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...

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...

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...

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"...

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. But if you are an adult and you also find the color and composition fascinating, you will not be alone...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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. Condition ...

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. However we can see that this artist was quite obviously a skilled ...

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. The painting was painted by an American hand after 1885 (the metal stretchers with that date in the corners...

An antique oil on board painting of a chestnut thoroughbred in the barn, 9 1/2" by 12 1/2" plus 7/8" inch wide contemporary wood frame, signed with conjoined "AS" or "SA" monogram and dated 1899 at center left. The work is most certainly by a listed artist. The painting has a dry surface and perhaps some chemical oxidation of the paint, giving a blanched look in a number of parts of the horse's body, including rear spine/rump, tail, chest and legs; please view photos carefully. The board is s...

A nicely painted watercolor landscape of a farm in autumn, 20" by 14" (29 1/2" by 23 1/2" framed) signed boldly at lower left and stamped there by the artist, LEWIS SUZUKI (1920-2016). In even relatively recent years there was little information on Suzuki, whose fine watercolors seemed to show up in California with some regularity. Fortunately that scarcity of information is now a thing of the past, the family having started a comprehensive Facebook page which pays loving tribute to this man, ...

An oil on panel laid on Masonite, the subject apples on a surface, one peeled, the work signed at lower left by listed Midwest artist JULIUS G. SEGALL (1860-1925). The 9" by 12" work (14" by 17" in later gold frame) draws from a long tradition of still life painting of fruit in Europe, and later 19th century America (from the Peales through Martin Johnson Heade and on to the Fall River School of Massachusetts). Segall was born in Prussia and spent his early years in Milwaukee. While young he ...

Oil on board painting of a European village scene: an intimate cobblestoned lane winds between Old World houses, as a threatening sky looms above. The work is unframed and measures 26" by 20 1/2". It is signed at lower right and dated there "12" (the year 1912). The artist is ALBERT ABRAMOVITZ (1879-1963). Abramovitz was born in Riga, Latvia. He received art training at the Imperial Art School of Odessa, Russia, then went on to further study at the Academie de la Grande Chaumiere in Paris. By...