Pastel on soft old board, the subject a light green and white sensitive spring landscape, measuring 14 1/4" by 19 1/8" (19 1/2" by 24 1/2" as framed), not signed on the front that I can see but on the reverse in old hand is written "Blossom Time/F J Girardin/The Old Watering Place/To Leighton DeMen"...

Large charcoal on paper drawing of a head, 23" by 19" (35 1/2" by 29 1/2" in oversized framing), signed at lower right "W. NASH" in all capital letters. This appears to be the head of a woman, perhaps Orientalist subject matter. I speculated that this might be a work by the noted Santa Fe, New Mexico modernist artist Willard Nash (1898-1943), but he did not sign like this, so far as I can determine, and the subject matter would be unusual for him...

Acrylic on canvas painting titled on reverse "Memory of Rosie", 17" by 24" (21 1/2" by 29" framed). The image is whimsical and rather mysterious, consisting of three white vases or pots each bearing an image, one of a cat, one a bird, one a jester; one speculates that perhaps, Rosie was a beloved cat. Highly stylized plants or flowers emerge from the pots. The artist signed at lower right and dated the painting 1984...

Watercolor on paper, 10" by 14" (15" by 19" as framed), signed at lower left with the distinctive signature of California Scene artist JAKE LEE. This is an image of a vintage old house framed by mature trees, a few suggested figures in the foreground. Jake Lee's works are increasingly sought after by collectors in the wake of his relatively recent passing. This is a clean example in excellent condition...

Oil on canvas, 27 1/2" by 22 1/2" (36" by 30" as framed), the subject a young man wearing a colorful bandana, intently working on some objects in his hands, a traditional ethnic mask in the upper right background. The painting is signed in red at lower right "S. C. YUAN", (1911-1974), who was an important Chinese-American artist from the Monterey, California area, however, this is definitely NOT a work of that well-known artist (I showed images to several auction houses and a gallery or two)...

Executed actually by a listed California painter who apparently traveled extensively, JOHN W. NICOLL (1865-1943), this work, 9" by 13" as framed, is a painting of marine scenery of the isolated island archipelago of Bermuda in the sub-tropical Atlantic Ocean. It is signed at lower right by the artist and titled "Bermuda", and on the frame in old handwriting is written "Coral Rocks Bermuda"...

Large original lithograph print of an attractive young woman in large exotic fashionable hat, staring fetchingly at the viewer, the setting a race track (think Raoul Dufy), by the important and increasingly popular French contemporary artist JEAN-PIERRE CASSIGNEUL (1935-). The work measures 12 1/4" by 27" and 22 1/4" by 37" in tasteful quality framing (reverse label of Samuel Stein Fine Arts, 620 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago)...

A very early watercolor landscape of a thicket and meadow at sunset, signed at lower left corner and dated there 1887 (or 1897?) by the noted Indiana artist JOHN ELWOOD BUNDY (1853-1933). The work, 5" by 8" (11 1/4" by 14 1/2" in frame) bears many color notations on the reverse, likely in the artist's handwriting, giving us some insight into the creative process. The scene is very peaceful and calming, showing us day's end...

Gouache on paper painting, 19" by 14", (23 1/2" by 18 1/2" as framed under Plexi), signed at lower left with the distinctive signature of well listed artist ROLAND STRASSER (1895-1974). This is a competently, confidently painted work showing a house as seen from the street, with an autumnal, yellowing willow tree and other vegetation. The artist is best known for the works he created while in Bali, Indonesia, these works featuring local female dancers...

A rare opportunity to acquire a work from close to the heart of American naive painting in the folk art style: an original oil on board painting, 11 1/2" by 35 1/2" plus narrow dark green contemporary framing, signed at lower left by FRED ROBERTSON (1878-1953), and titled on handwritten label by the artist "My Hills of Home". On that label written by the artist is also "Eagle Bridge, New York", considered the home of Grandma Moses...

By Los Angeles artist AKOP TASHCHYAN (1949-), this is a 2009 line drawing, 12" by 13" (16 1/4" by 20 1/4" framed), titled by the artist "NUDES". Signed at upper left and again signed by the artist on the reverse board. Tashchyan was born in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia. and came to the United States in the late 1980's. Always talented as a child, his father did not encourage his artistic pursuits...

Watercolor on paper, 11 5/8" by 15 5/8", signed at lower center, the subject a castle-like structure on a coast, a sailing craft at center. This is a painting by ROBERT PATTERSON (1898-1981), an American artist of some note, especially in illustration and advertising art...

Oil on board double-sided painting, one side a sensitive study of a North African dark-skinned boy, the other a bearded old man, 19" by 15 1/2" (22 1/2" by 18 3/4" as framed), signed in three places by the important Spanish-Moroccan artist ANTONIO FUENTES (1905-1995). An entire website is devoted to telling the story of the artist's fascinating life. He is well known in Spain and Morocco, with paintings by his hand appearing with some frequency at auction there. Fuentes was born in Tangier in...

For the fan of clown art, or, the fan of the world famous mime and actor Marcel Marceau, or, the fan of singer and entertainer Eydie Gorme----here is one work of art that ties together all of these things. This is a watercolor, gouache and ink drawing on paper, 23 1/2" by 17 3/4" (30 1/2" by 24 1/2" as framed), signed at lower right "CRIONAS" and dated 1958, the subject the iconic Marceau as his alter ego character, "Bip". The piece was acquired here in Los Angeles from the nephew of singer-en...

This is an etching on paper, 7" by 6" (12" by 9 1/4" framed) by Tennessee born artist JAMES CARL HANCOCK (1898-1966), titled "THE GATE OF THE LIONS NEW ORLEANS LA." at lower right and signed in pencil below and dated there 1939. This is a view of old French Quarter New Orleans by a talented etcher. Hancock was self taught and in 1938 a book of his etchings, drypoints and sketches was published. Known works today include scenes of Memphis, New Orleans, and Arkansas. This example is apparently...

ONE OF TWO DRAWINGS BY THE ARTIST IN MY SHOP---A pencil drawing of the Hell Gate railroad bridge in New York City, (so identified after research conducted on the internet), 8 7/8" by 6 3/4" (14 1/2" by 11 1/2" framed, no glass, loose in black metal frame), signed with initials "JRM" at lower left and dated there 1943. On the reverse a previous owner wrote "JOHN RICHARD MOORE 1925-2009 University High Sch arts class Co Founder Panavision Co.". This early work would date to the artist's teens. Moo...

Original simply framed pencil signed lithograph black/white print on thin tissue-like paper, 7 3/4" by 11" inside the mat, sheet 12 1/2" by 19 1/2", as framed circa 1925, titled "Nelle-la-Vallee, la route", by the famous and important French modern artist MAURICE de VLAMINCK (1876-1958). Vlaminck is known as a Fauvist and later simply as an expressionist. At auctions, Vlaminck's works in oil bring from the low hundreds of thousands of dollars to the low millions. He was a formidable presence ...

**ONE OF TWO OF THIS PRINT IN MY SHOP (this one in better condition). **Etching of Victorian children playing in an interior, 10 1/2" by 8 1/4" inside the mat, 16" by 13" framed, pencil signed "R. Ernst" at lower right. This is an unusual medium for the artist, best known for his highly finished and detailed oil paintings of Orientalist subjects of North Africa and the Middle East. These oils regularly bring hundreds of thousands of dollars at auction. The etching is on a special type of soft...

A small pencil sketch on irregularly shaped scratch paper, roughly 4 1/4" by 4" (5 1/2" square in its simple wood frame from which it was removed for photography). The subject is an empty vase casting a shadow while resting on a narrow tabletop. Of possibly great interest to any researcher of the artist's life and career, the work is clearly a sketch, perhaps for a finished painting or pastel. On the reverse side, and to a lesser extent at lower right on the front, are columns of numbers and ...

For the collector of contemporary art, this is an unusual mixed media work signed at lower right by MARGARET HEHMAN (known since 1985 as Margaret Hehman-Smith). The work (11 3/4" by 16 3/8", 20 1/2" by 25 1/4" as framed behind glass) is executed with ochre chalky paint over a thin highly polished aluminum sheet. The artist has a website, which shows that she grew up in Pennsylvania, and studied at the Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles in the mid 1970s, with some study in Europe as well. Her w...

Oil on canvas laid on board, 10 1/4" by 13 1/4" (16" by 19" as framed), the subject snow-streaked brown foothills of the Rocky Mountains in early spring, the main range of the mountains in the distance, signed at lower right in ink "J.D. TURNER", titled on the reverse "Near Cochrane/April 1970/JD Turner". This is a beautiful work by the noted Alberta painter JOHN DAVENALL TURNER (1900-1980). Turner, according to the long bio on the sheet attached to the reverse side, was born in England and wa...

Oil on canvas, 13 1/4" by 16 1/4" (20" by 23" as framed), signed in Hebrew at upper left and dated there "68", the scene rather surrealist, with two heads at right superimposed on a deep blue background with decorative device behind them, and a house at left with a figure emerging from it. This unusual modern painting is by the noted Israeli surrealism artist DAN KEDAR (1929-2008). Kedar's works sell at auction in Israel. Kedar's paintings are consistently very modern and surreal---and the su...

Oil on canvas laid on panel by the artist, 22 1/2" by 16 1/4" (25" by 18 3/4" in its original painted vintage frame), titled on reverse "Black Ivory", signed there and again in yellow at lower left corner by the well listed California artist who hailed from Denmark, EINAR CORTSEN PETERSEN (1885-1986). Petersen was a widely traveled artist, who, according to the Hughes biographical listing in Artists of California, studied art in Paris, Rome and Munich, working as a decorator. By the year 1912 ...

This is a lithograph of a partially nude, seated young woman, 20" by 17 1/4" (30" by 27 1/2" as framed), signed in pencil at lower right and numbered 244/300 at lower left, by the noted 20th century American artist RAPHAEL SOYER (1899-1987). Soyer, one of several brothers (the others being Isaac and Moses) who became significant figures in American art during the WPA and mid century period, became known for his sensitive studies of human figures in urban settings and interiors. Paintings sell we...

Oil on canvas, unframed, 20" by 26", signed at lower right in red "R. MacDonald" and signed/titled/dated on reverse "R. MacDonald/Heat Wave/July 10 1937". The subject appears to be a young man, possibly African-American, holding a hose on a young child at right, a wooden house hidden partially by a huge tree in the background. The artist has painted a very American work, (and possibly southern, as well), squarely in the 1930's style. I have searched the databases and cannot seem to tie this t...

Lithograph on paper, the sheet 20" by 14 3/4" (24" by 20" as framed), in black with blue color especially at bottom, not signed in pencil nor in the plate, by important French 20th century woman artist MARIE LAURENCIN (1885-1956). On the reverse is written in pencil in French handwriting "M. Laurencin/j. fille au chien/lith. orig." ("young girl with dog/original lithograph"). The image is typical of the work of this noted artist. I take from a website on the artist: "Born on October 31, 1883...

**SEE OTHER WORKS BY THE ARTIST IN MY SHOP**Gouache on a silvery paper, 48" by 19 5/8" and a milky robins-egg light green painted wood narrow frame, signed at lower left by the listed California and Illinois artist MARGO ALEXANDER (1894-1965). This is a whimsical scene of a flowering branch, a bird included in the scene as well. The artist studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, and exhibited at the Golden Gate International Exposition in 1939. Subject ...

This is an attractive and elegant poster, issued in 1954 for an exhibition of the works of the ultra famous and important Swiss sculptor, painter and printmaker, ALBERTO GIACOMETTI (1901-1966). Measuring 29" by 20 1/2", it is simply framed in modern metal with glass and no mat. The edition size of this particular poster, titled "Rue d'Alesia", is unknown. It is signed in the stone at lower right. Giacometti was born near the Italian border, studied in Paris with the famous sculptor Antoine B...

Oil on canvas, 14" by 18", (18 1/2" by 22 1/2" in old possibly original frame), the subject given on original Sanborn Studio, Belfast, Maine label as "Bend in Little River" (faint, but still readable with some effort). The work is not signed but is surely by the important Maine artist PERCY A. SANBORN (1849-1929). Sanborn was born in Waldo, Maine and lived for many years in coastal Belfast. He is well known for his marine oils of clipper ships, some of which exceed $20,000 at auction, but he wa...

This is an oil on canvas painting of a mounted cowboy in a forested mountain landscape, keeping an eye on several misbehaving steers. The work is signed at lower right by artist WESLEY LE ROY FULLER and is dated there 1993. His interesting cypher appears adjacent to the date. On the stretcher on the reverse the artist has signed again and added the comment "Good luck to the Elks purple pig"; and there also appears to be a price "$600" and title "Keep em out of the tember" (sic). The painting...

Dark brown ink drawing on paper, 11 3/4" by 18", unframed, signed at lower right "John Floyd Morris", titled ISCHIA NAPOLI. The artist is well listed, and is associated with California and the east coast, with askart noting exhibitions in Chicago and Palm Beach. He is perhaps best known for his modern and surrealistic paintings, but painted a wide range of subject matter, including clowns. Interestingly, a big collector of his work seems to have been none other than Noel Coward. When I was vis...

Etching of the famous Chicago River surrounded by the classic skyscrapers, signed in the plate and dated 1927 at lower right, by the listed artist OTTO J. SCHNEIDER (1875-1946). The print does not appear to be pencil signed. Note the fine detail and the 1920's automobiles in the image at right corner. Schneider was born in Illinois and is most closely associated with that state. He exhibited at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition of 1904, and the Panama Pacific Exposition of 1915. He was a stu...

By the contemporary Japanese artist HIROMICHI YAMAGATA (1948-). this can be described as a collage of tissue like paper on which is drawn in pencil and blue ink an abstract, almost biomorphic decorative design, charcoal used to create a smudged background, then the paper was affixed around the edges to a white canvas background. It is signed at lower right "Yamagata" and dated there 2007. On the reverse is a personal inscription to "Steve", the previous owner, (dated 12.10.07), to whom this w...

Oil on canvas, 18" by 22" (23 1/2" by 27 1/2" as framed), the subject the famous Paris opera house and the Cafe de la Paix at left, executed in the naive style of painters like Emile Blondel, Leon-Alphonse Quizet, and so forth, apparently unsigned, though the word "Lancel" on an awning could possibly be the artist's name. The painting dates to the post war period, likely the 1950's or early 1960's at latest, considering the style of the autos in the scene. The artist most definitely had a comm...

Oil on canvas painting titled on the stretcher in pencil "Superstition Mountain, Arizona", signed at lower left by the well listed California artist PAUL LAURITZ (1889-1975). The scene is of the legendary, rugged and forbidding mountain range just to the east of the metropolitan Phoenix area, said to contain the fabled Lost Dutchman mine. The painting measures 22" by 34" and 28" by 40" framed. Lauritz is considered one of the important plein air painters, a number of works having exceeded $25...

Lithograph on paper, 7 1/2" by 4 1/2" (13 1/8" by 10" as framed), signed in pencil at lower right by the noted German Jewish artist HERMANN STRUCK (1876-1944). The subject is a man wearing a cap. Struck was born in Berlin or Orthodox Jewish parentage. Early in his life he met the Zionist leader Theodor Herzl (1860-1904), a meeting which profoundly influenced the artist. Struck's most desirable subject matter, scenes of Israel from the late 1920's, have brought to the $25,000 area at auction. ...