From our African Collection: an African Ewe Figure from Eastern Ghana from the mid 20th century. The Ewe are one of Ghana's five main ethnic groups (United States Jan. 2002) and reside mainly in the southeast region of the country (Ethnologue July 2002) but also inhabit the southern half of Togo (Ewe Culture 2002). According to an article by professor D.E.K...

What fun this print is—a swirl of kanji virtually unreadable but a delight to the eye. 79-9 was done in 1979 and measures 9.25in W x 10.75in H. The print is in excellent condition.

Oil on canvas painting of autumnal trees in an extensive landscape, signed lower right by artist SAIMA SYVERSON (1891-1978). The work, 24" by 30" (29" by 35" in circa 1950's attractive frame) is an impressive size, and the rich impasto brushwork adds to the appeal. Condition is excellent save for a 1" small narrow loss at extreme top left, and there is a small piece of the frame missing at bottom center...

**FOUR** identically framed early (1830) color aquatint engraving prints of classic English sporting art subject, the Grand Leicestershire Steeple Chase, 1829, printed by the noted R. Ackermann Jr. of Regent Street, London. The plates are from a series, though this is not a complete series; the group includes Plate 1, Plate 5, Plate 6, and Plate 7. They all measure 14" by 17 1/4" inside the framing (18 1/2" by 21 1/2" framed)...

Charles P. Renouard, French, 1845-1924, Etching, "Bathers", image size: 4 7/8X6 3/4", pencil signed

A very unusual painting that looks like a mix of Japanese Anime, the Big Eye School, and a Katy Perry video: oil on canvas, 24" by 18 1/2" on the stretchers, 28 1/2" by 22 1/4" as framed, signed at lower left by artist Christina Anthony. I do not see internet information on the artist, who was technically talented. The scene is a complete fantasy, with curling red and white striped candy canes, cupcakes, and lollypops lining a curving road. Most definitely a unique image...

This is a gouache and watercolor and ink on paper work, 21" by 29" (28 1/2" by 36" as framed), laid on board, by the California artist, socialite, and model, LUCILE BROKAW (1915-1984). The artist appears to be not well known today, although a student of George Grosz, but she was obviously talented and appears to have led a fascinating and glamorous life...

This is a skillfully executed painting on canvas, 9 1/2" by 13" (14 1/2" by 18" in its distressed style white/gold frame), the subject several large ripening pears and apples, a pair of plums in the foreground. At lower left is written "A Mr. Caubert/Souvenir Amical/H. Camus". I believe that's what the names appear to be; more research might reveal the full identity of the artist. To date I cannot match this to a listed name...

Watercolor on paper laid on thin card painting of a fetching, dark-haired young woman, apparently in Venice (tiny gondola/architecture at far right), holding spring flowers at the water's edge, " by ", and signed at right center "E. LARRI". I do not see a listing by this name but he/she worked squarely in the tradition of 19th century Italian watercolor art. The piece was in a nondescript frame when found, and backed by curling old acidic wood. I have removed it from the frame for photography...

Description: Nicely painted portrait of a young matron wearing a gold locket and a white lace frock, presented in a rose gilt brass pendant frame. Size : 3" x 2 1/4", in very good condition.

Arthur William Heintzelman, American, 1891-1965, "Ma Petite Voisine", drypoint etching, image size: 11 1/8 x 7 3/4 inches, ed. 80, 1935 cat. Smith-204, pencil signed lower right

Something of a mystery, this is a very interesting soft pencil drawing of a young woman, 13 1/4" by 9 1/4" (19" by 15" framed), signed indecipherably at lower right and dated there 1931. Try as I might, I have absolutely come to a dead end when it comes to figuring out this signature. Adjacent to that signature an inscription reads "Baroness Leonnie Perraja"...

THREE unframed/unstretched oil sketches of California landscapes, circa 1930's to 1940's, measurements 11" by 14", 14" by 17", and 18" by 13 1/2", one signed at lower right by listed Southern California artist BERTHA TOWNSEND COLER (1865-1948). Coler was born in Ohio and studied with Robert Henri and William Merritt Chase in New York City...

Oil on canvasboard, 16" by 20" and 3" of frame and liner, circa 1950's or 1960's I believe, signed at lower left by artist "G. Diehl". At one time I thought there was some possibility that this was a work by Finnish artist Gosta Diehl. The daughter of that artist, Franciska Sundholm, wrote me to say that this is definitely not a work by her father. So this is offered as simply a competently executed modernistic still life painting...

This large print is an etching on paper in dark brown ink, and a heavily inked example at that, the subject apparently "Turkish Cemetery", according to a pencil notation in the upper left margin...

Original lithograph print "The Great East River Suspension Bridge" (the Brooklyn Bridge), 1881, by the noted American printmakers Currier and Ives. The image shows the bridge, sailing and steam craft around it, including a steam paddlewheeler. The bridge was an engineering marvel of the world at the time and a point of great civic pride. This example of the print measures 10 1/2" by 13" inside the framing; much if not most of the margin area has evidently been trimmed, as was common with Curr...

From our African Collection: Gray Guro Mask 8 x 16"h. Between the Baule and the Yaure to the west, the Malinke to the north and the Bete and We to the south, the Guro people live surrounded by savannah and forest. They migrated from the north during the 16th century and number about 200,00. Guro villages have rounded houses in the northern area and rectangular houses in the southern region. Village life is regulated by a council of elders, representing each main family, and by secret societi...

Pieter Stevens van Gunst, 1659-1724, Dutch, engraving after van Dyck, "Charles the First, King of Great Britain", image size 18 x 11 5/8, plate size 20 1/4 x 13 inches, sheet size 22 3/4 x 16 inches

Six original 32 etchings by Jacques Callot comprising the full series LES PENITENTS ET PENITENTES, Lieure catalog numbers 1315-1319, second state of two except for the frontispiece, which is the first state. Wonderful designs, excellent clean prints. Framed and glazed, not examined outside of frame. Average print size 65 x 43 mm (2 1/2 x 1 3/4 inches), frame size 12 x 14 inches.

From our African Collection: Fante Akuaba Doll, circa 1960. Akua'ba (sometimes spelled Akwaba or Akuba) are wooden ritual fertility dolls from Southern Ghana and nearby areas. The best known akua'ba are those of the Fanti people, “Fanti Dolls” whose akua'ba have large, disc-like heads. Other tribes in the West Africa region (f.ex. Kru and Igbo people) have their own distinctive style of akua'ba. Traditionally, these dolls are carried on the back of young women either hoping to conceiv...

Edith Penman, American, 1860-1929, etching with remarque, "On the Shoreline", image size: 4 7/8 x 7 3/4 inches, pencil signed

Contemporary watercolor full length portrait of a young woman seated on a sofa, titled "Zoe", 28 3/4" by 18" (36" by 25" as framed), signed at lower center by New York-born artist AL ZERRIES (1940-2009). Zerries studied at Pratt in New York and for more than twenty years was an art director and creative director at Manhattan advertising agencies. He also taught at the School of Visual Arts. It was not until the 1990's that he began to paint and draw on his own, taking lessons from Burton Silve...

Oil on canvas, 24" by 30" (30" by 36" as framed), the subject a peaceful northeastern cove, which we learn from a penned notation on the reverse is, in fact, Canada, in the province of Nova Scotia. Viewers online have confirmed to me that this is definitely Peggy's Cove on the Atlantic coast. The oil bears a professional-looking signature at lower right: R. Miller. I don't see a listing that would likely correspond to this, so offer it on its own strong decorative qualities and excellent co...

Everyone seems to love Paris, a city which has inspired and continues to inspire much art. This pair of watercolors, one of the elegant and timeless Place Vendome, the other the famed "Le Dome" cafe of Montparnasse, are signed by artist "Hrobel". Each measures 16" by 24" (26" by 33 1/4" as framed). The pair is ready for the wall, with clean blue mats and tasteful cream frames. The colors are not faded and there is no foxing nor water staining. Surprisingly I do not see an obvious listing fo...

From our African Collection: a Red Guro Mask from Guinea, circa 1970. This work measures 7 x 17' h, and is available for purchase. Between the Baule and the Yaure to the west, the Malinke to the north and the Bete and We to the south, the Guro people live surrounded by savannah and forest. They migrated from the north during the 16th century and number about 200,00. Guro villages have rounded houses in the northern area and rectangular houses in the southern region. Village life is regulated by ...

Watercolor and gouache painting on paper, 20 3/4" by 32 1/2" inside the mat (37" by 50" as framed), signed at lower right by noted well listed American 19th century artist Edmund Darch Lewis. Lewis was a prolific artist. He worked in both oil and watercolor. Auction records have exceeded $90,000 for his finest oils. I once saw one oil of a tropical landscape in Cuba, in the Hudson River tradition, priced at $25,000, and that was too low. The artist's style became somewhat looser as he aged,...

Original Currier and Ives lithograph print "The Straw-Yard, Winter", 12 3/4" by 15 1/2" inside the overmat, 20" by 22 1/2" as framed, the subject quite desirable: a white horse, a dark brown horse in the center, surrounded by a veritable menagerie of a winter barnyard in the country, including contented pigs eating their turnips at left, ducks and pigeons pecking away underneath and around the horses, and a pigeon even perched on a snowy fence post, face to face with the white horse, as other h...

Vaugham Trowbridge, American, 1869-?, Etching, "Arles", 1912, 11/12, image size: 7 7/8 x 11 3/4 inches, artists proof, pencil signed and titled

A fine miniature portrait, watercolor on organic wafer, of a blue-eyed gentleman.

Excellent condition with no issues. Sight size is 2 1/4" by 1 7/8", with the period frame being 4 1/4" by 3 3/4".

Original lithograph print, "Les Soliloques du Pauvre" for the jacket of the book of poems by the noted French poet Gabriel Randon (1867-1933), who went by the pen name "Jehan Rictus". The print measures 7 5/8" by 12 7/8" inside the mat, and as framed measurements are 16 1/2" by 21". Steinlen (1859-1923) of course was the major Swiss artist known for his drawings and prints during the late years of the 19th century and early years of the twentieth. Well integrated into the cultural circles in ...

Large (36" by 36") unframed painting of a green chair in an office interior, unsigned, but by a Los Angeles area artist of note, Ann Murdoch (nee Sanguinetti). Murdoch is not strictly "listed" but, a living artist in her 70's, now residing in the Los Angeles area, she has a long history in fine art, stretching back to the Village Art Show in New York, the New Hope area of Pennsylvania, and Chicago. I learned this from relatives who were selling off some of her works (see two other pieces I acq...

Samuel Chamberlain, American, 1895-1975, etching, "Amalfi", image size: 7 x 7 inches, numbered 88/100, 1925, cat. Chamberlain and Kingsland-8, pencil signed lower right, framed.

Watercolor and ink drawing of the Seine in Paris by Notre Dame, 7" by 8 3/4" (13" by 15" framed), signed at lower left in pencil "Leprin". This COULD be a work by well listed artist MARCEL LEPRIN (1891-1933). I hesitate to state unequivocally that it is, as the long hand signature differs from the commonly seen all-capital letters version. The artist was known to do very similar works of Paris, and many other parts of France, from Normandy to Marseilles. The work is on paper laid on an old ca...

Original signed nude sketch by Sabina Teichman (American, 1905-1983) in fine condition, offered framed. This drawing measures roughly 15" by 10" and is signed l.l. Sabina Teichman is extremely well listed, exhibited, and represented in museum collections.

Oil on canvas, 12" by 16" (17" by 21" as framed---and likely original frame), signed at lower right by popular listed California artist HERBERT SARTELLE (1885-1955). This is a classic autumn scene of large trees and a lake with distant mountains, executed in Sartelle's unique impressionistic style. The painting probably dates to the 1940s or 1950s. It is in generally good condition, with the typical large cracking seen in a number of his paintings, (visible especially in the sky---see photo)....

Joseph Simpson, British, 1879-1939, etching, "Lucy in Galloway," image size 11 7/8 x 8 1/2 inches, 1927, edition of 75, pencil signed. Provenance: The Blanton Museum of Art, Austin, Texas.