Small painting on a medium that might be jute fibers, 12 1/4" by 12 1/4" framed, possibly signed at lower right with initials or monogram, but essentially unreadable. The piece is very "Atomic Age" 1950's style and is doubtless of that period. Unfortunately over time there has been some abuse, and scattered losses cover a large portion of the painting, as shown...

ONE OF A NUMBER BY THE ARTIST IN MY SHOP**This is a small etching (the sheet 5 1/2" by 7 1/2", respectably matted but not framed), by the noted California artist HARRIET GENE ROUDEBUSH (1908-1998), titled at lower left margin "Sausalito" and pencil signed at lower right by the artist...

Large mixed media abstract painting (28 3/4" by 39 1/2", 31 3/4" by 42 1/2" in gold leaf frame) on plywood panel, signed at lower right "WAHL", and dated there 2001. The painting is striking and handsome, the color combinations very in tune with today's retro contemporary look. A brief search of the name does not immediately point to a known artist. Medium is perhaps a thinned oil or gouache possibly, with some pencil lines drawn as well...

Oil on canvas painting of the arcaded breezeways at the famous Mission San Juan Capistrano in Southern California, 8" by 10", unframed, signed with initials at lower right and possibly again by the artist on the reverse. In addition there is an original old slip of paper giving the artist's biography. Schmidt was born in Gladbeck, Westphalia, Germany after the end of World War I. By age 15 he was already receiving art instruction...

Watercolor painting of a young Native American girl of the Southwest, 17 1/2" by 14 3/4" (23 1/2" by 21" framed), signed at lower right (somewhat indecipherably) "Martchenko". This is a sensitive portrait by an obviously talented observer. Martchenko's works appear from time to time in Southern California. Born in Oregon, she studied under Sergei Bongart and at the Otis Art Institute. Portraiture seems to have been a favorite of the artist, in both oil and watercolor...

This is a beautifully executed work, watercolor and gouache on paper, 14 1/2" by 20 1/2" (21" by 27" as framed), signed at lower right by the noted English artist WILFRED KNOX (1884-1966). Knox is known for his marine art, such as clipper ships, but also for scenes around the British Isles and the luminous Venetian and Mediterranean coastal scenes with shipping and maritime subject matter as seen in this example...

Oil on canvas of a blue-eyed elderly lady wearing a white bonnet, 27" by 22" (34" by 29 1/2" in the 19th century frame), that attractive old frame bearing a placard giving the name of the artist as WILLIAM MATTHEW PRIOR (1806-1873). Images of the unsigned painting, which was found in Downeast Maine, were sent to major auction houses in New England and New York City. None disputed this being a work by the famous itinerant portraitist...

A very modernist drawing in oil on heavy paper, perhaps with some other media, over which some shiny varnish was subsequently applied. The subject is two young women with bright yellow faces and open mouths, in the midst of an apparently angst-filled argument or discussion, signed in Russian "BUK" or "BUKH" at lower right corner. The work measures 15" by 20" (20" by 26 1/2" in metal framing---photos show glass which is cracked and will be removed prior to shipping)...

This is a fine painting of the Christmas season flowering plant, the poinsettia, in ink, watercolor and gouache, 13 3/4" by 11", in simple metal framing, no mat, signed at lower left and inscribed to a friend there "with love to David and deepest feelings of appreciation", by the important American artist ABRAHAM RATTNER (1893-1978). Rattner was born in Poughkeepsie, New York. During World War I he was a camouflage artist, serving in some of the major battles of the war...

A fine watercolor drawing titled on placard "The Cantor", the image of an orthodox Jewish man, 4 5/8" by 3 5/8", 11" by 10" in attractive and very complementary black and silver framing (some lightly rubbed areas), signed at upper left corner by the important Jewish-Ukrainian artist, EMANUEL MANE-KATZ (1894-1962). The small but powerful work features a classic image that embodies Jewish tradition and culture. The artist was born in the Ukraine near the end of the 19th century...

Etching on paper laid on card, the subject a marketplace in the Jewish Quarter of Amsterdam, signed with "ML" initials and "927" as if a date (not the typical signature of the artist, apparently added later either by him or some other party). This is a work "Judenstrasse in Amsterdam", 1909, by famous German artist MAX LIEBERMANN (1847-1935)...

A fine little watercolor painting of a Vienna street scene, 4 3/4" by 6" (16" by 18 1/2" in attractive wood frame), signed at lower right by the noted artist FERI FERDINAND SCHWARZ (1869-1923). The scene is titled at lower left "WIEN--FASSZIEHERGASSE". The artist has worked at least seven tiny figures into the scene----mother and daughter at right, three children at center, with hoop, and two elderly figures...

PAIR of chromolithograph prints of California's famous Big Trees, published in 1873 by Louis Prang...

An unusual and decorative circa 1930's unframed 16" by 20" oil on canvas painting featuring a beautiful young maiden centered in a tawny, mountainous Southwest landscape, Native Americans surrounding her, signed lower left rather illegibly. I have long studied the signature and believe it might be "Ben Mead", (1902-1986) who was a southwestern (Texas and California) artist-illustrator based in Amarillo and Dallas. Mead focused on illustration for publication. He studied at the Art Institute o...

A large clean lithograph print in the advanced naive style of acclaimed Jewish artist SHALOM OF SAFED (SHALOM MOSKOWITZ), 1895-1980. The imagery is colorful and comprehensive, featuring blue sky with clouds, architecture, figures, animals, and interiors, along with embedded messages in Hebrew. The Hassidic artist was a watchmaker by trade, and only late in life turned to his artistic talents. His original paintings have brought into five figures. He lived in Safed in the Galilee Hills for mos...

A fine color soft-ground etching and aquatint by the noted, prolific Czech master artist TAVIK FRANTISEK SIMON (1877-1942), featuring the famous and much-loved "bouquiniste" bookstalls along the Seine in Paris. The sheet measures 17 3/4" by 15 1/2" and 19 1/2" by 17 1/4" very nicely framed back in the 1950's or so in Chicago at Anderson Galleries (label on backing). The print is signed in pencil at lower right by the artist and numbered 48 in the lower left margin. Created in the year 1907 (a...

A fine contemporary 9" by 12" pastel (19" by 21 1/2" nicely framed) drawing titled "Mission Seating", of a sun-washed stone bench in the historic courtyard of Mission San Juan Capistrano in Southern California, signed at lower right by noted California Art Club artist KAY BONANNO (1935-). The work retains on the backing a label indicating that this work was exhibited in the spring of 1996 at the Carnegie Art Museum in Oxnard, California. The exhibition was named "Puertas del Santuario: Painti...

A still life painting of fruit on a table top, executed in the long tradition of hyper-realistic still life painting in the Netherlands, signed at lower right by listed Dutch 20th century artist JAN FREDRIK JOHANNES NAGTEGAAL (1920-2000). This artist is known for his contemporary paintings faithful to the formula of the Dutch masters going back to the 17th century. His still life works, a number of which have appeared at auctions, are known for a high level of detail and realism. Some larger ...