"Aquarium"

A large, original vintage Swiss exhibition poster by celebrated graphic designer, Herbert Matter, for an exhibition at the Museum of Art & Craft in Zu...

A miniature 19th century 3.5 inch diameter pocket terrestrial globe by C. Abel-Klinger, Nuremberg, Germany, in English for the English speaking markets. Signed with cartouche reading...

A striking pre-war collage ski poster featuring both photographic and graphic images advertising the alpine resort of Wengen, Switzerland, featuring an e...

A rare, giant original French horse racing poster or mural, lithograph on paper, mounted on linen, in four panels joined to form one large image b...

An oil on board painting by Australian painter W. Hayward Veal (1913-1968), entitled Nocturne No. 4, depicting a night scene of a park and tree in the foreground with a man walking, ...

An English Regency neoclassical Egyptian Revival overmantel mirror, ebonized and parcel-gilt, of rectangular form, with pilasters on each sid...

Super rare and impressive pair of large cotton ''gordijnstof' curtains, designed in 1963 by world renowned Dutch painter and sculptor Karel Appel (1921-2006) for the textile company Hermann Hartman & Co of Amsterdam. This extremely rare, original repeat print textile is documented in the Stedelijk museum's textile collection under object nubmer KNA 1998, please see image 2. Each curtain measures 56.7" X 83.85" (144cm X 213cm). 'Gordijnstof' translates as "curtain fabric" confirming that this textile was originally designed by Appel specifically for use as curtains however being of such an impressive dimension these examples could equally be used as wall hangings ,as photographed, or mounted on both sides of a screen or mounted and framed as an art work in its own right , a practice which is becoming increasingly commonplace as high end textile designs by important artists are becoming increasingly valued , appreciated and sought after in the marketplace. Appel's paintings and sculptures can be found in the collections of some of the world's most prominent museums including the Museum of Modern art in New York and Tate Modern ,London. Each curtain is of a very impressive scale with each measuring 56.7 " (144 cm) X 83.85" (213cm). The curtains are signed on the banding KUNSTENAAR DESSIN ONTWERP Karel Appel, HARTMAN PRINT, AMSTERDAM. Another of Appel's designs for Hermann Hartman,Amsterdam can be found in the collection of the national textile museum in Holland. Please see image 9. Even a small sample of this 1963 textile in good condition would be hard to find today but to find two large scale Appel curtains intact and in beautiful unfaded condition with no staining or fraying must be next to unique today. This is a very rare find and certainly a unique opportunity. Image 10 shows Karel Appel in his atelier in New York in 1966. Provenance: These curtains come from the private collection of a retired Professor from Oxford,UK. Biography: Karel Appel was an Expressionist Dutch painter. He was a member of the famous Cobra, the European group of the late 1940s to early 1950s, which promoted spontaneous expressionism and abstract features in painting. Appel's paintings incorporate applications of vibrant, violent colors often possessing a primal, childlike quality or a schizophrenic innocence. Later in life, Appel turned to creating figurative sculptures. Examples of his work can be seen in the Museum of Modern Art, New York City, Boymans-Van Beuningen Museum, Rotterdam, and other collections. Expressionist painter Karel Appel made a name for himself in the world of painting by creating a majestic collection of highly distinguishable work for which he became internationally renowned. From the start, art curators could not ignore Appel's work, which has been exhibited at major museums around the world, including New York's Museum of Modern Art, the Manhattan-based Guggenheim Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and the Tate Gallery in London. Though Appel is widely recognized as one of the best-known Dutch Expressionist painters of all time, he was also a passionate printmaker, sculptor, and ceramicist. Karel Appel’s childhood and early life Christiaan Karel Appel was born on April 25, 1921, in his parents’ house at 7 Dapperstraat, Amsterdam. His father, Jan Appel, owned a barbershop. His mother, born Johanna Chevalier, was a descendant of French Huguenots. Karel Appel had three brothers. He studied art from 1940 to 1943 at the Rejksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten, the Royal Academy of Fine Arts during the German occupation and befriended young painter Corneille and, some years later, Constant. His parents opposed his choice to become an artist, leading him to leave home. This was also necessary to hide himself from the German police so that he would not be picked up and sent to Germany to work in the weapon industry. Appel produced his first real painting on canvas, which was a still life of a fruit basket at the age of fourteen. On his fifteenth birthday, his wealthy uncle Karel Chevalier gave him a paint set and an easel and some lessons on painting. Career. In 1946, his first solo show was held in Groningen, Netherlands. He also participated in the Jonge Schilders exhibition at the Stedelijk Museum of Amsterdam nd created a buzz in the art world, as it generated a huge scandal and many objections in the press and public. About this time, Appel was influenced first by Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse, then by the French brute-art artist Jean Dubuffet. In 1947, he started sculpting with various used materials and painted them in bright colors such as white, red, yellow, blue and black. Karel Appel became the member of Nederlandse Experimentele Group in Holland along with the young Dutch painters Anton Rooskens...

A wonderfully composed and richly colored, limited edition woodblock print by famed Japanese artist Junichiro Sekino. This print, which is titled "Aquarium", is signed and sealed/ stamped in red at the lower right. We believe this was created in 1956 although it could have been made in 1946 (there are some conflicting dates on this image but we assume 1956 is correct) and comes from a limited edition of 50 prints (the exact number of this particular print and date/year is likely listed in pencil below the matt but we have not removed the print from the frame to confirm the exact number/year). The very image is widely considered by many Sekino critics and scholars to be one of Sekino's masterpieces. It is an exquisite and rare/hard-to-find work. Junichiro Sekino was largely considered, along with Kiyoshi Saito, to be one of Japan's paramount 20th century master print artists. Both were prominent leaders of the Sosaku Hanga movement. Sekino's works can be found in many museums including: The Museum of Modern Art, N. Y., the Art Institute Chicago, the Museum of Fine Art, Boston, the British Museum, and the Portland Art Museum among many other Fine museums throughout the world. Would be a fantastic addition to any modern Japanese print...

Two small fragments of pre-Columbian textiles in shadow box frames. Both have strong geometrical patterns in the style of Nazca culture, located in the southern coast of nowadays Per...

Naomi Clark paints abstract, vibrant, amoeba-like shapes in single solid colors on silk noil fabric to create Amoeba Curtains Fabric. Sold by the yard (36" x...

An exquisite and outstanding 17th century tapestry in silk and wool from Belgium. Signed "BB" (Brabant - Belge) and "LeClerc". Very unique for its subject matter and coloration. Wond...

Beautiful hand embroidery silk textile made of hand loom silk background all embroider with dense silk geometric motifs all-over. Great piece could be used for variety decorative fun...