Twentieth century oil on canvas painting of a young woman, 21 1/2" by 18" (29" by 25" framed), signed at lower right somewhat indecipherably "Cintellys".The difficult to decipher signature is of listed artist ANNE CINTELLYS. I do not see a biography on line, but several paintings, including one of a young woman at a race track, and another of an exotic dancer, have appeared at auction in Germany and France in the past 15 years...

Very large (48" by 48", unframed), decorative, attention-getting oil on canvas of a family of three musician performers in a park setting, painted in a humorous fashion, the family in costume and appearing clown-like, by the French mid century impressionist artist ROGER ETIENNE (1922-2011). The painting is titled on the reverse "Jour de Fete" (Holiday), inscribed "Pour Renon", and signed by the artist and dated 1972...

Oil on canvas board, 14 1/2" by 19 1/2", unframed, signed at lower left in Russian "O. Menailova ", and with a typed label on the reverse that reads "Menailova Bamskaya/study -- oil--/1996 year". There's also a violet colored rubber stamp on the back in Russian that is hard to decipher (probably an export stamp)...

Oil on canvas, 21" by 15 3/4" (24" by 19 1/2" as framed), unsigned, the subject an Austrian, Swiss, or German village in deep snow on a brilliant sunny day. The sharp peak in the background center could be the Matterhorn, in which case we could assume the subject is Zermatt, Switzerland. I'd guess the age of the work as circa 1950's. On the stretcher someone has written "AUSTRIA (TIROL) cca 1950"...

Oil on canvas painting of the streets in the oft-painted Montmartre section of Paris, 18" by 24" (25" by 31" framed), signed at lower right by the noted well listed French naive artist LOUIS PEYRAT (1905-1999). This is a classic scene that reminds of Maurice Utrillo, who, I read online, was a cousin of Peyrat (one painting in the auction record featured as its subject matter Utrillo's house). The muted color palette lends an austerity and understatement to this fine work...

Oil on board, 13" by 17", unsigned, the subject a group of European-looking (French, I'd guess) buildings that appear as if they would belong in a country winery scene, with an early spring impressionistic landscape surrounding them. The conical tops remind me of structures I have seen in California wine country, or, in French chateau country. This one is difficult to describe adequately...

Oil on canvas, 27 1/4" by 39 3/4" (32 1/4" by 44 3/4" with modern simple frame), signed at lower right by the artist and penciled notations on the stretcher as well, the subject most peaceful, consisting of a small pond with ducks and rowboat in a clearing, painted early in the 20th century by the noted Scandinavian artist OTTO PETERSEN BALLE (1865-1916). Balle's works are held in many collections in Denmark, and some especially fine examples have sold at auctions, one at Sotheby's...

Large oil on canvas, 52 1/2" by 37", unframed, the name "SERGEI BORISOV" on the canvas overlap, the subject a scene of Cold War era Russia. There is much going on in the image, which is an idealized urban, industrial landscape. The Russian is difficult to translate (I have been helped by a friend who reads Russian), even to a Russian speaker/reader, but the gist of what is being said is that the proletariat and workers must prevail all together to work for the Communist ideal...

Old impressionist oil on canvas laid on wood board painting of a typical Dutch scene with windmills, boats, and a waterway, 9" by 11 1/4" (13 1/2" by 15 3/4" in 20th century frame). There does appear to be a signature at lower left but despite my best efforts I am unable to determine that name...

Oil on burlap type canvas, unframed, 29 1/2" by 15", signed at lower right "BEKE", date circa 1950's or early 1960's most likely. The scene is a classic Mediterranean coastline in Italy or Spain, or, just a generic Mediterranean scene conceived by the artist. I don't see a listing for this artist so am offering this as a decorative piece. It is soiled, and would brighten substantially with a professional cleaning.

Oil on canvas, 15 1/4" by 18 1/2" (22" by 25" as frame), the subject a copper or ceramic tub filled with red flowers , all against a simple background. The painting is not signed on the front but on the reverse is "Yerda Werkel" and "von Kurtz" and "1.9.46". So we have likely a German, Swiss or Austrian artist who would have painted this soon after the end of the war. I don't see a listing for the artist but she was talented...

Oil on canvas, 25 1/2" by 18" (32 1/2 by 24 1/2" as framed), apparently unsigned, circa 1930 to 1950, and very probably European (French or perhaps Scandinavian, judging from the stretcher). The painting is something of a mystery, the mysterious hand and spectacles at lower left coming from outside the image area. Almost certainly this was created by a listed artist but without a signature I cannot go further on that front...

Oil on canvas, 27" by 39" (32 1/2" by 44 1/2" as framed), the scene a deep blue lake with small boats and a dock, puffy clouds filling the sky on a peaceful summer day. It is an expansive scene, large enough to invite the viewer to feel he is a part of it. I suppose the work is Swedish or Danish. The artist chose to sign with just the conjoined initials "HM" at lower left, where it is also dated 1948...

Oil on canvas, 36" by 24" (45" by 33" as framed in wood), the subject a wicker chair draped with lacy cloth, a painting in the background and tea pot at right, signed with what appears as "Egeun" at lower right and dated 82. A Greek-speaker emailed me to inform me that the signed name is, in Greek, "Eleni" (Greek for "Helen"). This is a bright, contemporary painting in really excellent, fine wall-ready condition.

PAIR of oils on canvas, each 12 1/2" by 16", framed to 18 3/4" by 22" (although the frames are not quite identical), each signed by the listed French artist of Brittany, PIERRE TESTU. The scenes are quite charming, with atmospheric handling of the moist and foggy coastal air. Testu's biography is not established, it seems, but there are extant works dated as early as 1896 from what I can see, and he evidently specialized in such genre scenes of mussel, oyster, and other shellfish gatherers on ...

Large oil on heavy oak panel painting of an ornate cathedral interior, featuring the large organ, 35" by 29" (47" by 41" framed), titled on the reverse, dated there August 1916, and signed by the noted Czech painter FRANTISEK JELINEK (1890-1977). Jelinek's works have sold at auction in Europe, largely in the Czech Republic, where he is known as a painter of landscapes, nudes, and genre. It took me a while to figure out the name of the artist and the subject, and even the language (I thought th...

Oil on board painting of a farmstead in spring, 17 1/4" by 25", 21" by 28 1/2" framed, signed at lower left by the noted Swedish artist CARL MANSSON (1892-1976). Mansson was a prolific painter of country and farm scenes in southern Sweden. There does not seem to be a lot of biographical information available, but he left behind a body of work focusing on rural scenes of his native land. This example is quite typical of the country paintings, and it displays his evident affection for the land....

Colorful, heavily impressionistic acrylic painting with palette knife, the subject beached wooden boats in a sunny Mediterranean coastal landscape, signed at lower left by listed French artist PIERRE MAS (1933-). The work measures 11 1/4" by 27" as framed. Mas used copious amounts of wet-looking, lush paint, creating an interesting surface and texture. Colors are very complementary and harmonious, the turquoise particularly pleasing. Overall, the painting is a most attractive Mid Century wor...