Circa 1900 watercolor of the heart of Venice, Italy, including the familiar sights of canal and gondola, St. Mark's Basilica church and the famous clock tower on the Piazza San Marco, signed at lower left "E.K. Coomber". This work measures 12" by 6 1/4" inside the mat and 18 1/2" by 12" framed. The artist though apparently unknown was talented and a master of the watercolor medium. The artwork is clean, although the photos suggest otherwise; there is foxing and soil on the inside of the glass...

A fine landscape drawing in pastel by a skilled hand, Swiss-born artist MAXIM (MAXIMILIAN) SEIBOLD. The drawing measures 9 1/4" by 12 1/2" (13 1/4" by 16 1/2" in attractive probably original old gold framing---very light wear). Seibold was a competent and talented artist, very active around the year 1920, who seems to have left behind little biographical information. Born in Switzerland, he evidently came to America at least by the 'teens, as drawings of Florida and elsewhere are known...

For the den or man cave of the fly fisherman, here is a rustic painting on plywood panel of a trout leaping to catch what appears to be a large yellow moth or butterfly flitting just above the water's surface. The painting is actually titled "Butterfly" at bottom center. At right corner is the name of the artist, W. L. Mohl or Mahl, and "White Pine Pk. 1939". There is a "White Pine Peak" in both Utah and Nevada. This was found in Fresno, in central California...

Oil on masonite panel painting of a Texas landscape with oaks and bluebonnet in the spring, 16" by 20", unframed, signed at lower left by artist Nancy McDonald. According to the daughter of the artist, Nancy's paintings were sold in the San Antonio area. She belonged to the River Art Group for many years. McDonald passed away in 2011. The painting is attractive and squarely within the "Bluebonnet School" tradition of Texas art...

Oil on board painting titled on reverse "MORNING FOG", with artist's Laguna Beach stamp nearby, 16" by 20" (22" by 26" framed), signed lower left and dated there 1954, the subject a coast with rocky promontories and foreground beach, by listed artist Edward L. Fernsten (1892-1980). Fernsten was born in Oakville, California in the Napa Valley. He was largely self-taught but did have some instruction time under Boardman Robinson and Robert Graham...

Oil on canvas landscape of a snowy peak towering above lower mountains, a lone figure in a row boat at lower right in the lake, signed at lower right "Wm. Rennison" or similar. The early 20th century work measures 14" by 24" (17 3/4" by 28" in modern-day antique style framing). The work reminds of the Hudson River School. If I am reading the name correctly, I am not able to locate a listed artist by that name...

This is a very nicely done watercolor painting of a young woman in a flowered hat, holding more roses in her hands, executed in the style of the noted illustrator and artist Harrison Fisher (1875-1934). The work, 10 3/4" by 8 3/4" (16 1/4" by 14 1/2" framed) likely dates to about 1905 or 1910. It is laid down on a card and the mat is laid over that. I have peeked underneath and do not see any evidence of a signature. A fine addition to a lady's dressing area. Condition is very good...

Watercolor painting of Bridgeway in Sausalito, San Francisco's neighbor across the Golden Gate. This would be a view looking south in the direction of San Francisco and the bridge. The building at center would have been called Ondine's (high end restaurant) during the 1970's and 1980's when this may have been painted (I remember, as I used to live in Sausalito at that time). The unframed piece measures 11 1/2" by 15"...

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. The artist's talents have been specially recognized by the Moulin Rouge n...

Jessie Buchanan Outsider art painting on panel "B" for benign or bump . Painted c 2003 on cigar box top panel framed signed JB overall size just over 15" by 13" frame.

A peaceful scene---slow moving creek in a landscape, bordered by trees in what appears to be early autumn, signed at lower left center by Massachusetts listed artist JOHN J. FRANCIS (1862-1933). The work is competently painted by an artist who seems to have specialized in the watercolor medium. His works are often encountered in New England. Auction records seem to be hopeless entangled with another American artist with the same name, born in 1889 and died 1939. That Francis was more of an i...

Pastel on paper drawing of a blonde, very Nordic-looking woman, 17 1/2" by 13 1/2" (25 1/2" by 21 1/2" as framed), signed at lower left Ruth Sammons. I cannot find any information on the artist but she was surely talented. The drawing is very strong and in excellent, fresh condition, and it is very nicely framed with a burl wood type frame and quality matting. The only "Sammons" that comes to mind as a listed artist is Carl Sammons, the California plein air landscapist; I speculate, and it is...

An oil on canvas painting of a clipper in full sail on the high seas, 16" by 20" (19 3/4" by 23 3/4" framed), signed at lower right in red by artist PAUL MASON and dated there with what appears as 1936. The work features attractive impressionist technique and colors. A search for information on the artist was not productive. There is a framer's label from Boston's Beacon Hill area, so we can likely assume that the artist was a New Englander. The surface is dry and there are some tiny losses ...

A nicely executed charcoal drawing of a nude young woman, 20" by 14" inside the mat, 31" by 25" as framed in black wood, signed at lower right and dated there "12. V. 2006". The handwriting appears to be European---perhaps, I am thinking, Greek. There is a hint of pale color in the face area. Condition is excellent. A few insects managed to get in under the glass at lower left margin, where they expired.

Gouache on board painting, 10" by 16" image with 1" margins, unframed, signed at lower left by well-listed, often-auctioned California artist HARRY CASSIE BEST (1863-1936), the work featuring an unusual subject for the artist, an Italian scene---the Bay of Naples with Vesuvius in the distance. I do no see any information regarding Best having made any trips to Italy, so this could be a work resulting from the artist's having seen prints or original works depicting the famous Italian vista. Hughe...

An ink on paper drawing of a man holding a cigarette, unsigned, 6 3/8 " by 5 3/4" inside the mat (12 1/2" by 10 1/2" simply framed). When I first saw this my thoughts drifted to accomplished ink line drawings by the American master artist Ben Shahn, or, possibly, German Expressionism (Georg Grosz, etc.). The drawing was found in Oregon, with no further information available. It probably dates to about 1950 give or take a few years, and is probably American. The work is slipping around under ...

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. She was a traveler, painting along the way ...

Pastel on paper on board, of grapes and an apple on the ground, 11 7/8" by 9 3/4" and a simple narrow frame, unsigned, but very likely by noted mid 19th century American artist JOHN S. BOWER, known today primarily for his very distinctive studies of fruit in a landscape. See my shop for several other works by this artist, some of which are signed. A number of works by him have passed through the Skinner auction house in Boston over the years, placed in Americana and folk art sales. This is a...