafood workers who lived along the Back Bay. In 1939, she first exhibited her work in New York City at the Contemporary Arts Gallery. In the 1940s, she began experimenting with Surrealism and created a series of work based upon her “Keyhole” people. Her Surrealist compositions continued to evolve into the early 1950s when she created an accomplished group of paintings based upon the circus that was visiting Biloxi.

P-105

Biloxi Scene with Boat and Camp, 1943
oil on canvas, signed upper right, 18 x 22 in., in a period painted wood slat frame.

SOLD

W38-023

Untitled (Floral Still Life), c. 1938
Pastel on paper, unsigned, 9 x 12 in.
Archivally matted and framed with museum glass.
SOLD

W39-043

Car and Buildings, c. 1936-39
Oil crayon on paper, unsigned, 8 1/2 x 11 1/2 in. sight.
Archivally matted and framed with museum glass.
SOLD

W39-045

Boats at the Dock, Back Bay, Biloxi, c. 1936-39
Oil crayon on paper, signed lower right, 10 1/2 x 13 1/2 in. sight.
Archivally framed in a contemporary pickled wood frame with a white mat and UV glass.
SOLD

W39-072

Houses in Biloxi, c. 1936-39
oil crayon on paper, unsigned, 11 x 13 ½ in.
Archivally framed.
SOLD

W42-006

Untitled (River Landscape), 1942
Pastel on paper, unsigned, dated en verso, 9 x 12 in.
Unframed.
SOLD

W38-007

Untitled (Sailboats at the Dock), c. 1938
Pastel on paper, unsigned, 15 x 20 in.
Unframed.
SOLD

W38-025

Untitled (Still Life of Sunflowers), c. 1938
watercolor on paper, signed lower right, 10 ¾ x 14 ¼ in
Matted.
SOLD

W39-040

Seafood Factory, Biloxi, c. 1935-39
Oil and crayon on paper, unsigned, 10 x 13 1/2 in. sight.
Archival framed in a contemporary pickled wood frame with a white mat and UV glass.
SOLD

W39-053

Boat and Building on the Back Bay, Biloxi, c. 1936-39
Oil and crayon on paper, unsigned, 11 x 13 1/2 in. sight.
Archival framed in a contemporary pickled wood frame with a white mat and UV glass.
SOLD

W42-010

Portrait of Hazel Guggenheim McKinley, 1942
Pastel on paper, signed lower right, 14 x 12 in.
Unframed.
SOLD

W45-009

Untitled (Surrealist Composition with Horse), c. 1945
Watercolor and ink on paper, signed lower right, 11 3/4 x 15 3/4 in.
Archival matted and framed with museum glass.
SOLD

W50-108

Untitled (Surrealist Keyhole People), 1950
watercolor on paper, signed and dated “’50” upper left and signed lower right, 11 ¾ x 9 in.
Archivally framed in a light wood frame with a white mat.
SOLD

W52-012

Untitled (Surrealist Composition), c. 1952
Watercolor and ink on paper, signed upper left, 11 3/4 x 15 1/2 in.
Unframed.
SOLD

W52-016

Untitled (Surrealist Circus Figures), c. 1952
Watercolor and ink on paper, signed lower right, 17 x 13 3/4 in.
Unframed.
SOLD