An ink and wash with watercolor painting of a young Japanese geisha seen in profile in her kimono, her hair perfectly coiffed, 10 3/4" by 7 1/4", 15 3/4" by 12" in simple framing, signed lower left "Strasser/Kyoto" and nearby once again "Roland Strasser Kyoto" at center left. This is a fine work by a well-known Vienna-born artist of Basque descent, ROLAND STRASSER (1895-1974). The artist has been called online "the last of the orientalist romantics"...

A fine, early print, (16 3/4" by 13 1/2" in its simple black framing), is titled in the lower left margin "Pennsylvania Quaker", numbered nearby 32/50 and signed at lower right margin in pencil by the noted American artist, PETER HURD (1904-1984). This lithograph dates to 1936, when the artist was only in his early thirties. Hurd was born in New Mexico and attended military academy there before realizing he wanted to become an artist...

This is an exceptionally early, student work by the ultimately famous and important American-born artist who lived much of his life in Europe. The scene is of a group of fashionably dressed people listening to the guide at left, inside one of Florence's art museums, probably the Uffizi Gallery, the walls hung with pictures, a copyist at his easel, and other tourists gawking at right. The drawing is ink on paper laid on board, and is signed at lower right "Cucuel" and dated there "99"...

Original unique sculpture in clay or terra cotta, 11 1/2" by 6" by 6", mounted on a black 3" high base, signed on the sculpture "E. BARR", not dated but likely circa 1960's. I cannot to date find information on the artist but he/she was certainly a talent who was familiar with modern giants like Henry Moore, Jacques Lipchitz, Alexander Archipenko and others who worked in this manner, simplifying and glorifying the human form...

Heavy pencil on paper drawing, 6" by 15", unframed, signed at lower center and dated there '91, (see another very similar drawing I have listed), by the noted contemporary sculptor, ceramicist, designer and painter PETER SHIRE (1947-). This complex modern drawing is imaginative, three dimensional, and whimsical, and could only have been created by a true artist...

Lithograph on paper, the sheet 19 1/4" by 25 3/4", signed in pencil at lower right and numbered 156/275 at lower left, by important 20th century Spanish artist EMILIO GRAU-SALA (1911-1975). This is an example of the accomplished lithography of this major European artist, the paintings of whom command well into five figures at auctions in Europe and the USA...

**ONE OF TWO WORKS BY THIS ARTIST IN MY SHOP** This is a mixed media work on paper, (watercolor and gouache) 8 1/2" by 12", 16" by 19 1/2" as framed, signed at lower right in pencil by the artist "J Cl Imbert". The landscape scene includes a few trees and a small river rendered in subdued colors. Thee primary medium is watercolor but there are tiny spots of gouache, and possibly charcoal in the tree branches, and scratching technique. No foxing or damage.

A fine aquatint print circa 1930's, the subject one of the famous canals of old Bruges, Belgium, pencil signed at lower right margin by French artist FREDERIC LOUIS LEVE (1877-1968), and numbered in pencil 86 at lower left margin, where there is a blind stamp in the paper. Leve was a painter in oil and watercolor but is most widely known for his skill in aquatint, a form of etching which lends itself to creating prints that look very much like watercolor...

Irving Amen's works are most commonly prints, as he is considered a master print maker in woodblock, etching, lithography and silk screen; this example appears to be etching or etching with aquatint. He also executed oils and acrylics in the course of a long career. This work, titled at lower left in pencil "Tenderness" and numbered there 89/200 examples, is signed in pencil at lower right. The print measures 18 3/8" by 12 1/4" inside the mat (23 1/2" by 17 1/2" as framed)...

Watercolor on paper, 9 1/2" by 13 3/4" (16 1/2" by 20 1/2" as framed), the subject a 19th century shipwreck engulfed by waves on what appears to be an Atlantic ocean beach, some tiny sails visible on the distant horizon. The artist painted in New England and specifically on Nantucket so this could well be coastal New England. The watercolor is signed at lower left by the listed Ohio and Pennsylvania artist RUFUS WAY SMITH (1840-1900)...

This is an example of one of the more desirable and scarce Currier and Ives images, the "Skating Scene--Moonlight" of the year 1868, the image measuring 7 3/4" by 12 7/16", the sheet a somewhat irregularly cut 9 1/4" by 13 7/16"...

Watercolor on paper painting of a windmill, measuring 8 3/4" by 6" (14 1/2" by 11" framed), signed "A. L. Terrell" or similar at lower right, where the artist dated it "07" and added "The Hague". I do not see a listing by this name or similar possibilities, though there was an artist Adriaan Terhell who painted windmills in watercolor...

Japanese contemporary sculpture of a large Beetle, intricately detailed in leather and metal.

Dates Modern Contemporary
Size H 2 3/4" x W 10 1/2" x D 8"

Japanese deco period wood lacquer letter box, red/orange with a diagonal field of black sprinkled with mother of pearl and Tsugaru Nure texnique, bold design, signed as a dedication on back "Masakazu Chiba",

Dates c1930
Size H 1 1/2" x W 12" x D 9 1/4"

Oil on canvas painting of classic red highland cattle in an extensive landscape, signed at lower left "Louis B. Hurt" and titled in pencil on stretcher "on the cliffs as Malaige" (Mallaig) (on the southwestern coast of Scotland near Skye). The work measures 20" by 30" on the stretchers and 28" by 38" in heavy attractive late 20th century framing. On the stretcher is written in chalk "April 4 - 30"...

Richard Luney's paintings and prints of wildlife (generally African) have been popular since the 1970's. Luney, a Vietnam veteran, was already exhibiting by 1974 at Lord & Taylor Gallery in New York, according to a newspaper account of the time. The artist described his style as "contemporary surrealism"...

Sold together as a pair, unframed oil on masonite board paintings of trees in landscapes, the larger piece 30" by 40", the smaller one 24" by 35 1/2", both by the noted Santa Barbara/Ventura area California artist DOUGLAS SHIVELY (1896-1991). Shively was born in Santa Paula among the citrus and avocado groves, and he chose to continue to live in that scenic area his entire life, despite many overseas voyages. After serving in World War I he went into the banking business, ultimately reaching e...

Oil on masonite painting of a small adobe structure in a landscape, 11" by 14" and narrow frame, signed in green at lower left corner "Clapp". The work is impressionistic, and the subject suggestive of New Mexico. I checked with an authority on the works of Canadian/California artist William Henry Clapp (1879-1954) to see if he thought this might be by that artist, which would enhance its value significantly. He did not believe the work to be by that artist, citing style and signature, and sa...

A circa mid 20th century oil on Masonite landscape painting of trees and a wide stream, 20" by 36" (25 1/2" by 31" framed), signed in Russian or possibly Ukrainian (or, Armenian?) at lower left. The work currently has a yellowish cast which appears to be nicotine from cigarette smoke. Were it to be cleaned the painting might well be totally a different color, but the yellowish "autumnal" tone seems to work on its own. Condition is very good with only a few light abrasions.

Oil on canvas painting, unframed, 24" by 18", titled on stretcher in artist's hand "TAKING IN THE SIGHTS ON ROMANTIC CHURCH STREET, CHARLESTON", and signed at lower left by the late San Diego county artist and poet NATALIE REED. Reed was a familiar name in the arts community in the San Diego area, creating paintings and sculptures and even murals in large scale for public buildings, including a work for the Federal Building in downtown San Francisco. She was a traveler, painting along the way ...

Oil painting of the front of a noted cafe, "La Bonne Entente", signed at lower right by artist "Vanet". This 8 1/4" by 10" (14 1/4" by 16 1/4" framed) work is by a Bulgarian woman artist by the name IVANKA PETROVA-TZEKOV, born 1956. She has been in France since 1983, painting colorful, figure-filled works of nightclubs and other scenes with multiple figures. She was a 1982 graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Sofia. The artist's talents have been specially recognized by the Moulin Rouge n...

Oil on canvas painting, 18 1/2" by 24 1/2" including the thin red wood frame, circa 1960's or 1970's, signed on the stretcher "John J. Molino". I don't see a listing for the name so offer the painting as a decorative mid century item. It is quite a colorful and dramatic work and will beautifully complement your Eames Era modern decor. I think there's a little bit of Stuart Davis color and imagery in this. Note how the paint is raised in the hard-edge striping. The painting is a little dusty...

Oil on board, 18" by 30" (23" by 35" as framed), the scene at dockside in Venice, Italy, gondolas at the ready and figures walking the dock, sun-washed buildings in the background. The painting is signed, though awkwardly, at lower left "Arthur V. Diehl", leading me to think originally that this was by that noted American impressionist painter who died in 1929 (Diehl had created throughout his lifetime, from memory, mostly, Venice scenes, even though he had only visited there as a young man). ...

Gouache on paper landscape drawing, 14" by 21" (27" by 33 1/2" framed), signed somewhat illegibly in the lower right corner in pencil and dated there "43", the subject a small village on the shore of a lake or ocean. The scene, including small white church steeple, reminds me vaguely of the quaint coastal tourist town of Mendocino north of San Francisco. There is no hint as to where the subject is, so, we will just have to guess. The signature might be "Pien" or "Pian" or similar. I've opened...

Watercolor on paper painting of the architecture of old New Orleans, 14 1/2" by 5" (21" by 11 3/4" framed), signed at lower right with the typical signature of well known illustrator artist ADOLPH KRONENGOLD (1900-1986). Kronengold was educated at Tulane in the 1910's, and in New York and Philadelphia, where he was a Daniel Garber pupil. Information I have seen online states that he established art schools in New York and Alaska. In the 1920's and 1930's, Kronengold did numerous covers for Th...

This is a 1981 color poster issued by Tally Richards Gallery of Contemporary Art, Taos, New Mexico, pencil signed at center right (green area) and dedicated "For Debbie" at left, by the famous Native American contemporary artist FRITZ SCHOLDER (1937-2005). Scholder was arguably the best known and influential Native American artist of the second half of the twentieth century. He was 1/4 Luiseno (California Mission) Indian and part German, and as a result of his mixed heritage, found himself uniqu...

Oil on tin sheet painting of a man in cowboy hat, titled on reverse backing "The Old Hat", 16" by 12" (22 1/2" by 18 3/4" framed), signed at lower right and again on the backing, by the well known artist of the American Southwest, RAMON KELLEY (born 1939). This is a sensitively painted work of a subject obviously very familiar to the artist. Kelley studied on a scholarship at the Colorado Institute of Art in Denver, where he counted the artist Charlie Dye among his instructors. A Taos, New Me...

An old unframed watercolor of an Asiatic-looking man in traditional clothing, with pencil writing in Russian at right including the date 19.II.1920. A Russian-speaker informs me that there is no name of an artist, but that the subject is identified as a Buryat. I take from online information: "The Buryat people are descended from various Siberian and Mongol peoples that inhabited the Lake Baikal Region including Kurykans, who are also the ancestors of the Siberian Turkic speaking Yakuts. Then...

A beautiful drawing, small but very accomplished, 5 1/8" by 7 1/8" (9 1/4" by 11 1/4" framed), signed somewhat illegibly at lower left, but fully identified in old ink on the reverse as "Palais de Justice Rue de la Place du Chatelet", the artist EMILE APPAY, 1922. Note the fine details of the Sphinx at right, lamp posts, kiosks, and people dressed in period clothing. This is a mixed media work in watercolor and pastel, by a listed French artist who studied with Henri-Joseph Harpignies and Paul...

There are lots of signed prints out there, but few original works, by the hand of famous comedian RED SKELTON (1913-1997), who is said to have said that he made more money from his art than from his entertainment career. This is one of those scarce original works: a pencil drawing of a bird's head---likely a gull, though, possibly a young eagle. Measuring 3" by 5 1/2" (6 1/2" by 8 3/4" in simple frame) the work on a scrap of lined notebook paper is signed in the vertical style, in longhand, a...

Watercolor on paper painting, 10 1/2" by 13 1/2" (18 1/4" by 21" framed), signed at lower right "J.C. MIDDLETON.", the subject a suburban boathouse in a neighborhood, possibly in southeast England. Middleton painted in oil and watercolor in Surrey, greater London, and Cornwall, as well as South Africa, apparently, as a number of works from Cape Town are known. The artist was skilled in watercolor, as this painting shows a sure hand.

Large (40" by 32", 47 1/2" by 41 1/2" as nicely framed) painting of a woman in a rowboat on a small lake, trees providing some respite from the sun on this high summer, exceptionally bright day, signed at lower left by listed English artist ERNEST G. BEACH (1865-c. 1934), and dated there 1910. This is an impressive work, perhaps one of the artist's best, with beautiful impressionist technique and colors. Beach appears to have painted many landscapes with sheep and shepherds, as well as some ...

This is a **PAIR** of fine old works, (each 9" by 19 1/2", 17" by 27 1/2" as identically framed in old gilded oak), both coastal scenes, likely Rhode Island, including both steam and sail vessels on the horizon, tiny fisherman, and wood building at right in one. Each is signed at lower right and dated there 1906 by the well known American 19th century painter EDMUND DARCH LEWIS (1835-1910). The combination of vessel types illustrates the quickening transition from sail to steam around the turn ...

A small etching of a bearded, religious Jewish man, a title at bottom of the image in Hebrew characters translating approximately as "to good year you shall be written"---for Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year. The print is pencil signed at lower right by the noted, well-listed American artist LEONARD BASKIN (1922-2000). Baskin was born in New Jersey and educated at Yale, where he founded a small fine books press. This early experience with fine printing no doubt contributed to his later exper...

An example of the 1969 lithograph print, titled variously as "Mascara", ("Mask"), numbered in lower left margin 73/250 and pencil signed at lower right, by the famous Mexican 20th century muralist artist DAVID ALFARO SIQUEIROS (1896-1974). This lithograph was printed by Mourlot in Paris. Siqueiros is considered one of the three giants of Mexican twentieth century art, alongside Diego Rivera and Jose Clemente Orozco. He was a social realist artist, always concerned with the lot of the Mexican com...

Oil on canvas painting of a fetching young woman resting next to what appears to be a drum, 21" by 12" (24" by 14" in wood frame), signed at lower right and again on the reverse (both name and "Firenze"--Florence---) by Italian artist CIPRIANO CEI (1864-1922). The subject looks coyly at the viewer, as she takes a break in her day. An interesting wall of advertising posts at upper left adds interest. Cei was born near Venice and died in Rome. A pupil of Luigi Norfini, he came to be known for ...