American Realist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Eleanor Park Custis painted scenes as varied as the artist's travels: from her hometown of Washington, D.C., to the coastal towns of New England; from the prosperous fishing villages of Brittany, to Venice and the mountain villages and lakes of northern Italy. While Custis's subjects are diverse, her style is consistent and distinctive throughout this body of work. Her use of flat areas of color delineated by dark contours is reminiscent of the aesthetics of woodblock printing. Like many artists of the day, she was profoundly influenced by Japanese woodblock prints, and her adaptation of the aesthetic by 1924 led to her most productive artistic period. Eleanor Custis hailed from a socially prominent Washington, D.C., family. She was distantly related to Martha Custis Washington, America's first First Lady. Custis began three years of formal art training in the autumn of 1915 at the Corcoran School of Art in Washington, and was guided and inspired by Impressionist artist Edmund C. Tarbell, one of the Ten American Painters, who became the Corcoran School's principal in 1918. Custis exhibited widely in many of the Washington art societies and clubs for much of her career. She was also a frequent exhibitor at the Grand Central Art Galleries in New York City; her last one-woman show there was in April 1945. Custis's mature style emerged in scenes of the streets, wharves, and drydocks of seacoast villages from Maine to Massachusetts, which she visited during the summers of 1924 and 1925. She was working in Gloucester, Massachusetts in August 1924, and painted several gouaches of the town's wharves and winding streets, including In Gloucester Harbor and At the Drydock, Gloucester. During her stay, Custis may have met Jane Peterson or at least must have seen her work, the best of which was executed in Gloucester during the preceding ten years. The similarity between their styles is unmistakable, but, while it may be tempting to suggest that Custis was influenced by Peterson during her summer in Gloucester, the connection between their work is probably more a case of shared aesthetics and common European influences. Custis expanded her subject repertoire with three trips to Europe between 1926 and 1929, and was inspired by the Old World charm of Holland, northern France, Switzerland, and Italy, leading to such works as New Kirk, Delft, Holland, Market Day in Quimper, At the Foot of the Matterhorn, and The Town Square, Varenna. A Mediterranean cruise in 1934 introduced her to the Near East, and the bustling, colorful streets and bazaars of Cairo, captured in works like A Street in Cairo, Egypt and A Moroccan Jug...

Brodsky pairs gouache and watercolor to achieve the luster of her subject's plumage. Each carefully defined feather shimmers with a prism of color. Her attention to detail is enliven...

Note: Dehn was born in Minnesota. He attended the Minneapolis Institute of Art. This work is a view of the Stone Arch Bridge in Minneapolis with the Pillsbury "A"-Mill in the backg...

Substantial and period portrait of a beautiful spaniel done in charcoal signed "Lee" on verso, c.1913-1917. Although this is by an unknown artist it is an excellent example of Philadelphia Sketch Club quality drawing. Displayed in a distressed black vintage wood frame with mat. Image, 11"H x 13"W; frame dimensions 17"H x 19"W x 1"D. Phildelphia, PA. Gallery and Frame Makers label on verso. Based on the address and history we know the drawing to be 1913-1917. Founded by Adolph and George Newman...

Pink Flamingo's Frank Duffield (British, 1908-1982) original watercolor painting on thick artist paper, unframed size: 10.5 x 11.5 inches condition: overall very good, minor wear to the edges as is normal for an unframed work, minor staining from age/ light to the surface provenance: from a large private collection of this artists work in the UK The artist: Born in Warwick in 1901, Duffield came to Bristol at the age of 23 as an artist at the studio of Mardon Son and Hall. He worked as an illustrator producing designs for cigarette cards, remaining with the company for 37 years until his retirement. He was elected an Artist Member of the Bristol Savages in 1946. He was an extremely keen and regular attender not only in the studio but at all other Savage functions. He was noted for his friendly demeanour and seldom seen without a pipe in his mouth. He was a good pianist and would play popular tunes after the Wednesday evenings’ entertainment for members to join in singing and always with his pipe in his mouth. In 1965 he was commissioned by the Gloucester Regiment to paint a portrait of Brigadier Manley Angell James, VC, DSO, MBE, MC, a Bristol man who won his VC during the first World War. The painting is now in the Imperial War Museum. Frank was made a Life Member in 1973 and died in 1982. Frank Duffiled was a member of the artist group, known as "The Bristol Savages": Founded in 1894 by Ernest Ehlers, he invited his fellow Bristol based artists to spend a friendly evening in his studio to work and talk. At first, meetings were held in their private studios, then as their numbers grew, in rented premises. By 1904 this led to the official founding of the Bristol Savages and the holding ever since, of similar weekly meetings between October and May each year. In 1905 the first exhibition of paintings was held at the premises of George Nichols & Co., an auctioneer in Broad Street, Bristol. During the next 14 years exhibitions were held annually in Bristol and their first permanent home was Brandon Cottage which was made available to them through the good offices of fellow member James Fuller Eberle. When the Red Lodge...

Wonderful 18th century English gouache on paper of a 18th century English scene of a groom with a horse in a landscape. One of a set of five all framed in Hogarth frames. L.Green ...

This artwork titled "Daydreaming in Tiger Land" is a watercolor and gouache on paper by artist Jacquie Marie Vaux. It is signed at the lower right c...

Signed lower center, 'by Buk' for Eduard Buk Ulreich (American, 1889-1966), dedicated lower center, 'for Ruth' and painted circa 1945. Additionally signed and titled verso 'Navajo Fa...

This artwork is a watercolor on paper by noted artist Carolyn Bullis Blish, born 1928. It is signed at the lower right corner by the artist. The artwork size is 17 x 26 inches, framed is 28 x 37 inches. Framed in his original wooden gold and mahogany color frame. The artwork is in excellent condition, the frame is in very good condition, with very minor small dents and scratches, hardly visible. About the artist. A former model, actress, and newscaster, artist Carolyn Blish is known primarily for her watercolor landscapes. She received a very short training in painting under the tutelage of artist Edgar...

Emilio Sanchez (1921-1999) created the watercolor entitled “Schooner St. Croix” in 1952. This piece is signed in pen at the lower right and titled on the verso. The paper size is 16.88 x 22.25 inches. Stamped on verso "Estate of Emilio Sanchez." Good to very good condition. “Best known for his architectural paintings and lithographs, Emilio Sanchez (1921-1999) explored the effects of light and shadow to emphasize the abstract geometry of his subjects. His artwork encompasses his Cuban heritage...

Man Working Mid 20th Century American Scene Social Realism Industrial WPA Modern Jo Cain (1904 - 2003) Telephone Pole Worker 38 1/4 x 18 1/2 inches Oil on pap...

Pen and black ink on watermarked Ingres laid paper, 9 1/4 x 12 1/4 inches (234 x 310 mm), signed, dated and titled in brown ink, and initialed and titled in black ink in the lower right corner. Light to moderate age tone and mat tone, and with the signature and notations in brown ink having become quite attenuated, although legible. Presented in a basic black wood frame with a label from the Country Art...