Catalog (163)

A beautiful antique original American tonalist landscape painting. Oil on academy panel circa 1900 unsigned presented in the original carved gilt wood frame. Measuring overall 17.5" W x 14.5" H x 1.5" the panel measures 9" x 12".

A beautiful antique oak jewelry box with silver on copper mounted art nouveau decorative panels with cherubs having a bacchanal with wine and music and other design motifs and trims circa 1900. The box opens two a plush lined interior with two tiers one with divider and ring or pocket watch holder. Measuring 9.0" W x 5.0" H x 6.25" D in good antique condition minor age imperfections.

Antique East Asian Bronze Standing Buddha measuring an impressive 7.0" W x 28.0" H x 9.0" D . This superb sculpture depicts the Buddha meditating with his hands in the Abhaya mudra of dispelling fear. Abhaya is translated from Sanskrit as fearlessness. It is made with the open palm of the right hand extending outwards at the chest level or slightly higher. The condition is consistent with a dating from the 19th century it would make a superb addition to any collection of Asian antiques, Buddhist objects or art related to Buddhism. The original Buddha, Sakyamuni Gautama, or Gautama Siddhartha, was born in India in the 5th-6th century B.C. He was born into a noble family, but left this life to lead the life of a wandering ascetic and thinker. Reflecting on the human condition one night while sitting under a Bodi tree, he awoke to find he had realized nirvana, the state of absolute beatitude, and would not be reborn again. He traveled the land, meditated, gained wisdom, and along the way realized impermanence was an undeniable, inescapable fact of life. The rest of his life was spent as a preacher, his teachings contained in a series of documents called the Sutras.

A beautiful original antique oil painting of a young woman with flowers by Emile Eisman-Semenowsky Paris circa 1900. Oil on wood panel signed lower left and noted Paris. Presented in the original antique ornate picture frame with name plaque on center bottom. Panel measures 9.5" x 13" overall framed size 21.0" W x 24.5" H x 3.0" D. Emile Eisman-Semenowsky was born in Poland and was of Jewish descent. Little is known about his childhood and education. In the 1880s and 1890s, he spent several years in Paris, where he created the majority of his oeuvre. Semenowsky was influenced by oriental subjects, a widespread phenomenon in French 19th century art. His favorite subjects were depictions of women in oriental and antique-style costumes and genre scenes. His works were very popular among Parisian bourgeoisie, and many of his works were purchased by American collectors.

A nude slave girl on a bear skin rug orientalist manner oil by A. Goldwhite a listed artist. This stunningly beautiful painting is c. 1900 oil on board framed in a quality period gold leafed frame. Signed lower right A. Goldwhite measuring approximately 18 x 24 inches framed size 24 x30 inches the condition is excellent. A quality painting would be a fine addition to any collection.

Antique American running horse gold gilt copper body weathervane, a beautiful example with great lines and form in typical antique condition with some wear denting and bullet holes. Mounted on a black painted wood display stand measuring approx. overall length 29 inches. A fine piece would make a great decorative accent piece for any interior antique or modern.

Fredric Schafer classic view of Yosemite from inspiration point. # 7 in the Schafer Catalog. Oil on canvas approx. 26 x 36.

biography

Born in Braunschweig, Germany on Aug. 16, 1839. Schafer may have studied art in Düsseldorf since his paintings resemble those of other Düsseldorf-trained artists; however, he is believed to have been self-taught. He came to the U.S. in 1876 and arrived in San Francisco in 1880. After establishing a studio, he began exhibiting regularly with the local art association and the Mechanics' Institute Fairs. A peripatetic painter, he made regular sketching trips throughout the Northwest including Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, and Alaska. During his last years he painted theatrical scenery in San Francisco and Oakland theaters. Schafer had a home in Oakland from 1880 until his death on July 18, 1927. His landscapes, which often include Indians, were mostly done before 1890 and number about 500. Due to alcoholism, his works are often uneven in quality. Exh: Mechanics' Inst. (SF), 1879-84; Calif. State Fair, 1880, 1894. In: Oakland Museum; Seattle Museum; Monterey Peninsula Museum; Shasta State Historical Monument; Bancroft Library (UC Berkeley); CHS; Crocker Museum; Hoover Inst. (Palo Alto); Museum of Church History & Art (Salt Lake City); Society of Calif. Pioneers; Sonoma Co. Museum (Santa Rosa); Yosemite Museum; Alameda Public Library; Craigdarroch Castle (Victoria, B.C.) Source: Edan Hughes, "Artists in California, 1786-1940"

William Keith original oil painting wooded landscape with cattle by a lake. Oil on panel signed lower right canvas measuring Approx 14 x 22 a magnificent example of this famed California and American artists work. William Keith rivalled Thomas Hill as the most accomplished and successful landscape painter working in California during the 19th century. After two years spent studying art in Düsseldorf, Paris and Boston, Keith returned to California in 1872 as a sophisticated painter whose work drew on several prevailing styles popular in the cultural centers of the world. Many of his paintings reflect the influence of the "Hudson River School" and depict sublime mountain scenery à la Church or Bierstadt. But at the same time as he was painting alpine panoramas, Keith also focused on the more intimate landscapes of the French Barbizon movement that had come to the forefront of Parisian art appreciation during the 1860s. Barbizon painters adopted a more natural and impressionistic style than that of the academic painters; their works often communicate a rougher and stronger presence of nature than sweeter, more sentimental academic landscapes. Major works of the English painter John Constable, exhibited at Paris Salons of the 1820s, influenced the Barbizon painters in the direction of this stronger style. Works held: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Metropolitan Museum; Crocker Museum (Sacramento); Art Institute of Chicago; Oakland Museum; Stanford University; Boston Museum; De Young Museum San Francisco; California State Capitol.

A fine antique Chinese carved zitan wood Buddha or Bodhisattva Monk figure. Exquisite artistic finely carved details from one solid piece of Zitan wood the hardest of all woods very rare. Carved features as in the image of a carved bamboo stock Chinese date mark on reverse. Measuring 18.5 inches tall or 47 cm. A museum quality piece.

Louis-Auguste-Mathieu Legrand (b.1863-d.1951) Original mixed media of gouache, etching, collage, and ink drawing of a French can can dancer c. 1900 signed lower left. Louis Legrand was an important artist of the Belle Epoque in France in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He trained at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Dijon and in 1884 moved to Paris. In good condition some minor touch ups to gouache paint. Image measuring 10.5"x11.5" overall framed size 17"x18.5"

Original antique hand colored Lithograph of parrots from Mathew's The Birds of Australia. . Presented archival matted and framed. Overall framed size 13ʺW × 1ʺD × 16ʺH in excellent condition. This impeccable, hand-colored lithograph is from the first edition of Gregory Macalister Mathew's The Birds of Australia. The work was published in London by Witherby & Co. c. 1910. The artists that contributed to the work included J. G. Keulemans, Gronvold, R. Green, Goodchild, and Lodge. This work was the first major work on Australian birds since John Gould's and illustrated 100 further species than his work. It is also one of the last important natural history works to be illustrated with hand-colored lithographs. The edition was limited to 225 copies.

Beautiful large antique original oil painting of a European village and landscape by famed American painter Colin Campbell Cooper. Oil on canvas signed and dated lower right 1907. Presented in a quality antique gold leaf frame. In good antique condition some wear commensurate of age. Biography A resident and distinguished impressionist painter of both the East and West Coasts, Colin Campbell Cooper earned an international reputation with his depictions of landscapes, florals, portraits, gardens, interiors and figures. He was especially noted for street scenes and skyscrapers of New York and Philadelphia, and his impressionist* palette was inspired by Childe Hassam, whom he met in New York beginning in the 1890s. In the later part of his life, he focused on West Coast subject matter and espoused The California Style* of watercolor painting, a bold, aggressive new oil-painting look to a medium that had traditionally been used more modestly. He was born in Philadelphia to an upper class family where the father was a surgeon, and he, the son, was encouraged by his educated family to pursue art. He was also inspired by the art he saw at the 1876 Philadelphia Exposition*. He studied at the Pennsylvania Academy* of the Fine Arts with Thomas Eakins and in Paris at the Academies Julian*, Vitti, and Delecluse*. During that time, he traveled throughout Europe and painted picturesque architectural scenes, which gained him widespread recognition. Sadly many of these paintings were lost in a fire of 1896. From 1895 to 1898, he was instructor of watercolor at the Drexel Institute in Philadelphia and then moved to New York City from where he and his artist wife, Emma Lampert, traveled throughout the world in search of subject matter. On a European trip in 1912, they sailed on the Carpathia and became part of the rescue operation of the sinking Titanic, an experience that Cooper depicted in a painting, View of Steamship Carpathia passing along the edge of the ice flow after recuing survivors of the Titanic (1912). Of this event it was written by an historian that Carpathia, built 1902, "was sailing from New York City to Rijeka on the night of Sunday, 14 April 1912. Among her passengers were renowned American painters Colin Campbell Cooper and his wife Emma, journalist Lewis P. Skidmore, photographer Dr. Francis H. Blackmarr and Charles H. Marshall, whose three nieces were traveling aboard the Titanic. . . .At 4 o'clock in the morning Carpathia arrived at the scene after working her way through dangerous ice fields. Carpathia was able to save 705 people, all that survived the sinking of Titanic. Carpathia, outbound for the Mediterranean prior to the distress call, ferried the survivors to New York." (lostliners.com) The Coopers first went to California in 1915, spending the winter in Los Angeles and in 1921, settled in Santa Barbara, where he served as Dean of Painting at the Santa Barbara Community School of the Arts*. He was a member of numerous associations including the California Art Club*, Salmagundi Club*, and the National Academy of Design*. His work is in many museums including the Cincinnati Art Museum, the St. Louis Museum, and the Oakland Museum

Beautiful original antique oil painting of a mountain sunset and waterfall by William Keith c.1890 oil on artist panel signed lower left. Presented in a quality contemporary gallery frame 16.5ʺW × 3ʺD × 19ʺH. Good antique condition very fine age craquelure very minor touch ups.. Biography: A native of Scotland, William Keith became in the late 19th and early 20th centuries a leading Northern-California landscape artist. In fact, he was so well known that he is referred to as the "Dean of California painters." His romanticized views of nature found much favor among the culturally aspiring citizens of San Francisco and hung in many foyers and dining rooms in their elegant homes. He completed thousands of paintings and drawings, and many of them were lost in his studio in the fire of 1906. His early works are dramatic mountainscapes in a realistic style adopted from the Dusseldorf School of Germany. The paintings of the last two decades of his life are looser and obviously influenced by his exposure in France to the Barbizon School of landscape painters, who were the first colony of painters to complete paintings "en plein air," or directly from nature rather than in studios. A forerunner of Impressionism, this style also included Tonalism espoused by Barbizon painter Camille Corot [1796-1875] and also apparent in Keith's later works, which are darker, smaller, and much more intimate with emphasis on mood. He married artist Elizabeth Emerson and did watercolor painting with her guidance. In 1868, he became a full-time painter, and that same year was commissioned to paint scenes along the Columbia River including Mount Hood. By August 1869 he had sold enough paintings to finance an extended journey to the East Coast and Europe including Dusseldorf, Germany throughout most of 1870, studying with Albert Flamm. After a visit to Paris, he expressed great admiration for "the modern school of French landscape painting including the Barbizon School. During the winter of 1871-1872, the Keiths lived in Boston where they shared a studio with William Hahn. Keith's work received critical acclaim there and in New York at the National Academy of Design. In 1872, he returned to San Francisco. A friendship with naturalist John Muir exposed Keith to many remote places and in-depth knowledge of nature. During the 1870s, he painted several "epic" eight by ten-foot High Sierra views. He also visited Alaska, and his paintings of Alaska were exhibited upon his return to San Francisco in a show at the Bohemian Club, titled 'Dreams of Alaska'. Keith's Alaska works are significant because they are not close transcriptions of actual scenery, but rather are fantasies inspired by Alaska. They are important as they represent a major break from the documentary tradition in landscape painting of Alaska, as they show an interest in capturing its spirit versus just the topography. In 1891, he shared his studio for several weeks with East Coast Tonalist George Inness, Sr. [1825-1894]. Both men painted in a similar style and were followers of the mystical teachings of Swedenborg. Among the locations where Inness and Keith painted together were Monterey and Yosemite, and it was reported they discussed art from every possible angle. Under Inness' influence, Keith painted more than ever in a Barbizon-influenced vein with many sunset and twilight scenes. By the early 1900s, Keith was likely one of the wealthiest artists in the United States and certainly earned the most money of any California-based artist. People from all over the world sought out his studio where it was said that he would specially select a painting for a client from behind a black velvet curtain, order everyone to be quiet, part the curtains, and set the work on a easel, flooded in light. It was unthinkable not to buy a painting on these occasions. Many of his paintings were shown in New York at the Macbeth Gallery, and in 1898, he had a special exhibition in New York. Keith died April 13, 1911, and his work is in most of the institutions representing major California artists

Beautiful original antique American Impressionist oil painting portrait of a woman by Charles Frederick Keller (1852 - 1928). Oil on canvas signed lower right presented in a quality gold gallery frame. Keller was active/lived in New York, Wisconsin. Charles Keller is known for Animal, figure, genre and landscape painting. A painting by Keller recently sold at auction for $4,938 at :Pook & Pook Inc. Decorative Arts Jan. 20 2020 Measures overall framed size 21.5" W x 24.0" H x 2.5" d. canvas is 15" W x 18.0" H. In excellent antique condition.

An original antique French Art Nouveau bronze statue of a glamorous woman by Georges Van der Straeten c.1905. Bronze mounted to a marble base signed on verso with the stamp medallion of Original Bronzes Society Paris France. Measurements 4.25ʺW × 3.25ʺD × 7.5ʺH. Georges Van der Straeten was a Belle Epoque sculptor born in Ghent, Belgium, on December 21, 1856. He studied under the Neo-Baroque sculptor Jef Lambeaux (1852-1908). In 1883, at the twenty-seven years old, Van der Straeten moved to Paris. While living in Paris he befriended Jean Marie Constantin Joseph "Jan" van Beers, a fellow painter and son of the Romantic poet Jan van Beers. He lived at 9 Hoche Avenue, Paris. Van der Straeten showed at his first Paris Salon in 1885 and continued to show until 1912. He won many awards for his work, including the silver medal at the 1900 World's Fair, Paris and a knight of the Legion of Honor in 1903. Van der Straeten's figures are detailed and inspired by the French artist Antoine Watteau (1684-1721) and similar in style to the Italian sculptor Emmanuel Villanis (1858-1914). The work is Art Nouveau with an emphasis on the figure. His works have been produced in large numbers by French foundries Paris Bronzes Society, Pinedo and by ceramsist Friedrich Goldscheider. The artist died in Ghent in 1928.

A beautiful antique art nouveau era portrait of a woman seated in a classical setting. Gouache on art board signed lower right J. Ramsperger. Presented matted and framed in a contemporary gallery frame. The image measures 15.5 x 20" and overall framed size 21" x 25". In very good antique condition.

An original antique monotype oil on paper of a path through a forest by Joseph Henry Sharp. Signed lower right presented in a vintage period frame. Measuring overall size 17.5" x 22.5". Biography, Born in Bridgeport, OH on Sept. 27, 1859, Joseph Henry Sharp was raised in Ironton and Cincinnati. He began art studies at the Cincinnati Art Academy at age 14. In 1882 he was a pupil of Charles Verlat in Antwerp; the following year he made his first trip to the West to sketch the Indian tribes of New Mexico, California, and the Columbia River. In 1886 he again was in Europe accompanied by Frank Duveneck. While in Munich, he was a pupil of Karl Marr and had further study with Jean Paul Laurens and Benjamin Constant in Paris. Sharp taught at the Cincinnati Art Academy from 1892 until 1902, and then resigned to devote full time to painting. Summers were spent in Montana at Crow Agency in a cabin and studio at the foot of the Custer Battlefield. As well as a home in Pasadena, he also had a studio in Taos, NM which was opposite Kit Carson's old home. During the 1930s he made several painting trips to Hawaii. Sharp died in Pasadena, CA on Aug. 29, 1953. Eleven of his paintings of famous Indians were purchased by the U.S. Government in 1900 and now hang in the Smithsonian Institution. A collection of 80 Indian portraits and pictures were purchased by Phoebe Hearst in 1902 for UC Berkeley. Memberships: Cincinnati Art Club; Prairie Printmakers Club of Los Angeles; Salmagundi Club; American Fine Art Association; Southwest Society of Artists; Taos Society of Artists; California Art Club. Exhibitions: Pan-American Expo (Buffalo), 1901 (silver medal); Cincinnati Art Club, 1901 (1st prize); Panama-California Expo (San Diego), 1915 (gold medal); Southwest Expo (Long Beach), 1928; California Artists, Pasadena Art Institute 1930 (1st prize). Museum Collections: Houston Museum; Orange Co. (CA) Museum; Butler Museum (Youngstown, OH); Southwest Museum (LA); Museum of NM (Santa Fe); Cincinnati Museum; Herron Art Inst. (Indianapolis).

Beautiful impressionist landscape of a shepherd and his dog and sheep in a landscape with trees. Bold impressionist brush strokes with a warm subdued palette. Oil on panel signed indistinctly lower right. Panel measuring 13" x 16" presented framed in a fine contemporary gallery frame overall size 18.5" x 21.5".