Antique English Tea Chest in the Form of a Sideboard, in mahogany and deal, having a rectangular hinged top with shaped and carved backsplash which opens to a sugarbowl, the front with two cabinet doors opening to lidded tea caddies.

William Smee & Sons, London, published a catalog of furniture designs in 1850 which had sideboards of similar form. (See Pictorial Dictionary of British 19th Century Furniture Designs by Edward Joy, pp 435-36.) 14"x5"x12.75"tall (key)

Julius Montalant, American 1823-1878.

View of a Harbor

oil on canvas, signed l.l.

Painting: 11 x 18.
Frame: 18 x 25.

Provenance: The Lowell/Putnam Estate

Born in Virginia, probably Norfolk, Julius Montalant is known for his drawings and paintings inspired by his travels on board navy ships.

Attached to the USS St. Louis around 1844-45, he sketched ports of call he visited, including Brazil, Chile, New Zealand, Australia, and China.  Many of his works are held in the Museum of the U.S. Naval Academy.  Navy records indicate his rank as 'C. Clerk', which may mean that he held a civilian position.

During the 1850s he lived in Philadelphia, and in 1851-61 he exhibited at the Philadelphia Art Union and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.  Included were paintings of North America, Greece, China, France, Italy, and South America. The 'tropical' scenes were apparently based on sketches done on board the USS St. Louis.

In 1858 he traveled to Rome, and is recorded to have studied with J.B. Durand-Brager in 1864.  He made Rome his base until his death in 1878.

Source: Peter Hastings Falk, Editor, Who Was Who in American Art

Ethel M. Stilson (American)

Hayfield in Summer

Oil on canvas, signed and dated: ‘1905’.

Stilson was an Ohio artist and member of the National Association of Women Artists and the Cleveland Woman’s Art Club. She is listed in Falk, Who Was Who in American Art.

Painting size: 15”x19”
Frame: 23.5”x27.5”

Ferdinand Leeke (German 1859-1923)

The Art Critics

Oil-on-canvas, signed lower right, located “Meran” and dated “1906"

Painting Size: 39.5” x 31.75”
Frame Size: 48.25 ” x 40”

A painter of historical, genre and allegorical scenes, Leeke studied at the Munich Academy under Johann Herterich and with the Hungarian genre and landscape painter Alexander von Wagner. Around 1889, Leeke was commissioned by Siegried Wagner, son of Richard Wagner to paint a series of scenes from his father’s operas to commemorate Wagner and his work. The series was completed in 1898.

This scene of two young country women gazing at an absent artist’s canvas is set in the south Tyrol above Merano, Italy, near the Austria/Italy border. We know this because of a similar view of the same cottage titled “Schwarzplatterhof oberhalb Merans” (Schwarzplatterhof above Merano). The area is now a famous resort and vacation area.

Sources:
Benezit, E. "Dictionnaire des Peintres, Sculpteurs, Dessinateurs et Graveurs"
Thieme-Becker, ed. "Allgemeines Lexikon der bildenden Künstler vonder Antike bis zu Gegenwart"

Santa Maria della Salute, Venice

by C. Myron Clark (American, 1876-1925)

Oil on canvas, signed and dated: "1906"

Painting: 16" x 12"
Frame: 21.5" x 17.5"

American painter C. Myron Clark specialized in marine subjects and, like so many other artists, was drawn to Venice with its ongoing atmospheric shifts in the sky and sea. The Peabody Museum in Salem, MA has five of his works in the permanent collection. He is listed in Who Was Who in American Art by Falk and Dictionary of Sea Painters by Archibald.

Max Weyl (American, 1837-1914)

Marsh Landscape

Oil on Canvas, signed l.r. and dated "1904"

From the Estate of a Toms River Collector

Painting: 21.25" x 28.75"

Frame: 27" x 34.25"

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

Max Weyl was born Dec. 1, 1837, in Germany and immigrated with his family to Williamsport, PA in 1853. At this time and after his arrival in Washington, DC in 1861, Weyl earned his living as an itinerant watch repairman. At the relatively young age of 24, he had saved enough money to open his own jewelry shop at Third Street and Pennsylvania Avenue.

He was self-taught as an artist but was encouraged in the field by Washington artist Charles Lanman, who recognized his potential artistic talent. In 1870, Weyl sold his first painting to Samuel H. Kauffman, publisher of the Star . Kauffman became a regular patron of Weyl.

By 1878, he had achieved sufficient success to list himself as an artist in the city directory and had devoted himself full-time to his art. A year abroad in 1879-80, visiting and studying in Paris, Vienna, Munich and Venice attached him to the Barbizon style and gave him his nickname of the "American Daubigny". His first exhibition and sale of landscapes was in 1879. Eventually, his landscapes of the Potomac River and Rock Creek Park won him much recognition and acclaim.

During the years of 1882-92, he shared a studio with Richard Norris Brooke in Vernon Row at 10th and Pennsylvania, moving to the "Barbizon Studio" building, on 17th and Pennsylvania, from 1892-1903.

Weyl had annual exhibitions and sales at V.G. Fischer Galleries. There was a retrospective at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in 1907. Weyl died July 6, 1914, in Washington, DC. Today his work can be seen in such varied locations of the Corcoran Gallery, the Cosmos Club in Washington, the National Trust for Historic Preservation and Virginia Military Academy.

Sources:
Consentino, Andrew and Glassie, Henry. "The Capital Image, Painters in Washington, 1800-1915"
Falk, Peter, ed. "Who Was Who in American Art 1564-1975"
McMahan, Virgil. "The Artists of Washington, D.C. 1796-1996"

Slightly Bawdy Cut Sihoulette of dancing man and woman by Charles Handrup, signed and located "Paris" and dated "1909"

Sight Size: 6.5" x 8.5"
Frame: 13" x 14.25"

Handrup was a Danish Silhouettist who lived in London between the wars. For years he ran a Silhouette Parlour at D.H.Evans Department Store in Oxford Street. Handrup was awarded a silver medal at the Empire Exhibition at Londons Crystal Palace. Printed on the reverse of some of his poatcards is the statement: : " This Silhouette Portrait is executed entirely freehand by Handrup, who begs to observe that his likenesses are executed by the Scissors alone and are preferable to any taken by machines inasmuch by the Scissor process the passions and peculiarities of Character are brought more into action. Silver Medal awarded Festival of Empire Crystal Palace 1911. "

French School, Late 19th/early 20th Century

Young Girl with Paper Dolls

Oil-on-canvas, Unsigned

Oval: 19” x 14 ¼”
Frame: 25 ½” x 20 ¾”

This charming study of a young girl intent on cutting out paper dolls is reminiscent of works by Berthe Morisot, Mary Cassatt and Pierre-Auguste Renoir (his earlier works). She is beautifully captured with her rosebud lips, her hair tied up in a bow, a lacy pinafore over her navy dress and stockinged legs dangling. Set against a textured backdrop, her figure seems perfectly set apart, in her own world.

Joseph Mortimer Lichtenauer, Jr. (American, 1876-1966 )

Moods

Oil on canvas, signed and dated lower left corner “Lichtenauer 1904.”

Painting: 28” x 40”

Frame:

Born in New York City, Joseph Mortimer Lichtenauer studied at the Art Students League with Mowbray before moving to Paris where he entered the Académie Julian. There he studied under Merson and Laurens. Additional years of travel and study in Florence, Italy no doubt influenced his tastes, evidenced by this idyllic painting of classicized female figures romping in a sunny field. The image is reminiscent of the fanciful landscapes of Romantic painter, Puvis de Chevannes.

A muralist as well, Lichtenauer painted the ceiling of the Shubert Theater in New York City and created murals for the Adelphi Theater. His work has been collected by the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Smithsonian Institution. Lichtenauer was also a member of the Salmagundi Club and the American Federation of the Arts.

Lichtenauer is listed inWho Was Who in American Art (Falk, 1999) and the Dictionnaire des Peintres, Sculpteurs, Dessinateurs et Graveurs (Bénézit, 1998)

Max Weyl (American, 1837-1914)

Springtime in Rock Creek NE

Oil-on-canvas, signedand dated 1902 lower right and titled and signed on the reverse

Ptg.: 18.5" x 24"
Frame: 24" x 30"

Max Weyl was born Dec. 1, 1837, in Germany and immigrated with his family to Williamsport, PA in 1853. At this time and after his arrival in Washington, DC in 1861, Weyl earned his living as an itinerant watch repairman. At the relatively young age of 24, he had saved enough money to open his own jewelry shop at Third Street and Pennsylvania Avenue

. He was self-taught as an artist but was encouraged in the field by Washington artist Charles Lanman, who recognized his potential artistic talent. In 1870, Weyl sold his first painting to Samuel H. Kauffman, publisher of the Star . Kauffman became a regular patron of Weyl.

By 1878, he had achieved sufficient success to list himself as an artist in the city directory and had devoted himself full-time to his art. A year abroad in 1879-80, visiting and studying in Paris, Vienna, Munich and Venice attached him to the Barbizon style and gave him his nickname of the "American Daubigny". His first exhibition and sale of landscapes was in 1879. Eventually, his landscapes of the Potomac River and Rock Creek Park won him much recognition and acclaim.

During the years of 1882-92, he shared a studio with Richard Norris Brooke in Vernon Row at 10th and Pennsylvania, moving to the "Barbizon Studio" building, on 17th and Pennsylvania, from 1892-1903.

Weyl had annual exhibitions and sales at V.G. Fischer Galleries. There was a retrospective at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in 1907. Weyl died July 6, 1914, in Washington, DC. Today his work can be seen in such varied locations of the Corcoran Gallery, the Cosmos Club in Washington, the National Trust for Historic Preservation and Virginia Military Academy.

Sources:

Consentino, Andrew and Glassie, Henry. "The Capital Image, Painters in Washington, 1800-1915"
Falk, Peter, ed. "Who Was Who in American Art 1564-1975"
McMahan, Virgil. "The Artists of Washington, D.C. 1796-1996"

**To view other paintings by this artist, type "Weyl" into the search box.

Augustus John: Fifty-Two Drawings

Signed, limited edition, with an introduction by Lord David Cecil. Published by George Rainbird, London (1957). Hardcover folio, 16.5 x 11.75 inches. Limited to 150 copies of which this is Number 107 with slipcase. Signed by Augustus John and Lord David Cecil and inscribed to the art collector Emily Chadbourne and signed a second time by Augustus John. The book was designed and produced by George Rainbird and Ruari McLean.The lithograph self-portrait was drawn by the artist in July, 1955 and directly printed from the plate at the Curwen Press which also printed the text. The plates were printed in photo-litho offset by Van Leer of Amsterdam. The text is printed on Abbey Mills Suede Text Antique laid. Bound by Zaehnsdorf of London in half vellum over brown paper with gilt title on spine. Lithographic plate to the top board. Very good condition; a handsome copy of an important work.

James Francis O’Brien (American, 1917-1996)

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.

Justin Faivre (American)

Decline of the Windjammers

Watercolor on paper, signed and dated: “1934” and titled in pencil on the reverse.

Sheet size: 12.5” x 18.5”
Mat size: 19.5” x 25.5”
Unframed

Justin Faivre was born in Matthews, Indiana. At the age of 5, however, he moved to Portland, Oregon . As a teenager he studied at the Portland Art Gallery and took private art lessons with Howard Ellis.

In 1923 Faivre left Portland for Los Angeles, but only a few years later moved to San Francisco. In 1934 he had his first exhibition at the Oakland Art Gallery (later to become the Oakland Museum)and continued to exhibit throughout the area. He was a member of the Hayward Art Association, Alameda Art Association, and the Society for Western Artists.

Faivre was influenced by the Society of Six and his early works included landscapes, still lifes, portraits and marine subjects in both oil and watercolor. However, his later work can be characterized as more abstract and nonrepresentational.

Faivre died at his Oakland, California home at the age of 88. Sadly, he died penniless and many of his paintings were stolen shortly before his death.

Source:

Falk. Who Was Who in American Art.
Hughes. Artists in California.
Crocker Art Museum Store.

Edward Henry Berge (American, 1908-1998)

A Painted Plaster Relief Plaque of Three Iguanas

Signed,lower middle

Size: 23” x 23.5” x 4.5” deep

Born and raised near Clifton Park in Northeast Baltimore, Mr. Berge was the son of the acclaimed Baltimore sculptor Edward Berge, who was best known for his studies of children. A graduate of Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, Mr. Berge studied at the Maryland Institute, College of Art for a year and then studied sculpture for 3 1/2 years at the Rinehart School of Sculpture in Baltimore under J. Maxwell Miller. Mr. Berge opened his first studio in 1929 on West Lanvale Street, where he worked for 25 years until he moved to Merrymount Road in Roland Park. "In his long career, Henry Berge created six sculptures for public spaces in Baltimore. That's a record rarely equaled in the city's history, and a notable contribution to the community." from the Baltimore Sun, December 3, 1998

Benson Bond Moore (American,1882-1974)

Autumn in the Blue Ridge Mountains (near Emmittsburg, PA[sic]) 1955

Oil on board, signed lower left and dated “1955”. Titled on the reverse

Painting Size: 15.5” x 19.5”
Frame Size: 23.5” x 27.5”

** 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 and the Los Angeles Museum of Art. Over his life, he was honored with numerous awards for his work.

Sources: Consentino, Andrew and Glassie, Henry, The Capital Image, Painters in Washington, 1800-1915
McMahan, Virgil, The Artists of Washington, D.C. 1796-1996

Charles A. Watson (American, 1857-1923)

Moonlight on the Chesapeake

Oil on canvas, signed lower right

Painting size: 12” x 10”

Frame size: 15.5” x 13.5”

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

Watson was born in Baltimore, MD. He studied with A. Castaigne, E.S. Whiteman and D. Woodward. A founding member of the Baltimore Charcoal Club, he was also a member of the Baltimore Watercolor Club. Watson exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts Annual Exhibition in 1906. He is noted for his Tonalist marine paintings where the softly dawnlit skies blend with the pale ocean waters, often with a bare outline of a sailboat.

Source:
Falk, Peter, ed. Who Was Who in American Art 1564-1975

From the Estate of Antoinette Hughes, Catonsville, MD

Edgar Nye (American, 1879-1943)

Hillside Landscape

Watercolor on paper, signed lower right

Painting size: 11.5” x 17” Unframed

Nye lived, worked and taught in Washington, DC for 58 years. While he may have been born in Richmond, VA, his love for the city earned him the distinction of a "native" son.

Nye was educated in public schools before entering the Corcoran School of Art at age 13. He studied there for eight years before setting off on the requisite European travels. He traveled among England, France and Washington, DC for thirteen years. Along the way, he acquired a wife and a brief education at Oxford.

Once settled in Washington, DC, Nye began to produce the vast body of work by which he is remembered today. Most commonly, Nye painted landscapes and street scenes. A natural outcome of his prolific creativity was participation in numerous exhibitions.

His works were both included in group exhibitions and given total focus in one-man shows. The Washington Watercolor Society, Society of Washington Artists, Society of Independent Artists, Landscape Club of Washington and the Corcoran Gallery of Art were hosts to many of the exhibitions in which he participated. The Society of Washington Artists presented him with many awards during his career. On the year anniversary of his death, the Corcoran Gallery of Art presented a memorial exhibition of his work in recognition of the prominent place he held in the Washington art community.

Today, his work is held domestically in the permanent collections of the National Museum of American Art, Phillips Collection, Georgetown University and the Corcoran Gallery of Art. Overseas, his work is represented in the Plymouth Gallery, England.

Sources:
The Artists of Washington, D.C. 1796-1996; McMahan, Virgil E.
Who Was Who in American Art; Falk, Peter Hastings.
The Capital Image: Painters in Washington, 1800-1915; Cosentino, Andrew J. and Henry H. Glassie.

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

View of Laguna Beach

Charles Ross Kinghan (American, 1895-1984)

Watercolor on paper, signed.

A painter and illustrator, Kinghan trained at the American Academy of Art and the Art Institute of Chicago. In addition to his studio work, Kinghan began a career as an art teacher. In 1937, he first offered private instruction. While that continued throughout his life, he also worked for a time at the American Art Academy which was followed by a position at the Huguenot School of Art. After leaving art academia, Kinghan worked for over ten years for various advertising agencies as a “sketch man”.

While busily employed in various capacities during his life, Kinghan also found time to participate in many exhibitions. His work was shown at the Art Institute of Chicago, Allied Artists of America, American Watercolor Society, National Academy of Design and many others.

In addition to winning two gold medals from the Allied Artists of America, in 1956 and 1964, Kinghan was a member of the association. He also held memberships in The National Academy, Academy Artists Association, American Watercolor Society and Hudson Valley Art Association. He served both the American Watercolor Society and Hudson Valley Art Association as vice president in 1969 and 1968, respectively.

He was a resident of Laguna Beach, CA at the time of his death.

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

Sight size: 14.5” x 20.5”
Frame size: 22.25” x 28.5”