"Summer on Chesapeake Bay, MD"

Oil on canvas, signed lower right and titled on the reverse

Painting: 22" x 24"
Frame: 29.5" x 32.25"

Provenance: The Estate of a Toms River Collector

** For other painting by artists from Maryland, Virginia or Washington DC, click on the "Regional Artists" button on our homepage

Benson Bond Moore, painter, etcher and teacher was born in Washington, DC. He studied at the Corcoran School of Art with Messer and Brooke , and also with Weyl . He continued his studies in drawing at the Linthicum Institute under Ballenger and learned painting conservation from his father.

Active in professional societies, he was a member and officer of the Landscape Club of Washington. He was also a longtime member of the Society of Washington Artists. He exhibited with both groups from as early as 1915 and continued through the 1930's. His work was also shown at the Corcoran Gallery of Art.

As an artist, he became well known and honored for his local scenes, many of which are in major public collections. His works are held by the National Museum of American Art; Historical Society of Washington, DC; Library of Congress; The White House; Bibliothèque National de Paris; Cosmos Club; National Museum of American History; the Houston Museum of Fine Art and the Los Angeles Museum of Art. Over his life, he was honored with numerous awards for his work.

Sources:
McMahan, Virgil. "The Artists of Washington, D.C. 1796-1996"
Consentino, Andrew and Glassie, Henry. "The Capital Image, Painters in Washington, 1800-1915"
Strass, Sephanie, "A Seasonal View - The Landscapes of Benson Bond Moore"

English School, 1834

Oil laid down to panel

"The Cardinal" was an Irish horse (owned by a Mr. Miles) who won The Chester Cup in 1834

Painting: 10" x 14.25"
Frame:16" x 20"

Portrait of a Woman in Lace Cap

Oil on panel.

Provenance: J. Davey & Sons, Manchester, England

Painting size: 8.5” x 7”
Frame size: 11.5” x 10”

Carib Indians Around a Jungle Campfire, with a Piton in the Background

Oil on canvas, signed indistinctly on the stretcher. Mid 19th century carved wood, compo and gilt frame

Painting Size: 9.25” x 12”
Frame Size: 13.5” x 16.5”

Italian School, Circa 1870.

Before photography, ship captains, owners or pasangers would commission local artists to paint their ship in foriegn ports, Here we see a ship in the Bay of Naples with Mount Vesuvius in the background

Ptg. : 10.5" x 16"
Frame: 13" x 18"

Bethesda Oriental Restaurant

Oil on canvas, signed, located, inscribed and dated: “1983” on the reverse.

Painting size: 24” x 20”
Frame size: 29” x 25”

** Please Note - This painting came directly from the Estate of Mr. O’Brien. For other examples, type “O’Brien” into the search box.

** For other paintings by artists from Maryland, Virginia, Washington DC or North Carolina, click on the “Regional Artists” button on our Homepage.

Born in Newtonville, Massachusetts, O’Brien exhibited a love of drawing and painting from a very early age. As a high school student, he took all possible elective courses in art and technical drawing. He supplemented this study with evening courses at M.I.T. Following his move to Washington, DC as a young man, he enrolled in the Washington Workshop of the Arts. WWA, like the Art Students League in New York City, was a school in which all the classes were taught by a rotating roster of professional artists.

During WW II, his technical artistic training served his country well when he was put to work as a map maker. In the final year of the war, O’Brien married. On his honeymoon in New York City, he found time to paint the rooftop view from his hotel room window. This initiated a lifelong pursuit of city painting (his family was inclined to call it an obsession).

Starting with the founding of Federal Graphics, a commercial art firm he launched with a partner in 1947, he pursued a commercial career for the majority of his life. However, he always considered painting his “real” work, and his dedication to this vocation was apparent in a myriad of ways. He helped to found the Montgomery County Art Association and held memberships in the Arts Council of Montgomery County and American Art League.

Throughout his life, he exhibited widely, both as an individual and in group shows. The Arts Club of Washington, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Brooklyn Museum of Art, Montgomery College, and the Rehoboth Art League were a few among the many venues at which his works were shown. In addition, he exhibited in several private galleries.

"Stream in Autumn, near Bethesda MD."

Oil on board, signed lower left and titled on the reverse

Painting: 12" x 16"
Frame: 17" x 20.75"

SAFA/10945 Provenance: The Estate of a Toms River Collector

Benson Bond Moore, painter, etcher and teacher was born in Washington, DC. He studied at the Corcoran School of Art with Messer and Brooke , and also with Weyl . He continued his studies in drawing at the Linthicum Institute under Ballenger and learned painting conservation from his father.

Active in professional societies, he was a member and officer of the Landscape Club of Washington. He was also a longtime member of the Society of Washington Artists. He exhibited with both groups from as early as 1915 and continued through the 1930's. His work was also shown at the Corcoran Gallery of Art.

As an artist, he became well known and honored for his local scenes, many of which are in major public collections. His works are held by the National Museum of American Art; Historical Society of Washington, DC; Library of Congress; The White House; Bibliothèque National de Paris; Cosmos Club; National Museum of American History; the Houston Museum of Fine Art and the Los Angeles Museum of Art. Over his life, he was honored with numerous awards for his work.

Sources:
McMahan, Virgil. "The Artists of Washington, D.C. 1796-1996"
Consentino, Andrew and Glassie, Henry. "The Capital Image, Painters in Washington, 1800-1915"
Strass, Sephanie, "A Seasonal View - The Landscapes of Benson Bond Moore"

Bethesda

Oil on canvas, signed lower left and titled on the reverse.

Painting size: 20” x 24” Frame size: 25.5” x 29”

** Please Note - This painting came directly from the Estate of Mr. O’Brien. For other examples, type “O’Brien” into the search box.

** For other paintings by artists from Maryland, Virginia, Washington DC or North Carolina, click on the “Regional Artists” button on our Homepage.

Born in Newtonville, Massachusetts, O’Brien exhibited a love of drawing and painting from a very early age. As a high school student, he took all possible elective courses in art and technical drawing. He supplemented this study with evening courses at M.I.T. Following his move to Washington, DC as a young man, he enrolled in the Washington Workshop of the Arts. WWA, like the Art Students League in New York City, was a school in which all the classes were taught by a rotating roster of professional artists.

During WW II, his technical artistic training served his country well when he was put to work as a map maker. In the final year of the war, O’Brien married. On his honeymoon in New York City, he found time to paint the rooftop view from his hotel room window. This initiated a lifelong pursuit of city painting (his family was inclined to call it an obsession).

Starting with the founding of Federal Graphics, a commercial art firm he launched with a partner in 1947, he pursued a commercial career for the majority of his life. However, he always considered painting his “real” work, and his dedication to this vocation was apparent in a myriad of ways. He helped to found the Montgomery County Art Association and held memberships in the Arts Council of Montgomery County and American Art League.

Throughout his life, he exhibited widely, both as an individual and in group shows. The Arts Club of Washington, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Brooklyn Museum of Art, Montgomery College, and the Rehoboth Art League were a few among the many venues at which his works were shown. In addition, he exhibited in several private galleries.

During the course of his painting, O’Brien noticed that the paints on his palette sometimes mixed into designs as interesting as those more deliberately created. From this observation arose the text, Design By Accident, first published in 1968. The book became widely used by art teachers following very favorably reviews by newspapers and magazines. It was even reviewed by Scientific American from a technological-aesthetic.

A draftsman, illustrator, writer and most importantly painter, O’Brien was fortunate to have his work recognised and appreciated during his life. He won awards from The Montgomery County Art Association, Rehoboth Art League and American Art League. Even art critics praised his work with the most succinct calling his paintings, “familiar scenes, fresher and lighter than life”. (Florence Berryman of The Washington Star)

O’Brien believed that the “creative urge” was something all children have. However, as adults, that impulse falls victim to ever growing demands and responsibilities. He maintained that artists are able to keep alive the childlike ability to see beauty and mystery in commonplace things.

Thanks to his sense of wonder, he left us deeply in his debt. His paintings remind us that every day that Washington, DC is full of inspiring sights that fall outside of the traditional “glamour” views depicted by most artists.

Bayou Oil-on-canvas, signed lower left

Provenance: Senator John B. Henderson (1826-1913)

Painting: 23” x 37”
Frame: 27” x 41”

Born 1846 in Upperville, Lucien Whiting Powell served with the Virginia cavalry during the Civil War. After attending the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Powell moved on to the London School of Art by 1875 where he was strongly influenced by the atmospheric painting style and romantic subject matter of J.M.W. Turner.

Powell eventually settled in Washington D.C. where he had a series of different studios, the most noted one at Henderson’s “Castle” on 16th Street owned by his formidable patron, Mrs. John B. Henderson. Perhaps with a certain proprietary attitude towards the artist, Mrs. Henderson owned some 200 of his watercolors and works on canvas and funded his tour of the Middle East in 1910.

An avid traveler, Powell also toured the American West in 1901. His best known works are landscapes of the Grand Canyon as well as land- and seascapes of Venice. In Street Scene in Florence, Italy, a casual gathering of women proffer goods under cloth and wooden awnings in an open square. Powell’s warm, earthy palate and loose, painterly rendering reflect his admiration of Turner.

Though he ventured far afield, Powell achieved considerable recognition in the District; his works were collected by Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Mrs. Woodrow Wilson. He also exhibited regularly at the Corcoran and was a member of the Society of Washington Artists. Powell’s work is currently represented in the collections of American University, Georgetown University, the U.S. State Department and the Historical Society of Washington, D.C

Sources:

Falk, Peter, ed. Who Was Who in American Art 1564-1975
McMahan, Virgil. The Artists of Washington, D.C. 1796-1996** For other paintings by artists from Maryland, Virginia or Washington DC, type “local” into the search box.

** For other paintings by artists from Maryland, Virginia, Washington DC or North Carolina, click on the “Regional Artists” button on our Homepage.

Old Master Style Still Life

Oil on Panel, signed

Provanance: Noortman Master Paintings, Maastrick

Painting: 9.75" x 7.25"
Frame: 16" x 13.75"

British School, Circa 1870

Charming Genre Scene showing a traveler beseiged by begging children. The Victorians loved this type of painting that "tells a story", Note how the little girl staring straight out pulls you into the picture

Ptg: 27" x 33"
Frame: 32.5" x 38.5"

Lake Scene in Western Maryland

Oil-on-canvas, signed lower right and dated “1861”

Painting Size: 8 ½”” x 16”
Frame Size: 12.5” x 20”

Thompson was a landscape, historical and portrait painter, born in Baltimore where he studied law with his father. In 1859 Thompson decided to become and artist and opened a studio in Baltimore. During the first year of the Civil War (1860) he worked as a combat artist for Harper’s Weekly and the Illustrated London News, primarily illustrating battles in Virginia. In 1861, the year this painting is dated, he left to study in Paris at the École des Beaux Arts with Gleyre, Lambinet and Pasini. He also traveled to Italy and Germany before establishing his studio in New York City in 1868. He made several return trips to France, Spain, North Africa and the Mediterranean. In addition to his travel landscapes, many of his exhibited works were of colonial revolutionary subjects.

Thompson was a founding member of the Society of American Artists and a member of the National Academy of Design. He exhibited extensively including at the Paris Salon, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art, the Paris Expo of 1878 and the National Academy of Design.

Sources:
Falk, Peter, ed. Who Was Who in American Art 1564-1975
Wright, R. Lewis. Artists in Virginia Before 1900

** For other paintings by artists from Maryland, Virginia, Washington DC or North Carolina, click on the “Regional Artists” button on our Homepage.

The Valley

Oil-on-canvas, signed lower right and dated 1916

Exhibited: The Art Institute of Chicago, "Pictures of Children Painted in South America and Southern California by Adam Emory Albright, 1920, #29”

Painting: 24” x 30”
Frame: 30 ½” x 36 ½”

Albright, born in Wisconsin, was, according to William Gerdts (Art Across America, Vol. 2), “The finest Paris trained figure painter to emerge immediately before the World’s Columbian Exposition.” He was one of the first students at the newly established Art Institute of Chicago from 1881-1883. From 1883-1886, he studied with Thomas Eakins at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. After some training in Munich with fellow Wisconsin artist, Carl Marr, Albright studied in Paris with Benjamin Constant.

In 1888, Albright established his studio in Chicago and became president of the Chicago Watercolor Club as well as a member of the Chicago Academy of Design.

Early in his career, he chose to focus on paintings of children for which he became famous. At first specializing in street urchins and rustic children in outdoor settings, his work became more colorful and sun-filled following his greater exposure to impressionism at the Columbian Exposition.

The birth of Albright’s twin sons in 1897 gave him new models and his subsequent work featured the growing boys posed in rural surroundings. From 1908, many of his finest works were painted during summers at the art colony in Brown County, Indiana.

Albright’s popularity is reflected in his numerous exhibitions and in the extensive contemporary literature about him. Again according to Gerdts, “No other Chicago artist’s work was so widely exhibited at the Art Institute . . .”

"Warmiing Up" Jockey Galloping a Horse with a Plaited Mane

Oil on Canvas , signed"WV"

Painting: 16" x 24"
Frame: 20.75" x 28.5"

Extensive Woodland Landscape with Stream

Oil on canvas, signed.

Painting size: 20.25” x 26”
Frame size: 31.25” x 47.25”

Decker received his art training from R. Swain Gifford. His first important recognition occurred when he was thirty-six when the the National Academy of Design exhibited one of his paintings. That same year, the Brooklyn Art Association also exhibited one of his works. He went on to become a well known exhibitor in Brooklyn and exhibited at the National Academy of Design from 1883 to 1898 . He was also a professionally successful artist during his life with a record of sales to numerous affluent patrons. He was a member of the Brooklyn Art Club and Society of Brooklyn Artists.

Decker is listed in Who Was Who in American Art by Falk.

Bridge in Washington

Oil on canvas, signed.

Painting size: 20” x 24” Frame size: 27.75” x 31.5”

A Washington, DC native, Walter was a respected designer, cartoonist, teacher and painter during his lifetime. After completing his studies at the Corcoran School of Art, he continued his training under the instruction of Charles Hawthorne, W. Lester Stevens, Richard Meryman and B. Baker.

Walter was member of the Society of Washington Artists; Landscape Club, Washington, DC; Washington Art Club; American Polar Society and Southern States Art League. His work was shown in numerous venues including: Harvard University, University of Iowa, Washington Art Club and various museum in the East and South. He also held a solo exhibit in New York City. He was awarded prizes for his work by the Landscape Club and US National Museum.

In addition to his busy painting and exhibition schedule, he completed a series of Arctic paintings for the Navy in 1946 and taught at the Abbott School of Art in Washington, DC from 1951-1954.

** For other artwork by artists from Maryland, Virginia or Washington DC, type “local” into the search box.

Standing Nude

A Bronze Figure, signed

Height: 16.5”

Born in England in 1888, Morley settled in New York and was a sculptor, craftsperson and teacher. She was a member of the Allied Artists of America and exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. She is listed in Falk, Who Was Who in American Art.

March at Sunset or The Old Story

Oil on canvas, signed and retaining two labels on the reverse with titles.

Painting size: 12.25” x 21.25”
Frame size: 18.75” x 27.5”

Born in Warrington, Virginia in 1847, Richard Norris Brooke made significant contributions to the development and posterity of the art community in Washington, DC. From his days as an instructor at the Virginia Military Institute to his tenure as vice principal of the Corcoran School of Art in Washington, Brooke shared his talent and enthusiasm for art with those around him. To this day, the Washington community honors his legacy with works on exhibit in venues from the U.S. Capitol to the National Museum of American Art.

Brooke's formal art education spanned many years and the Atlantic Ocean. Beginning in Pennsylvania, Brooke studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts from 1865 to 1871 under the tutelage of Edmund Bonsall and James R. Lambin. From there he traveled to France but not before a slight detour as the Chair of Fine Arts at the Virginia Military Institute from 1871 to 1872. From VMI, he traveled to France as the U.S. Consul in LaRochelle from 1873-1876. Brooke returned for a year to the United States before traveling back to France to study with Leon Bonnat and at the Académie Julian, Paris under Benjamin Jean-Joseph Constant from 1877 to 1879.

Upon Brooke's return to the United States, he settled in Washington, DC. A year later, in 1880, he established his own Washington, DC art studio. From then forward, he became an active member of the Washington art community, exhibiting on a regular basis, and joining organizations dedicated to fine arts. Perhaps his most active role as a Washington artist came when he served as vice principal of the Corcoran School of Art from 1902 until 1917. Brooke kept a "Record of Work" for all his paintings, a copy of which is in the library of the Museum of American Art, Washington D.C., which includes a thumbnail sketch, title, location and date painted of most of his paintings. Unfortunately, c.1909, a fire in his studio destroyed many of his paintings, just prior to a major retrospective exhibition.

Brooke's many memberships included the Society of Washington Artists for which he served as both President and a member of the Executive Committee during his tenure. Additionally, he was the Vice President of the Washington Art Club from 1881 to 1884. The Washington Society of Fine Arts, Washington Watercolor Club and American Federation of the Arts, complete the list of associations of which he was a member.

With participation in exhibitions from the National Academy of Design (NYC) to the Atlanta Expo, Brooke's work found its way into many private collections. Brooke died April 25, 1920 in Warrington VA. where he also lived and worked.