Charles Partridge Adams

1890s Traditional Mountain Fall Landscape Oil Painting of Clear Creek, Colorado

1890

This original vintage oil painting, titled "Harbor Master's House, Santa Cruz, California," was created by the talented artist Jon Blanchette (1908-1987). Painted in the 1950s-1960s, this serene coastal landscape captures the beauty of Northern California, featuring iconic palm trees, charming white cottages, and the tranquil coastal setting of Santa Cruz. The painting is executed in the American Impressionist style, with soft, harmonious colors like green, blue, white, light brown, red, and beige, creating a peaceful and inviting scene. The artwork is signed by the artist in the lower right corner and titled on the verso, adding a personal touch to this stunning piece of history. Presented in a custom, dark-toned brown frame, the painting's outer dimensions are 31 x 27 x 1.125 inches, with the image size measuring 24 x 20 inches. About the Artist: Jon Blanchette was born in England in 1908 and moved to the United States with his family in 1918, settling in Battle Creek, Michigan. He studied at the Pittsburgh Art Institute before moving to Los Angeles in 1932, where he worked as a commercial artist for Fox Studios. In 1948, Blanchette made Santa Cruz, California, his permanent home, where he focused on painting and gave private art lessons. A member of the Santa Cruz Art League and the Marin County Artists, Blanchette is best known for his captivating oil paintings of Northern California landscape...

Capitola, California – Original Oil on Board Seascape Painting by Jon Blanchette (circa 1955) This captivating marine seascape painting titled "Capitola, California" by Jon Blanchet...

Original Mid 20th Century Northern California Landscape Painting by Jon Blanchette (1908-1987). This vintage plein air style painting depicts a serene rural scene with a white farmho...

“Ghost Town” by Harold Skene (1883–1978) is a striking vintage oil painting that captures the haunting beauty of Colorado’s mining past. In this evocative Western landscape, a lone prospector and his pack mule stand amid the weathered ruins of an abandoned mountain town. The late summer or early autumn setting is rendered in rich, earthy tones—golden yellows, sage greens, dusty pinks, and soft blues—creating a vivid sense of atmosphere and place. Painted in oil on board and signed by the artist at the lower right, this work is also titled and dated on the verso. It reflects Skene’s architectural training and his artistic roots in the early 20th-century Colorado art scene. The painting is presented in a classic mahogany frame, with outer dimensions measuring 30 x 35.5 x 2.75 inches; image size is 24 x 30 inches. A graduate of Harvard’s School of Architecture, Harold Skene studied at the Denver Art Academy and the Broadmoor Art Academy and was an assistant to noted Western artist Allen Tupper True...

Laura Woodward Gloucester Harbor, circa 1880 Signed lower left Oil on canvas 18 x 24 inches Provenance: Private Collection, United Kingdom Priory Fine ...

Jennie Brownscombe Color Sketch, Shakespeare Garden, c. 1890s Signed lower left Oil on board 7 1/8 x 9 1/4 inches The artist was born in a log cab...

Charles Sprague Pearce The Riverbank, circa 1900 Signed lower left, inscribed verso Oil on canvas 7 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches Charles Sprague Pearce made a successful career painting high...

Turn of 20th Century Spanish-American War Coast Guard Cutter with Cannons Original Oil Painting A fine example of maritime ship portraiture oil painting of a Coast Guard Cutter with cannons under sails during the Spanish American War by renowned Nautical British/American painter Captain William Lindsay Challoner (British/American 1852-1901), 1901. Auction values Luminous and striking painting with seaman unfurling sails heading into rough waters. Challoner served as captain of a naval vessel (Coast Guard Cutter) during the Spanish-American War. Here he is depicted on the deck of the ship while seamen scramble aloft on the rigging during a gale. The captain stands tall before the cannons at the ready to fend off intruders. His paintings are rare and highly prized by museums and Nautical collectors alike. Signed: Lower right corner "W. Challoner" Not framed Dated: "1910" Provenance: A local Monterey Bay area estate find. Condition: Professionally restored (conservation report available) Image size: 27.75"H x 47.38"W William Lindsay Challoner lived the peripatetic life of a mariner, spending much of his time at sea, and in ports such as New Orleans and San Francisco, California. He was born in Bedminster, England, and attended the York Naval Academy. In 1880, Challoner married Mary Cadogan. That same year, the couple immigrated to Argentina and then New Orleans. They had one son, William Lindsay Challoner, Jr. Lloyd’s Lists record Challoner as master aboard J.P. Macheca, a “Clipper Schooner” running bananas from Jamaica during the mid-1880s. The clipper also raced at the Southern Yacht Club in New Orleans. As is often the case, Challoner’s middle name is misspelled as “Lindsey” in J.P. Macheca & Co. records. He is also said to have served as captain for vessels in the Morgan Line. Painting was at first an avocation for Challoner, but his draftsmanship and handling of paint suggest academic training. He may also have learned to make precise topographical drawings at the York Naval Academy. Many of his ship portraits are in the English tradition, notably followers of Samuel Walker, a leading English maritime artist in the 1850s. Like his Liverpool counterparts, Challoner used receding linear and atmospheric perspective to focus on the crisp portraits of specific ships. At their best, his canvases are highly finished, a style that imitates the Venetian tradition of topographical city views associated with Giovanni Antonio Canal, also known as Canaletto. However, Challoner’s restrained bravura paint handling also may bear witness to the influence of the French Impressionists. Challoner seems to have arrived in New Orleans about 1880. He advertised in the press and exhibited at the Creole Art Gallery and Grunewald’s Music Store in New Orleans. In 1887, Challoner moved to San Francisco, where he exhibited his maritime scenes at the Mechanic’s Institute and became a U.S. citizen. He may have been back in New Orleans after 1891, and served as captain of a naval vessel during the Spanish-American War. His art clients tended to be men involved in the shipping industry—ship owners and commission merchants, along with professional clubs and maritime benevolent societies. Challoner’s principal competition in New Orleans was August Norieri, a talented ship portraitist and painter of marines. While Norieri lived hand-to-mouth, Challoner drew a handsome salary working as a ship captain, presumably until shortly before his death at the age of 49. Securing the commission for painting the newly founded New Orleans Yacht Club suggests that Challoner was held in higher regard as an artist than Norieri. The two artists together met the market demand for ship portraiture and marine views in the port city, as had Edward Arnold and James Guy...