Early 1900s Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Signed with stamp, J.V. 7-5/8" x 4-3/4" art 19" x 15-1/4" frame Jacques Villon (French, 1875 - 1963) French painter, printmaker and illustrator. The oldest of three brothers who became major 20th-century artists, including Raymond Duchamp-Villon and Marcel Duchamp, he learnt engraving at the age of 16 from his maternal grandfather, Emile-Frédéric Nicolle (1830-94), a ship-broker who was also a much appreciated amateur artist. In January 1894, having completed his studies at the Lycée Corneille in Rouen, he was sent to study at the Faculty of Law of the University of Paris, but within a year he was devoting most of his time to art, already contributing lithographs to Parisian illustrated newspapers such as Assiette au beurre. At this time he chose his pseudonym: Jack (subsequently Jacques) in homage to Alphonse Daudet’s novel Jack (1876) and Villon in appreciation of the 15th-century French poet François Villon...

MAXWELL ARMFIELD, RWS. (1882-1972) Siegfried Signed, inscribed and dated l.c.: MAXWELL ARMFIELD/MDCCCCIV [1904] PARIS;SIEGFRIED/ACT III Pencil and watercolour Framed 24 by 16 cm., 9 ½ by 6 ¼ in. (frame size 42.5 by 34.5 cm., 16 ¾ by 13 ½ in.) Provenance: Fine Art Society, London, 1979. Born at Ringwood, Hampshire, of Quaker parents, his father being a milling engineer, Armfield studied at the Birmingham School of Art under Arthur Gaskin and Joseph Southall who taught him the tempera technique he was to practice for the rest of his life. In September 1902, after visiting Italy at the suggestion of Gaskin, he went to Paris, enrolling at the Academie de la Grande Chaumiere and sharing a studio with three other students – Norman Wilkinson (also from Birmingham), Keith Henderson and the sculptor Gaston Lachaise. Returning to London the following year, he embarked on the series of one-man exhibitions that were henceforth to mark his career, showing first at Robert Ross...

Follower of Antoine Calbet. French ( b.1860 - d.1944 ). Theseus and Ariadne, Circa 1890 - 1910. Mixed Media. Watercolour, Gouache & Pastel Image size 16.5 inches x 11.2 inches ( 42cm...

Two Men on a Street Early 20th Century w/c Fauvism Social Realism American Scene Note: We have three similar in style works from 1911 available now on 1stDibs. All are framed identi...

Le Moulin de la Galette by Ludovic Rodo Pissarro (1878 - 1952) Watercolour and ink on paper 21 x 15.7 cm (8 ¼ x 6 ¼ inches) Signed with Estate stamp and inscribed Elisabeth lower ri...

America's greatest female illustrator draws a heartwarming picture of a mother putting to bed her child. Motherly love towards their children is the artist's most iconic theme. This ...

Themistokles von Eckenbrecher (1842 Athens - 1921 Goslar), Norwegian pine grove, 1901. Watercolor on blue-green paper, 30 x 22 cm. Signed, dated and inscribed in his own hand "TvE. Fagermes [i.e. Fagermes]. 26.6.[19]01." - Slight crease throughout at left margin, otherwise in good condition. About the artwork Themistokles von Eckenbrecher often traveled to Norway to study the nature that fascinated him there. On June 26, 1901, near the southern Norwegian town of Fagernes, in the summer evening sun, he saw a small pine grove, which he immediately captured in a watercolor. He exposed the trees growing on a small hill in front of the background, so that the pines completely define the picture and combine to form a tense motif. The tension comes from the contrast of form and color. The trunks, growing upward, form a vertical structure that is horizontally penetrated by the spreading branches and the pine needles, which are rendered as a plane. This structural tension is further intensified by the color contrast between the brown-reddish iridescent trunks and branches and the green-toned needlework. Themistokles von Eckenbrecher, however, does not use the observed natural scene as an inspiring model for a dance of color and form that detaches itself from the motif and thus treads the path of abstracting modernism. Its inner vitality is to be brought to light and made aesthetically accessible through the work of art. It is precisely in order to depict the inner vitality of nature that von Eckenbrecher chooses the technique of watercolor, in which the individual details, such as the needles, are not meticulously worked out, but rather a flowing movement is created that unites the contrasts. The trees seem to have formed the twisted trunks out of their own inner strength as they grew, creatingthose tense lineations that the artist has put into the picture. The inner strength continues in the branches and twigs, culminating in the upward growth of the needles. At the same time, the trunks, illuminated by the setting sun, seem to glow from within, adding an almost dramatic dimension to the growing movement. Through the artwork, nature itself is revealed as art. In order to make nature visible as art in the work, von Eckenbrecher exposes the group of trees so that they are bounded from the outside by an all-encompassing contour line and merge into an areal unity that enters into a figure-ground relationship with the blue-greenish watercolor paper. The figure-ground relationship emphasizes the ornamental quality of the natural work of art, which further enforces the artwork character of the group of trees. With the presentation of Themistokles von Eckenbrecher's artistic idea and its realization, it has become clear that the present watercolor is not a study of nature in the sense of a visual note by the artist, which might then be integrated into a larger work context, but a completely independent work of art. This is why von Eckenbrecher signed the watercolor. In addition, it is marked with a place and a date, which confirms that this work of nature presented itself to him in exactly this way at this place at this time. At the same time, the date and place make it clear that the natural work of art has been transferred into the sphere of art and thus removed from the time of the place of nature. About the artist Themistocles' parents instilled a life of travel in their son, who is said to have spoken eleven languages. His father, who was interested in ancient and oriental culture, was a doctor and had married Francesca Magdalena Danelon, an Italian, daughter of the British consul in Trieste. During a stay in Athens - Gustav von Eckenbrecher was a friend of Heinrich von Schliemann and is said to have given him crucial clues as to the location of Troy - Themistokles saw the light of day in 1842. After an interlude in Berlin, where Themistokles was educated at the English-American School, the journey began again. From 1850 to 1857 the family lived in Constantinople, after which the father opened a practice in Potsdam, where Themistokles, who wanted to become a painter, was taught by the court painter Carl Gustav Wegener. In 1861 the von Eckenbrechers left Potsdam and settled in Düsseldorf. There Themistokles received two years of private tuition from Oswald Aschenbach, who greatly admired the talented young artist. After his artistic training, he undertook extensive travels, often accompanied by Prince Peter zu Sayn-Wittgenstein, which took him to northern and eastern Europe, but above all to the Middle East and even to South America. The paintings that resulted from these journeys established his artistic reputation and led to his participation in large panoramas such as the 118 x 15 metre Entry of the Mecca Caravan into Cairo, painted for the City of Hamburg in 1882. 1882 was also the start of a total of 21 study trips to Scandinavia, most of them to Norway, and the unique Norwegian landscape with its rugged fjords became a central motif in his work. Along with Anders Askevold and Adelsteen Normann...

"And wasn't it good for a boy to be Out to old Aunt Mary's" Charcoal and watercolor on artist illustration board, 1900 Initialed and dated lower right: H.C.C. 1900 by the artist (see...

Abraham Walkowitz (1878–1965) A Sailing Ship at the Port, 1909 Watercolor on cardboard Signed lower right 'A. Walkowitz', in pencil '1909' Dimensions: 33.5 x 56 cm Born: Tyumen, Ru...

Provenance David Ramus, Ltd.; Menconi and Schoelkopf Fine Art, New York; Private collection, Atlanta, Georgia, until 2010 Exhibitions Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine ...

Artist: F. Denner Smith (English, fl. 1901-1908) Title: "Canal in Norfolk Broads" *Signed by Smith lower right Circa: 1905 Medium: Original Gouache/Watercolor Painting on paper Framing: Not framed, but beautifully matted with hand decorated archival French matting...

This early 20th-century mixed media by K & K Hof Atelier Pietzner of Vienna depicts a respectable family within a neoclassical garden setting. With the advent of photography, afflue...

"Heah's a Few Little Trinkets I Picked Up," or "Phil and the Judge" Probable book or magazine illustration showing the character named Phil in front of a judge. Artwork Dimension...

Signed lower right, “Ch. Henrida” for Charles Henrida (French, 1854-1924) and painted circa 1900. Unframed and displayed in a beveled, ivory mat with gilt inner slip. Matted dimens...

Paysage de l'Aven by Ludovic-Rodo Pissarro (1878-1952) Watercolour and pencil on paper 27 x 38 cm (10 ⅝ x 15 inches) Signed lower right, Ludovic Rodo Executed circa 1904 This work ...

Signature: Signed Lower Left Dimensions: 21.00" x 14.00" Price on Request- The work was published in Cosmopolitan December 1905 from a story by Annie Hamilton Donnell, "The Expedi...

Scottish female illustrator Annie French renders a charming cropped portrait of a bride in an Art Nouveau / Aubrey Beardsley style with curved theme borde...

Statue of Vishnu Garuda, Bali, 1904 Signed with initials Pencil and ink on paper, 21.4 x 21.3 cm Literature: Bruce W. Carpenter, W.O.J. Nieuwenkamp. First European Artist in Bali,...

Born in Amsterdam in 1868, Hendrick Maarten Krabbe attended the Academie des Beauz-Arts d’Amsterdam where he studied with August Allebe. Krabbe was known for his genre paintings, por...

Emily Sargent Capri, circa 1900 Watercolor on paper 18 1/2 x 12 1/2 inches Provenance The artist Family of the artist by descent Adelson Galleries Inc., New York Collection of John ...

Emily Sargent Moroccan Market, circa 1900 Watercolor on paper 9 1/2 x 13 1/2 inches Provenance The artist Family of the artist by descent Adelson Galleries Inc., New York Collection...

19th Century Street Art - British children's book author and illustrator Edith Farmiloe depicts a waif-like girl - Cockney Gutter Imp - who is disheveled. The artist draws her i...

Watercolor and pencil on buff wove watercolor paper, 10 x 8 inches (255 x 203 mm). In good condition with overall minor toning. Some watercolor paint splatters on the verso, contem...

B.J.O. NORDFELDT (Swedish/American 1878 – 1955) (WINDMILL AND WORKERS). c.1900. Color pastel on colored paper, unsigned. 22 ¼ x 15”. Sheet: 24 ½ x 18 ¼”. In 1900 Nordfeldt studied ...

1905 Pastel on paper mounted on canvas Signed lower left “L. Lhermitte”

SOLD UNFRAMED City View by Ludovic-Rodo Pissarro (1878-1952) Watercolour and ink on paper 17.8 x 22.9 cm (7 x 9 inches) Signed with Estate stamp Executed circa 1904 Provenance Priv...

A turn-of-the-century fantasy illustration by female illustrator May Audubon Post features a charming fairy with expanded wings resting on Lilly s...

Vase de fleurs by Paul Ranson (1864-1909) Pastel on paper 46.5 x 41.5 cm (18 ¹/₄ x 16 ³/₈ inches) Signed lower right, P. Ranson Executed circa 1900 Proven...

Untitled (Woman Removing Her Stockings) Conte crayon on paper. c. 1905 Signed lower right: E Shinn Provenance: James Graham & Sons, New York (labels) Ronald C. Sloter, Columbus Colum...

Maximilien Luce (French, 1858-1941) Pencil and charcoal drawing of a shop with goods along the coast line of northern France. A cat can be seen looking at a man far off at the entran...

Medium: Watercolor, Graphite, and Wash on Board Signature: Signed Lower Left "The Study Hour (The College Girl at Her Studies)." Illustration for the Colleg...

William Glackens, 1870-1938 M. Durand... Arrived on the Scene, 1903 Ink, wash, charcoal and Chinese white on paper Signed (at lower left): W. Glackens...

An early-20th-century, landscape showing a view of the coastline at Moss Beach in Monterey County with slate-blue skies overhead and a view towards a stand ...

Date: 1903 Medium: Mixed Media on Paper Sight Size 24.25" x 15.50", Framed 31.35" x 22.50" Signature: Signed Lower Left Scribner's Magazine story illustration, November 1911, 1903 ...

Date: 1907 Medium: Mixed Media on Board Dimensions: 18.25" x 15.25" Signature: Signed Lower Right Provenance- From the Helen Hay Whitney estate (the author of The Bed-Time Book for ...

William Glackens, 1870-1938 Criticizing Ernest Lawson’s Art Class, ca. 1907 Watercolor and pencil on paper Signed (at lower left): Glackens Inscribed ...

Étang de Cernay by Ludovic-Rodo Pissarro (1878 - 1952) Watercolour and pencil on paper 24.5 x 35.5 cm (9 ⅝ x 13 ⅝ inches) Inscribed and dated lower right, Étang de Cernay 12 Aug 05 ...

Date: 1903 Medium: Mixed Media on Board Sight Size 18.00" x 15.75", Framed 24.50" x 22.25" Signature: Signed Lower Right Betty Sage, Rhymes of Real Children, New York, 1903, illustr...

Classic c1902 pen & ink sketch depicting two smartly hunt- attired Brit 'chaps' discussing, 'You look as if you had sport in at the kill?... Well, no I was in at the ditch and in at ...

Gouache work on paper New natural wooden Frame Total size with frame is 52,5 x 67,5 cm

Uxbridge Road, London by Ludovic-Rodo Pissarro (1878-1952) Watercolour on paper 23.5 x 31 cm (9 ¹/₄ x 12 ¹/₄ inches) Titled and dated lower left; initialled and inscribed lower right...

Children Amongst Foxgloves - Female Illustrator of The Golden Age by a female illustrator of The Golden Age Watercolor on paper, signed 'A. Bowerley' lower left. 11 x 20 in. (sight)...

Title-page illustration published in The Odes and Epodes of Horace, (Boston: Bibliophile Society, 1901). A beautiful and detailed image that displays Pyle's exquisite brush work.

Hand-coloured illustration artwork depicting the writer H.C. Chatfield-Taylor, a top authority on Moliere whose quote: 'Oh That Mine Enemies Would Read A Book' Hobart Chatfield Chat...

Signed, "A Rackham" lower right Sotheby's New York - The work has recently been elegantly framed with a high end frame and archivalled matted and looks wonderful in person. Arth...

Alençon by Ludovic-Rodo Pissarro (1878-1952) Watercolour on paper 22 x 31 cm (8 ⁵/₈ x 12 ¹/₄ inches) Signed with Estate stamp lower left, LR Inscribed an...

La Celle les Bordes by LUDOVIC-RODO PISSARRO (1878-1952) Watercolour on paper 35 x 25 cm (13 3⁄4 x 9 7⁄8 inches) Signed lower left, Ludovic Rodo Inscribed and dated lower right, La ...

Skillful late 19th century realist drawing of illustration Newspaper artists at work at the Republican National Convention by Adolph Methfessel (American, 1876-1912)., c.1898. This p...

Artist: Ada L. Dennis (English, Late 19th Century-Early 20th Century) Title: "Children Playing with the Baby" *Initial signed by Dennis lower right Circa: 1900 Medium: Original Water...

Medium: Gouache, Pencil, and Wash on Board Signature: Signed and Dated Lower Right: Harrison / Fisher / 1901 “More Attractive.” Interior illustration for Life magazine, published Fe...

Signed, "A Rackham" lower right Sotheby's New York Housed in an elegant , hi-end frame with museum glass. Arthur Rackham is widely regarded as one of the leading illustrators fr...

*UK BUYERS WILL PAY AN ADDITIONAL 20% VAT ON TOP OF THE ABOVE PRICE Les Danseuses by Ludovic-Rodo Pissarro (1878-1952) Watercolour ink on paper 18 x 25 c...

Beautiful watercolor and gouache painting of waves crashing on the rocks along the shore by the renowned American artist, Edmund Darch Lewis. Signed lower left and dated 1908. Condition is excellent. The painting is housed in its original art nouveau frame recently restored. Under UV glass. Overall framed measurements are 21.75 by 33.75 inches. Edmund Darch Lewis (1835-1910) Edmund Darch Lewis was born in Philadelphia on October 17, 1835 to a successful, wealthy, well-connected family. He studied with Paul Weber...

Delightful one-of-a-kind watercolor and gouache painting of boats docked along the glassy waters of Fareham creek located in England, circa 1910. Titled lower right. Original artwo...

Beautiful, original watercolor on archival paper of an Italian seaside villa with figures. Executed in 1902 by the American artist, George Washington Nicholson...

Bertha Corbett Melcher's The Sunbonnet Babies, with their flat, minimalist, semi-abstract, and symbolic style, are an early example of American Modernism/Surrealism by a lesser-known female artist/illustrator. The present work demonstrates a delicate balance between abstraction and representation and between the commonplace and the mysterious. Her signature use of a hat or sunbonnet to hide the identity of her subjects is a big conceptual and visual idea that has been overlooked in the fine art canon. The exact meaning of this is unknown, but 120 years after they were done, it resonates as somewhat surrealistic. Her work is a contradiction. She shows innocent children engaging in everyday activity but are depicted in vail of mystery. Why does she not show the faces of her subjects? Watercolor on paper (each) Six drawings in all on one board. 6-1/8 x 5 inches (15.6 x 12.7 cm) (each) One signed; two initialed; three not signed. Six drawing in all on one board. 6-1/8 x 5 inches (15.6 x 12.7 cm) (each) One signed; two initialed; three not signed The Sunbonnet Babies characters were created by illustration Bertha L. Corbett when she was challenged to create a faceless character who nonetheless was engaging and appealing. The characters were a wild hit and appeared in books, comics, and popular collectibles. They also became a popular motif in quilting. Few of Corbett's original drawings for the babies are known to survive, making this a rare offering. From: Wikipedia Sunbonnet Babies are characters created by commercial artist Bertha Corbett Melcher (1872–1950). Sunbonnet Babies featured two girls in pastel colored dresses with their faces covered by sunbonnets. Sunbonnet Babies appeared in books, illustrations and advertisements between the years of 1900 and 1930. Sunbonnet Babies were later used as a popular quilting pattern also known as Sunbonnet Sue.[1] Melcher created a male version of the Sunbonnet Babies, named the 'Overall Boys' in 1905.[2][3] History Bertha L. Corbett Melcher Sunbonnet Babies were created by Bertha Corbett Melcher (1872–1950).[4] Melcher was born in Denver and moved with her family to Minneapolis in the 1880s. Melcher attended art school in Minneapolis with plans to become a commercial artist.[5] She may have also studied with Howard Pyle.[6] By the 1920s, Melcher had moved to Topanga, California.[7][4] Melcher started drawing the Sunbonnet Babies in 1897. The origin of the signature style of the faces being covered by sunbonnets is contested by different members of Melcher's family and by Melcher herself. In an interview, Melcher's brother said their mother suggested Bertha avoid the difficulty of drawing faces by covering them with sunbonnets.[4] Melcher herself said that covering faces allowed her to communicate with body position.[4] Melcher has also said that the design came about in "answer to a friend’s challenge to convey emotion without a face."[2] Melcher published her first book, The Sun-Bonnet Babies in 1900.[3] Later, she shopped her illustrations to publisher Rand McNally of Chicago, and nine subsequent books were written by Eulalie Osgood Grover and illustrated by Bertha Corbett. In 1905, Melcher wrote The Overall Boys.[3] Many of these books were used as primers and used widely in primary schools in the midwest. Melcher used the sunbonnet babies in advertising and later established the Sunbonnet Babies Company. She started a studio to illustrate and create merchandise of the Sunbonnet Babies.[2] The characters also appeared in a comic strip.[2] Quilting Melcher herself did not originate the use of the sunbonnet babies as quilting pattern. The Sunbonnet Babies quilting pattern appeared in textile art 1910's in the Ladies Home Journal 1911–1912 in a quilt stitched by Marie Webster. The pattern was popular during the Great Depression. In the American South, it was often known as "Dutch Doll" until the 1970s.[3] There was also a quilt pattern based on the "Overall Boys," known by the various names including “Overall Bill, “Overall Andy,” “Sunbonnet Sam,” “Suspender Sam,” “Fisherman Jim."[3] Many patterns for quilts and sewing were designed by Ruby Short McKim and published in nationally syndicated newspapers.[8] Sunbonnet Sue became symbolic of 'female innocence and docility'.[9] Linda Pershing collected accounts from women quilters who depicted 'Sues' doing activities such as smoking, wearing more revealing clothing, and subverting feminine stereotypes.[10] In 1979, the “Seamsters Union Local #500," a group of quilters from Lawrence, Kansas, created “The Sun Sets on Sunbonnet Sue," a quilt depicting the character murdered in a variety of ways.[3] Collectibles Sunbonnet Babies merchandise includes school books, valentines cards, postcards, china, and quilts.[2][5][11] Sunbonnet Babies were adapted into three dimensional porcelain collectibles and pottery made by Royal Bayreuth Company in the early 1900s. The Royal Bayreuth China...

Tree and House is a precious pencil study realized by the French painter Emile-Louis Minet. The state of preservation is excellent. The piece of paper comes from a sketchbook, and it...

Date: 1906 Medium: Mixed Media on Board Dimensions: 19.00" x 22.00" Signature: Initialed K.R.W. Good Housekeeping Story Illustration Novebmer 1906. ...