Marjory Hillman

'Seventies Siblings', Pair of Oil Portraits, Period 1970's fashion, Great Dane

1975

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 right 'K. Buzzell Benepe' and dated 1936. A psychologically penetrating character study by this early California woman artist. Benepe captures the essential sensitivity of her subject as she gently cradles her doll while gazing at the viewer with both candor and charm. Katherine Buzzell Benepe first studied at the University of California in Los Angeles and, later, with Nicolai Fechin...

Signed lower right, "Di Gesu", for Victor Di Gesu (American, 1914-1988); further signed and titled verso, and bearing original exhibition label. A substantial figural oil showing Victor di Gesu's wife, the artist Janet Ament, with a white shawl over her knees and seated cross-legged in front of a large ficus. A major work by this notable California Fauve...

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 verso, 'Ant McNaught', (American, born 1952), titled 'Camille VI', and dated 2018-2020. This California Post-Impressionist and Abstract Expressionist artist has studied at the Esalen Institute with Erin Gafill...

Initialed lower right 'A.H.'; signed verso, "Alfred Helberger", inscribed "Gertrúd" and dated 1914. Bearing the original 1962 exhibition label from the Senator fur Folksbildung, Ber...

'Island of Broken Toys' 2019, a diptych contemporary oil on canvas painting by Tamera Avery, whose paintings are created with wit and wisdom. Avery's work...

Ralph Pallen Coleman (American 1892-1968) A Monumental Painting of "The Resurrection of Jesus Christ", circa 1940. Measuring 102" high x 77" wide (framed), this massive oil on canvas painting is truly one of a kind. The quality throughout the entire painting is masterful. The painting is very realistically painted with bright, vibrant, colors which shows the artists true passion and love for Jesus and Christianity. Ralph Pallen Coleman was an American painter and illustrator. His career spanned more than half a century during which he illustrated stories for many magazines, and later, religious illustrations and paintings which provided images of Christianity to millions of people during the 1950s-1960's. A native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he grew up and lived there throughout his 75 years. He received his formal art education at the Philadelphia School...

Bruce Adams was a painter, art educator, and writer. Born in Buffalo, N.Y., in 1952, he received a B.S. in 1976 and an M.A. in 1983 from Buffalo State College. Adams’s work is includ...

Provenance: Charles H. and Virginia Baldwin, Claremont, Colorado Springs, Colorado ca. 1907-1934; thence by descent until sold in 1949 to: Charles Blevins Davis, Claremont (renamed Trianon), Colorado Springs 1949 -until gifted in 1952 to: The Poor Sisters of Saint Francis, Trianon, Colorado Springs, 1952 until acquired, 1960, by: John W. Metzger, Trianon, renamed as the Trianon School of Fine Arts, Colorado Springs, 1960-1967; when transferred to: The Metzger Family Foundation, Trianon Art Museum, Denver, 1967 - 2004; thence by descent in the Metzger Family until 2015 Exhibited: Trianon Art Museum, Denver (until 2004) The present work is a spectacular jewel-like canvas by Amigoni, rich in delicate pastel colors, most likely a modello for an altarpiece either lost or never painted. In it the Madonna stands firmly upon a cloud in the heavens, her Child resting on a delicate veil further supported by a cloud, as he gently wraps his arm around his mother’s neck. From above angels prepare to lower flowers and a wreath, while other angels and seraphim surrounding the two joyfully cavort. Dr. Annalisa Scarpa, author of the forthcoming monograph on Jacopo Amigoni...

Inscribed, upper left: “Miss Laura Keppel” Provenance: Commissioned from the artist and by descent in the Keppel family estate, Lexham Hall, Norfolk, to: Major Bertram William Arnol...

Provenance: Torres Family Collection, Asunción, Paraguay, ca. 1967-2017 While the genre of portraiture flourished in the New World, very few examples of early Spanish colonial portraits have survived to the present day. This remarkable painting is a rare example of female portraiture, depicting a member of the highest echelons of society in Cuzco during the last quarter of the 17th century. Its most distinctive feature is the false beauty mark (called a chiqueador) that the sitter wears on her left temple. Chiqueadores served both a cosmetic and medicinal function. In addition to beautifying their wearers, these silk or velvet pouches often contained medicinal herbs thought to cure headaches. This painting depicts an unidentified lady from the Creole elite in Cuzco. Her formal posture and black costume are both typical of the established conventions of period portraiture and in line with the severe fashion of the Spanish court under the reign of Charles II, which remained current until the 18th century. She is shown in three-quarter profile, her long braids tied with soft pink bows and decorated with quatrefoil flowers, likely made of silver. Her facial features are idealized and rendered with great subtly, particularly in the rosy cheeks. While this portrait lacks the conventional coat of arms or cartouche that identifies the sitter, her high status is made clear by the wealth of jewels and luxury materials present in the painting. She is placed in an interior, set off against the red velvet curtain tied in the middle with a knot on her right, and the table covered with gold-trimmed red velvet cloth at the left. The sitter wears a four-tier pearl necklace with a knot in the center with matching three-tiered pearl bracelets and a cross-shaped earing with three increasingly large pearls. She also has several gold and silver rings on both hands—one holds a pair of silver gloves with red lining and the other is posed on a golden metal box, possibly a jewelry box. The materials of her costume are also of the highest quality, particularly the white lace trim of her wide neckline and circular cuffs. The historical moment in which this painting was produced was particularly rich in commissions of this kind. Following his arrival in Cuzco from Spain in the early 1670’s, bishop Manuel de Mollinedo y Angulo actively promoted the emergence of a distinctive regional school of painting in the city. Additionally, with the increase of wealth and economic prosperity in the New World, portraits quickly became a way for the growing elite class to celebrate their place in society and to preserve their memory. Portraits like this one would have been prominently displayed in a family’s home, perhaps in a dynastic portrait gallery. We are grateful to Professor Luis Eduardo Wuffarden for his assistance cataloguing this painting on the basis of high-resolution images. He has written that “the sober palette of the canvas, the quality of the pigments, the degree of aging, and the craquelure pattern on the painting layer confirm it to be an authentic and representative work of the Cuzco school of painting...