Gouache on paper landscape drawing, 14" by 21" (27" by 33 1/2" framed), signed somewhat illegibly in the lower right corner in pencil and dated there "43", the subject a small village on the shore of a lake or ocean. The scene, including small white church steeple, reminds me vaguely of the quaint coastal tourist town of Mendocino north of San Francisco. There is no hint as to where the subject is, so, we will just have to guess. The signature might be "Pien" or "Pian" or similar...

Oil on board, 18" by 30" (23" by 35" as framed), the scene at dockside in Venice, Italy, gondolas at the ready and figures walking the dock, sun-washed buildings in the background. The painting is signed, though awkwardly, at lower left "Arthur V. Diehl", leading me to think originally that this was by that noted American impressionist painter who died in 1929 (Diehl had created throughout his lifetime, from memory, mostly, Venice scenes, even though he had only visited there as a young man)...

Oil on canvas painting, 18 1/2" by 24 1/2" including the thin red wood frame, circa 1960's or 1970's, signed on the stretcher "John J. Molino". I don't see a listing for the name so offer the painting as a decorative mid century item. It is quite a colorful and dramatic work and will beautifully complement your Eames Era modern decor. I think there's a little bit of Stuart Davis color and imagery in this. Note how the paint is raised in the hard-edge striping. The painting is a little dusty...

Oil painting of the front of a noted cafe, "La Bonne Entente", signed at lower right by artist "Vanet". This 8 1/4" by 10" (14 1/4" by 16 1/4" framed) work is by a Bulgarian woman artist by the name IVANKA PETROVA-TZEKOV, born 1956. She has been in France since 1983, painting colorful, figure-filled works of nightclubs and other scenes with multiple figures. She was a 1982 graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Sofia...

Oil on canvas painting, unframed, 24" by 18", titled on stretcher in artist's hand "TAKING IN THE SIGHTS ON ROMANTIC CHURCH STREET, CHARLESTON", and signed at lower left by the late San Diego county artist and poet NATALIE REED. Reed was a familiar name in the arts community in the San Diego area, creating paintings and sculptures and even murals in large scale for public buildings, including a work for the Federal Building in downtown San Francisco...

A circa mid 20th century oil on Masonite landscape painting of trees and a wide stream, 20" by 36" (25 1/2" by 31" framed), signed in Russian or possibly Ukrainian (or, Armenian?) at lower left. The work currently has a yellowish cast which appears to be nicotine from cigarette smoke. Were it to be cleaned the painting might well be totally a different color, but the yellowish "autumnal" tone seems to work on its own. Condition is very good with only a few light abrasions.

Oil on masonite painting of a small adobe structure in a landscape, 11" by 14" and narrow frame, signed in green at lower left corner "Clapp". The work is impressionistic, and the subject suggestive of New Mexico. I checked with an authority on the works of Canadian/California artist William Henry Clapp (1879-1954) to see if he thought this might be by that artist, which would enhance its value significantly...

Sold together as a pair, unframed oil on masonite board paintings of trees in landscapes, the larger piece 30" by 40", the smaller one 24" by 35 1/2", both by the noted Santa Barbara/Ventura area California artist DOUGLAS SHIVELY (1896-1991). Shively was born in Santa Paula among the citrus and avocado groves, and he chose to continue to live in that scenic area his entire life, despite many overseas voyages...

Richard Luney's paintings and prints of wildlife (generally African) have been popular since the 1970's. Luney, a Vietnam veteran, was already exhibiting by 1974 at Lord & Taylor Gallery in New York, according to a newspaper account of the time. The artist described his style as "contemporary surrealism". California-born, he would go to Lion Country Safari to study the animals, so as to paint the animals with greater accuracy...

Oil on canvas painting of classic red highland cattle in an extensive landscape, signed at lower left "Louis B. Hurt" and titled in pencil on stretcher "on the cliffs as Malaige" (Mallaig) (on the southwestern coast of Scotland near Skye). The work measures 20" by 30" on the stretchers and 28" by 38" in heavy attractive late 20th century framing. On the stretcher is written in chalk "April 4 - 30"...

Japanese deco period wood lacquer letter box, red/orange with a diagonal field of black sprinkled with mother of pearl and Tsugaru Nure texnique, bold design, signed as a dedication on back "Masakazu Chiba",

Dates c1930
Size H 1 1/2" x W 12" x D 9 1/4"

Watercolor on paper painting of a windmill, measuring 8 3/4" by 6" (14 1/2" by 11" framed), signed "A. L. Terrell" or similar at lower right, where the artist dated it "07" and added "The Hague". I do not see a listing by this name or similar possibilities, though there was an artist Adriaan Terhell who painted windmills in watercolor...

Watercolor on paper, 9 1/2" by 13 3/4" (16 1/2" by 20 1/2" as framed), the subject a 19th century shipwreck engulfed by waves on what appears to be an Atlantic ocean beach, some tiny sails visible on the distant horizon...

**ONE OF TWO WORKS BY THIS ARTIST IN MY SHOP** This is a mixed media work on paper, (watercolor and gouache) 8 1/2" by 12", 16" by 19 1/2" as framed, signed at lower right in pencil by the artist "J Cl Imbert". The landscape scene includes a few trees and a small river rendered in subdued colors. Thee primary medium is watercolor but there are tiny spots of gouache, and possibly charcoal in the tree branches, and scratching technique. No foxing or damage.

Oil on canvas painting of a young woman accompanied by a knight in a secluded landscape including a wall at left, 15" by 10" (arched top), 21 1/2" by 16 1/2" in modern day dark tasteful framing, signed at lower left center "TFaed". This could be an image of "Highland Mary" Campbell, to whom Scottish poet Robert Burns had a romantic attachment in the 1780's. I am standing behind this as a work of Scottish genre and history painter THOMAS FAED (1826-1900), although auction specialists in Scotlan...

Fresh to the market (acquired in southern Pennsylvania antique shop), an oil on canvas landscape of typical tawny gold hills in late summer, signed at lower left by the well-listed California artist MANUEL VALENCIA (1856-1935). The work measures 15 3/4" by 24" on the stretcher, 20 1/2" by 28 1/2" in present frame. Anyone who has traveled the state after the winter/early spring rains have ended will recognize the unreal gold hillsides against cloudless blue skies, which the artist has captured ...

A beautiful, impressive synthetic polymer on canvas painting of the so-called "Seven Sisters" stars of the Pleiades constellation of the night sky near Taurus the Bull, painted in the traditional dot and swirls pattern of Australian aboriginal art, by GABRIELLA POSSUM-NUNGARRAYI (1967-), the eldest daughter of famed Australian aboriginal artist Clifford Possum-Tjepaltjarri. The 29 1/2" by 43 1/2" work (32" by 45" in a contemporary black frame) is signed on the reverse, where it is titled "Milky...

Tender image of a young mother discretely nursing her baby, 25 1/4" by 22", (31 1/2" by 29" in attractive frame), signed at lower right by the Hungarian-born impressionist artist HUGO MATZENAUER (1923-2013). The painting appears to the casual eye to be in perfect condition, though a broad support band, essentially a patch, applied on reverse, shows that at one time there was evidently a tear in the middle through the baby's head and extending in a straight line or intermittently to the right edg...