Ray Austin Crooke (Australian, b. 1922)

Men Resting and Family on Beach, a pair of paintings

Oils on masonite, signed.

Painting size: 6” x 9”
Frame size: 9.5” x 12.5”

Crooke began painting at the age of 17 when his war service in the Australian Air Force took him to Borneo and the islands north of Australia. After the war, he remained in the area for a number of years before seeking additional artistic training at Swinburne Technical College under Roger James and Allan Jordan. He began exhibiting in 1969 and his portrayal of island life gained him great popularity.

Although he lived for a time in Melbourne, the draw of the north proved too strong. He returned to North Qld and traveled extensively among the northern islands. In 1966, Crooke was appointed an official artist in Vietnam for the following three years.

His work has been shown in Australian galleries from Melbourne to Sidney, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide. He has also had his work exhibited in the U.K. at the Tate Gallery and Leicester Galleries. The highest honor Crooke’s work has garnered is the Archibald Prize for his portrait of the writer George Johnston.

The National Collection, Canberra; all State Galleries and many regional galleries have his work represented in their permanent collections. He is also held in many private collections worldwide.

Crooke is listed in The Encyclopedia of Australian Art by McCulloch and Artists and Galleries of Australia and New Zealand by Germaine.

Joseph Pennell (American 1857-1926)

The Inauguration Steps, 1912

Lithograph on ivory laid paper

17 x 22 (image); 19 x 24.5 (sheet); 17.75" x 22.25" (sight); 24" x 30" (frame)

Wuerth 265

Washington D.C. series. Edition of 25. Signed on stone and in pencil and inscribed: " #2 The Inauguration Portico"

This is from a series of six lithographs made for the Century Magazine entitled "The Capitol at Washington” and described as the "East Front of the Capitol" Another example is in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Joseph Pennell was widely recognized for his illustrations and etchings, a process he began in the late 1870s.  The son of Philadelphia Quaker parents, he studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art in Philadelphia where his instructor, James Claghorn recognized and encouraged Pennell's etching talent.

From 1884 to 1917, Pennell lived primarily in Europe.  There he made scenery prints in many parts of the Continent, working in a variety of graphic media.  He also returned to America long enough to travel in the American West, and in 1912 and 1915, did scenes of San Francisco, Yosemite and the Grand Canyon, which along with twenty-three lithographs he did of the Panama Canal were purchased by the Italian government and are in the Uffizi Gallery.

Pennell completed over 1800 etchings and lithographs.   His style was strongly influenced by James Whistler, and his technique was influenced by drawings of Charles Reinhardt.  He also wrote and illustrated nearly a hundred books including a biography of Whistler.

Sources:
Falk, Peter, ed. Who Was Who in American Art 1564-1975
Hughes, Edan Milton. Artists in California 1786-1940

Rare Pair of Regency Upholstered Footstools, of square inverted trapezoidal form with a rosewood base and carved mahogany scroll form feet. Circa 1800. (losses to needlework covering)

6.5" x 16.5" x 6.5" tall

Rare Large Pair of Antique Wall Appliques, carved and gilt wood in the form of flowers in baskets.

French or Italian, 18th/19th Century

30"tall x 23"wide x 2''deep

Rare George III Wine Stand in mahogany having a circular top with molded lip on a shaped pedestal with tripod legs on slipper feet. English, circa 1760.

*Most tables of this form described as "wine tables" are actually candlestands. This is a true wine table, which would have been placed next to the host's chair after dessert was served and the servants withdrew so there could be private conversation.

h: 21 x dia: 10.75 in.

Rare George II Writing Stand in mahogany, having a rectangular adjustable top with strut supports and a removable book rest, a fitted side drawer with two glass inkwells, two swing out candle-slides, and an adjustable height cannon-form standard supported by cabriole legs ending in pad feet and brass castors.

English, Circa 1740.

Height when closed: 36-3/4 in (93.3 cm); Width: 22 in (55.9 cm); Depth: 17 in (43.2 cm)
(ink stains on top)

Rare Antique Chinese Export red lacquer melon-form tea caddy with six loebed sides, three gilt dragon paw feet, gilt decoration of figures in gardens on body and hinged lid with carved “stem,” opening to a similarly shaped tin liner. Circa 1825. Height, 5.5”; Diameter, 6.25” Gourds and mellons had a particular significance in Chinese culture.

See: ”Antique Boxes”by Clark and O’Kelly, figure #238 and our #620 for a similar example.

Rare Child’s Miniature Tole Tea Caddy of Sarcophagus Form, having a shaped lid surmounted by a cast brass knop and with paw form feet: decorated with “smoke” graining and on the front a patera of polychrome flowers. American or English. Circa 1810. (Losses) Provenance: The Cockrell Collection. 3” x 2.25” x 3.5”

Rare Chester County Pennsylvania Spice Chest in walnut having a moulded cornice above a raised panel door opening to an arrangement of ten small drawers (one replaced) and raised on straight bracket feet. Secondary woods include: poplar, oak, walnut and beech. There is a faint inscription on one of the bottom drawers. Pennsylvania, circa 1760-80.

Spice boxes or chests were a status symbol in colonial America. Only a household that was well furnished and fairly prosperous had a spice box. Spice chests were popular among the Quakers of the Delaware Valley during the late seventeenth and throughout the eighteenth centuries, remaining fashionable in Pennsylvania long after falling out of style elsewhere. The boxes, fitted in the interior with banks of small drawers, were often displayed in the public rooms (not the kitchens) of homes, functioning as both a repository for small valuables, such as spices and silver and jewelry items, and as a symbol of the family’s prosperity.

18"W x 9.75"D x 22" tall

#530 Antique Anglo-Indian Tea Chest, sandalwood overlaid with strips of elk horn. The box is rectangular with sloped sides. The elk horn on the top of the stepped, sloping lid arranged in a starburst pattern. The fitted interior is decorated with incised ivory panels, highlighted with lac, a similarly decorated pair of removable caddies and a circular cut crystal sugar bowl and a horn caddy spoon. (The squashed ball feet are later replacements. Lid lack support). Valtair, Vizagapatam, possibly by Chinniah, ca. 1840-50. See: Furniture from British India and Ceylon by Amin Jaffer, #61 for a similar workbox. Exhibited: The 48th Washington Antiques Show, “Inside and Outside the Box.” Height, 9”; Width, 14.75”; Depth, 8.5”.

Extremely Rare Chippendale Wine Table in mahogany having an octagonal top with low gallery above a vasiform carved and turned pillar and supported by three downswept legs. English, circa 1750

Many of the tables of this form described as "wine tables" are taller and are actually candlestands. This is a true wine table, which would have been placed next to the host's chair after dessert was served and the servants withdrew so there could be private conversation.

22" high x 20" spread

Rare George III Ambry in mahogany having an hinged arched top opening to a well and a paneled cabinet door flanked py pilasters, and the whole raised on ball feet. In Christian churches, items kept in an ambry include chalices and other vessels, as well as items for the reserved sacrament, the consecrated elements from the Eucharist. English, circa 1760.

18" x 14" x 28" tall

Young Boy (perhaps a Putto) with a Branch and a Rattle

By Aguste Moreau (French, 1834-1917)

Base: 10" x 7"
Height: 23"

*Please note: This is an original antique bronze, not a modern re-strike, and is so guaranteed.

Auguste Moreau was born in Paris in 1834, the youngest son of sculptor and painter Jean-Baptiste Moreau. He studied with his father and also under Aimé Millet, Augustin Drumont and Jean Thomas. Each of the three Moreau brothers - Hippolyte, Marthurin and Auguste - have become renowned for the quality and the beauty of their figurative sculpture. In 1861, Auguste made his debut at the Salon where he would exhibit regularly until 1910 in both bronze and marble. His subjects were primarily young maidens sensuously clad in swirling diaphanous dress and usually decorated with flowers and birds or allegorical and genre scenes incorporating cupids and young children. His style was realistic and graceful, revealing his relation to the other members of the Moreau family. His compositions encapsulate a feeling of innocence whilst incorporating an air of mischievous game.

He is Listed in "The Dictionary of Western Sculptors in Bronze" by James Mackay

American School (Circa 1895)

Red-haired Girl in Profile

Oil on canvas, unsigned

Painting Size: 16” x 14”
Frame Size: 22 ” x 20”

This charming portrait displays the influence of the “Gibson Girl” fashion sense with her softly piled hair and high collared blouse, made popular by the artist Charles Dana Gibson in the 1890’s.

Benson Bond Moore (American 1882-1974)

"Willows on the Potomac"

Casine on Board, signed l.r. a and titled on the reverse.

Painting: 8" x 10"
Frame:13.5" x 15.5"

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

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"

Portrait of the British Schooner "ESTHER"

Oil on canvas, 19th century Signed indistinctly lower right "Wm Mc *****" and dated

Painting: 21" x 28.5"
Frame: 27" x 34.25"

Ship portraits, such as this, were commissioned by the new owner often time itinerant artists who traveled around different boat builders looking for work. They documented exactly what the ship looked like with full sails, flags and rigging so if a boat was lost at sea the portrait could be presented to their insurance agent.

Portrait of a Woman Wearing a Painted Miniature Brooch

Oil-on-canvas, unsigned

Mid 19th Century

Painting: 20 ¼” x 16 ½”
Frame: 24 ¼” x 201/4”

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