A charming, somewhat naïve antique oil on canvas painting, 16" by 23" (18 3/4" by 27" in late 20th century frame), unsigned, featuring a winter's day in the country, mountains in the distance, and two figures in the foreground braving the cold to chat, a glow in the central home at right center indicating that a fire is warming it. At far left in the distance is the rest of the village...

A large portrait of a woman of obvious wealth and status, 36" by 35", signed "Wells" at lower right on a prop envelope, and dated there 1930, set into a beautiful, unique, valuable 3 3/4" wide frame by the famous framemaker M. (Maurice) Grieve Co. of New York and London (see photo, reverse of frame). An online search did not turn up a "Wells" artist that would obviously fit with this work's subject matter, handling, and period...

A competently painted, luminous little work on canvas, 12" by 16" (17 1/4" by 21" framed), the subject high mountains in full fall color, likely the Rockies in Colorado, Wyoming, Montana or Idaho (or, possibly, even Canada). The artist signed the painting "C H Wells" at lower right. The painting likely dates to the 1970's or 1980's. While I do not see a listing for an artist by this name, he or she was clearly talented. The eye is drawn deep into this spacious and pleasant scene...

Oil on canvas painting of a traditional English cottage home adjacent to a pond where several ducks swim happily at right, signed at lower left by artist G. W. Andrews and dated there 1915. The work measures 16" by 12" and 19 1/2" by 15 1/2" framed. A figure stands on the small stone bridge overlooking the water. The painting is executed in a primitive hand but is very quaint and peaceful. Condition is excellent and stable, with no tears...

A really well executed oil on canvas painting of a hammock of dry land in the Everglades of southern Florida, a summer cumulus cloud at right about to become a thunderhead, 18" by 24" (22" by 28" framed), circa late 1960's or early 1970's, signed at lower right by listed artist EDWARD ARTHUR EVANS (1895-). Evans, it appears (after a focused internet search), was born in 1895 in Muskogee, Oklahoma...

Circa 1940 watercolor landscape painting, 11 1/4" by 15 1/4", 19" by 22 1/2" framed (no glass), signed at lower left by artist Edith Ovaitt. Edith appears to have been a talented amateur artist. An internet search reveals a woman by that name born in 1893 or 1898, living in Flint, Michigan at the time of the 1930 census. That Edith Ovaitt died in 1969. Ovaitt is apparently a fairly common name in that area. The watercolor's blue dominating color is very soothing and the work is clean...

Oil on canvas landscape with mountains and river in a steep sided canyon in winter, 8" by 12" (9 1/2" by 13 1/2" framed), signed at lower left "F. Sima" and dated there 1921. Although the name suggests an artist likely of Czech origin, this painting's stretcher and materials suggests the scene was painted in America, perhaps in the Rocky Mountains of the west. A search of the standard internet databases does not show an artist by this name, which is surprising...

A work of Surrealism, 22" by 26", unframed, the imagery a strange landscape in blues, two bare trees at right center, and an odd shaped biomorphically-inspired form (part looks like an index finger complete with nail) at left foreground, completing the strange composition. The painting is signed at lower right by the artist; the first name is Bruce and the last name is difficult to make out, perhaps Hailey, Harley, Hurley or similar...

A 9" by 13" watercolor painting (15" by 19" framed) of a river bounded by vegetation several ducks swimming picturesquely at lower right, signed at lower left by the noted historian and author Edgar Mayhew Bacon (1855-1935) of Tarrytown, New York. The work is titled on an old Hudson Valley Art Exhibition exhibition label "Ashley River, Near Charleston S.C. $35.00". Bacon was a noted historian and author...

Ideal additions to a child's room, these three colorful original paintings, each 8" by 10", unframed, are fine examples of naive or "primitive" art from Haiti. Each is signed by artist "E Maxime". The fantasy landscapes of wild animals surrounded by tropical vegetation of a wide array of vivid colors and unusual shapes are bound to stimulate a child's imagination...

Acrylic or oil on canvas painting, 25" by 30 1/2" in simple frame, painted somewhat in the Op Art style, the imagery difficult to summarize: shapes of diamonds, clubs, heart, (think playing cards), superimposed on each other, and in turn superimposed on what appears to be a background of open water and endless mountain ranges. The work is signed at lower left "Marilyn Griffith" and titled on stretcher "21 String Mandala". There does not appear to be a listed artist by this name, which is surp...

A striking modernist work titled "Fantasia" and dated 1952, by Tucson Fine Arts Association member BESS WEST. The work , oil on canvasboard (18" by 14", and 18 1/2" by 22 1/2" in apparently original frame) is signed at lower right "B. WEST" and on reverse appears the title, artist name and date, and an original card from the Seventh Annual Independent Open Show in Tucson in 1953. The imagery features such icons of the Southwest as a saguaro cactus, cow skull, five-pointed stars, a western styl...

Oil on masonite monochromatic coastal landscape with headlands and seabirds, measuring 20" by 24" (29" by 33" as framed), signed at lower right "Jean Appleton". I cannot with confidence offer this as an authentic work of the noted Australian artist by this name. I have seen in the Los Angeles area, a number of paintings thus signed. I have sent several of these to Australia where they sold at auction as authentic works by her. Yet I have received an email from a gentleman in Australia who in...

A vintage California oil on canvas painting of high mountains and the desert at sunset, probably painted circa 1935 through the early 1940's, 20" by 24" (23" by 27" in likely the original frame), signed at lower right by Los Angeles area artist ESSIE KAILEY (1897-1986). Kailey is not apparently a known artist, and was likely a talented amateur. Only due to the wonders of the internet have I been able to determine her birth and death dates and place of burial in Glendale, California at Forest L...

**PAIR** of pastel and pencil drawings on paper affixed to board at edges, each 9 3/4" by 13 1/2" inside the mat, currently in simple contemporary inexpensive frames, one signed in pencil at lower right "GROLL". These appear to be possibly scenes of Mexico or even Spain (the artist studied in Europe) by listed American artist ALBERT LOREY GROLL (1866-1952). Groll was New York-born, but spent a lot of time in Arizona, New Mexico and other points of the far west, painting and drawing the expansi...

Pastel on paper laid on board, 15 1/2" by 19 1/2" (19" by 23 1/2" as simply framed---no glass), signed at lower right by noted American pastel artist ANDREW GUNDERSON (1888-1964). This is a rather typical example by the artist, who is grouped today with such pastellists as William Chandler and Glatthaar. These artists around the turn of the century and the early years of the 20th century produced large numbers of original pastel landscapes and still life images, which are today very widely dis...

A PAIR of oil on canvas works, each 14" by 10", unframed, featuring hanging wild birds against a simulated wood-grain background, painted in the then-popular realistic trompe l'oeil manner of painters like William Harnett in America, or Michelangelo Meucci (1840-1909) in Italy. The paintings likely date to about the 1880's. They are signed but despite my best efforts, I have been unable to make out the worn and faint signature. An image of that area is provided. The works over more than 125 y...

Unsigned watercolor landscape painting, late 19th century American origin, the subject a chilly shoreline including snow-covered shacks, two figures, and a small overturned boat in winter storage, measuring 11" by 21" inside the mat (16" by 25" as framed). This is a primitive work, the figures a bit small and out of scale, and therefore a charming work, rather typical of late nineteenth century American watercolor by self-taught artists. CONDITION: Foxing in the sky, as shown, otherwise good....