Nellie Augusta Knopf

Mountain Study (Landscape)

circa 1940

This beautiful vintage landscape painting from the 1950s, created by the talented woman artist Zola Zaugg (1890-1983), showcases the serene beauty of the mountains near Colorado Spri...

"Little Bear" is a captivating mid-century oil painting by American artist Harold Vincent Skene (1883–1978). This traditional Western landscape, painted in...

This vintage 1940s oil painting by Colorado artist Irene Fowler (1884–1969) beautifully captures the vibrant autumn landscape of Boulder Canyon. With a masterful eye for color and atmosphere, Fowler presents majestic mountain peaks framed by glowing Aspen trees in their fall brilliance, their leaves shimmering in radiant shades of gold, orange, and red. The scene reflects both the serenity and dramatic character of Colorado’s rugged wilderness, offering a timeless vision of the Rocky Mountains. Fowler’s keen observation of light and painterly brushwork bring the landscape vividly to life, evoking the crisp mountain air and golden glow of a Colorado autumn day. Her ability to balance natural grandeur with intimate detail makes this work an exceptional example of early 20th-century Western American painting. The painting itself measures 22 ¼ x 18 ¼ inches and is presented in a custom gilded frame with outer dimensions of 25 ¼ x 21 ¼ x 1 ½ inches, enhancing its elegance and making it ready for display. About the Artist: Irene Fowler (1884–1969) was a pivotal figure in Denver’s early 20th-century art community. Born in Illinois, she later settled in Colorado, where she became both a respected public school teacher and a founding member of the Denver Artists Guild (now the Colorado Artists Guild). Best known for her en plein air landscapes, Fowler captured the beauty of Colorado’s mountains, Aspen groves, and mining towns with an extraordinary sensitivity to light, color, and atmosphere. She exhibited widely throughout her career, including at the Schlier Gallery, Chappell House, University Club...

“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...