Figurative Paintings

"Simplicity consists in making the trip through life, only with luggage necessary". - Charles Dudley Warner Materials: Wooden frame, triptych of antique books, inks, acrylic paint,...

Woman's Face is an original painting artwork in mixed media on paper realized by the Greek-French artist Alkis Matheos . Very good conditions. Signed by the artist's stamp on the r...

Charles Elmer Harris (Beni E. Kosh), Untitled (African Idol), watercolor, c. 1950s. Estate stamped verso, 'Beni E Kosh COLLECTION' and numbered '570' in ink. A fine, spontaneous wat...

I was born in Mexico City in 1963 and brought to the United States in the mid 70's, by my parents, when I was 13 years old. I attended my first art class in the late 80's, while at ...

Costume is an original painting in mixed media, tempera and watercolor on paper, realized by the Greek-French artist Alkis Matheos . Very good conditions. Signed by artist's stamp....

Nudes French School, circa 1970's oil painting on board, framed measures: 25.5 x 16 inches provenance: private French collection Beautiful French oil painting depicting two female ...

Expressive portrait, a caricature of a man with bowtie by Michael Pauker (American, b. 1957). Unsigned, but was acquired with a collection of the artist's work. Another version of th...

Born in Moscow, Idaho,and raised in Seattle, Robert Jessup received his BFA from the University of Washington in 1975 and his MFA from the University of Iowa in 1979. His work has be...

Heights & fast sketch. 1961. Paper, mixed media, 9,5x6 cm; 9x6cm Adolfs Zardins (1890 08 II Riga, Latvia – 1967 07 II Jurmala, Latvia), painter. Only in...

Signed lower right. Description A portrait of a stylized young man dressed in a blue coat with a ruffled white shirt in an artistic background suggest that it may be a portrait of a young actor or performer. About the artist. Joseph Pollet was an important member of the Woodstock Art Colony. He emigrated to NYC in 1911 from Albbruck, Germany (born in 1897) and at age 21 had a promising career as an advertising copywriter. While working, he studied painting and his landscapes were immediately successful in NYC galleries. He studied at the Art Student's League with John Sloan, Robert Henri, and Homer Boss...

Argentine painter. He was born in Buenos Aires on February 21, 1915. He studied at the National School of Fine Arts and then, for two years, at the Argentine Institute of Graphic Art...

Argentine painter. He was born in Buenos Aires on February 21, 1915. He studied at the National School of Fine Arts and then, for two years, at the Argentine Institute of Graphic Arts, guided by the painter Lino Spilimbergo. He exhibited for the first time in 1939 as a member of the Orión Group. Starting in 1946 he exhibited individually and in various salons, obtaining numerous rewards, among them: ?? Enrique Cabré Moré ?? Painting Prize; First Prize National Hall of Bahía Blanca; Second Prize for Drawing XXXVII Annual Salon of Watercolorists; ?? Raúl Castellví ?? Painting Prize, XXVI Annual Salon of Santa Fe; Acquisition Prize First Salon of La Rioja, and First Prize of Drawing Salon de Acuarelistas. In 1959 he won the Grand Prize at the National Hall, the Mar del Plata Hall and the Municipal Hall. In 1963 the National Academy of Fine Arts awarded him the Dr. Augusto Palanza Prize. In 1950-51, he visited Spain, France, Italy, and England; in 1955-56 he traveled to the US and in 1966-67 he traveled to Spain, Portugal, France and Belgium. In 1967 he was invited to the Sacred Art Show at the Museum of Modern Art in Paris and presented a retrospective exhibition at The Gallery of Modern Art and The Huntington Hartford...

I was born in Mexico City in 1963 and brought to the United States in the mid 70's, by my parents, when I was 13 years old. I attended my first art class in the late 80's, while at ...

William John Huggins (1781-1845) A Ship in Two Positions Off Dover oil on canvas Unsigned 33 x 45 inches, inc. frame William John Huggins, of wh...

Balaka Bhattacharjee - Household Acrylic on Canvas, 36 x 36 inches ( unframed ) Born : 5th June, 1974 Education : 1. B.A. and M.A. in literature from Calcutta University. 2. Studie...

Interior of a Dacha is an original painting in tempera on paper realized by Leonid and Rimma Brailowsky. Hand-signed on the lower right. The state of preservation of the artwork i...

Jean-Louis Mendrisse is a self-taught painter born in 1955 in Clermont-Ferrand. Art, family affairs Jean-Louis Mendrisse studied the deal with his famous sculptor father, Jean Mosni...

Prokash Karmakar – Nude – 30 x 22 inches (unframed size) Acrylic on Paper, 2006 Inclusive of shipment in ready to hang form. Style : Legendary master artist Lt. Prokash ...

Landscape Seascape Painting of The Little Bay in Jersey by Artist James Longueville PS PBSA (British Northern School) Oil on board, signed bottom left,...

Born in Moscow, Idaho,and raised in Seattle, Robert Jessup received his BFA from the University of Washington in 1975 and his MFA from the University of Iowa in 1979. His work has be...

Born in Moscow, Idaho,and raised in Seattle, Robert Jessup received his BFA from the University of Washington in 1975 and his MFA from the University of Iowa in 1979. His work has be...

Helene and Eric Bess are a team who have been collaborating for over 20 years. Both are professional artists with extensive experience in both the commercial and fine art fields. They presently work out of their studio in Florida, creating original art for gallery display, fine art crafts and taking commissions for murals & embellishments. Helene was born in Canada in 1949. She studied art in Europe as a young adult and attended Phoenix Pratt School of Design in New York and St. Petersburg Community College in Florida. She worked for advertising agencies and freelance art projects such as theater design and t-shirt designs for several companies. She owned and operated an art studio (“Artistic Endeavors”) in Melbourne, Fl. for five years. She started doing murals and embellishments (residential and commercial) from 1992 till present. She considers her early life in Europe the major source of her artistic influence as well as the works of Modigliani. Eric was born in Missouri in 1950. He started drawing literally as an infant and has never stopped. He was taking commissions for book covers & wall designs in his teens and studied art at Auburn University and The University of Alabama. He taught art in public schools in Alabama in the ‘70s. He worked as art director at Huntsville Educational Television for 6 years, as art director at Southern Sportswear in Daytona for 9 years, at Creative Signs & Designs in Flagler, Fl. for 6 years, and as a freelance artist and co-owner (with his wife Helene) of “BessStudio” (formerly “Artistic Innovations Inc.”) since 1998. His artistic influences include Michelangelo, Vermeer, Blake, Maxfield Parish...

"Nautraleza Muerta Con Palomas" by Alvar Sunol is an original oil on board painting and measures 51x32. This painting incorporates Alvar's favorites drawing inspiration of mixing the...

Ganesh Haloi - Untitled - 9 x 12 inches (unframed size) Ink & Watercolour on Paper Inclusive of shipment in roll form. Born : In 1936 Ganesh Haloi born in Jamalpur, Mymensingh, now ...

Ramananda Bandopadhayay - Mother & Child Pastel & Ink on Paper, 15 x 11 inches ( unframed size ) This typically frames to be a 25x 22 inches ( Get a quote with the frame from us ) A beautiful rendition of the Bengal Maestro adept in making works in the Bengal Style of Art . Ramananda Bandopadhayay is one of the remaining senior artists of Bengal . Inclusive of shipment without the frame. Style : Lyrical and romantic, his work is typical of the Bengal School and reminiscent of Nandalal Bose...

Artist: Moshe Katz – Romanian/Israeli (1937-) Title: Untitled - Fisherfolk Year: 1966 Medium: Oil on canvas Size: 24 x 36 inches Framed size: 28.5 x 40.5 inches Signature: Signed, d...

#1 of 8 archival pigment print signed, numbered Howard Schatz gave up a career as a retinal surgeon and a clinical professor to follow his passion for photography. Schatz first esta...

Circle of Ridolfo Ghirlandaio 1483 - 1561 Oil on panel Image size: 20 ½ x 16 ½ inches (52 x 42 cm) Handmade contemporary style gilt frame The lamentation of Christ was one of the most popular scenes depicted in European art from the 11th to the 18th century. Depicting the lamentation or pieta from the Italian word for ‘Pity’ of Christ with Jesus’s mother Mary cradling his body. Christ is depicted nude, wearing only a blueish loincloth around his waist, a horizontal scar marking his rib cage. His head and torso are held upright, and his eyes are closed, his right arm lays to his side as does his left. Standing behind him, is the Virgin Mary, outfitted in her traditional dress of a robe with a white veil. She stands behind Christ and bends slightly, looking looking away from Christ to something that has caught her attention, her right hand holding his shoulder. Her left-hand carefully holds his arm. This work is quite unusual with Mary . This stunning work jumps out with its dark background and strong flesh colours. Ridolfo Ghirlandaio was the son of the eminent painter Domenico Ghirlandaio. Following his father’s death in 1494, when he was just eleven years old, Ridolfo is thought to have continued his training with his uncle Davide, who had taken over the Ghirlandaio workshop. Vasari noted that Ridolfo also studied with Fra Bartolommeo...

WEISBUCH, Claude. Oil on Canvas Framed size: 39” H x 28” W Canvas, without frame: 32” high x 21 ¼” wide. Carved wooden frame with antique gold-leaf finish Claude Weisbuch, 1927-2014 French painter, draftsman and engraver. He studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts (School of Fine Arts) in Nancy and upon graduation became a professor of engraving at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts de of St. Etienne. His first solo exhibition was in 1957. In 1968 , he became a full member of the Society of French Painters-Engravers . In 1997 he was awarded the Legion of Honor His work is essentially devoted to engraving, by which he likes to translate, thanks to the line, the life, movement and character of his characters: Punchinels, harlequins, musicians or equestrian scenes. He practices various techniques ( lithography, drypoint etching etc.) that he puts to use in the illustration of bibliophile books. Claude Weisbuch is also a painter and draftsman. His favorite colors are ochres, browns and whites, with which he seeks to introduce the effects of light by compositions where the line and finesse of the drawing preserve the life found in his engravings. His precise and dynamic line delivers a moving and swirling work on themes he loves: theater, opera, equestrian, musicians, card players, Kabuki dancers and many portraits. His works have the appearance of unfinished sketches mixing few colors but a great vivacity of the line. He illustrated many limited edition signed fine art books. Alon with Christo, Arman and Cesar he is considered among the great post war French artists of the last generation. Exhibitions 1957: Saint Placide Gallery, paintings and engravings 1958: Galerie de Presbourg, Paris, paintings - Saint Placide Gallery, Paris, paintings - Galerie des Arts, Nancy, etchings 1960: Galerie Hervé, "Extraordinary Pantomimes", Paris, paintings 1961: Salon of the young painting and painters witnesses of their time 1962: O'Hanna Gallery, London , paintings 1963: Galerie Hervé, "Portrait Of Man", Paris, Paintings - Nichido Gallery, Tokyo, Paintings 1965: Hervé Gallery, "100 Drawings", Paris Dresdener Gallery, Toronto, paintings 1966: Dantesca Gallery, Turin , paintings, engravings, drawings 1968: New Vision Gallery, Paris, engravings 1969: Galerie Hervé, Paris, paintings - Galerie Reflets, Brussels , prints, paintings - Galerie Dresder, Montreal , paintings 1970: Taménaga Gallery, Tokyo, paintings - Sagot Gallery - The Garrec, Paris, etchings - Museum of Modern Art of the City of Paris ARC, Paris, prints 5 1971: War Gallery, Avignon , etchings Biennial of Engraving, Epinal 1972: Dantesca Gallery, Turin Festival, Sarlat , paintings 1973: Wayss Gallery, Nancy , paintings, engravings, drawings Auguste Comte Gallery, Lyon , paintings, engravings, drawings Taménaga Gallery, Tokyo, paintings - New Vision Gallery, "Homage to Rembrandt", Paris, etchings 1974: Esthetika Gallery, Kortrijk, engravings - Galerie Hervé Odermatt, Paris, paintings Ésthetika Gallery, Kurne, prints - Galerie Wayss, Nancy, engravings, drawings, pastels Dietesheim Gallery, Neuchâtel , engravings - Grafikhuset Gallery, Stockholm , prints, drawings 1975: Schwarzer Gallery, Vienna , engravings, paintings, drawings Fogola Gallery, Turin, drawings, pastels Sotheby-Parke Benett, Munich, engravings, drawings Hervé Odermatt Gallery, Paris, drawings Joly Gallery, Washington , engraving 1976: Taménaga Gallery, Tokyo, paintings - Wayss Gallery, Nancy, engravings, drawings - Tabula Gallery, Tübingen, engravings, drawings - New Vision Gallery, "The horse-The painter and his model", Paris, drawings, engravings 1977: Grafikhuset, Futura, Stockholm - Jivô Gallery, Vänersborg Pigalle Gallery, Norrköping Celsius Gallery, Uppsala Möbius Gallery, Gothenburg - New Vision Gallery, Jerusalem - Cultural Center of Sainte-Menehould Castle, retrospective, engravings 1978: David Barnett Gallery, Milwaukee , engravings, drawings Orangery Gallery, Cologne , engravings, drawings, pastels Grafikhuset Futura, Stockholm, paintings, drawings Les Cordeliers, Châteauroux, engravings, drawings, paintings House of Culture, Montbéliard, engravings House of Culture, Chelles , engravings, paintings, drawings 1979: L'Empreinte Gallery, Strasbourg, prints, drawings - Galerie Reflets, Brussels, prints, drawings - Galerie Bon à tirer, Los Angeles , prints, pastels 1980: Hervé Odermatt Gallery, Paris, "Calligraphy of the figure", paintings - E. Gollon Gallery, Saint-Paul-de-Vence 1981: European Biennale of Engraving, Baden-Bade Galerie The Art Shop...

Original landscape painting, 'Old airfield in Capitola, California', vintage 1950s-1960s Northern California landscape painting with trees, white house with green roof, red tractor...

Portrait of Eugene Higgins, Age 80. 1954. Oil on canvas. 30 x 25 (framed 35 x 30). Signed and dated lower right. Cole and Higgins (1874-1958), both lived in Lyme, Connecticut. Higg...

Venkat Bothsa - Untitled Paint on Fibre, 18 x 18 inches Born in 1961, Venkat Bothsa did his B.F.A from Andhra University followed by M.F.A from Banaras Hindu University. His brightl...

Child with Doll is original artwork realized in the early 20th century. Mixed colored oil painting on canvas. Hand-signed on the lower right. Unread...

Costume is an original painting artwork in mixed media, tempera and watercolor on paper realized by the Greek-French artist Alkis Matheos. Good conditio...

Garden is an original painting artwork in mixed media on paper realized by the Greek-French artist Alkis Matheos . Good conditions except for some diffu...

Signed lower right, 'Haefner' for Janice Haefner (American, 1919-2002) and painted circa 1960; additionally signed, verso, and with artist address. This life-time member of the Pacific Art League lived in Los Altos...

oil on stretched linen canvas framing not required signed and dated on reverse

Mané-Katz (1894 - 1962) SCHOLARS AT STUDY Signed Mané Katz (lower right) Tempera (gouache) on paper laid down on card. 19 3/4 by 23 5/8 in. (50.2 by 60.1 cm) sight size. Frame size is 27 X 31 inches. Provenance: Sotheby's Impressionist & Modern art, 8 June 2017 (consigned by original owner who purchased it directly from artist) Mane-Katz (1894-1962) was a Litvak painter born in Ukraine best known for his depictions of the Jewish shtetl in Eastern Europe. Emmanuel Mané-Katz (Hebrew:מאנה כץ), born Mane Leyzerovich Kats (1894–1962), was a Litvak painter born in Kremenchuk, Ukraine, best known for his depictions of the Jewish shtetl in Eastern Europe. Particularly music figures and Jewish wedding scenes. Mane-Katz moved to Paris at the age of 19 to study art, although his father wanted him to be a rabbi. During the First World War he returned to Russia, at first working and exhibiting in Petrograd; following the October revolution, he traveled back to Kremenchuk, where he taught art. In 1921, due to the ongoing fighting in his hometown during the civil war, he moved once again to Paris. There he became friends with Pablo Picasso and other important French artists, and was affiliated with the art movement known as the School of Paris; together with other outstanding Jewish artists of that milieu, he is sometimes considered to be part of a group referred to specifically as the Jewish School of Paris. Includes Russian, Ukrainian and Polish painters Jankel Adler, Arbit Blatas, Marc Chagall, Jacques Chapiro, Michel Kikoine, Pinchus Kremegne, Sigmund Menkes, Jules Pascin, Issachar Ryback, Jacques Lipchitz,Chana Orloff, and Ossip Zadkine. Ecole de Paris In 1931, Mane-Katz's painting The Wailing Wall was awarded a gold medal at the Paris World's Fair. Early on, his style was classical and somber, but his palette changed in later years to bright, primary colors, with an emphasis on Jewish themes. His oils feature Judaic Hasidic characters, rabbis, Jewish musicians, beggars, yeshiva students and scenes from the East European shtetl made famous in the west by Sholem Aleichem and Tevye. Mane-Katz made his first trip to Mandate Palestine in 1928, and thereafter visited the country annually. He said his actual home was Paris, but his spiritual home was Eretz Yisrael, the Land of Israel. In 1939, as World War II was breaking out, he was drafted by the French and then was taken prisoner by the Germans. He escaped and went to the United States and remained there until 1945, exhibiting his paintings at Katia Granoff Gallery and Wildenstein Gallery. After the war, he returned to Paris where he had exhibited in the Salons. In Paris to the end of his career, he worked happily, painting hundreds of portraits of rabbis...

Israeli Tzahal, IDF Soldiers and Chassidic men praying and dancing at the Kotel, Western Wall in jerusalem israel. Fine oil painting. 24 x 18 canvas, 32.5 x 27.5 inches with frame. Simon Natan Karczmar (born November 1, 1903 in Warsaw , died 1982 in Safed ) - Polish and Israeli painter. He was born as Szmaja Karczmar, he studied at the Warsaw School of Fine Arts. He earned a living by importing fur from Russia, which he sold to a cousin who was a furrier. With time, he gained a lot of experience and became an excellent sorter. In 1929 he left for Paris , where he continued his studies in painting. In 1931 he met Nechuma ( Nadia) from Poland, whom he married. Because it was difficult to support the family out of the sale of paintings, he returned to the sorter's work, and his wife started working at perfume Les Lilas in one of the suburbs of Paris. During the Second World War, the persecution of Jews also affected France, so in 1941 he and his family left for Nice. Shortly thereafter the father of Nechuma was denounced to the Gestapo and murdered by a German militiaman. Nechuma was arrested and transported to Auschwitz , Simon joined the partisans at that time. After the war, Nechuma returned to France and reopened perfume. In 1951, the Karczmarów family decided to emigrate to Israel, Simon and his brother-in-law ran a metallurgical plant, but because of losses they had to shut it down. In 1955 they were invited by a friend to Canada, they lived in Montreal where Simon worked again as a fur sorter. In 1959 he got allergies and had to abandon his previous job, he was depressed due to bad financial situation. Simon Karczmar began to paint in a naive way memories of childhood, thanks to which he managed to give them an authentic character and show those places and times through the eyes of a child. His work received positive reviews, he had an individual exhibition at an art gallery in Montreal. In 1960, together with his wife, he left Canada and left for Mexico, where Simon co-organized the Museum of Film Art. At the Centro Deportivo there was a second individual exhibition of his works, and after that he was invited to exhibit paintings in two other galleries. He also received a job offer in the United States and Canada. In 1962 he went to Israel again, where he settled in the art colony in Safed and studied new painting techniques. Although he left France for Israel most of his work evokes his experiences in Eastern Europe. He traveled many times to New York , where he eagerly spent the winter. He died in Safed when he was 79 years old. The Portrait in Palestine, The Bezalel National Museum, Jerusalem 13 February, 1934 - 25 March, 1934 Artists: Boris Schatz, Hermann Struck, Jakob Steinhardt, Tadeusz Rychter, Simon Karczmar, Moshe Castel, Avigdor Stematsky, Shmuel Charuvi, Meir Gur Arie, Joseph Budko, Jacob Eisenberg and more. Simon Karczmar's paintings depict the world of his childhood, depict the everyday life of Polish Jews, their culture, customs, celebrations and holidays. You can see the figures of musicians, traders, buildings of Jewish districts and interiors of their houses. Thanks to the naive technique used, viewers look at the world of the painter's childhood through his eyes. The series of paintings entitled Shtetl depicts paintings remembered by the artist from his grandfather's stay in a small Jewish town near Vilnius In this series of images known collectively as Shtetl, (popularized by Sholem Aleichem, Marc Chagall and Chaim Goldberg) Karczmar draws inspiration from his childhood memories of the vacations he spent at his grandfather's house in Lithuania. The word shtetl is Yiddish for little town and refers to the villages with significant Jewish populations that could once be found throughout Eastern Europe. The nostalgia of Karczmar's renderings contrasts with the darker views of life for Jews revealed in the photographs by Roman Vishniac and drawings of Ephraim Moshe Lilien...

Artist/ School: French School, late 20th century, signed with initials. Title: Seated Nude from behind. Medium: oil painting with some mixed media...

Marine is a painting realized by Lucie Navier in the 1927. Tempera on paper. Mint conditions. Impressionistic work realized with a Realistic technique and representing a natural...

Mr Millerson with Mrs. 1959. Paper, mixed media, 16x6.5 cm Adolfs Zardins (1890 08 II Riga, Latvia – 1967 07 II Jurmala, Latvia), painter. Only in 1990 his relatives give his artist...

Somnath Hore - Untitled Brush on Paper, 7.6 x 11 inches ( Framed & Door Delivered ) Figurative work by Master Sculptor and Painter Somenath Hore. A gorgeous subtle rendition of a ...

Ganesh Haloi - Untitled - 10.5 x 13.6 inches (unframed size) Ink & Watercolour on Paper Inclusive of shipment in roll form. Born : In 1936 Ganesh Haloi born in Jamalpur, Mymensingh,...

Modern oil on canvas painting by the Russian/American artist, Nahum Tschacbasov.. Signed top right and dated 1960. Condition is very good; no restorations.. Presently unframed. Provenance: Estate of the artist, Nahum Tschacbasov. Nahum Tschacbasov was born in Russian in 1899 but moved to Chicago when he was a young boy. He moved to New York City as a young man and spent over 50 years living and working from a series of apartments in the Chelsea Hotel. He learned to paint as a young man in France with his early teacher being Georges Rouault. Tschacbasov returned to New York and for years exhibited at ACA gallery, Perls Gallery and later with John Heller...

Jogen Chowdhury : Untitled Pastel & Ink on Paper ; 11 x 8 inches ; 2007 Signed by the Artist. ( Framed and delivered ) Style : He has immense contribution in inspiring young artists...

Attributed to William Marlow (English, 1740-1813) Elegant Figures alongside the River Wye 1790 131 x 152 cm, inc. frame This quiet bucolic scene shows figur...

The name Zoraida in Arabic means "captivating woman" Large Antique 19th Century Dog Painting of a Poodle Inscribed "Zoraida" Oil on canvas, original frame 37 x 29.5 inches This is...

Flowers in a Garden is an original oil on canvas realized in the 19th Century by Italian School Master. Original oil painting on Canvas. The pai...

At night. 1961. Paper, mixed media, 14x10 cm Adolfs Zardins (1890 08 II Riga, Latvia – 1967 07 II Jurmala, Latvia), painter. Only in 1990 his relatives give his artistic heritage to...

Costume is an original painting artwork in mixed media on paper realized by the Greek-French artist Alkis Matheos . Good conditions . Signed by artist'...

Youth. 1961. Paper, mixed media, 14x10 cm Adolfs Zardins (1890 08 II Riga, Latvia – 1967 07 II Jurmala, Latvia), painter. Only in 1990 his relatives give his artistic heritage to pu...

Artist: Sandu Liberman, Romanian/Israeli (1923 - 1977) Title: Declaration Year: Circa 1970 Medium: Oil on Canvas, signed lower left Size: 30 x 24 in. (76.2 x 60.96 cm) Frame Size: 38...

Frame measures 13.75 X 14.75, board measures 11 X 12 inches Seymour Remenick (1923-1999) American; Philadelphia, PA. Oil on canvas painting Folk Singers and musicians.Seymour Remeni...

This is a painting work by French artist Françoise Collandre. A graduate from the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Métiers d'Arts in Paris, Françoi...

Nick de Angelis (June 21, 1921 – 2004) was an American artist who lived and worked most of his life in New York City. His work was widely recognized for its excellence until he becam...

A modern interpretation of the biblical story Suzanna and the Elders. Signed lower right Ink and wash on paper The Downtown Gallery Felix Landau Gallery Ernest Brown & Phillips, Ltd...

Costume is an original painting artwork in mixed media on paper realized by the Greek-French artist Alkis Matheos . Very good conditions. Signed by artist's stamp. The artwork is ...