Catalog (164)

Original etching Gothic Interior Suffolk England by Valerie Thornton, British 1931-1991. Signed lower right. Thornton a painter and printmaker. In the1960s she lived in New York working at Pratt Graphics Art Center. Member Royal Society of Painters-Etchers and Engravers. Her work is in the collections of the Royal Academy, Victoria and Albert Museum, British Museum, Tate Gallery, Fitzwilliam Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, New York Public Library. Image 26"L x 16.5"W. Framed 38" L x 28" W

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.

Original N.C. Wyeth oil painting on art board title "Lumber" commissioned by Coca Cola company in 1943 for a series of posters in American industry. Signed lower right measuring 21 x 31 inches in excellent condition. A fine addition to any collection of American Art.

Biography

N. (Newell) C. (Convers) Wyeth (October 22, 1882-October 19, 1945), is one of the most celebrated illustrators in the history of art. He grew up on a farm in New England, and studied at the Massachusetts Normal Arts School where he attended classes taught by illustrators Eric Pape and Charles W. Reed. During 1902-04 he studied with the great illustrator Howard Pyle in Wilmington, Delaware. Wyeth accepted a commission from Scribner's and the Saturday Evening Post to paint western scenes, and traveled in the west to gain first hand knowledge of subjects. He worked as a ranch hand in Colorado and rode mail routes in New Mexico and Arizona. In 1906, Wyeth and Carolyn Brenneman Bockius were married in the Wilmington Unitarian church, and they made their home in nearby Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. The focus of his painting soon shifted to the land and people of the region in which he lived. In 1911, Wyeth won a commission from Charles Scribner's Sons to illustrate a new edition of R. L. Stevenson's Treasure Island, a work that made him famous. He provided illustrations for dozens of other classic books, including Kidnapped (1913), The Black Arrow (1916), The Legends of Robin Hood (1917), The Last of the Mohicans (1919), and The Yearling (1939).

A original vintage oil painting of a Beautiful Girl with Flowers oil on canvas panel by Adrian Lamb. Signed lower left and presented in a contemporary gallery frame. The artist panel measures 8 x 10" overall framed size 15 x 18". Adrian Lamb (1901-1988) was born in New York City, where in the mid-1920s he studied at the Art Students League under Frank Vincent DuMond and George Bridgman. After attending the Académie Julien in Paris in 1929, he went on to travel and work in England, France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Greece, and Mexico as he developed his talent as a portrait painter. He painted many prominent subjects, including David Rockefeller, John J. McCloy, Joseph P. Kennedy, and Bernard. He executed the Gordon Gray portrait for the Secretarial Portrait Gallery at the Pentagon, Washington, D.C. Lamb's works are found in many collections, including the State Department, and the National Gallery of Art, The White House, the Smithsonian Institution, the U.S. Naval Academy, Harvard University, and the Supreme Court of the United States. His portrait of Maj. Gen. J. Franklin Bell is reproduced from the Army Art Collection. For much of his life, Lamb resided in Connecticut and maintained a studio in Manhattan.

George Romney English, 1734–1802 watercolor painting on paper portrait of Lady Pamela Fitzgerald. The late 18th-century work is signed by the artist to the upper left corner. Presented in an ornate gilt and gesso frame under glass with a linen liner. To the lower center is a brass-tone name plate. Measuring image 8.0" W x 12.25" H overall framed size 14.5" W x 19.0" H x 2.5" D.

Post impressionist oil painting of a partial nude in blue tones. Reminiscent of Picasso's Blue Period. Signed lower right and presented in original dark wood frame with white insert. Masonite panel measures 20 x 30 inches.

A beautiful Japanese enamel tray with bamboo design measuring approx. 9" x 9" x 1" in excellent condition one minute nick on edge.

Beautiful large original vintage Italian impressionist oil painting of Naples Harbor at sunset. Oil on canvas signed lower left G. Mariani. Canvas measures 24 x 36 inches. Artist Biography G. Mariani (Italian, 20th C.-), came from a family of artists who had been painting the beautiful cities and surrounding country life in and around their home of Naples, Italy, for many years. His father was the well known Italian landscape & cityscape painter Mario Mariani (Italian, 1907-) and he also had a brother, V. Mariani (Italian, 20th C.-) who was also an accomplished painter. G. Mariani loves to paint the water, the small harbors and particularly his home area of the Bay of Naples. He is well known for his coastal & seascapes views and fishing villages/marine scenes and for sunset skies which he often painted, as well as interior scenes of Italian country life. He was represented by his father Mario out of his art studio & gallery in Naples, where Mario not only represented his own work, but that of his two sons, as well as other represented artists. less DETAILS Tear Sheet Dimensions42ʺW × 2ʺD × 30ʺH

Oil on canvas Taos Pueblo by Thadeus Welch painted in 1898. A Rare glimpse into time a historical painting of the Taos Pueblo oil on canvas measuring 18 x 24 inches in excellent all original condition. Welch studied art with Virgil Williams and was an apprentice in the studio of J. W. Ogilvy in exchange for art lessons. While there, he made the acquaintance of a wealthy patroness who financed a four-year scholarship for further study in Europe. In 1874 he sailed for Munich where he entered the Royal Academy under Dietz, Piloty, and Leibl. While in Munich he became close friends with Frank Duveneck (who painted his portrait), William Merritt. Chase, and John Twachtman. Leaving Germany, he spent nearly four years in Paris where he continued studying while living on a houseboat on the Seine. Member: Bohemian Club; San Francisco Art Association. Exhibited: Munich Academy, 1876 (bronze medal); Paris Salon, 1880. Works held: Oakland Museum; San Diego Museum; Frye Museum (Seattle); California Historical Society.

An exquisite sterling overlay cranberry glass pitcher awarded as a trophy for the Motor Boat Club of America. Measuring 13.5 inches tall in excellent condition.

A Beautiful and important historic original oil painting by Leland Curtis from the Antarctica Expedition of 1939 - 40. The scene is of Adelaide Island at Marguerite Bay. Oil on canvas signed lower right and noted from the Antarctic Exp. A historical and beautiful painting.

Biography

Born in Denver, CO on Aug. 7, 1897, Curtis was a resident of Seattle before moving to Los Angeles in 1914. He was inspired to become an artist by his teacher Rob Wagner at Manual Arts High School. After working as a bank teller and serving in WWI, he soon was able to support himself as an illustrator. He served as official artist of the U.S. Antarctica Expedition in 1939-40 and again in 1957. About 1960 he changed his residence from Los Angeles to Twenty Nine Palms, California, with summers in Moose, Wyoming. An avid mountain climber, his studio in the Grand Tetons was a rustic log cabin. In 1972 he moved to Carson City, Nevada, where he remained until his demise on March 17, 1989. He is best known for his landscapes of the High Sierra, Grand Tetons, and Antarctica. His works won dozens of medals and prizes from the early 1920s in southern California shows. Member: Carmel Art Association; Artland Club. Exh: California Art Club, 1923-27; Laguna Beach Art Association, 1924; California State Fair, 1926; Cannell & Chaffin Gallery (Los Angeles), 1926; Ebell Club (Los Angeles), 1926; Painters & Sculptors of Los Angeles, 1926-31; National Academy of Design, 1930; Toledo Museum, 1931; American Painters & Sculptors, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1931, 1937 (solo), 1946 (solo); Oakland Art Gallery, 1932; Tuesday Afternoon Club (Glendale), 1934; Golden Gate International Exhibition, 1939; California Palace Legion of

Lantaka a 18th century cast bronze SWIVEL-CANNON “Rail Gun” or “Deck Cannon” solid bronze beautiful details measuring approximately 36 inches long. These cannon were used by the legendary Malay pirates, with small cannon-balls it was a powerful offensive weapon. Lantakas were manufactured during the 17th and early 18th century in Holland by Dutch East India Company for export to Indonesia, Malaysia and Philippines. Later in the 18th century most of them were cast in Indonesia by Dutch colonists and also by local people. Since the bronze cannons were very expensive they become a symbol of wealth and a form of currency; in fact the more cannon a man owns the greater his wealth.

Close Description Original antique painting of a native American Indian woman braiding her daughters hair. Gouache on paper signed lower right L. C. Perry. Presented in the original antique frame. Born in Boston, Lilla Cabot Perry was a key person, along with Mary Cassatt, in bringing French Impressionism* to the United States from France. "For many years, she lectured, wrote, and encouraged American patronage of the style." (Dunn, 16) She was also the artist most closely involved with the Guild of Boston Artists*, which opened its galleries in 1914 to promote accomplished painters and sculptors. She served on the board as the first secretary and worked hard to cultivate persons for financial backing. Pery had prominent Boston social credentials that included the Cabot and Lowell families. Her father was a distinguished surgeon; and her husband's great uncle, Commodore Matthew Perry, opened Japan to the world in 1853. In 1874, she married Professor Thomas Sergeant Perry, a professor of 18th-century literature, and their home became a gathering place for many Boston intellectuals including Henry James, William Dean Howells, and her brother-in-law, painter John LaFarge. She had elite private schooling and began her art studies with Robert Vonnoh and Dennis Bunker at the Cowles School in Boston. Having first traveled to Europe with her family in 1887, she studied in France privately with Alfred Stevens and at the Julian* and Colarossi* Academies. She also exhibited at the salons and expositions and in 1889, attended Claude Monet's exhibition, "Impressions", which "was a revelation for Perry, who decided to take up residence in Giverny." (Dunn, 16) In 1889, Perry and Cecilia Beaux visited Claude Monet at Giverny*, France, and she was highly intrigued with his painting. He, who never took pupils, did give Perry advice and encouraged her to put down on canvas her first impression, saying that was the truest and most pure expression. Between 1889 and 1909, she and her husband spent ten summer seasons in Giverny, where they lived next door to Monet and became close friends. Perry recorded interviews with Monet, who seemed very fond of her, and the result was Perry's book, published in 1927, Reminiscences of Claude Monet. She also successfully encouraged her wealthy friends to purchase Monet's paintings. In 1889, she returned to Boston with one of Monet's paintings, Etretat, one of the first Impressionist works to appear in that area, and she was surprised that no one was very taken with the painting. Several years later, she gave lectures on Monet to the Boston Art Students Association. In 1898, her husband, accepted a college teaching position in Tokyo, Japan as chair of English Literature, and living there until 1901, she painted the landscape and the people, completing more than eighty paintings. Of this period in her life, art historian William Gerdts wrote: "Lilla Perry was one of the most significant of the American painters who went to Japan in the late 19th century; . . . of all the Americans to work there, Perry's work is the least traditional and is the most indebted to the Impressionist aesthetic, and some of her Japanese scenes are, in color and brushwork, extremely close to Monet." (97) In her later years, she lived in the upper class Back Bay area of Boston, and spent her summers in Hancock, New Hampshire. Lilla was a founder and first Secretary of the Guild of Boston Artists. Much of her painting of that period was for her own enjoyment and focused on activities of upper class women, with her daughters frequently serving as the models. She seldom did any preliminary sketching, and pastel was a favorite medium. In very good all original condition overall size 17ʺW × 2.5ʺD × 15ʺH.

Beautiful antique Indian rosewood and brass mounted dowry / marriage Box. A pyramid form box with with hinged top over a compartmentalized interior. Measures 9.5 inches x 13 inches x 10.25 inches. Dating from the 19th century india. In good antique condition minor imperfections commensurate of age.

Ju Ming Taichi series bronze standing approx. 8 inches tall from an edition of 4 Signed by the artist. In excellent condition. Ju Ming’s Taichi Series has established an eminent position in the international art scene. Indeed, since his Nativist Series of the mid 1970s, Ju has opened up new directions for Taiwan’s modern sculptures. For decades, with the principle of “art as self-cultivation” in mind, he has made several artistic climaxes in the form and content of sculptural art. He explored his own unique artistic language while preserving the values of traditional cultural symbols of China in the modern abstract movement.

Impressionist nude female oil painting on canvas c.1920s. Presented in a Dutch impressionist parcel gilt wood frame. Canvas measuring 20 x 24 in excellent vintage condition.

Exquisite pair French gilt bronze 5 light candelabra with cherubs and garland leaf and flower motif supported by a white marble base. Measuring 28" x 13" x 8".

An original Tom Christopher New York painting acrylic on canvas titled "Between the Clock and the Messenger" measuring 48" by 48.5" signed on verso. This painting has been exhibited at Galerie Tamenaga in Paris France with label on stretcher bar.

TOM CHRISTOPHER BIOGRAPHY

"Monet had his water lilies and Tom Christopher has Times Square." --The New Yorker Tom Christopher is a classically trained draughtsman. He received a BFA from the Art Center College in Los Angeles, studying with the legendary Disney animator Ward Kimball and the painter Lorser Fietelson. He then worked for Peterson Publishing drawing automobiles for Motor Trend Magazine, drawing portraits at Disneyland and creating rock posters for CBS Records. After moving to New York in 1981 he went on drawing assignments with Meredith Vieira and John Stossel covering courtroom drama for CBS News in downtown Manhattan. This experience in part formed the foundation for a narrative and journalistic approach to his art. Although born in Hollywood, and steeped in the LA hot rod / skateboard culture, he became obsessed with painting household objects and tools on a Brobdingnagian scale, exhibiting in galleries in the East Village. He would always carry a sketchbook, endlessly drawing and recording everything from subways to skyscrapers. In 1987, NYC was a dark city, crime ridden and gripped by fear. But, as he put it: "One day walking around Times Square, the clouds cleared and I had an epiphany of sorts. The City exploded in a blaze of expressionistic colors with the brilliant laser white light sculpting the buildings, cabs, messengers and scurrying figures. At once I realized my mission; try and capture the narrative, the beauty and the magnetic pull of the epicenter of this modern urban city." Now his subject matter is largely focused on the streets of New York. But calling him a New York painter would be as much a mistake as it would be to dismiss Kirchner as a Berlin cityscene painter. They have both used the subject of the city as a launching pad to explore the many aspects of man's struggle in an urban environment. Indeed, this theme is universal as his paintings have found a following in Europe, especially Paris, Germany and Tokyo. Most of the work is painted using small batch, handmade acrylic paint. Pencil lines from the initial exploratory sketch stage often remain on the white canvass. These raw areas give the painting both breathing room and serve as a reminder of the process. His artistic vocabulary ranges from lines that loop and skit around, to delicate watercolor washes, heavy brushwork to thick impasto with swirls and drips of color. Working with 'at risk' kids he brought these expressionistic colors and large brushwork to the Roseland Ballroom on 53rd St creating the city's largest outdoor mural at 225 by 65 ft. "I think it's interesting to tell a story about people in the city and not necessarily be concerned about what the finished product will look like. The last thing an artist should do is to set out to try and make 'art'. I find that if you have something to say, just paint, most of the time it will find it's own way." Says Mr. Christopher. He was trained in an approach that relies on visual observation and blocking out all else. Actually, he was trained to not listen as it would become too distracting. This is now changing in new works with overheard conversations and fragments of speech finding their way into the artwork as titles of the paintings create a continually evolving narrative thread. "Tom Christopher has become to American painting what Count Basie or Duke Ellington became to American popular music, not completely jazz but owning much to Charlie Parker and Charles Mingus." Written by Dr. Louis Zona, Director and Chief Curator, The Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown Ohio.