Catalog: Sold Items (421)

A fine Chinese Ming dynasty period large storage jar with dragon design the top has loops to tie the wooden top for long term storage. Beautiful museum quality example large in size and fine in form measuring approx. 35.5 inches.

James E. Stuart Yosemite Valley indian camp with El Capitan and Bridal veil falls A fine original oil painting on canvas 20 x 24 inches painted 1914 by in excellent all original condition in a quality gallery frame. James Everett Stuart 1852 - 1941 Eight year old James Everett Stuart arrived in California with his parents in 1860. He attended school in San Francisco and studied art with Thomas Hill and William Keith. His early work reflected the mood and mystery of the French Barbizon school. He painted plein air throughout the west and Alaska. He held a special fascination with Yellowstone. Prior to his death at age 88, he maintained a studio in San Francisco near Union Square for nearly thirty years. He was a member of the Bohemian Club, and many of his paintings were hung on the walls of fellow member's homes. His work also adorned the walls of the White House. His work has been exhibited by the historical societies of Oregon, Washington, and Montana.

A beautiful original Nels Hagerup oil painting of a sail boat off the coast of San Francisco ocean beach. In excellent all original condition canvas size measuring 18x24 inches in the original antique frame. A fine example of this noted artists work.

biography

Nels Hagerup (1864-1922) was born in Christiania, Norway in 1864 into a family that included the composer Edward Hagerup Grieg. Nels Hagerup studied at the Christiania Art School, Royal Academy in Berlin, and in Copenhagen with Carl Locher. After sailing to the West Coast as a merchant seaman in 1882, he settled in Portland, Oregon. There he was an instructor of drawing at the Bishop Scott Academy (now called Hill Academy) and was a founder of the Portland Art Association. About 1892 he moved to San Francisco where he remained. He worked there as a stevedore on the waterfront and later established a home and studio in the Sunset District at 1224 46th Avenue within walking distance of the ocean. Hagerup painted nearly 6,000 oils of sand dunes, ships and marine scenes. One of his more important works is the 16' x 18' mural in the Assembly Room of the San Francisco Merchants' Exchange Building. Hagerup was a master of atmospheric seascapes. He died of a heart attack in his studio on March 13, 1922. Exhibited: Lewis & Clark Expo (Portland), 1905 (gold medal); Alaska-Yukon Expo (Seattle), 1909 (gold medal); California Historical Society, 1963 (retrospective). Works held: California Historical Society; San Bruno (CA) Public Library.

California Impressionist landscape path with trees by Karl Eugen Neuhaus original oil on canvas signed lower left. Measuring approx. 28 x 30 inches. A fine example of this highly regarded artists work. Biography

Known as a California Impressionist influenced by Tonalism and also an early modernist painter, Karl Neuhaus was also an active lecturer and teacher. Neuhaus was born in Barmen (Wuppertal), Germany, in 1879. He apprenticed with a house painter while studying at the Royal Art School in Kassel, graduating in 1899. He proceeded to the Berlin Royal Institute for Applied Arts where he studied under Otto Eckmann, Max Koch and Carl Brunner. Neuhaus moved to San Francisco, California, in 1904 where he established a studio across a hallway from William Keith. While living in San Francisco he exhibited with the San Francisco Art Association and became a member of the Bohemian Club. After the San Francisco Earthquake in 1906 he relocated to the Monterey peninsula, in the town of Pacific Grove. There he was one of the founders of the Del Monte Art Gallery, which was the first gallery in the United States to show exclusively work by California artists. Between 1907 and 1909 he taught at the San Francisco Institute of Art, and from 1908 to 1949 he taught at the University of California, Berkeley. At the University of California, Berkeley he also served as the first chairman of the Department of Art between 1923 and 1925. During the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition Neuhaus served as Chairman of the Advisory Committee for the West and was also an exhibitor. As a California landscapist he was known for his painted scenes of Mendocino, the Sacramento Valley, Santa Barbara, Monterey, and San Luis Obispo. He contributed to the art community by lecturing all over the state and was also known as a writer. During his career his work was exhibited at the Oakland Museum in 1981, and the Del Monte Gallery from 1907-14. Karl Neuhaus died in Berkeley, California in 1963.

Japanese Banko pottery art tea pot with beautiful enameled designs of cranes. Featuring a complex form with figured bamboo handle and a internal tea strainer impressed mark on bottom. Measuring approx. 6.5 inches tall from bottom to top of handle this piece is in excellent condition.

Banko pottery wares have been produced since the nineteenth century both for the domestic market and for export. Banko ware comes usually as teapots and has charming designs of a peculiar style. Some Banko pottery is unglazed while others can be very colorful and abundantly decorated with sculpture-like high reliefs in very imaginative shapes.

Beautiful antique Tibetan silver torquoise coral pendant scent or snuff bottle. Beautiful quality antique piece. Has two loops to wear as a pendant top has been glued to stay on. Measuring 2.5" long 1 3/4" wide and 1" deep.

A Japanese Bronze Water dropper Suiteki in the form of a Samurai Helmet. Meiji period c. 1900 measuring 3 1/4 L x 3 W x 2.5 H. in excellent condition nice patina.

Emille Galle art nouveau art glass miniature vase circa 1890s. A frosted clear glass with a lavender color etched and wheel cut floral motif signed Galle. In excellent condition no chips or cracks some residue in interior. Measuring approx. 2.5 inches tall a fine addition to any collection.

Oil painting of a Texas Barn by Nicholas Richard Brewer (1857-1949) . Signed lower left titled on verso. Image 12 X 18 in original frame overall size 15 x 21". A prominent 19th century portrait and landscape painter in Minnesota, New York and Texas, Nicholas Brewer was born in Olmstead County, Minnesota and was raised on a farm along the Root River in southeastern Minnesota. He was a student in New York of Dwight Tryon and Charles Noel Flagg at the National Academy of Design where he also exhibited. He painted a crucifixion in the Cathedral of St. Paul, in Minnesota as well as portraits of many prominent persons in his native state. Exhibition venues include the Minnesota State Art Society, the Minneapolis Art Institute, Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, and Carnegie Institute in Pittsburgh. He was a member of the American Federation of Arts, the California Art Club and the Salmagundi Club.

A fine and beautiful antique Chinese Tibetan or Mongolian Tea pot with carved white jade panels of birds and flowering plants with white jade belt buckle used for the handle with elaborate design and decorated with turquoise and coral inset stones. A beautiful antique measuring approx. 14 inches tall. .

Charles Dorman Robinson impressionist seascape A beautiful atmospheric seascape painting of a sunset with ships off the coast of San Francisco. Oil painting on artist board framed in the original arts and crafts era frame signed lower right. In excellent condition some very minor touch ups in the sky area professionally cleaned and re-varnished. A fine example of this highly acclaimed artists work.

Biography

Charles Robinson was born in East Monmouth, Maine, and his father, David Robinson, was a theatre producer for Gold Rush mining towns and constructed the first theatres and plays for stage productions in San Francisco. In 1850, his family moved to San Francisco where he was educated in the public schools and grew up sketching harbor scenes. He took lessons at the age of seven from Charles Nahl, a painter of mining genre and landscape, and earned a diploma at age 13 from the Mechanics' Institute for best marine drawing for a juvenile. From 1861 to 1873, he lived in Vermont because the family was forced out of San Francisco by threats resulting from his father being on the Vigilance Committee. On the East Coast, he became the pupil of marine artists William Bradford and M.F.H. De Haas as well as Impressionist George Inness. He was also much influenced by Albert Bierstadt and James Hamilton. He lived in Clinton, Iowa from 1873 to 1874 to court and marry Kathryn Wright, and then returned to San Francisco. He first worked as a retoucher of photos, and he and his wife wrote and did illustrations for "Overland Monthly" and "Century" magazine. By 1876, Robinson was exhibiting regularly as a painter, and in 1880 began making trips to Yosemite Valley. He was also in Paris between 1899 and 1901 and offered the Paris Exposition in 1900 a painting of Yosemite that was 50 x 380 feet and weighed five tons. When the committee rejected the panorama, he cut it into pieces, which he sold for passage money home. In the earthquake and fire of 1906, many of his paintings were destroyed in a warehouse where he had thought they would be safe. In 1921, a fire in his home destroyed twenty years worth of Yosemite paintings. He died May 8, 1933 in San Rafael, California. Source: Edan Hughes,

Pre Columbian Olmec Jade hardstone figure of a seated man. Mesoamerica Circa: 1200 BC to 500 BC. The material is a variegated pale green nephrite with oxidation to the matrix of the stone due to interaction of soil minerals over several centuries. The dimensions are 8"H x 5"W x 4"D.

A fine original oil painting on canvas by Clifford Park Baldwin titled "A Sailing Sunday" . Measuring 16 x 20 inches in a quality gallery frame.

Biography

Painter, illustrator. Born in Cincinnati, OH on Feb. 14, 1889. Baldwin moved to southern California in 1911 and had homes in Montrose and Carlsbad. He studied painting locally with Jean Mannheim, Paul Lauritz, and George Demont Otis. While on the staff of the Southwest Museum from 1933-41, he illustrated the books Gypsum Cave and Navajo Weaving. Baldwin died in Oceanside, CA on July 3, 1961. Member: Painters & Sculptors of LA; Carlsbad-Oceanside Art Club. Exh: Eagle Rock Artists, 1931. In: Southwest Museum (LA). Eagle Rock Sentinel, 10-2-1931; CA&A; AAA 1933; Sam; SCA; AAW; WWAA 1938-62; WWPC 1951.

A beautiful Rookwood pottery vellum matte vase with a burgundy purple color and a floral type design. Artists signed and marked with the rookwood date mark for artist initialed M M. measuring approx. 7.5 inches tall in excellent condition no damage.

Connecticut landscape by Henry Hammond Ahl, signed lower right. Born in East Hartford, Connecticut, Henry Ahl was a portraitist, muralist and landscape painter whose work reflected his exposure to the Tonalist style of the Barbizon painters. He studied at the Royal Academy of Munich with Alexander Wagner and Franz Von Stuck, and in Paris with Jean Leon Gerome. He exhibited with the Munich Royal Academy. Image 25"L x 30"W. Displayed in original 24k Taos giltwood frame.

A fine antique bronze south east asian Buddha beautiful casting and patina measuring approx. 15 inches tall.

"Summer at the 18th Pebble Beach "

A fine original watercolor painting of Pebble Beach Golf course Carmel California by James March Phillips a renowned California watercolorist. Measuring approx. 12 x 20 inches in excellent condition beautifully framed.

biography

James March Phillips was born in Fresno California in 1913. His art career began in the 1940's while attending Jean Turner Art Academy in San Francisco where is studied under such prominent artists as Louis J. Rogers, Alfred Owles, and J. Paget Fredricks. His paintings were sold in numerous galleries in the west during the 1940's and 1950's. In recent years his paintings have become quite valuable and have reached prices as high as $13,000 at San Francisco auction house Bonhams Butterfields. This is one of a pair please view the other listing of the 7th hole Pebble Beach.

A fine pair of early American portraits of a Handsome young man and beautiful woman. Oil on canvas relined some minor restorations nicely framed Measuring 22 x 18 inches framed size 26.5 x 22.5 inches. A wonderful decorative pair would enhance any interior.

A fine California Impressionist painting of a view of Mt. Tam with lupine and poppies in the fore ground a small cabin to the left. Oil on canvas signed lower right measuring Approx. 15 x 20 inches in excellent condition but for some age cracking. Biography : Manuel Valencia was born in Marin County, California on October 30, 1856 on the family hacienda called Rancho San Jose, which is now Hamilton Field. A member of one of California's earliest families, Manuel was named after his grandfather who came to California with the Anza Party in 1774 and became administrator of the Presidio in San Francisco. The Valencia’s were given many land grants in the San Francisco Bay area and a street near Mission Dolores is named in honor of his family. Manuel attended Santa Clara College and then established a studio in San Francisco. He began painting when he was quite young and remained a self-taught artist except for a few lessons with Jules Tavernier locally and in Mexico City. The earthquake and subsequent fires in 1906 caused the Valencia’s to move down the peninsula to San Jose, however he commuted daily to his San Francisco studio and worked as a staff artist for the "San Francisco Chronicle" and as an illustrator for the Salvation Army Newspaper. A prolific painter, Valencia is best known for his landscapes and historic scenes of Northern California, which often included nocturnal adobes, missions and pueblos. Following an operation, he died in Sacramento on July 6, 1935. His ashes were scattered on Mount Tamalpais. Source: Edan Hughes, Artists in California, 1786-1940

WILLIAM MALHERBE 1884 - 1951 A beautiful impressionist oil painting of a nude woman holding a sphere one can easily see the influence of Renoir in this example of this fine French-American artist. Oil on canvas monogramed lower right measuring Approx. 26 x 30 inches. Born in France, William Malherbe was influenced by the great Post Impressionist painters of his time, particularly Renoir and Bonnard. He is known for his still lifes, landscapes and figural paintings. In 1939, Malherbe arrived in the United States. He lived in New York City and on a farm in Vermont. He returned to France in 1948 and died there in 1951. Works by William Malherbe are in the collection of the Musee d'Art Moderne in Paris among other collections.

A beautiful Large Staffordshire blue transfer ware well and tree platter made by Clews circa 1825. The platter features a scenic view of travelers in a landscape with ruins and a floral border. Measuring an impressive 21 inches by 16.5 inches the condition is excellent but for a minor chip that was successfully reattached (see picture) . It is amazing that there are virtually no knife marks or signs of use for a piece nearly 200 years old. Overall this is a fine example of this wonderful art form of transfer ware.

A 18th century Dutch painting school of Jan Vermeer of an interior scene Picturing a woman at work in a traditional 17th century kitchen. Oil on oak panel signed lower right P.V. Ameyden beautifully painted framed in a gilt decorative frame. Measuring approx. 12.5 in. by 14.5 in. framed size 16.5 x 18.5 inches. A fine decorative painting would be a nice addition to any collection.

A beautiful example with delicate sliver wire enclosure depicting a Dragon on a sliver foil background. Meiji period c.1900 in excellent condition measuring approx. 6.5 inches tall. A masterpiece work of cloisonné art.

Beautiful American oil painting of a portrait of a young girl with a parrot. American school 19th century. Measuring 8 x10 inches overall framed size 10.5" x 12.5". Original antique frame. In excellent condition oil on canvas laid down on board some minor flaws to frame.

A beautiful original 18th - 19th century Qing dynasty Chinese painting on silk measuring approx. 36 x 48 inches painted on silk mounted to board in antique condition some foxing and damage overall a beautiful painting would enhance any interior.

A fine California impressionist seascape by Paul Doughtery in oil on board signed lower right in excellent condition measuring 12 x 16 inches. Biography; Born in Brooklyn, New York, Paul Dougherty became a widely-known painter of dramatic marine scenes and desert landscapes although his family hoped he would become a lawyer. Following his father who was an attorney, he graduated from Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute in 1896 and New York Law School in 1898. But he changed professions to art and studied with Robert Henri and in Europe for five years from 1900 to 1905. Paul Dougherty then painted along the coast of Maine, and his paintings were compared to those of Winslow Homer. Of his success, John Sloan said: "Everything came to him; all his pictures sold, he won all the prizes. The rich delighted to honor him, and his wives were glamorous" (Falk). In 1907, he was elected a Member to the National Academy of Design in New York. He experimented with sculpture but settled on marine paintings, primarily focused on the ocean. Arthritis forced him to seek a milder climate, and in 1928, he began spending his winters in Arizona where he painted desert landscapes and mountains. In 1931, he moved to the Monterey Peninsula in California. His work is in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art; the Joslyn Museum in Omaha; and the Fort Worth Museum in Texas as well as many other museums. Sources: Edan Hughes, "Artists in California, 1786-1940"

Fine porcelain large bowl or charger scalloped rim form with beautiful transfer ware design of cherry blossoms. Circa 1900 in excellent condition some minor firing flaws to the underside rim, measuring approx. 12 1/4 inches in diameter and 2 inches deep. A beautiful decorative piece would make a nice addition to any interior.

Staffordshire brown transferware platter circa 1830 by T. Heath Burslem England titled on reverse sporting subjects. This beautiful example is in excellent condition no chips or cracks repairs etc. some age discoloration on the reverse. Measuring approx. 16 inches by 12.5 inches.

"Village Du Moyen Age" An original oil painting on canvas signed lower right by this highly regarded abstract modernist artist. Provenance the Dalzel Hatfield gallery exhibited in a 1960s exhibit at the famed L.A. Ambassador Hotel. In very fine condition measuring approx. 25 x 35 inches. Biography, Jun Dobashi was born in Tokyo in 1910. He studied at the art academy there in 1933 but was in Paris in 1938-39. Dobashi returned once more to France to stay from 1953 to 1969, which is why he is usually perceived as a Franco-Japanese artist. Jun Dobashi's work is abstract and close to European Informel Art. Not just a painter, Dobashi also earned a reputation as a lithographer. His work was first exhibited in Paris in 1954. Dobashi was awarded the Prix du Dôme séléctionné in 1956. Between 1960-69 Dobashi's work was exhibited regularly at the Fricker Gallery. In 1961, Jun Dobashi was given a solo show at the Redfern Gallery in London. Between 1956-60 Dobashi showed work regularly at the Salon du Mai and was presented as representative of the École de Paris at an exhibition mounted by the Galerie Charpentier in 1960. Jun Dobashi died in Tokyo in 1975.

Fine antique portrait of a Thoroughbred race horse at the race track. Oil on canvas signed lower left Hillyard and dated 1894. Hillyard is a listed artist known for animal subjects. Measuring approx. 20x24 inches framed size 26x30 inches in excellent condition two very minor professional repairs to the canvas and minor stretcher lines showing. A beautiful antique equestrian painting would be a nice addition to any interior.

An original portrait of a beautiful woman oil on canvas signed lower right and dated 1929 in excellent condition.

Biography

Charles Ward Traver was a painter born in Ann Arbor MI on Oct 10 1880. Traver was a resident of Los Angeles in the late 1890's. In 1927 he was in New York City and visited Los Angeles again in 1932. He also lived in Wuanita Hot Springs, Colorado. He was an illustrator for Land Of Sunshine magazine and did covers for Saturday Evening Post. He studied in Germany at the Royal Academy of Munich with Carl Von Marr and Henry Snell. Exhibition venues include the Society of Independent Artists in 1917. There is discrepancy in his birth date information, with both 1880 and 1889 given.

A beautiful oil painting on board signed lower left of a Dramatic landscape. Titled on the reverse Twilight glow and with the University of Nebraska Museum label with inventory number 1029 Attributing this painting to Blakelock and a partial museum exhibition label. Measuring 6 x 8 inches framed in a quality presentation frame 13 x 15 inches overall. This is an absolutely stunningly powerful image by this renowned artist.

Biography

Born in New York City, Ralph Blakelock earned a reputation for nocturnal, misty scenes, especially moonlit landscapes, large oak trees, and Indian encampments. He also did a small number of floral still lifes. His work has a mysterious quality, which some associated with the type of music he habitually played on the piano during interludes from his painting. Towards the end of his career, his paintings became increasingly haunting, a reflection of his insanity brought on by horrible poverty and his inability to support his family of nine children. He was both a late exponent of the Hudson River School of painting and also of the American West. He also foreshadowed the romantic, visionary, and modern tendencies that marked the turn of the 19th to 20th centuries. This romanticism, especially of escapism, was increasingly pronounced towards the end of his career. Blakelock was the son of a prominent English-born, New York physician, and first took medical studies, but his love of music and art led him away from medicine. He graduated from the College of the City of New York, studied briefly at Cooper Union, and at the Free Academy of the City of New York. In 1867, he first exhibited at the National Academy of Design to which he was ultimately elected, after he was incarcerated for insanity. During this time, he painted a series of New York City scenes, primarily of un-glamorous areas such as his work, Shanties, New York City. He also painted in Hudson River Style and was in locations that included the Adirondacks and the White Mountain. It is thought he learned this style during his brief and only art education at Cooper Union. Primarily self taught, he declined his father's offer to pay for more extensive art schooling, and instead, at age 22, embarked on a three-year (1869-1972) horseback tour of the West. He lived with plains Indians, painting pictures of their villages, and traveled and painted through the Rockies and the Sierra Nevadas. In San Francisco and Oakland, he painted city scenes, the tree landscapes, and coastal views, and then he headed south to Mexico. These western paintings were also in the Hudson River style, although they were rough and more painterly. Returning to New York, he developed what became his signature expression: quiet, moody, nocturnal scenes accented with bright colors depicting light, and trees silhouetted against the sky. He had a labor-intensive technique, which was building up of multi layers of thick paint, scraping some away, and "adding more to build a complex tonality". (Zellman 420) It is said that his real travels were introspective from which he created these moody, dark landscapes, and they did not satisfy the current public taste for uplifting Hudson River style painting. Ahead of popular taste, his work was overlooked, and crooked dealers took advantage of him. With the desperation of trying to support his huge family, he sold his work cheaply. Ironically, many years after his death, his work became so valuable that forgers, including a dealer who changed the signature on canvases of Blakelock's artist daughter, Marian, to that of her father, sold paintings at very high prices by using his signature. Norman Geske, Director Emeritus of the Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery in Lincoln, Nebraska, became the authenticator of Blakelock's work, and has seen many, many illegitimate so-called Blakelocks. Under Geske's direction, a catalogue raisonne has been published that classifies paintings with Blakelock's signature into three categories according to their degree of perceived authenticity. In 1899, the artist had a mental breakdown and spent the last twenty years of his life in an asylum in Middleton, New York. He died on August 9, 1919. However, his work had already begun increasing in value, and by 1916 was bringing as high as $20,000. Of Blakelock's career, Norman Geske wrote: "Considered in the context of American landscape painting in the second half of the nineteenth century, Ralph Albert Blakelock can be seen first as a late exponent of the Hudson River School, second as a highly personal contributor to the painting of the American West, and third and most important, as part of the romantic, visionary, and modern tendencies that marked the turn of the century."(16)

English 19th century oil painting portrait of a Thoroughbred race horse in a paddock. Oil on canvas signed and dated indistinctly lower left. A fine quality painting measuring approx. 24x30 inches overall and framed in a quality contemporary gallery frame. The condition is excellent the canvas has been relined and there is some areas of in painting. A beautiful painting and a great decorative equestrian artwork.

A fine Japanese cloisonne vase with silver wire a beautiful design of cranes and flowers in excellent condition no damage measuring approx. 12 inches tall. A fine addition to any collection.

A fine Japanese Ivory netsuke of a Noh Drama character artist signed measuring approx. 2.5 inches 6 cm. tall in excellent condition.

A fine pair of early covered vegetable servers rare multi colored design. Both in excellent condition one minor chip to underside of one top.

Beautiful Egyptian street scene an Original oil painting on board signed lower right measuring approx. 20 x 24 in excellent condition. Biography LEONID GECHTOFF, 1883-1941 

Leonid Gechtoff was born in Odessa, Russia, in 1883, an only child of parents already in their forties and not particularly well off financially.  After his art school training in Russia, where he probably first met his close life-long friend David Burliuk, he and his parents fled from their homeland when he was in his twenties, rather than have him face possible conscription into the army. Cairo proved to be a haven for several years and Gechtoff painted many city and genre scenes of Egypt in his heavily impastoed style, bringing him acclaim in the Orientalist-enamored European art world as well.

Gechtoff always felt most influenced by the work of Vincent van Gogh, however, and this led him to travel to Holland where Dutch-born van Gogh painted in his early years, though not in the colorful later style Gechtoff most admired. There he established good connections which led to gallery shows in Amsterdam, and at one he met his future Russian-born wife Etya while she was on vacation from her pre-medical studies in Germany. Her family was well-to-do and supportive of the young couple, so they were able to wed and settle in Holland initially for about a year, around 1917. Several Alpine landscapes indicate painting trips in more mountainous parts of Europe too. Both Leonid and his wife were fluent in several languages.

The Gechtoffs soon moved to Indonesia, then a major South Pacific colony under Dutch control, hoping that the warmer climate would be better for Etya's health. The lush volcanic landscapes were strongly appealing to the artist as well. They lived in Java for about two years, in 1918 and 1919, and enjoyed traveling and collecting throughout the region during painting trips.

By 1920 they were living in Manila, and in early 1921 they planned a visit to see two of Etya's brothers in Pennsylvania later that year.  Once in America, the Gechtoffs found themselves persuaded to stay and settle in Philadelphia, with both becoming US citizens.  Leonid's major patron and benefactor was either a member of the family of Dutch-born philanthropist Edward Bok or Bok himself. Along with inclusion in various group exhibitions, his work was featured in a solo show at the Philadelphia Art Alliance in the early 1930's.

Gechtoff had achieved substantial success throughout the 1920's from his landscape paintings near his home in Philadelphia, and had also purchased a summer home on Cape May, New Jersey, where he painted many coastal scenes.  Unfortunately, he made large investments in the stock market in the latter years of the decade, and these disappeared almost overnight in the Wall Street Crash of 1929. The family now included young Sonia, born in 1926, and soon her sister, born in 1933.

With their fortunes in decline, like so many artists in the Depression of the 1930's, they sold the Cape May house but still were able find suitable rentals at the shore for their summer sojourns, and otherwise still lived in downtown apartments in Philadelphia. Gechtoff's works began to depict wintry landscapes along with his bright rocky seascapes and still lifes.

Gechtoff continued vigorously painting in his vivid and distinctive style, a blending of post-Impressionism and expressionism, until his health became a problem in 1940, with the stress of high blood pressure and complications. He died in 1941 at the age of 58. His widow later moved to San Francisco and ran an influential exhibition space in San Francisco called the East-West Gallery, while daughter Sonia became a well-known artist currently living in New York City. 
Gechtoff is listed in the Archives of American Artists, part of the Smithsonian Institution.

A fine Ivory netsuke of a Kappa and Frog wrestling a very fine example of netsuke art and craftmanship artist signed in excellent condition.

Anasazi culture corrugated drinking vessel circa 1300 AD a grey pottery with smooth interior and handle with corrugated exterior design. Measuring approx. 5 inches tall in very good condition some minor chips on the rim. A fine piece of ancient Native American Pottery from a old collection found in the 1930s.

Tang Dynasty (AD 618–907) Chinese poly chrome pottery figure of a female musician with old hongmu rosewood stand. 6" L x 4.5" W x 6" H. In antique condition.

Tiffany Studios Indian pattern patinated bronze desk set consisting of a ink well letter holder stamp box and blotter paper ends. In all original excellent condition beautiful Tiffany quality excellent brown with green highlights patina. A fine set would be a nice addition to any collection.

A fine antique Chinese rosewood jewelry box with white jade inlayed plaques. Opens to a group of silk lined drawers for jewelry. Measuring approx. 12.5 x 8 x 6 inches. In very good antique condition.

Antique Japanese four-panel folding screen signed lower right "Kaiko Ga." Beautifully hand-painted motif of ducks and flowering plum blossoms. Eye hooks on top for hanging on wall, or can be displayed free standing. Some stains top edge, minor repair on reverse. Measuring 96" L x 48" H.

Claude Buck self portrait of the artist c.1940 oil on board 16 x 20 inches. Provenance: the wife of the artist Leslie Buck. Biography. A leading member of the avant-garde Symbolism* artists movement in Chicago, Claude Buck moved there from his birth place of New York City in 1919. He was known for his "fantastic, sometimes disturbing images with allegorical and literary themes" (Kennedy 97) drawn from writings of Edgar Allen Poe, operas by Richard Wagner, classical mythology and "New Testament" writings from the Bible. Some of these early paintings had nude figures rendered in Classical* style to express abstract themes developed through dream-like landscapes and disregard of relative scale or relatedness between the figures. These paintings had Luminist* elements achieved with light-toned paints worked with transparent glazes. In the 1920s to earn money by gaining public favor and also expressing his increasing disdain for modernism, Buck did a number of hyperrealist* portraits, figures and still lifes. These proved popular and aligned him with the opponents of abstraction and their Society for Sanity in Art* movement whose headquarters were in Chicago. Buck taught drawing and painting at the Chicago Academy of Fine Art from 1921 to 1926, and at the Art Institute, where he took over classes of George Bellows. In New York City before coming to Chicago, Buck had a reputation as a radical artist. He took his first art training from his father, William R. Buck, from the time he was ages three to fourteen, and then until he was twenty-two, he studied at the National Academy of Design* where he was nicknamed "Kid Hassam" because his painting reminded viewers of that of Claude Hassam. Buck worked as a scene painter in the theatre and at the Willet Stained Glass company, and in 1914 began portrait commissions to earn money. In New York, he founded a group named the Introspectives, which reflected his own problems with melancholy during that period. Members, holding their first exhibition at the Whitney Studio in 1917, were artists who expressed their personal feelings and experiences and included Raymond Jonson and Emil Armin. In this phase of his career, Buck was focused on Old World styles of Leonardo da Vinci, Ralph Blakelock and Albert Pinkham Ryder. In 1929, the Arts Council of New York voted him one of the top one-hundred painters in the United States.

Chinese antique carved Zitan wood foo dogs of the finest quality. Tested and dated at Stanford University lab. Genuine antique Zitan wood. Measuring approx. 12 inches tall and weighing each approx. 10 lbs. Signed and dated in excellent condition some cracking due to age shrinkage otherwise pristine. A fine pair would make a nice addition to any fine asian collection.

A beautiful Chinese porcelain vase with green tea dust glaze of beautiful color and form measuring Approximately 8 inches tall in excellent condition no chips cracks or restorations.

Bruce Crane impressionist landscape oil on art board signed lower left Bruce Crane N.A. measuring 8x6 inches framed in a custom carved and gilt finished frame overall size 11x 9 inches. A beautiful gem of a painting by this highly regarded American impressionist painter would be a fine addition to any collection.

Biography

A popular landscape painter, especially of golden toned landscapes that conveyed fall and winter seasons, Bruce Crane was strongly influenced by the French Barbizon school of painting and had a studio for many years in Old Lyme, Connecticut. He also painted on Long Island, the Catskills, and the Adirondacks. In 1882, he was in France at the colony at Grez-sur-Loring with Birge Harrison, Kenyon Cox, and Alexander Wyant, but he maintained a studio in New York City until he moved to Bronxville in 1914. He took early art lessons from Alexander Wyant in New York City and then studied in Europe. He became a member of the National Academy of Design, the American Water Color Society, the Salmagundi Club, the Society of American Artists, and the Grand Central Art Galleries. One of his great admirers was J. Francis Murphy with whom his work has often been compared. Source: David Michael Zellman, "Three Hundred Years of American Art" Peter Falk, "Who Was Who in American Art"

A beautiful modernist composition oil on paper by Harold Christopher Davies a well listed California modernist The Provenance is from the estate of the artist and Hoover Gallery of San Francisco. Measuring approx. 12 x 15 inchesA fine example of this artists work. Harold Christopher Davies was a painter with whom art came first and commercialism last. Though he was a remarkably passionate and somewhat prolific artist, he resisted gallery representation until the age of eighty-four, just one year before his death. Davies began his formal art education at the age of fourteen, enrolling in the Corcoran Art Institute in Washington, D.C. Later he continued his studies at the San Francisco Institute of Art. An abstract expressionist, his style was directly influenced by Cezanne, Gorky and de Kooning. Being a man of intense dedication to his art, he kept extensive notebooks and sketchbooks in which he developed his own artistic and aesthetic philosophy, often through his candid critiques of other artist’s works. Painting, for Davies, was not a means of earning his living. Though he exhibited frequently at various local colleges and museums, he never sought public recognition of his talent. He believed fame compromised the integrity of an artist’s work. Davies earned his living as a businessman, eventually owning and operating his own chemical company. He lived a life of balancing his monetary obligations with the true love of his life: painting. After living in a variety of cities around the United States, Davies moved to Inverness, California in 1969 where he was free to devote all his time to his art. MEMBER: Oakland Art League San Francisco Art Association Huntsville (Ala.) Art Association EXHIBITED: San Francisco Art Association, 1921-1931 Oakland Art Gallery, 1931 Birmingham Museum, 1951 Southampton Museum, 1959 University of Long Island Museum, 1964 Parrish Art Museum, 1964, 1966, 1967 Hoover Gallery (San Francisco), 1975 Fresno Art Center, 1976 (Solo) Haggin Museum 1982 Huntsville Museum, 1982

Heriberto Juárez Castañeda" This "El Toro" the bull bronze sculpture is by important artist Heriberto Juárez. He's considered one of Mexico's most important contemporary artist. This bronze measures Approx. 9 inches in length mounted on a white marble base artist signed in the work. A great example of this artists work It would be a very nice addition to any collection of Mexican art. Heriberto Juárez was born in San Juan Teotihuacan, State of Mexico, and it was precisely there, land of pyramid builders and legendary sculptors, where he took his first lessons on artistic pottery, sculpture and drawing which helped him acquire the knowledge and skills he materializes in his work perform on chromium plated iron and tin, onyx, marble, bronze... The quality, strength, expressive ability and good taste found in his work have taken him through important galleries and museums around the world and have made him worthy of recognition as one of the prominent artists who have collaborated most different cultural fields in Mexico.

A fine antique Kentucky Rifle with tiger maple stock and silver decorations percussion muzzle loader approx. 50 caliber. The lock mechanism is by Whitmore and Wolfe of Pennsylvania the barrel octagon by N. Schennefelt Penn. A fine gun in very good antique condition.

A fine epic size original oil by this renowned artist measuring 24 x 40 oil on canvas signed lower right in excellent condition.

Biography

Alexander Dzigurski traveled widely in the United States , painting in the Rocky Mountains, Grand Tetons, Glacier National Park, New England and along the coasts. Dzigurski started his career in his native Yugoslavia by decorating the interior of churches, which he continued in the U.S. after he and his family had fled from Tito's communist regime via Italy. By 1952 he could afford to travel and paint landscapes, settling in California. He Studied at the School of Art, Belgrade and the Academy of Art, Munich, Germany. He was a member of various organizations including: Fine Art Institute of Los Angeles; American Artists Professional League; and Society of Western Artists. His work has been exhibited in the following museums: Belgrade Art Museum, Yugoslavia; Ford Museum, Detroit; and Boston Museum of Fine Arts.

A beautiful antique Tribal necklace or choker silver turquoise coral. In excellent antique condition.

A beautiful Chinese export porcelain famille rose medallion large center bowl circa 1900. The bowl hand painted with traditional rose medallion motif of floral and butterfly designs plus mandarin figures and court scenes. Measuring 12 inches by 4 inches deep in excellent condition one minor restored flea bite to rim and some wear to enamel. A fine example.

Circle of Francois Boucher original oil painting on canvas c.18th century in good antique condition beautifully framed. Born in Paris, the son of a lace designer Nicolas Boucher, François Boucher was perhaps the most celebrated decorative artist of the 18th century, with most of his work reflecting the Rococo style. At the young age of 17, Boucher was apprenticed by his father to François Lemoyne, but after only three months he went to work for the engraver Jean-François Cars. Within three years Boucher had already won the elite Grand Prix de Rome, although he did not take up the consequential opportunity to study in Italy until four years later. On his return from studying in Italy in 1731, he was admitted to the Académie de peinture et de sculpture as a historical painter, and became a faculty member in 1734. His career accelerated from this point, as he advanced from professor to Rector of the Academy, becoming head of the Royal Gobelins Manufactory in 1755 and finally Premier Peintre du Roi (First Painter of the King) in 1765.

William Keith California Landscap at evening sunset through California Oaks with cows at a distant watering hole. A dramatic moody classic Keith painting oil on canvas signed lower right William Keith and lower left SF for San Francisco. Measuring 18x14 inches framed in a modern gold leaf gallery frame 26x32 inches overall. A fine example of this important early California and American painter such an influential artist and teacher he is sometimes referred to the Dean of California Artists. Works by Keith have sold for as much as $121,000 at auction.

Artist Biography.

Brought to New York City in 1850, William Keith was apprenticed to a wood engraver in 1856 working for "Harper’s" magazine. In 1858 (or 1859) he visited California for "Harper’s" and then after a trip to Great Britain, settled in California as an engraver in 1862. He began exhibiting paintings in 1864 in San Francisco where he opened his studio, after having been taught painting by his wife. The Northern Pacific Railroad commissioned him to do landscape paintings along its route about 1868. In 1869-70 he studied in Dusseldorf, Germany; in 1871-72, he shared a studio in Boston with William Hahn; and in 1872, he returned to California. A nature lover, he found there was “scarcely a mountain in three-fourths of California where he had not kept vigil for days as a time, studying every detail of color, flower, rock, forge, shadow, and sunshine.” Keith became Thomas Hill’s rival in monumental landscapes, saying, “I’d be satisfied if I could reach the power and success of Tom Hill.” When George Inness visited California in 1890, he worked in Keith’s studio for many weeks, and they made sketching trips together. The result for Keith was an influenced style reflecting the subjective rather than the spectacular. His "Majesty of the Oaks" painting sold at auction in New York City in 1903 for $2,300., and about the same time "Glory of the Heaven" sold at auction in San Francisco for $12,000. Of medium height with unruly curly hair, Keith had his studio next to the live oaks on the Berkeley campus where it was the center of the university-oriented California culture. The 1906 earthquake and fire destroyed 2,000 of Keith’s works.

A beautiful African carved ivory figure of a seated female and child west Africa with beautiful patina measuring approx. 12.5 inches in length. A fine investment quality antique.

A Japanese Ivory netsuke artist signed figure of Hotei or Buddha. A fine carving with nice details and color. A fine addition to any collection. Measuring approx. 2 1/4 inches tall or 6 centimeters.

A rare antique Chinese finely hand carved white Jade seated Shakyamuni Buddha with exquisite detail form and surface. Measuring an impressive 10.5 in. or 27.5 cm. tall. In excellent condition A fine addition to any collection.

A beautiful masterfully drawn Standing Female Nude French c.1800. Drawing on blue gray hand made paper some age discoloration. Image 20"L x 12.5"W matted and framed in a quality gold frame overall 28" L x 21" W.

Original Painting by Zhāng Shūqí (Chinese: 张书旗; 1901-1957) a Chinese painter from Zhejiang, noted for painting flowers and birds. He studied at Shanghai under Liu Haisu. For a time he taught at the National Center University. From 1942 to 1946, he lived in the United States. After that, he returned to China for a time, but ultimately settled in the US.His works are in the Gallery of Victoria Museum, the Ashmolean Museum and Stanford Museum. Image 9.5"L x 12"W. framed in a gilt bamboo frame 16" L x 19" W. Provenance a Stanford collection estate stamped lower right. Please view our other catalog offerings.