Catalog: Fine Art (124)

Original French master portrait of a woman wearing braids from a portfolio of drawings dated 1847. Displayed in a giltwood frame.

Original antique English watercolor titled "Fox Gloves by Stream" signed by Joseph Poole Addey (1852-1922), dated 1889. Addey was an especially gifted watercolorist. Born in Dublin, he studied at the Royal Dublin Society School of Design and the Cork School of Art. He began exhibiting at the RHA in 1877, and over the next forty years showed over 130 paintings. Image size: 19x29”, overall dimensions: 29.5 x 38.5”. less

A beautiful original vintage Art Deco French bronze statue of a seated panther by Max Le Verrier Paris artist signed c.1930 measuring 11.75" W x 10.5" H x 4.75" D. Artist Biography Art Deco, which is widely considered to be an eclectic form of elegant and stylish modernism, was influenced by a variety of sources - among them were the so-called "primitive" arts of Africa; as well as historical styles such as Greco-Roman Classicism; and the art of Babylon, Assyria, and Ancient Egypt- updated by aerodynamic designs. At that time, the women's liberation movement was making significant progress. Bobbed hair and short skirts (to dance the lively Charleston) characterized the iconic figure of the "flapper" called garçonne in French, meaning "boy" with a feminine suffix. This new "in motion", slim and slender, shortly dressed, female silhouette, was an important source of inspiration for Max Le Verrier when he created his collection of dancers, gymnasts, and Art Deco lamps. He continued to work on this theme and also one concerning animals, using a precise linear fluidity and simple shapes. The captivating beauty of his creations, not only can be judged by the extreme detail of the hands and faces sculpted, but also by the elegance and charm of the poses of his sculptures. Louis Octave Maxime Le Verrier was born in Neuilly sur Seine on January 29, 1891. His mother was Belgian, and his father was a Parisian goldsmith and jeweler on Boulevard Malesherbes in Paris. His parents divorced when he was 7 years old. He attended several boarding schools including Collège de Verneuil sur Avre and was a brilliant student. His interest in drawing and sculpture occurred early, and he practiced his craft on wooden rulers, which he turned into little houses, churches, and other small items. His father thought that his future should be in farming; therefore he sent his son to St. Sever and La Reole to study agriculture against Max's wishes. However, Max Le Verrier kept alive his liking for sculpture during his spare time. At the age of 16, he returned to Paris and did odd jobs to escape farm-work and to provide for himself, and his father left him to fend for himself. In 1909, when he was 18, he left for England but As a foreigner, it was very difficult for him to find a job in London, so he returned to France. This period was an aviation era, which fascinated many youth of that time. He met a Frenchman named Jameson, who bought a plane on credit, and, together, they opened an aviation school in Rendon. The business was difficult. Jameson gave his part to a rich, well-off Englishman na

An original vintage charcoal drawing of Christmas Carolers in winter snow by William Gropper. Charcoal on paper signed lower right presented matted and framed. Image size 13 x 17" overall framed size 19 x 25". Biography: William Gropper was a painter and political cartoonist who is best remembered for his striking social commentary. He was born in 1897 on the Lower East Side in New York City to a large, poor immigrant family. Due to the family's financial difficulties, Gropper was forced to leave school at a very young age and work in a garment sweatshop with his mother and siblings. Several years later, he enrolled in art classes at the socially progressive Ferrer School where he received instruction from noted Ashcan artists Robert Henri and George Bellows. Gropper later recalled the influence of these men saying, "Right then, I began to realize that you don't paint with color—you paint with conviction, freedom, love and heartaches, with what you have." Following his time at the Ferrer School, Gropper continued his education at the Chase School, later known as Parson's School of Design. After graduation, Gropper briefly illustrated for the New York Tribune, during which time he began contributing to socialist publications, such as The New Masses, Labor Defender and The Nation. In 1924, he began a long career as a regular cartoonist for the Freiheit, a left-wing Yiddish daily newspaper. As his career progressed in the 1930s, Gropper turned his attention more towards painting. In addition to the early influence of Henri and Bellows, he also looked to Cubism for inspiration and incorporated sharp angles and exaggerated figures in his paintings. In the 1930s and 1940s, Gropper completed several murals for New York businesses, and for post offices in Detroit and on Long Island. In 1937, Gropper was awarded a Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship which he used to travel to the Great Plains and to the Southeast. In 1942, he painted Field Workers, based on sketches made while in the South. It was completed during the height of his career as a painter and the saturated coloring and exaggerated angles are characteristic of his mature painting style. Though Gropper worked in different mediums his subject was always people, and he is often referred to as "the workingman's protector." In an interview, Gropper explained his motivations for exposing the wrongs committed against workers, "That's my heritage. I'm from the old school, defending the underdog. Maybe because I've been an underdog or still am. I put myself in their position. I feel for the people . . . . I become involved."