Hank Ketcham

'Portrait of a Young Man', Dennis the Menace, Walt Disney, Figural Oil

1990

Signed lower right, 'Caswell' for Helen Rayburn Caswell (American, 1923-2018) and painted circa 1955. A substantial, mid-century figural oil by this listed California woman artist who showed her talent at an early age. In Saratoga, Caswell began a successful career as an artist and portrait painter, displaying in galleries in Carmel and teaching artist workshops. In addition to her work as a fine artist and portrait painter, Helen wrote and illustrated over 30 books for children and adults. In 1981, Helen moved to Occidental in Sonoma County where, in addition to continuing to paint and teach, she designed stained glass windows for the Sebastopol United Methodist Church. She was also commissioned to paint numerous murals including at St. Ignatius Church in San Francisco and for the Elizabeth Seton Center in Menlo Park.

Signed lower left with monogram, 'P.T.' for Pearl Took (American, 1928-2012); additionally signed verso, dated 1977 and titled 'Sheila Antoine'. Born in England, Pearl Took first st...

Signed lower left, 'Goetz' for Jack Goetz (American, born 1919); additionally signed, verso, dated 1998, titled 'Toreador', with artist information. A dramatic figural study of a proud, young toreador shown seated, wearing an embroidered vest and gazing directly towards the viewer. Goetz has painted and exhibited with success for many years and continues to paint at the age of 104. Speaking of himself, the artist says: "I studied arts and languages at Santa Monica College, taking classes in oil and watercolor painting, sculpture, ceramics, art history and music. At the same time, I studied with master painter Sergei Bongart. Because he taught many people in the movie business, I had fun meeting and painting with people...

Signed center right, in the 53 stub, 'Childers' for Robert Childers (American, 1924-1984) and dated 1954. Robert Childers first served in the U.S. Navy for six years after graduating from Medford High School in 1941. Following World War II, he studied at the Philadelphia Museum School of Art where he was the recipient of a gold medal and, upon graduating from the Museum's school, was the recipient of a Cresson scholarship and attended the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, where he received his Masters degree. Childers continued his education with classes at Fleisher Memorial and performed for two years with the Philadelphia Dance Theater. Following his studies, he worked in fabrics, film production, toys and illustrations for publishers with du Pont in New York City. At the same time he maintained a studio and old twine factory over the Cherry Lane Theater. He lived in Greenwich Village for 19 years before accepting a position developing new products for American Greetings Inc. While there he designed the Hobbie Holly cloth doll...

Initialed lower left, 'A.S.' for Anton Schroder (Danish, 1893-1965) and dated 1953. A substantial, modernist oil painting of a young woman, shown seated and gazing to her left with ...

Signed lower left, 'W. Schwartz' for Walter Erwin Otto Schwartz (Danish, 1889-1958), dated 1935 and inscribed 'Skagen' lower right. A substantial, psychologically penetrating portrait of a young woman with braids, shown dressed in a charcoal wool coat and wearing a copper-colored neck-scarf. The self-possessed sitter stands and meets the viewers gaze directly, proving herself an unusually confident subject for this noted Danish Modernist. Nephew of the Danish academic artist, Frans Schwartz, Walter Schwartz grew up surrounded by the painters who frequented the Danish art colony on the picturesque island of Skagen. Walter first studied formally (1904-8) with Michael Ancher...

This horizontal painting on canvas contains several layers of color, with textures and transparencies, representing a dreamlike scene where fantastic animals and humans in yellow and...

THE PRIESTS Size: 60 x 48 cm (including frame) Oil on canvas A brilliantly painted mid century figurative portrait of 2 priests, exec...

*UK BUYERS WILL PAY AN ADDITIONAL 20% VAT ON TOP OF THE ABOVE PRICE The Fortune Teller by Orovida Pissarro (1893-1968) Oil on canvas 60 x 73 cm (23 ⁵/₈ x 28 ³/₄ inches) Signed and d...

*UK BUYERS WILL PAY AN ADDITIONAL 20% VAT ON TOP OF THE ABOVE PRICE Nylons and Bric-a-Brac by Orovida Pissarro (1893-1968) Oil on canvas 73 x 60 cm (28 ³/₄ x 23 ⁵/₈ inches) Signed and dated upper right Orovida 1951 Provenance Estate of the artist With John Bensusan-Butt, cousin of the artist G Hassell, 25th November 1988 With John Noott, 10th June 1992 Literature K L Erickson, Orovida Pissarro: Painter and Print-Maker with A Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings, (doctoral thesis), Oxford, 1992, Appendices, no. 141 (illustrated) Exhibition London, Redfern Gallery, Recent Paintings: Orovida, 3rd-26th January 1952, no. 51 Artist biography Orovida Camille Pissarro, Lucien and Esther Pissarro’s only child, was the first woman in the Pissarro family as well as the first of her generation to become an artist. Born in Epping, England in 1893, she lived and worked predominantly in London where she became a prominent member of several British arts clubs and societies. She first learned to paint in the Impressionist style of her father, but after a brief period of formal study with Walter Sickert in 1913 she renounced formal art schooling. Throughout her career, Orovida always remained outside of any mainstream British art movements. Much to Lucien's disappointment she soon turned away from naturalistic painting and developed her own unusual style combining elements of Japanese, Chinese, Persian and Indian art. Her rejection of Impressionism, which for the Pissarro family had become a way of life, together with the simultaneous decision to drop her famous last name and simply use Orovida as a ‘nom de peintre’, reflected a deep desire for independence and distance from the weight of the family legacy. Orovida's most distinctive and notable works were produced from the period of 1919 to 1939 using her own homemade egg tempera applied in thin, delicate washes to silk, linen or paper and sometimes embellished with brocade borders. These elegant and richly decorative works generally depict Eastern, Asian and African subjects...

The Courtship by Maria Tort Xirau (Catalan, 1924-2018) signed lower corner dated 1991 oil painting on canvas, framed canvas: 42 x 29.5 inches framed: 48 x 36 inches Very good condition. Provenance: from the artists estate, France Maria Tort Xirau ( Figueres , 26 May 1924 – 6 June 2018) was a painter and photographic and cinematographic editor from Emporda. She developed a long professional career in leading photographic studios, in films for The Walt Disney Company and also in advertising claims for companies such as Educa Borràs . The second half of her life was dedicated to painting, exercising a luminous, varied and nostalgic chromatic style in the techniques of oil and watercolor and with exhibitions of her work in Barcelona and Figueres. The Biographical Dictionary of Art Empordà defined Tort Xirau's work as "a painting that is characterized by the strength of the strokes, the vividness and brightness of the chromatic range and exudes mastery of the photographic technique. A mixture of nostalgia and tenderness is evident.". Tort Xirau's paintings were exhibited in the two towns where she spent her life: in 1992 she exhibited his work at the Caixa de Figueres Exhibition Hall. Two years later, she did it at Sala Conex in Barcelona and in 2007 and 2013 the Consortium of Sant Ferran Castle and the Figueres Town Council organized tribute exhibitions. In 2013, she ceded to the council of the city of Figueres her work Mercat de la plaça de l'Ajuntament , watercolored on paper around 1991, which is exhibited in the rest room of the building. On June 6, 2018, she died in Figueres at the age of 94, receiving the apostolic blessing . Two years after her death, part of her paintings were included in the exhibition Paint, create, live. Women artists in the Alt...

The Embrace by Maria Tort Xirau (Catalan, 1924-2018) signed lower corner dated 1991 oil painting on canvas, framed canvas: 42 x 29.5 inches framed: 4...