This decorative, complex gouache drawing appears to be possibly a wallpaper design of the Art Deco period, or, it could just be a drawing in its own right. On the reverse is written the name "T.M. Abell". The eye-teasing geometric design seems to vibrate almost in the way that Op-Art of later decades vibrates and challenges the eye. Colors are greens, oranges and yellows, with white and black lightning-bolt type diagonal borders making for a most dramatic pattern...

A circa 1925 ORIGINAL PAINTING, not a print, with title "Oriental Antiques", no signature, but with old Massachusetts Normal Art School partial label on reverse, the piece measuring 22 3/4" by 16 3/4 in its original charming period blue and reddish-painted framing. The word "COELEBS" at bottom does not seem to pertain to anything. This may be a work by art students training in the use of watercolor and gouache. It was found in a Laguna Beach fine estate...

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...

(ONE OF TWO EXAMPLES BY THE ARTIST IN MY SHOP**), gouache on paper, (12 3/4" by 6 3/4"), and 1 1/2" wide frame, signed boldly at lower left by the well listed Italian artist GIOVANNI BATTISTA (1858-1925). This is a panoramic coastal scene, a common subject of the artist, who painted mostly scenes of Naples, Venice, the Amalfi coast, and Vesuvius. The painting is in excellent, fresh condition. Works by Battista are offered regularly at auction, where they can bring into the thousands.

Watercolor and gouache on paper, 5 3/4" by 11 1/2", (10 1/2" by 16" as framed), signed at lower left by a talented and prolific Italian painter, I think one of a large group of painters going under the name "Gianni", possibly from the same family. Other works of such southern Italian scenes are signed M. Gianni. The auction houses I think have generally mixed up these late 19th/first half of the 20th century painters and the auction records are hopelessly tangled and inaccurate...

Drawing in gouache on very delicate, thin, brownish, fibrous paper, 9" by 6" inside the mat (15 3/4" by 12 1/2" as simply framed in wood), the scene a grand classical archway in a southern Spanish city like Granada or Sevilla, a prominent figure of a lady in the foreground and a number of much smaller figures beyond the arch and at right. The work is signed at lower left with what appears to be "C. R. DeWitt"--SPAIN". I've looked online and surprisingly cannot find an artist by this name...

Chinese Ancestor Seated Woman in brilliant Tempera on Silk, attractively frame in a gold bamboo like friend measuring 48 x 22“, the work measures 38 x 16“ . The work the depicts provincial governor and his wife at the end of the Manchu Dynesty. PLEASE SEE #250 FOR THR COMPLIMENT FEMALE PAINTING PLEASE SEE #249 FOR THE COMPLIMENTARY MALE PORTRAIT

Watercolor and gouache on paper, 4 1/2" by 12 1/4", (10" by 17 3/4" in modern framing), apparently unsigned, but I believe likely by a member of the talented and prolific GIANNI Italian painter family. There are a number of painters going under the name "Gianni", possibly from the same family. Many works of such southern Italian scenes are signed M. Gianni, others Y. Gianni...

Gouache on paper drawing of a Baltimore Oriole and a blue jay, 12 1/2" by 16" (23 3/4" by 28" framed), signed at lower right by the noted Disney illustrator AUGUST CURLEY LENOX (1908-1986). This is a really nicely executed work, in the style of an illustrator like Lynn Bogue Hunt or William Schaldach or Rex Brasher. Colors are vivid and the realism is such that the viewer can almost "hear" these birds. I suppose it could have been executed as a book or magazine illustration...

A classic example of the work of noted artist RAOUL MAUCHERAT DeLONGPRE (1843-1911), featuring white lilacs of spring, artistically placed in a void space. The artist specialized in these hyper realistic works featuring lilacs, and, sometimes, roses mixed in. He specialized in floral still life works. There is considerable confusion among scholars and collectors as to the family of DeLongpre artists, which were "fleuristes" (flower painters) in Lyons, a center for such activity...

Gouache on paper painting of a priest sitting quietly on a terrace overlooking the dramatic Mediterranean coastline, 10" by 5 1/2" as framed, apparently unsigned, but almost certainly by a member of the well-known Gianni family of painters. The work is clean and in excellent condition; old frame has a 2" loss at bottom right. There are a number of painters going under the name "Gianni". Many works of such southern Italian scenes are signed M. Gianni, others Y. Gianni...

Gouache on paper, quite large in comparison to most works by the artist offered at auctions (24" by 19"), and 2 1/4" wide quality vintage frame, signed boldly at lower left by well listed Italian artist GIOVANNI BATTISTA (1858-1925). This is a panoramic coastal scene, a common subject of the artist, who painted mostly scenes of Naples, Venice, the Amalfi coast, and Vesuvius. The painting is in excellent, unusually fresh condition with very minimal foxing. Works by Battista are offered regul...

Mid nineteenth century watercolor, gouache and gum arabic drawing on paper of a young woman with the ringlet hair and prim dark dress fashionable at the time, holding the back of a Hitchcock chair, all against an extensive landscape. The drawing measures 6" by 4 1/4" inside the mat, and comes with a newish 1" wide gold colored frame. I don't see a signature. The gum arabic has oxidized and aged and is crackly, with tiny losses in the sleeve, and her lower face has lost some detail. This looks...

A stunning Pair of Antique Japanese Meiji Period (1868-1912) paper doors, depicting 2 hunting noblemen on elegant horses with bows and arrows on the first panel, as well as pine trees on the second panel. Very finely hand painted. Script/Signature on the bottom right side of the second panel. Condition: 1st panel has a repaired torn area and both doors show aging/flaking of the paper at the very bottom. These doors are framed in black wood as shown in the photos. Wonderfully preserved colours....

Neapolitan School "Grand Tour" era gouache painting on paper laid on a thin card, RATHER LARGE SIZE FOR THESE, at 19 1/2" by 36", the scene quite extensive with smoking Vesuvius at far left, and a number of figures in picturesque nineteenth century garb, the title "Napoli dal Campo" at lower left. Finely detailed distant buildings and trees complete the charming Italian scene. The work was framed behind glass so is in unusually excellent fresh condition, the exception being an apparently old c...

Larger sized gouache on paper laid on board painting of the dramatic world-renowned coastal Italian island of Capri, unframed, 17" by 24 1/2". The work is signed at lower right "G. Corelli" and is titled at lower left "Isola di Capri". Note the stillness of the scene, and the handling of the haze and reflection. This is a classic work from the school of painters that specialized in views of Capri, Naples, and the Amalfi Coast. Despite the lack of a frame the work is in excellent condition wi...

PAIR of gouache paintings of Italy, one apparently showing the island of Ischia in moonlight, at the entrance to the Gulf of Naples, the other a coastal scene of the mainland, neither signed, circa 1900. The Ischia work measures 6 1/2" by 9 3/4", the other 7" by 10 3/4" (12" by 14 3/4" and 12 1/2" by 16" framed----the frames slightly different). Such paintings were popular souvenirs that went home with Grand Tour visitors at the turn of the century. On the reverse of the moonlight scene a co...

Very antique drawing of a building, maybe a hotel/drinking establishment combination, large for its time and place, dominating a street scene filled with a number of tiny yet interesting figures, including a drummer at right; two horses; and even a dog. This work, apparently unsigned, measures 9 1/4" by 13 3/8". The artist used a soft paper and some kind of gouache or tempera, which allowed him to show fine detail, as well as a light pastel touch in the sky. The sign over the door of the est...