Ink on paper, double-sided drawing of cowboys and their horses, 7 7/8" by 10 1/4" inside the present mat (13" by 16" as framed), unsigned, but acquired in Yucca Valley from close friends of the artist who obtained much of his work after his 2005 passing. This is a vigorous and spontaneous work by an obviously very talented artist of the American west. Colt's works have been sold at Bonhams auctions of California art, and Santa Fe dealers offer his work alongside the best of western artists...

Watercolor on paper, 8 1/4" by 3 7/8", (14 1/4" by 9 1/2" as framed), apparently unsigned, circa late nineteenth century (1890's), showing the famous Piazza San Marco in Venice. This is a highly detailed little painting; note the young lady and her mother at left foreground, feeding the pigeons, and the dapper man at left with his cane and top hat; and the ornate streetlights at right. Most likely this was a piece executed for the tourist souvenir trade, Venice being on the Grand Tour trail...

This is a very decorative item of impressive size for your Southwest style home: a gouache painting on cloth, roughly square at 30 1/8" by 30 7/8" plus about 3 1/2" on a side of frame and undermat......no signature that I can see but it reminds me of the popular "yeibichai" weavings of the Navajo and Hopi Southwest. The condition is excellent and this is ready for the wall. Allow for reflections in the glass.

Painting on board, 18" by 20" (24" by 28" as framed), signed at lower right "BIZLEY" (artist RICHARD BIZLEY, 1959-, of Dorset, England). Auctions of items relating to natural history are seeing intense interest from museums and individuals, and record prices are set regularly. This highly detailed and imaginative work (**ONE OF TWO NOW IN MY SHOP BY THIS ARTIST**) brings the viewer to the Jurassic period (206 to 144 million years ago) with its depth and imagery...

Watercolor and gouache painting on paper of a wooden house surrounded by trees and shrubs, 11" by 14" inside the mat (16" by 20" as framed), signed at lower left "N. Belij" and dated there "-30". This is a work of listed Finnish artist NIKOLAI BELIJ (1896-1968). I do not know a lot about the artist; most of the information about him on the net is in Finnish or Swedish. Works by him have been offered at auction in Scandinavia...

Gouache on board painting, 10" by 16" image with 1" margins, unframed, signed at lower left by well-listed, often-auctioned California artist HARRY CASSIE BEST (1863-1936), the work featuring an unusual subject for the artist, an Italian scene---the Bay of Naples with Vesuvius in the distance. I do no see any information regarding Best having made any trips to Italy, so this could be a work resulting from the artist's having seen prints or original works depicting the famous Italian vista...

This is a hand colored lithograph of the species Petroica Goodenovii (the Red-capped Robin, of central and southern Australia), drawn by the famous 19th century English naturalist, ornithologist and natural history illustrator JOHN GOULD, the lithographic plate produced by his assistant Henry Constantine Richter (1821-1902)...

Oil on canvas of a clapboard cottage by a lake in spring, 18" by 24" with 3" frame, signed at lower left "J.C. FRANCES". I do not see a listing for the artist but he or she was obviously at the very least familiar with the paintings of Henry Pember Smith (1854-1907) and George W. Drew (1875-1968), who painted eerily similar scenes. This painting shows a gambrel roofed cottage with blooming pink blossomed trees and ducks----an idyllic spring idyll in New England or New York state perhaps...

PAIR of watercolor on paper paintings, each 14 1/2" by 10 3/4" inside the satin mat, 23" by 19" as identically framed in goldish vintage frames with ornate tops, each signed by the California artist and fashion illustrator ESTHER WYNN, who passed away in 1990 according to recent information acquired from relatives. There is presently no askart listing for this artist but that could change. Wynn was a talented illustrator, often, of fashion design, and created designs for cards as well...

Unusually large detailed engraving, 31 1/4" by 20 1/8", laid down on board, of Christ coming down off the Cross, this example engraved by Nicolaus Dorigny (1657-1776), and possibly after Daniel Ricciarelli (1509-1566), in turn after a painting by Raphael. The work is dated 1720 at lower left. There's a lot of text in Latin at bottom, and a close look reveals the names of the two above artists...

This is a fresh and clean example of the 1956 print "The Four Sisters, Chazalet", one of an edition of only 675 examples, signed in pencil at lower right and bearing an characteristic embossed blind stamp and, in the image, (copyright symbol) "F & R (Frost and Reed) at lower left. The print measures 18" by 24" (26 1/2" by 32" as framed). According to information on the net, Chazalet is a small medieval period town in central France near the famed ceramics town of Limoges...

Vintage circa 1880's oil on canvas, 20" by 14" and 1" wide old dark oak simple frame, likely the original, signed at lower right side with the typical conjoined "MStraus" signature of well listed Northern California artist MEYER STRAUS (1831-1905). Straus was born in southern Germany, and was in the US by 1848. He traveled the southern states, including New Orleans and Mobile areas, as well as Ohio and Illinois...

Circa 1840's watercolor on paper (not likely later than 1860), apparently unsigned, 16 1/4" by 10 1/2" (25" by 20 1/2" as framed), showing a classic European tower above an arched stone bridge in a city, several figures in period clothing going about their daily lives. This is in amazingly fresh condition, with vibrant fresh color and a minimum of foxing...

PAIR of original drawings of a traditionally dressed Moroccan man and woman, executed in pastel, each 10" by 7 3/4" (16 1/2" by 14 1/4" as framed), each signed by the noted American artist LOUIS J...

Pastel on paper, 20" by 25" and silvery frame 3 3/4" wide on a side, the subject a schnauzer dog in an arid mountain landscape possibly in the Palm Springs, California area. The drawing is by an artist skilled in the use of pastel. JOSEPHINE CRUMRINE (1917-2005) of Alaska was perhaps best known for her work depicting Eskimos and other familiar Alaska themes such as sled for the menus of the Alaska Steamship Company, but she also experimented with other subject matter. I recently sold a scene ...

Fine old painting of a young woman in a most distinctive red-striped dress, signed at lower right by American artist REVINGTON ARTHUR (1908-1986). This painting has composition, a great palette and blond light, and a modernist feel. It stands in contrast to much of his work, which was executed in rather dark colors. The artist was a student of George Luks, Arshile Gorky, and Kimon Nicolaides. He was a member of the Silvermine Guild in Connecticut, a state with which he is most closely associ...

Oil on canvas painting of incoming waves, painted in an impressionist manner, 15 1/2" by 23 1/2" (19 3/4" by 28" framed) signed at lower left and dated 1906 by listed Danish artist VIGGO LAURITZ HELSTED (1861-1926). This is a pleasing scene and quite typical of the artist's work. He was known for coastal and marine paintings as well as landscape in Denmark. This work has a vertical tear/scuff about 2" long at right center, and the entire disturbed area including scuff is about 4" in length; w...

Oil on canvas, 20" by 27" and simple wood frame 1 1/4" wide on a side, the subject a ceramic vase with exotic bird motif, on a tabletop, the vase and surrounding area filled with various flowers including carnations, hydrangeas, roses of various colors, and perhaps goldenrod. The work is signed at lower right "G Cocco" (GIUSEPPE COCCO 1879-1963), a listed painter from Naples, Italy. Cocco's signature is hard to decipher and as a result I think he is less known than he should be. This is the s...