Oil on canvas street scene, most likely of Mexico, 18" by 24", unframed, signed at lower right by California painter JOSIE (JO ANITA) STARKEY (1895-1962). This is a colorful work by a noted California woman artist known for her genre paintings. She is listed in many reference works including Dawdy, Hughes, and Falk's Who Was Who in American Art, and the Dictionary of Women Artists...

Oil on canvas painting of flowers in a green glass vase on a table top, a curtain, fruits in a dish and a cup completing the scene. The work does not appear to be signed on the front; on the reverse side is written "Sprague". The painting, 20" by 16" (24" by 20" in cream colored frame) likely dates to about the year 1950. It is in excellent condition save for a pressure dimple, not quite a full puncture, at upper left----also visible from the reverse side near the end of "Sprague"...

ONE OF TWO WORKS BY THE ARTIST IN MY SHOP--Abstract oil on canvas painting, 32" by 25 1/2", unframed, dated on reverse "1996/97", signed there by noted American 20th century contemporary artist CASS SHAW. Shaw, based currently in the Los Angeles area, has had wide exposure of her work, the exhibition history in the United States and France going back to the 1970's. This is one of two works by the artist in my shop (they were acquired at the same time)...

Large abstract oil on canvas painting primarily in black, blue and red, 30" by 48", unframed, titled on reverse "Back in Time", signed there by noted American 20th century contemporary artist CASS SHAW. Shaw, based currently in the Los Angeles area, has had wide exposure of her work, the exhibition history in the United States and France going back to the 1970's. This is one of two works by the artist in my shop (they were acquired at the same time)...

(ONE OF FOUR BY MERRIAM IN MY SHOP) Large oil on canvas, 30" by 40" (38" by 48" framed), in its vintage original frame, the subject California's world famous Yosemite Valley, signed at lower left by the talented California painter JAMES MERRIAM (1880-1951). This work is very typical of the artist, both in its impressive size and in the characteristic impressionistic style of the artist. Merriam was born in Canada and was studying in Detroit, before arriving in Southern California...

Impressionist seascape oil painting on canvas board, 8" by 10" (13 1/2" by 15 1/2" framed) signed at lower right by Colorado artist ALFRED JAMES WANDS (1904-1998). On the reverse in pencil is written "Artist---Alfred Wands/2065 Ivanhoe St./Denver 7 Colo.". The work likely dates to the 1950's. Wands was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. He attended the Cleveland Art Institute, then went to Europe for studies in Brussels and Munich...

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...

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...

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...

Florine Hyer was an Iowa-born artist who became known for her exquisite paintings of roses...

Oil on canvas still life painting, including a red teapot, plates, funnel, cup, and fruit, all on a striped table cloth with further drapery in the background, 20" by 24", unsigned on front and bearing the name "H. HOWARD" and date "OCT. 74" on the stretcher. There is an African-American artist by the name Humbert Howard but this work does not resemble the work I see out there on the net. The artist, whoever he or she was, obviously was trained and understood perspective, composition, color, a...

Acrylic on canvas painting titled on reverse "Memory of Rosie", 17" by 24" (21 1/2" by 29" framed). The image is whimsical and rather mysterious, consisting of three white vases or pots each bearing an image, one of a cat, one a bird, one a jester; one speculates that perhaps, Rosie was a beloved cat. Highly stylized plants or flowers emerge from the pots. The artist signed at lower right and dated the painting 1984. CAROL JABLONSKY (1939-1992) died at a young age but left behind a large bod...

A rare opportunity to acquire a work from close to the heart of American naive painting in the folk art style: an original oil on board painting, 11 1/2" by 35 1/2" plus narrow dark green contemporary framing, signed at lower left by FRED ROBERTSON (1878-1953), and titled on handwritten label by the artist "My Hills of Home". On that label written by the artist is also "Eagle Bridge, New York", considered the home of Grandma Moses. Fred was the brother of Grandma Moses, and he is given credit...

Oil on canvas laid on board, 10 1/4" by 13 1/4" (16" by 19" as framed), the subject snow-streaked brown foothills of the Rocky Mountains in early spring, the main range of the mountains in the distance, signed at lower right in ink "J.D. TURNER", titled on the reverse "Near Cochrane/April 1970/JD Turner". This is a beautiful work by the noted Alberta painter JOHN DAVENALL TURNER (1900-1980). Turner, according to the long bio on the sheet attached to the reverse side, was born in England and wa...

Oil on canvas laid on panel by the artist, 22 1/2" by 16 1/4" (25" by 18 3/4" in its original painted vintage frame), titled on reverse "Black Ivory", signed there and again in yellow at lower left corner by the well listed California artist who hailed from Denmark, EINAR CORTSEN PETERSEN (1885-1986). Petersen was a widely traveled artist, who, according to the Hughes biographical listing in Artists of California, studied art in Paris, Rome and Munich, working as a decorator. By the year 1912 ...

Oil on canvas, unframed, 20" by 26", signed at lower right in red "R. MacDonald" and signed/titled/dated on reverse "R. MacDonald/Heat Wave/July 10 1937". The subject appears to be a young man, possibly African-American, holding a hose on a young child at right, a wooden house hidden partially by a huge tree in the background. The artist has painted a very American work, (and possibly southern, as well), squarely in the 1930's style. I have searched the databases and cannot seem to tie this t...

Oil on canvas, 14" by 18", (18 1/2" by 22 1/2" in old possibly original frame), the subject given on original Sanborn Studio, Belfast, Maine label as "Bend in Little River" (faint, but still readable with some effort). The work is not signed but is surely by the important Maine artist PERCY A. SANBORN (1849-1929). Sanborn was born in Waldo, Maine and lived for many years in coastal Belfast. He is well known for his marine oils of clipper ships, some of which exceed $20,000 at auction, but he wa...