Art by Medium: Cardboard

A watercolor depicting a mountain view and the lake Gruyère, (Lac De La Gruyère) in Switzerland by the American Impressionist and Tonalist Mary Rogers Williams (1857–1907). Signed M.R. Williams. On the verso, the artist wrote: ‘Painted in Gruyère July 1902.’ This is a newly discovered work by a rare woman artist who seldom appears on the art market. Small in scale, yet rich in atmosphere, power, and depth—a genuine little gem. Mary Rogers Williams was born in 1857, in Hartford, Connecticut, the fifth of six children to a local baker. Orphaned by the age of fourteen, she pursued art with remarkable determination, studying at Hartford’s Decorative Art Society and the Art Students League in New York under William Merritt Chase. Her early mentor was James Wells Champney. In 1888, she joined Smith College as associate professor of art, where she taught for nearly twenty years to help support her family. Alongside her academic career, she maintained a serious and evolving artistic practice, though much of it was pursued within the limitations of her era’s gender roles and financial pressures. Her work is often classified as a blend of Tonalism and Impressionism—movements that were just taking shape during her lifetime. Tonalists used subdued palettes to evoke mood rather than detail, while Impressionists leaned toward brighter colors and broader subjects. Williams, working independently of art-world factions, forged a style rooted in mood, light, and atmosphere. She painted luminous pastels, watercolors, and oils—portraits, landscapes, and intimate studies of daily life. Despite knowing figures like Whistler, William Merritt Chase, and Childe Hassam, she rarely aligned herself with any artistic “school” and found many male contemporaries pretentious or repetitive. She famously dropped out of Whistler’s Paris school, calling him “a pompous fop surrounded by fawners.” Though Mary Cassatt and Williams were both American Impressionists living in Paris, they never met—Cassatt enjoyed wealth and elite circles, while Williams was a self-reliant educator without patrons. Williams traveled extensively throughout Europe—from the Arctic Circle to the ruins south of Naples—often alone or with her sister. She bicycled through fjords, hiked to medieval towns, and visited chateaux and harbors, all while sketching prolifically. She is likely the only 19th-century woman artist whose travels and daily life can be traced in such vivid, personal detail: what she ate, how she felt about fellow travelers, what she paid for trams, how the air smelled, what she wore, and how she missed home. She documented everything—museum visits, church restorations, conversations with hotel guests, and her frustrations with men’s treatment of women artists. These letters, rediscovered in 2012 in a family boathouse, provide an extraordinary insight into not only her art but the intellectual and emotional texture of her life. Her writings reveal not only artistic insight but the immense workload she carried. At Smith, she taught studio art and art history, organized faculty events, curated student exhibitions, wrote essays, handled housework, and even cooked and cleaned for her own lodgings. On vacations, she cooked for her family; in Europe, she waxed floors, painted walls, repaired clothing, and stoked fires—all while maintaining her painting and travel schedule. Unlike many of her male peers, she had no assistants, no household staff, and little inherited wealth. Yet, as her letters reveal, she never saw herself as a victim—she relished challenges and even the absurdities of her era, from Italian waiters pushing marriage to department heads at Smith dismissing women’s artistic capacity. Despite these challenges, Williams exhibited widely during her lifetime: Paris Salon (1899) National Academy of Design (1903–04) Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts New York Water Color Club, American Water Color Society, Art Association of Indianapolis, and more. She was praised in The New York Times, Hartford Courant, and Springfield Republican, and compared by peers to figures like Emily Dickinson—another New England woman of quiet yet profound artistic power. But unlike Dickinson, Mary Williams...

Josep Marfa Guarro (1928-2014) Barcelona Spain Oil Oil on canvas glued to cardboard. Oil measures 23x28 cm. Frameless. Josep Marfa Guarro (1928-2014) Josep Marfa Guarro was a Cata...

Figurative illustration of people arriving at a church by Charles Kinghan (American, 1895-1984). The church is rendered with exquisite detail, typical ...

Charming mid century figurative landscape of Aptos Village Apple Shed and Market by listed California artist Jon Blanchette (American, 1908-1987). Aptos is just south of Santa Cruz,...

Beautiful mid century landscape of a historic California mission, highlighting its iconic architectural details such as a columned arches, white was...

Bay Area Abstract Expressionist Composition in Oil Pastel on Cardboard San Francisco Bay area abstract expressionist composition by Ho...

Initialed lower left, 'C.B.' (American, 20th century) and painted circa 1925. Framed dimensions: 14 H x 11.75 W x 1 D inches N.B. The artist initials show more distinctly under (365n...

Laimonis Bubieris (1934-2012), Two flowering trees, cardboard/oil, 25x36.5 cm

Joaquin Terruella Matilla (1891-1957) - Landscape - Oil cardboard Oil measures 10x14 cm. Frame measures 20x25 cm. Joaquim Terruella Matilla (1891 - 1957) Joaquim Terruella Matilla,...

Abstract Urban landscape. 1970 circa Abstract Geometric Composition with Figures and Architecture Artist: Unattributed Date: Circa 1970 Medium: Oil on cardboard Dimensions: H 65 c...

Unique still life of a table with geraniums and a lit cigar, with a framed painting of a nude in a forest setting in the background by an unknown artist (American, 20th Century). Pre...

Sun reflecting on the snowy mountains at Meadows Valley, Idaho in this mid century winter landscape by Violet Root (Esther Florence Violet...

Luminoso quadro con fiori azzurri in un prato primaverile 1978 GLEB SAVINOV (Charkev, 1915 – San Pietroburgo, 2000) Le opere di Gleb Savinov si trovano in varie collezioni private ...

Forest river. 1990. Cardboard, oil. 67,5x93 cm Information about artist Edgars Vinters (1919-2014). Edgars Vinters was working in oil, waterc...

A wonderful original figure painting for a 1930's illustration by Charles Kinghan (American, 1895-1984). A woman in a plaid green skirt and mustard yel...

Dynamic seascape along rocky Big Sur beach with surf by Willard Little (American, 20th century), circa 1940. Aqua blue water, both shallow and deep, reflects the golden sunlight. Are...

Mid Century Lotus Still Life Floral / Bangkok Landscape on Verso (Double Sided) Mid-century lotus flower composition by Marge Quate Burt (American, 1896-1984). This unique piece, dated 1949-1950, is a two-sided painting on artists cardboard. While on side depicts a botanical lotus flower, the verso features a lush tropical landscape painting...

Still life with flowers oil/cardboard, 51x40 cm

Landscape with the river. 1992, cardboard, oil, 49x68 cm Edgars Vinters (1919-2014) Edgars Vinters is working in oil, watercolor and monotype techniques. He paints landscapes in dif...

Summer flowers in yellow, green, cyan colors. Juris Zvirbulis was born in 1944 in Riga. 1970 graduated from the Riga Secondary School of Applied Arts decorators department. 1971 Member Artists' Union of the Latvia. In 1971 First solo exhibition in the artistic and historical museum of Tukums in Latvia. In 1974 his illustrations for the A.S. Pushkin's book, "Eugene Onegin" (published Liesma) was awarded at the 7th All-Union competition of books, posters and postcards design (Moscow, USSR). Significant exhibitions: 1976 - First place in the All-Union Exhibition of Young Artists in Moscow 1983 - Solo exhibition at the Museum of Foreign Art (Riga, Latvia) 1988 - personal exhibition at the Pushkin State Museum (Moscow, Russia) Museum bought more than 100 of the artist miniatures to collection. 1989 - Group exhibition "Contemporary Soviet Painters from Riga" Edward Nahamkina Art Gallery (New York, USA) 1990 - Group exhibition at the Astra Gallery (Chicago, USA) 1990 - 1992 - works exhibited in the Harmony Gallery (Paris, France) 1992 - Solo exhibition at Gallery Carre d'Or (Paris, France) 1993 - Solo exhibition at the Gallery of the Riga (Riga, Latvia) 1994 - Exhibition in honor of the 50th anniversary at the Latvian National Art Museum, Exhibition Hall Arsenals (Riga, Latvia) 1997 - Solo exhibition at the Gallery of Riga (Riga, Latvia). In cooperation with IBM Latvia and Modo Paper released exhibition catalog. 1998 - Exhibition of watercolors - miniatures at Gallery "Nocturne", Riga 1999 - personal exhibition at the Pushkin State Museum (Moscow, Russia) 2004 - personal exhibition at gallery "Manss" (Jekabpils, Latvia) 2005 - Group exhibition of Latvian-French festival "Amazing Latvia" (in Bourgoin-Jallieu, France). 2011 - Contemporary Art exhibition-fair at Gallery Birkenfeld ArtVilnius'11 (Vilnius, Lithuania) Group Exhibition-Fair of Lineart Contemporary Art (Ghent, Belgium). Group exhibition at the Art Museum Nerima (Tokyo, Japan) 2012 Released artist album "Retrospective". Solo exhibition "The Battle of Waterloo would have ended differently ... Dedication to Marshal L.N. Davu." At gallery Birkenfelds. The artist works in the following genres and techniques: watercolor, painting, drawing, book illustrations, murals for public interiors in Latvia and abroad. Works in museums and private collections: At the Latvian National Museum of Art, at collection of Artists' Union of Latvia, Russian Ministry of Culture (Moscow, Russia), the Pushkins` State Museum (Russia), Bank of Latvia, Džeinas Vorhīsas Cimerlī Art Museum, Radzhersa, State University of New Jersey, at collection of Norton and Nancy Dodge nonconformist art of the Soviet Union (US), Vitaly Gotlib (Latvia), and Indra Benjamin Wilson...

Evocative seascape, circa 1900, by artist Constantin Alexandrovitch Westchiloff (1877-1945) Signed on bottom left corner and on verso. Titled "Maine" on verso. Presented in a contemporary giltwood frame. Image size: 9"H x 12"W. Framed size: 10.60"H x 14"W x 1"D Westchiloff is an American-Russian artist. He was born in Russia in 1877, and studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg; as an artist he traveled extensively in Europe and in the USA. He finally settled in New England, where he died in 1945. He is probably best-known for seascapes (particularly of the New England coastline), but was also well regarded for his landscapes, portraits and figures, and genre subjects. His work, especially after his travels in Europe and then in America, is closest to Impressionist in style. His favored medium was oil, which was well suited to his confident and strong technique. This in turn imbued his paintings of the rugged landscapes and seascapes of New England...

Winter. 1978, cardboard, oil, 48x45 cm Edgars Vinters (1919-2014) Edgars Vinters is working in oil, watercolor and monotype techniques. He paints lands...

Frame size 38x44 cm. Josep Marfa Guarro (1928-2014) Josep Marfa Guarro was a Catalan painter specialized in landscape painting. Among Josep Marfa Guarro's work are numerous waterc...

Piccolo Archivio is an original Contemporary artwork realized in 1988 by the italian Contemporary artist Leo Guida (1992 - 2017). Original drawing in beautiful colored tempera o...

Colorful and idyllic impressionist oil painting of an old wooden barn surrounded by trees by Redwood City, California artist, Irma "Edy" Caprini (American...

Beautiful winter landscape of the snow covered countryside by an unknown artist (American, 20th Century). Signed "Mallek" lower right. Displayed in a painted rustic frame. Image, 7"H...

Clouds over the sea. 1974, cardboard, oil, 36.5x49 cm

Figurative 1930's illustration of a just married couple in a classic car by Charles Kinghan (American, 1895-1984). Signed "Kinghan" in the lower left c...

Wonderful winter landscape of snow barns by Robert F. McFarren (American, 1917-1997). Signed "McFarren" lower right. Presented in a rustic giltwood frame. Image, 6"H x 12"L. McFarren arrived in Orange County, CA in the 1920s and grew up on an orange ranch. As a child he watched his mother paint and later learned to paint through his observation. He was self-taught. He lived in Corona Del Mar...

Large scale mid-century floral still-life of black-eyed susan (Rudbeckia) by listed El Paso, Texas artist Lois Coleman Denton (American, 1897-1980). Signed "Lois Denton...

Uccelliera is an original Contemporary artwork realized in 1988 by the italian Contemporary artist Leo Guida (1992 - 2017). Original drawing in beautiful colored tempera on ivor...

Vivid mid century still life of glass pitchers and apples by listed artist Jon Blanchette (American, 1908-1987), c.1965. Signed "Jon Blanchette" lower right corner. Letter of Authent...

ESTEBAN VICENTE (1903-2001) UNTITLED signed and dated "1980 Esteban Vicente” (lower right) collage, watercolor and pencil on cardboard 14 x 17 inches (35.5 x 43 cm.) framed: 19-3/4 x...

Edgars Vinters (1919-2014) Edgars Vinters is working in oil, watercolor and monotype techniques. He paints landscapes in different seasons and flowers. In 1970 the significant place...

Aleksandr Rodin (1922-2001) Painter Born in a family of farmers. Wife Rasma Lace - art scholar. Studied at the Stalingrad School of Art, Saratov Art School, graduated from the Depar...

JOAQUÍN SOROLLA Y BASTIDA Spanish, 1863 - 1923 PUERTO DE JÁVEA signed and dated "J. Sorolla B. / 1905" (lower right) oil on canvas on cardboard 7 x 8 inches (18 x 20.5 cm.) framed: 1...

Wonderful mid century landscape titled "Late Afternoon in Novato" by Ted Lewy (American, 1912-1963). Presented in a rustic wooden frame. Signed "Ted Lewy" and dated "1962" lower righ...

Composition is an original drawing in oil on cardboard realized by an unknown artist in 1989. This Artwork is depicted through strong and confident s...

A classic mid-century California mountain scene of Payne Lake near Mammoth Mountain in the Sierra Nevadas, by Clare Shipton Mayhew (Mrs. J.O. Harvey)....

Highly detailed landscape with a house and car by Edward K. Williams (American, 1870-1950). A large house sits atop a hill, looking down over a road that runs along the river. Three people are driving a car from the 1930s along the road. The scene is rendered with great detail - both the house and the car are very accurate. There is an ornate border around the piece that was not finished, including instructions for framing and matting. Signed "E K Williams" on verso, with an address. Presented in a giltwood frame with a new off-white mat. Frame size: 15.75"H x 12.75"W Image size: 7.75"H x 6.5"W Landscape painter, Edward K. Williams was born 1870 in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Williams studied at the Art Institute of Chicago with Freer, Vanderpoel, Fursman, and Krehbiel. He exhibited there as well from 1903-1929 (including many winter scenes). He also exhibited at the Hoosier Salon, New York Watercolor Club, Herron Art Institute, American Watercolor Society, Brown County Art...

SIBYL EDWARDS (Canadian b. 1944) "Rainbow Egg Tray" 1973 Watercolor on Pressed Pulp Cardboard Egg Tray Filler Hand signed and dated verso in ink, "Sibyl Edwards, 1973." Dimensions: 12" x 12" Provenance: Collection of Roy H. Van Horn, Houston, Texas Sibyl Edwards was born in Canada, she was a Texas artist who taught at the Dallas museum of Art in the 1940's along with well-known Dallas artists including Octavio Medellin, Otis Dozier, Merritt Mauzey, and Roger Winter. She was also a avid collector. Her collection included works by Max Bill, Herbert Distel, Hansjorg Glattfelder, the Belgian sculptor Paul Van Hoeydonck...

Frederick Vezin (1859 Torresdale Philadelphia - 1933 Düsseldorf), Autumn Landscape in the Sunlight, oil on canvas, mounted on cardboard, 32 x 41 cm (inside measurement), 44 x 51 cm (frame), signed and dates lower right "F. Vezin. [19]05". - Cardboard slightly curved, small inconspicuous retouch at the centre of the upper edge of the picture. About the artwork Although the painting appears to be a sketch, Frederick Vezin considered it to be a finished work of art, as evidenced by his signature on the lower right. And it is precisely this sketchy quality that leads to an understanding of the painting, which was certainly created in the landscape itself: the natural phenomena were to be depicted artistically at the moment of their observation. This is not done by meticulously sketching nature, but - and here Vezin follows the teaching of French Impressionism - by illustrating nature in its visual fullness. The artist's eye is, as it were, immersed in the visuality of nature, which is made visible by his hand. The painting is therefore not a reflection of the landscape, but its artistic intensification. This intensification also includes the fact that the foreground of the painting - corresponding to the field of vision - eludes a detail-oriented close-up view. Instead, the spatula-like application of paint, the vertical structure of which corresponds to the structure of the floral growth, has the effect of making nature tangible in its colourful substance. At the same time, the foreground, which remains indeterminate in its concrete objectivity, creates an atmospheric space that connects with the actual protagonist of the picture, the group of trees, which flares up in shades of red and brown. Here, too, the leaves are more speckled than clearly outlined. It is precisely this 'sketchiness' that opens up a visual experience that makes the landscape accessible in its visual fullness, thus revealing its essence. In addition to this abundance, the landscape is presented as a structure of order in that the composition of the picture makes the composition of the landscape visible. For example, the group of trees forms a distinct dark green shadow, which is repeated in the shadows cast by the trees behind it. A patterned diagonal axis is created in the picture, which is composed in this way by the landscape itself. Strictly speaking, this is a cultivated landscape: a fence at the bottom and a low stone wall at the top, running from left to right, are two elements that also have a strong compositional effect. And on the top of the hill, a stone house is embedded in the landscape as the brightest surface in the picture. Nature and culture here form a harmonious synthesis, giving the painting an Arcadian touch. In order to give the landscape as much space as possible, the horizon line is raised, but the design of the sky is also crucial. The clouds, combined with the shapes of the trees, create a bright blue sky. To the European eye, such a sky is reminiscent of a summer landscape. Accordingly, within the seasonal cycle, the blue sky is reserved for summer, and French Impressionism is also primarily an ode to summer. In Vezin's painting, however, the brilliant blue sky stands above an autumnal landscape, some of the trees even defoliated. It can therefore be assumed that the painting was made not in Europe but in the United States, and that it illustrates the proverbial Indian summer, making Frederick Vezin a pioneer of American landscape painting. About the artist Frederick Vezin was the son of a French immigrant to the United States and a German-born mother. This predestined him to promote artistic exchange between the old and new worlds. Having spent part of his schooling in Germany, in 1876, at the age of 20, he enrolled at the Düsseldorf Academy of Art, where he studied with Peter Janssen the Elder, Eduard von Gebhardt and Wilhelm Sohn, among others. He graduated in 1883, settled in Munich and returned to Düsseldorf in 1895, where he lived until his death in 1933. A native of the United States, he travelled to the country frequently and became a popular portrait and society painter. His artistic talent, however, was most evident in his landscape paintings. Trained in French Impressionism, he developed a virtuoso use of colour and a free brushwork that remained tied to the landscape motif, opening up the landscape itself in a new way. Frederick Vezin turned his attention primarily to the landscape of his homeland, becoming a pioneer of modern American landscape...

Autumn landscape cardboard/oil, 50.5x35.5 cm

Mt. Tamalpais Road California Landscape by Jesse Don Rasberry Lovely oil on artist board landscape painting of a road leading to Mt. Tamalpais by California artist Jesse Don Rasberr...

Day at the Beach - Realistic Figurative Illustration in Gouache Original figurative illustration of people at the beach by Charles Ross Kinghan (American, 1895-1984). Several women are looking at someone's foot, as if there is a splinter being removed. Three of the women are closer, with their heads in the frame. Two of them have are standing with their backs to the viewer. Between the women, the viewer can catch glimpses of other activities on the beach. Possibly a sketch for Good Housekeeping Magazine. Signed "Charles Ross" in the lower right corner. (Charles Ross Kinghan) Acquired with other signed estate works by the artist. Presented in a new cream mat. Mat size: 16"H x 13"W Board size: 14"H x 11.75"W Charles Ross Kinghan (American, 1895-1984) was born in Anthony, KS on January 18, 1895. A teacher, he moved to Wichita as a teenager and did sign painting for the Western Sign Works. He studied at the Chicago Academy of Fine Art in 1916, the American Academy of Art in Chicago, the Audubon School of Art and the Art Institute of Chicago. He was a pupil of Carl Scheffler, J. Wellington Reynolds, and H.A. Oberteuffer. He taught at the Art Institute of Chicago and at the American Academy of Art in Chicago. He was an illustrator for McCalls, Good Housekeeping, Saturday Evening Post, Colliers, and many others, including American Artist magazine. He was author and illustrator of Rendering Techniques for Commercial Art and Advertising (1956) and of Ted Kautzky...

"Sunday Service, a lovely mid-century figurative village street scene by Frank Serratoni (American, 1908-1970), c. 1940s. A family is shown strolling through the tree-lined street of a quaint village towards a red church...

Serene, small-scale early 20th century landscape of a stream in winter by Ohio artist Martin George Dumler (American, 1868-1958), c. early 1900's. The deep blue stream flows peacefully through white banks of snow, towards the distant trees depicted in loose, abstracted brushstrokes. Signed "M. G. Dumler" in the lower right corner. Presented in a gilded frame. Painting size: 10"H x 8"W. Still-life and Landscape painter and composer of liturgical music, born in Cincinnati (Hamilton). December 22, 1868. He was a pupil of Martin Rettig...

Summer Oil/cardboard, 66x91 cm

Expansive landscape painting of the Teton Range in Wyoming reflecting in a nearby lake by Alma McGovern (American, 20th century). Signed and dated "Alma '61...

Abstract Composition in Pink and Black in Acrylic on Cardboard Dynamic abstract in black and pink by Honora Berg (American, 1897-1985). This piece is composed of multiple layers, with bright, bold colors at the bottom, building to black on top. Pink, magenta, yellow, and orange shine through a net of black. Unsigned, but was acquired with a collection of the artist's work. Estate stamp on verso "Estate of Honora Berg - Miller Fine Art" Numbered "246" on verso Unframed. Art size: 21.25"H x 14"W Honora Berg (American, 1897-1985) was an Abstract Expressionist and Bay Area Figurative School artist who studied at the San Francisco Art Institute with David Park, Elmer Bischoff and James Budd Dixon. Berg's friend Edith Truesdell — David Park's aunt — suggested a move to California in 1951 to study under Park. She exhibited at the 25th Annual Drawing, Print and Sculpture Exhibition at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, 1961. Provenance, Estate of Honora Berg - David Carlson Gallery, Larry Miller...

Sunny alley cardboard/oil, 87x65.5 cm, 1971

Pair of two vintage portraits of Native American figures, one older and one younger, in profile with braids and headdresses by Victor S. ...

Significant landscape painting of Taos, New Mexico river and buttes by Walter Alexander Bailey (American, 1894-1989). Rendered in saturated colors, a lone tree stands at the edge of a river. The river flows back into the distance, guiding the viewer's eye to a lush green plain. At the edges of the plain, large mesas rise from all sides in purple and red. Signed lower right corner. Unframed. Image size: 24"H x 30"W. Bailey studied at the Kansas City Art Institute with Thomas Hart Benton and Charles Wilimovsky. In the 1940s he worked as a scenic and motion picture artist in Hollywood. In 1927 to 1929, he taught a Master Class in Taos, New Mexico, and in 1932-1934 he taught a Master Class in landscape painting at the Kansas City Art Institute. Born Wallula, Oct. 17, 1894, Walter Bailey was a painter, illustrator, muralist, etcher, block printer, lithographer and teacher. He studied at the Kansas City Art Institute in 1920 with Charles A. Wilmovsky, Randall Davey, & Anthony Angarola. He worked on the art staff of the Kansas City Star. SOURCES: Susan Craig, "Biographical Dictionary of Kansas Art...

Autumn day, cardboard/oil, 50x70 cm

Highly detailed mid century landscape depicting a glorious autumn scene, of a tranquil stream running through a forest full of tress with golden fall foliage, by Harriet Yule (Americ...

Along the path on a walk, a vivid impressionist oil painting by Carol H. Kelly (American, 20th Century). Signed "C.H. Kelly" and dated "70" lower right. Unframed. Image size, 18.5"H ...

Painted and sculpted cardboard Unique work Coming from the artist's studio Jacques ROUBY, the aesthetics of mystery « Experimental dreamer, passionate about graphic adventures, del...

Mid-Century still life by American artist Jean M. Stites of Fayetteville, North Carolina (b. 1929). A variety of yellow flowers are in a reddish vase, sur...

Charming mid century oil painting of two horses at watering trough by William M. Lemos, Santa Cruz and San Francisco artist (American, 1861-1942), circa 1900. Writing on verso is in ...

Segnali is an original Contemporary artwork realized in 1988 by the italian Contemporary artist Leo Guida (1992 - 2017). Original drawing in beautiful colored tempera on ivory-c...