The superbly modeled alligator head jaw moves on its hinged mouth when its lever is pushed. The head is emerging from from marshy grasses waiting to catch its prey. The alligator is mounted on ebonized oval support which is held by a gilt bronze rococo plinth.

Overall condition is very good to near excellent though the gilt patination shows minor losses or fading. The base is late 18th / early 19th C. though the alligator dates later in the century...

Nude Study In Charcoal By G.Seitz Dated 1953 24x16” The work is done by an American artist who worked from life studies in the studio

Eavesdropping

Oil on panel, signed and dated: “1865.”

Painting size: 9” x 6.75”
Frame size: 14.5” x 12.5”

Petrus Theodorus Van Wyngaerdt (also spelled Wyngaerdt or Wijngaerdt) was born in Rotterdam. A student of J.H...

A charming small painting of a cold winter day in the country, a lone woman braving the elements with her cane, in front of a modest cottage doing its best against the harsh elements. Some smoke comes from the chimney as a hint of warmth in an otherwise bleak scene. Measurements as framed are 9" by 13 1/2". There is no signature. The reverse shows this is painted on a circa 1870's gray English art board from a London supply house...

A fine oil on canvas painting, the subject a water powered mill by a peaceful stream in the autumnal French countryside, signed at lower left by the noted painter and graphic artist PAUL EMILE LECOMTE (1877-1950). The work (26" by 20", and " by " as framed) exhibits the highly developed classic impressionist technique for which the artist is noted. Lecomte was a student of his father, Paul Lecomte Sr. (1842-1920). He studied at the Beaux-Arts in Paris...

Large toad in Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica, in Japanese sugi).
Black and gold painted glass eyes.
In the Japanese bestiary, the toad has a special place, carrying positive values. The toad as well as the frog, both called Kaeru (蛙) return every year and regardless of the distance to the pond where there were born. The word kaeru is a synonym for "coming home". It is the protective animal for travelers and the symbol of hospitality...

Watercolor on paper, unsigned, undated but likely dating from the period 1865 to 1885, 15 3/4" by 11 3/8" inside the mat, (27 1/2" by 22 1/2" as framed, but **frame is currently unaccounted for since photos were taken**), showing two young schoolgirls in the yard of a brick and wood shutters style mid nineteenth century home, such as would be found in Boston's Beacon Hill, or parts of New York City...

Oil on canvas painting, unframed, 8" by 10", titled on reverse "Among the Chino Hills", signed there and at lower right "L. Morrill R.", and dated 1930. The Chino Hills are outer suburban areas east of Los Angeles, now largely residential areas with excellent views. This early view shows a more wild untamed landscape in the blond golden California light. The palette is very light and gives an impression of the bright intense light for which Southern California is so well known...

A beautiful Taiwanese woodblock of the famous cave paintings measuring 22” x 35” framed amd matted

Contemporary painting The Hare Surrealist Painting by Ephreme Kouakou 50x40 inches Abstracted Figures by Ivory Coast Artist Ephrem Kouakou. Oil on Canvas. Ephrem Kouakou is one of the world’s foremost African painters. He currently resides in Baltimore, Maryland, and Ivory Coast, West Africa. His powerful, vivid paintings are in the collections of The Metropolitan Museum, New York, the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, Washington DC. and Fondo Del Sol Museum, Washington DC...

John Taylor Arms, American, 1887-1953, etching, "Aspiration, La Madeleine Verneuil-Sur-Avre", image size 15 1/2 x 10 inches, pencil signed and dated 1939, inscribed Roman numeral V in pencil and dedicated "To my friend Timothy Parforman in deep and lasting appreciation, from John Taylor Arms - 1943." Also called Fraternite, Egalite, Liberte.

Jean Baptiste Oudry original paintings on board of Hunting dogs signed and dated on reverse Oudry 1730 and each dog is named. Oudry accompanied Louis XV hunts and sketched on sight and later painted larger oils from these sketches. each measuring 16.5 x 21.5 cm.

Biography

Louis XV, king of France, often called Jean-Baptiste Oudry to Versailles to paint the royal hounds--in the king's presence...

A fabulous lithograph by Belorussian born master artist Marc Chagall 1887-1985, possibly done from a linoleum cut. The work features his series of “Brides” done circa 1950s-1960s in very saturated colors on French paper, possibly by his lithographers Mourlot of France...

Watercolors on paper, each 6 1/4" by 4 1/4" inside the mats (11" by 9" overall, unframed), each signed at bottom center with the distinctive signature of California Scene artist JAKE LEE. These paintings appear to be studies of spring flowers like jonquils and perhaps asters. Jake Lee's works are increasingly sought after by collectors in the wake of his relatively recent passing. These works are clean examples in excellent condition. They should likely receive clean new mats before framing. ...

An early oil on canvas painting, 10 1/4" by 8 1/2", unframed, unsigned, featuring a nocturne moonlight view of Mission Delores in San Francisco. At the time the landmark was a popular subject for artists. Manuel Valencia was apparently fond of painting it as it appears in a number of his works. This example is in displayable condition, though the painting is soiled, and canvas is lumpy/uneven since it is splitting at two of the tacking edges, as shown, and the varnish is missing in many porti...

European watercolor landscape painting on paper laid on thin card, unsigned, 4 1/2" by 6 1/2" inside the mat opening, 10 3/4" by 13" as framed in black modern frame with gold color piping, titled on the reverse of the card "Hedelburg [Heidelberg, Germany] Aug. 1st 1877". This is a carefully executed 19th century watercolor showing the bridge across the Neckar River, tiny figures and boats in the foreground, steep terrain in the distance illustrating the dramatic scenery of the setting. Almost ...

Original etching by Wendell H. Black (American, 1919-1972). First edition printed posthumously by Berkley Chappell. In original unframed condition. Titled and numbered 7/25 in pencil l.l. Also signed "Wendell Black '56 by Elaine" l.r. Plate 14 in "The Lost Works of Wendell H. Black" by Henry Sayre.

…Raphael Soyer was a Russian-born American artist known for his Social-Realist paintings of daily life in New York. His painterly yet detailed descriptions of people and places, make him among the most important American scene painters of his generation. “From all that I have seen, I am more than ever convinced that art must communicate, and it must represent, describe and express people, their lives and times.” Born on December 25, 1899 in Borisoglebsk, Russia, he largely was educated by ...