Catalog: Sold Items (421)

An exquisite Chinese carved Ivory figure of a beautiful maiden. Hand carved from one ivory tusk artist signed on the bottom measuring Approximately 14 inches tall in excellent condition.

A beautiful oil on board by Harold Christopher Davies of a nude in a landscape with two dogs. Provenance the estate of the artist and Hoover Gallery of San Francisco. Measuring approx. 10 x 14 inches framed in a quality gallery frame overall size 13 x 17 inches. A 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

A masterpiece of Georgian furniture this beautifully crafted table utilizes the best of form and proportion with exquisite hand carving. The tripod birdcage stand features a fluted column ornately carved legs ending in ball and claw feet. The table top is of pie crust form carved from a single piece of solid mahogany. The table measuring approx. 30 inches accros and 20 inches tall, is in excellent antique condition it has been refinished at some time in the early 20th century. I believe this piece is of Irish origin.

Sterling Stuffing or serving spoon by Hester Bateman London 1788 In excellent condition only minor wear fully hallmarked monogrammed W A H. Measuring approx. 11 inches 28 cm. long.

Hester Bateman 1708 - 1794 Hester Batemans's long career began after the death of her husband John Bateman(1704-1760. John was a chainmaker in London, but little is known about him. After his death, Hester began to build the business, entering her first silver mark in 1761 and continuing to expand the business and went on to be one of the best known of the female silversmiths working in London during the 18th century.

Antique brass balance scale with elaborate design of Serpent or Dolphin Fish motif. Complete with weights set in solid brass base. Dimensions 8" L x 18" W x 24" H

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)

A fine vintage African Dan mask. a beautiful piece of fine form and carving and patina. Provenance From The Late Phillip Kirkeby Collection. Custom display mount overall 15.5 inches the mask is 9 inches in length in excellent condition a fine addition to any collection.

"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 antique caddy in all original condition finish and interior compartments sugar or mixing bowl and brass feet all complete. In good condition some minor restorations to the banding.

Chinese carved spinach jade censer with intricate details of dragons and mythical beasts plus traditional Chinese decorative elements. A fine example with a deep green color in excellent condition measuring approx. 9 inches tall. A fine example would be a nice addition to any collection.

An exquisite Japanese Ivory carved figure of a woman merchant carrying baskets and Noh masks finest detailed carving signed Ta Naka.

A fine pair of antique portrait miniatures of a man and woman signed Dubbison and dated 1823 oil on Ivory in leather cases. In very good antique condition the lady has a restored hairline crack to her left. measuring approx. 3 x 4 inches. a beautiful pair.

A beautiful example with subtle blue enamel hues and a pair of crane with flowers. Meiji period c. 1900 in fine condition no damage an exquisite miniature measuring approx. 3 5/8 inches tall 10 centimeters, a fine addition to any collection.

Antique Portrait of a beautiful young girl oil on canvas signed on reverse Pankratz Korle and dated 1844. Pandratz Korle (1823-1875) is a well listed painter and highly regarded painter. This charming portrait of a girl in a white dress with a pink shawl is masterfully painted. A portrait by Korle sold at auction for $6,103 in November of 2005. Measuring approx. 24x28 inches framed in a antique gold leaf frame 27x32 overall. The painting is in very good condition although with age cracklure and one small 1/4 in. touch up. A fine decorative antique painting.

A fine antique Bronze Statue of an Oni finely detailed casting in the finest Japanese tradition of bronze works. Cast in three pieces body pined to base. Measuring 17"T x 15"W x 11D.

Fine original oil painting on canvas signed lower left J.B.Smith dated 1876 titled on the reverse on "Vale of Heath Wales" provenance Richard Green Gallery London. Measuring 18 x 14 inches. In excellent condition a couple of minor touchups. John Brandon Smith fl. 1848 - 1888 was a London landscape painter who exhibited from 1859 to 1884 at the Royal Academy. From 1860 to 1874 he exhibited at The British Institute and also at the Royal Society of Artists, Suffolk Street. Titles at the Royal Academy included View in Surrey 1860, On the Lledr, 1867 and Caldron Linn, Perthshire, 1874. He is most commonly known for his pictures of rivers and waterfalls.

A fine antique portrait of a Horse in a stable with saddle. Oil on canvas signed lower left in original birds eye maple frame. Measuring approx. 26 x 34 inches a fine decorative original painting.

Antique Navajo Indian silver and turquoise bracelet circa 1920s with interesting four directions and arrow design in excellent antique condition measuring approx. 2 inches at widest point. A fine example would be a nice addition to any southwest jewelry collection.