Ralph Victor Murray

Redwood Forest

c.1940

This artwork "Landscape with Trail" c.1930 is an oil painting on canvas by noted American artist Frederick Ernest Swedlun, AKA: Ernest Fredericks (18...

This artwork titled "Yosemite" 1952, is an oil painting on board by noted California artist Jean Martin (Eugenia Victoria Weir Martin) 1906-1986. It is signed at the lower right corner by the artist. The artwork (board) size is 16 x 20 inches, framed size is 24.25 x 28.25 inches. Framed in original wooden gold with grey patina frame, with fabric liner. It is in excellent condition. About the artist: Eugenia "Jean" Victoria Weir Martin 1906-1986 San Diego, California Landscapes, Seascapes artist Eugenia Victoria Weir Martin was a painter and art instructor in Southern California. She was born in Tennessee on March 7, 1906. "Jean", as she was called, was brought to La Jolla, California as a small child by her parents, and remained in that area the rest of her life. Her Father was a businessman in the early stages of the development of La Jolla. He operated a General Store in the early village. They resided in "Windemere", which is now the home of the La Jolla Historical Society. At the age of 10 she studied art with a Mrs. Fletcher, an artist in residence at the 1916 California Exposition in Balboa Park. She also studied at the San Diego Academy of Fine Arts. Early in her career she also studied with Maurice Braun, Alfred Mitchell, Edward Langley...

This artwork titled "Point Cabrillo Light Station, Mendocino" c.2000 is an oil painting on canvas by American artist Hope Stevenson, 1939-2015. It is signed at the lower left corner by the artist. The canvas size is 12 x 16 inches, framed size is 18.85 x 21.85 inches. framed in a wooden plein air style gold frame. it is in excellent condition. About the artist: Hope was born July 22, 1939, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Her family moved to Palo Alto, California, during World War II, where her father worked at Moffett Field and later for Borg Warner...

This artwork titled "Seaview, Fire Island, New York, Sand Dunes, Ocean Side" 1956, is an oil painting on canvas board by Italian/American artist Xavier Barile, 1891-1981. It is signed at the lower right corner by the artist. Also signed, dated, and titled on the back. The canvas board size is 12 x 16 inches, framed size is 22 x 26 inches. Framed in an ornate wooden gold frame, with black velvet liner. It is in generally excellent condition, the frame have some minor restorations, barely visible and 2 small area where the velvet is scratched. About the artist: Xavier J Barile was a Social Realist painter, teacher, lecturer, graphic artist, and writer. He was born March 18, 1891, in Tufo, Italy. His love of beauty manifested itself at a very early age. During his early teens, he used to design monograms for the young girls of his home town, Tufo, Italy, to embroider on their most precious possession, their hope chest and trousseau. In 1907, his mother brought him, his two younger brothers and two sisters to New York, to join their father who had been in New York for several years, preparing the way. He quickly learned English and spent some time helping his father, who was earning a living for the family as a tailor. Having learned English well, Barile then enrolled in the Evening Art Classes at Cooper Union Institute in New York. In due course he enrolled in the Art Students League, New York City. Here he came under the influence of John Sloan, Reginald Marsh and Victor Perard as teachers and George Luks, Robert Henri and Everett Shinn of "the Eight" as friends and colleagues. In 1939 John Sloan dedicated his book, Gist of Art as follows, "To my old friend, first monitor of my first class at the Art Students League 1914." This friendship and mutual regard lasted until Sloan's death in 1951. Of course, it was only natural that Barile should be a part of the "Ashcan School," painting the New York Scene. During this time that he was on his own he worked with all mediums - oil, watercolor, pastel, casein, charcoal, etc. - and he did some fine work with monotypes. It was during these years, the 20's and 30's, that he began to exhibit in such places as the Whitney Studio Club (forerunner of the Whitney Museum of American Art), The Kit Kat Club, The Anderson Gallery, The Cincinnati Museum, The New Mexico Museum, National Society of Painters in Casein, The Salmagundi Club and many other exhibits throughout the United States. He is currently represented in The National Collection of Fine Arts (NCFA) Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. In the mid 30's, like many another struggling artist, XJB worked on the WPA Art Project. One of the murals he worked on is in the U.S. Customs House, Bowling Green, N.Y.C. In this project he collaborated with Reginald Marsh who was the supervisor of this phase of the work. The years until 1939 were spent working in all parts of the United States and in conducting his own classes for aspiring artists. In 1939, on the recommendation of John Sloan, he became the founder, first teacher and Chairman of The Department of Fine Arts, Pueblo Junior College, Pueblo Colorado...

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...