Walter Gropius

Acanthus (Architecture)

1870

Three hand-colored lithographs from John Gould's seven volume book "The Birds of Australia", which included New Zealand, depicting: pairs of "Eudyptes Chrysocome" (New Zealand Rock-hopper Crested Penguins), "Diomedea O Thalassarche Cauta" (Australian Shy Albatross) and "Sula Fusca" (Brown Gannets). These beautiful sea bird prints are presented in identical very attractive brown wood frames, embellished with gold highlights in the corners and gold inner trim, along with light cream-colored French mats, each with a medium cream-colored band and a gold highlight line. There is scattered spotting. There is a small tear in the lower right corner of the penguin lithograph...

"Wa-Em-Boesh-Kaa, A Chippeway Chief," is an original hand-colored lithograph by McKenney & Hall. It features a portrait of a notable Native American chief, with informational text below. 13 1/2" x 18 3/4" paper 25 5/8" x 20 1/2" frame American lithograph publishers. Most well-known for "History of the Indian Tribes of North America," a collection of 125 images that included biographical sketches and anecdotes of principal chiefs. Thomas Loraine McKenney (1785-1859) served as Commissioner of Indian Affairs from 1824 to 1830. In that capacity he commissioned and collected portraits of Native Americans...

"The Presidents of the U.S." is an original hand-colored lithograph by Nathaniel Currier. It features the first eleven presidents of the United States. 14" x 10" art 23" x 19 1/8" frame Nathaniel Currier was born March 27, 1813 to Nathaniel and Hannah Currier in Roxbury, Massachusetts. At the age of fifteen he was apprenticed to William S. and John Pendleton of Boston who had set up the first lithographic establishment in America. His apprenticeship served him well as he went on to be the largest publisher of lithographs. Mr. Maurer described Nat Currier as being very gentlemanly and liberal. As is evident to the success of the firm of Currier & Ives he was very devoted to his business. Nat Currier had many friends including Horace Greely and P.T. Barnum. He was well known for his sense of humor and Harry T. Peters tells one story about P. T. Barnum. "Currier had heard that one day his friend, the great showman, had rushed into the barber shop of the old Park Hotel, at Beekman and Nassau Streets, to get a shave. Barnum had hurried up to Tom Higginson, the barber, and said, 'Tom, I'm in a hurry.' 'Sorry for it,' said Tom, 'but it's that gentleman's turn next.' 'That gentleman' was an unshaven irshman waiting for a ten-cent shave. Barnum turned to him and said, 'My friend, if you will let me have your turn, I'll pay for what you have done.' The gentleman consented, and, as Barnum found out later, had a full job done - absolutely everything the house had. The check was for a dollar and sixty cents. When Currier heard this story he found the very Irishman and had him pose. The result was the famous cartoon, "The Man that Gave Barnum 'His Turn.'" Nathaniel was married twice; his first wife was Miss Eliza West of Boston. He had one son with Eliza, Edward West Currier. In 1847 he married Miss Laura Ormsbee of Vermont. Laura and Nathaniel are memorialized in the famous N. Currier lithograph The Road Winter...

Jan De Ruth (American/ Czech, 1922-1991), " After the Bath" Edition 19/250, Figurative Lithograph on Paper signed and titled in Pencil, 30 x 21 (Image: 25 x 15.50), ca. 1970s, Late 20th Century Colors: Blue, Yellow, Red, Grey, White, Purple Jan De Ruth enjoyed special popularity as a portrait artist and has become one of the best known painters of the nude female in the world today. It's a long way from sketching in leftover coffee to painting a portrait of Ethel Kennedy for the cover of Time Magazine, twenty-five years in fact; and during that period, Jan De Ruth's personal experiences have been enough to fill two ordinary lifetimes. Through them all, art has sustained him and been his primary interest. To begin with, De Ruth, a native of Czechoslovakia and now an American citizen, spent the years of World War II being shunted through 5 different concentration camps, including the infamous Auschwitz. He made four escape attempts and finally made good on his fifth try. De Ruth constantly sought materials with which to draw, but "The only things we had were the few pieces of cloth we wore," he recalls. By chance, he was transferred to Germany as part of a labor detail and managed to sneak a pencil away from the camp supervisor-"I became a perfect thief during those years," he says. Jan drew a mother and child on a scrap of paper he scrounged from the factory where he worked, filled it in with shadings of coffee in various strengths-his finger was his brush. He exchanged the sketch for a piece of bread from a camp guard, and in effect, sold his first painting. In March of 1945, after being transferred to his native Czechoslovakia, he made his successful escape "knowing every step of the way." After the war, De Ruth became the commissar in a small Czech town and remained in the post for one year, just long enough to forge some documents that allowed him to flee to England. He took up residence in London and enrolled at the Ruskin Art School in Oxford University. He arrived in the USA in 1948. There are times in the life of a painter when his dedication to his art is overshadowed by the immediate requirements of self-preservation. This was one of those times! From '48 to 1955 he supported himself by working at night, earning his way painting designs on neckties and bathroom cups; as a fashion designer, illustrator, vacuum cleaner salesman, theatre manager, and actor. In '55 Jan De Ruth made his professional debut as a full-time artist and two years later his first one-man show established him as a serious painter. His work has been acclaimed for combining the technique of the old masters with a modern manner, and has been exhibited in more than 40 one-man shows in galleries and museums across the United States. He has been judged positively by juries in 28 national exhibitions and his numerous awards include the Purchase Prize of the Butler Institute of American Art, and the Gold Medal of the National Arts Club. De Ruth, author of the books "Portrait Painting" and "Painting the Nude," has devoted his entire life to painting the female face and form. He enjoys special popularity as a portraitist and has become one of the best known painters of the nude female in the world today. Often asked why he concentrates on this most demanding of all art subjects he replies: . . . "Each painting of the nude becomes a new experience . . . It (the human figure) is nature's most perfect and most imperfect creation, communicating, even in silence and immobility, the physical and spiritual power-and frailty-of humanity." Articulate, sophisticated, outspoken and well informed, De Ruth has also been a welcome guest on radio and television shows. But, it is painting that gives a purpose to Jan De Ruth's existence: "It is an unending challenge-there is no end, no final result-to be found in painting the human body. I have never seen two gestures that are alike, but so are the possibilities of expression. There will always be painters who will find one more way of saying: "See! This is what I feel about humans." . . . So until a greater challenge and a more profound symbol comes along, it is the human figure I wish to paint." AWARDS Butler Institute of American Art Purchase Prize Oguniquit Art Center Knickerbocker Artist 1964 Audubon Artist, Grumbacher Purchase Prize National Arts Club of America Gold Medal Windsor-Newton Award of the National Arts Club ONE MAN MUSEUM EXHIBITIONS B'nai B'rith Museum - Washington D.C. Florida Gulf Coast Art...