Romantic Art

"Jesus Christ in front of his accusers" is an modern, romantic painting by the Bulgarian artist Maestro Zhivko Zheliazkov, About the artwork: TECHNIQUE: oil painting on canvas ST...

Margaret Maitland Howard. English ( b.1898 - d.1983 ). Pan, God Of Nature, Playing Panpipes. Oil On Canvas. Signed Lower Left. Image size 22.6 inches x 18.1 inches ( 57.5cm x 46cm ). Frame size 26.8 inches x 22.2 inches ( 68cm x 56.5cm ). Available for sale; this original oil painting is by the English artist Margaret Maitland Howard and dates from the 1930s. The painting is presented and supplied in a sympathetic contemporary frame (which is shown in these photographs), mounted with new fixtures. The canvas has been lined and mounted on a newly constructed custom made stretcher. The painted surface has benefitted from cleaning and conservation, all of which was performed on our instruction, supervision and approval. This vintage painting is now in very good condition. It wants for nothing and is supplied ready to hang and display. The painting is signed lower left. Margaret Maitland Howard was an accomplished and versatile English artist whose works spanned the early to mid-20th century. Known for her evocative and often mythologically inspired oil paintings, Howard’s work reflects a deep engagement with classical themes and her knowledge of nature, and the human form. She was also proficient working in watercolours and pastels and an accomplished sculptor. Margaret, who was always known as “Marjorie” was born in Friern, Barnet, London on 31 July 1898, the daughter of artist and civil servant Henry James Howard. She grew up at Sutton, Surrey, where she spent most of her life. She spent many years living and working from St. Katherine’s, Malgrave Road, Sutton, Surrey. She was educated privately, at the Byam Shaw and then attended the Vicat Cole School of Art, completing her studies at the Royal Academy Schools, where she won five silver medals and other awards. She was also the recipient of a British Institute scholarship and extension and won the 1926 prize for her portrait work at the National Welsh Eisteddfod in Swansea. She exhibited paintings at the Royal Academy, showing at least ten works of classical and biblical themes at Summer Exhibitions between 1923 and 1935. She was one of the early group of women who painted nudes, a practice which was considered somewhat risqué and vulgar in the early twentieth century. She also exhibited at other leading galleries and in the provinces and consistently pursued her art despite the challenges posed by the societal norms of the time. Howard had a significant professional career for a woman of her generation. Just after World War II she was appointed draughtsman to the Institute of Archaeology at London University where she worked from 1948 to 1960. This is now part of University College, London. Here, she worked as an illustrator and sculptor, creating models for Professor Frederick Zeuner to use in his lectures. She also illustrated one of his important books (Zeuner, F.E. Dating the Past, London: Methuen). She also created the bust of Gordon Childe, now in the Institute’s Library. After her retirement from the Institute of Archaeology she collaborated with Ian Wolfran Cornwall on his series of books about the prehistoric world. In 1956, whilst working for the British Institute for the Study of Iraq, she moved to Balawat and supervised the archaeological work at the site of an ancient Assyrian city in northern Mesopotamia. She subsequently prepared drawings of the Balawat Gates, which was significant and technical work. In addition to illustrating various books on ancient history and anthropology, Howard was also known as an illustrator of fictional books, producing an illustrated edition of the Fables of Aesop that was published by John Lane at The Bodley Head in 1926. She also illustrated Elizabeth Ward...

A fine & large antique oil on canvas painting by Bengt Nordenberg (1822-1902), Sweden, dated 1883. Nordenberg is recognized as one of Sweden's most celebrated 19th century artists, his work epitomizes Swedish Romanticism and this painting is a wonderful representation of that style. The painting depicts an interior scene of a mother holding an infant in front of an open heath, with a fire burning in the grate, above the fire there are racks of meat hanging and above that are hams hanging. The infant has evidently just woken from a nap and his cradle sits next to his mother's chair, his brother sitting on the floor with his monkey & the carrying case he transports the animal to beg for money, the monkey humorously sits with his begging plate outstretched to the boy's mother, much to her consternation! The painting is signed and dated lower left, it is in very good condition and is housed in the original gilded composition and limewood frame, Nordenberg's record for a painting at auction is over $91,500, this is a fine example of the artist's work and is ready to hang on your wall. Bloomsbury Fine Art & Antiques ship globally, very well packed & insured to ensure safe delivery. Bengt Nordenberg (1822-1902) was a master of Swedish Romanticism. He belonged to the Düsseldorf school of painting & is best known for his genre paintings with everyday life scenes from the Dalarna, Skåne and Blekinge areas of Sweden. He moved to Düsseldorf in the 1850s. Nordenberg was born at Jämshög in Blekinge County, Sweden, he was one of nine siblings born to Per Jönsson Nord (1785-1854) and his wife Sissa Bengtsdotter (b. 1792). He grew up in poverty and became an apprentice to a painter in Sölvesborg. In 1843 he studied at the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts in Stockholm, In the autumn of 1851 he went to the Düsseldorf Academy, where first Theodor Hildebrandt and then later, Adolph Tidemand...

Italian Peasant Girl with Coral Necklace and Man with Ciocie Shoes, 19th Century Dimensions: H 65 cm x W 51 cm Period: 19th century Technique: Oil on canvas This rural scene depic...

"Equos" A small study inspired by Classical equestrian examples, the artist in this piece balances the potential energy within the form of the horse with an emotional calm. Noun...

Liz Wall. Welsh. Siren. Watercolor & Ink. Signed & Dated 2011 Lower Right. Image size 11.4 inches x 18.9 inches ( 29cm x 48cm ). Frame size 25.6 inches x 26.8 inches ( 65cm x 68cm ...

French school around 1850 Oil on oil 41 x 33 cm (54 x 47 cm with frame) Inscription on the back “Lefevre” Based on the model's hairstyle, the portrait can be dated around 1850. The ...

Oil on canvas framed representing a monk reading sitting on a chair in the taste of François Granet.

Antique Oil Painting on Metal – 19th Century Miniature Artist: Unidentified Medium: Oil on Metal Dimensions: Framed: 19 x 17 cm Artwork: 10 x 6 cm Style: Classical / Romanticism / M...

This serene landscape painting is by James Howe Carse, a Scottish-Australian artist whose lineage and mentorship are deeply rooted in the artistic traditions of his time. Carse's wor...

This early 19th-century watercolour by British artist Paul Sandby Munn RWS (1773-1845) depicts a riverside view at Mallevy in North Wales. Amid a hasty world where technology consumes our waking hours, few of us find the time to consider the subtle beauties of quiet watercolours. Yet, during the late 18th century, when Munn began producing his skillfully-rendered views, this style of drawing was considered an act of rebellion. Indeed, to such an extent that, together with several associates, Munn contributed to one of the most vital artistic circles in British history - the “Brothers” sketching club. Held every Saturday, the sketching club sought to raise the status of landscape watercolours from their lowly position as mere copies of nature. Fellow artists such as John Varley, Thomas Girtin and John Sell Cotman...

French School 19th Century, Portrait of a dandy, watercolor on paper 19 x 13 cm Signed (?) with pencil lower right "L ... " illegible Framed : 29 x 23 cm

Horse Drawn Plough with Two Horses, Ploughman and his Dog. Signed, Oil on Canvas, housed in a gilt frame, by British Landscape Artist, James Wright. Art ...

Swan Scalabre "Western n°13" Oil on Wood 11.25 x 13.25 in. Born in the Alpes de Haute Provence region of France in 1977, Swan Scalabre investigates the silent gaze placed on women,...

Hanger Books Signed lower right. Robert Berran has been a prolific romance and historical book cover illustrator since the 1970s.

Désiré THOMASSIN (Attributed to) Vienna, 1858 – Munich, 1933 Oil on panel 32 x 50 cm (42 x 60 cm with frame) Inscription on the back “Thomassin / Braz...

Achille Devéria (1800-1857) "Allez au diable, la femme est à moi" (Go to hell, This woman is mine) pencil on paper annotated on the upper border "Alle...

Paul Delvaux. Belgian ( b.1897 - d.1994 ). La Belle Anna, La Port De Cannes, 1930. Watercolor, Bodycolor & Pastel On Woven Paper. Signed & Dated 1930 Lower Left. Image size 15.7 inc...

'Flower maidens,' a large oil-on-canvas painting by Émile Eisman-Semenowsky French/Polish, Late 19th Century Frame: height 72.5cm, width 111cm, depth 9cm Canvas: height 54cm, width 9...

Signed lower left, 'R. Gallon' for Robert Gallon (English, 1845-1925) and painted circa 1880. This well-listed landscape and seascape painter maintained a studio in St John's Wood, ...

The Girl from Togo Bronze Artist Proof MEAM in Barcelona Spain Figurative This life size bronze bust is the artist proof of "The Girl from Togo." It was personally crafted b...

George Morland (1763 London - 1804 Brighton). Sheltering from the Storm. Oil on canvas, relined, 37.5 x 29.5 cm (visible size), 53.5 x 45.5 cm (...

Hippolyte Benjamin ADAM Paris, 1808 – 1853 Oil on canvas 54 x 73 cm (61 x 80 cm with frame) Signed lower left “h. Adam" 19th century black wooden frame Hippolyte Adam is a painter o...

Painting, 19th century, oil on canvas, "Young woman with flower basket" Signed, F.Bach. Dimensions with frame 52cm x 72.5cm

Farm Scene with Haystacks in the English Countryside by British Landscape Artist, James Wright. Signed, Original, Oil on Canvas, housed in a gilt frame ...

French Romantic School beginning of the 19th Century View of Arriccia, 1828 located and dated, "Arriccia 1828" on the lower right Pencil on paper 23 x ...

Early 19th century English school Oil on canvas 35x55cm (50x75cm with frame) This view of the Thames from Richemond Hill is a famous site that was...

Signed lower left, 'P. Lagiere' (French, 19th century) and dated, '1868'. After 'La Jeune Courtisane', 1821, by Xavier Sigalon (French, 1787–1837), held in the permanent collection o...

Tanvi Pathare Luna Contemporary Florence Portrait painting Ø 80 cm oil on linen (frame included in price) size with frame: Ø 100 cm Tanvi Pathare from India attended the Florence A...

Painting of Lake & Trees with Birds in the English Countryside by 20th Century British Artist, James Wright Signed, Original, Oil on Canvas, housed in a ...

Artist: Alva Studios Title: Venus Year: 1928 Medium: Bronze Sculpture Size: 17 in. x 7 in. x 5 in. (43.18 cm x 17.78 cm x 12.7 cm)

Gouache of a Shipwreck in a Storm with Gothic Ruins, Early 19th Century Technique: Gouache on paper Period: Early 19th century Description: This romantic painting depicts a dramatic ...

Unidentified Artist (19th Century) "Winter Wonderland" (1885) This charming 19th-century oil painting captures a winter landscape, depicting three figures trudging through the snow, engaged in animated conversation. The scene is set against a serene rural backdrop, where bare trees and a distant village silhouette convey the stark beauty of winter. The soft glow of the sky, transitioning from warm hues to cool whites, enhances the tranquil yet brisk atmosphere of a cold winter’s day. Plot & Interpretation The three travelers appear to be peasants or laborers, possibly returning home or embarking on a journey. Their layered winter clothing, fur hats, and backpacks suggest they are seasoned wanderers or workers, braving the elements. The gesturing figure in the middle seems to be engaged in storytelling or giving directions, adding a sense of movement and interaction. The snow-covered ground and delicate shadows create depth, emphasizing the hardship and resilience of rural life in the 19th century. Materials & Condition Medium: Oil on canvas Framed Dimensions: 47 x 46 cm Canvas Dimensions: 24 x 34 cm Frame: Ornate giltwood frame, enhancing the painting’s classical aesthetic Condition: Well-preserved with minor age-related patina, in line with its 1885 dating Historical Context & Artistic Style Likely influenced by Northern European realism, particularly Russian, German, or Scandinavian schools that depicted harsh winters and rural peasant life. Comparable to the works of Adolf von Meckel, Vasily Perov, or Carl...

The Triumph of Bacchus, a large oil painting by Ferdinand Leeke Oil-on-canvas, German, 1918 Frame: height 175cm, width 227cm, depth 10cm Canvas: height...

A series of six German engravings of couples dancing. Published by Josef Friderick Leopold in Bavaria. 260mm by 165mm (platemark)

Artist: Alvar Title: Woman with Birds Year: c.1980 Medium: Color lithograph Paper: Wove Image size: 18.5 x 24.5 inches Framed size: 26.5 x 32.65 inc...

Everyone holds his fortune in his own hands, like a sculptor the raw material he will fashion into a figure. But it’s the same with that type of artistic activity as with all others:...

Franz Bergmann, Austrian (1861 -1936) - Boy Smoking Pipe, Year: circa 1900, Medium: Cold painted Bronze sculpture, Size: 2 x 6 x 2 in. (5.08 x 15.24 x 5.08 cm)

Théophile Clément BLANCHARD 1820 - 1849 Oil on canvas 27 x 40 cm (45 x 58 cm with the frame) Signed lower right "Blanchard" Very nice 19th century gilded wooden frame French painter, lithographer and illustrator, Théophile Clément Blanchard is part of of those painters of the romantic era who represented picturesque views of France like Alexis Daligé de Fontenay or Eugène Cicéri. These painters traveled a lot and sought out picturesque sites, particularly in Normandy, Brittany, Switzerland and the Pyrenees. Blanchard participated in the illustration of “Picturesque and Romantic Travels in the Old France”. But the works of this romantic painter are rare because Blanchard died very young at twenty-nine year old ! We still know of him, in particular, a view of Bugey (dated 1846) which is at the Louvre Museum and a “Delicious Landscape” (from the 1840s) at the Salies museum at Bagnères de Bigorre...

Timber Raft on the Rhine (after the watercolor by J.M.W. Turner in the National Gallery). 1898. Mezzotint. Hardie 66. 8 1/4 x 11 11/16 (sheet 10 5/16 x 13 1/2). Edition 100. A rich, ...

"Through the Clouds: The Magic of Stories in the Heavenly Realm" Oil on cardboard In this oil landscape painting, we immerse ourselves in the wondrous world of the sky and experience the emotional impact of its colors. The composition is dominated by a cloud that swiftly ascends towards the heights, touching the beautiful blue expanse above. The cloud becomes the protagonist and storyteller of this artwork, reflecting everything hidden beyond the horizon. The viewer, without seeing or knowing what lies beyond that horizon, completes the picture in their imagination, envisioning forests, lakes, and other enigmatic shapes concealed within the cloud's reflections. The cloud serves as a portal to a realm of fantasies and dreams, where the viewer can soar high above the cloud...

A dynamic mid 20th century copy of a lithograph that depicts Englishmen on horseback giving chase with a pack of beagle-type dogs running in the background. by John Frederick Herring...

L'Hiver, which is French for winter. An evocative title which pretty much explains the piece. Number 1 out of a production of Seven. Artist Statement: I am very happy to announce that two of my bronze works are now available in a limited edition of 7. The first one, shown above, is my vision of Eros. He is more popularly known in the Roman interpretation of a chubby baby or young boy with an bow and arrow. I have always been more intrigued with the original Greek embodiment of the this deity as a young man. More than the god of love, Eros was a personification of the power of creation. He was balanced by his antithesis was Thanatos, that of destruction. In fact, Thanatos is currently in the design process. This work will exist in an edition of 7 and 2 artist's proofs. Each piece is hand chased by myself and I apply the patina as well. The sculpture was created using the Lost Wax...

Richard Westall, R.A. (1765-1836) Venus signed and dated ‘R. Westall 1794’ (lower right) pencil and watercolour, with white heightening image 11 ⅞ x 15 ¼ in. (30.2 x 38.7 cm.) frame 22 ⅛ x 26 in. (56.3 x 66.1 cm.) Provenance: Private Collection, UK. Venus (1794) was produced during a highly creative and defining period of Richard Westall’s career and artistic development, when from 1790-95 the ambitious young artist was sharing a house at 57 Greek Street, Soho, with his friend Sir Thomas Lawrence, the future President of the Royal Academy. Whilst lodging together, Lawrence became an Associate of the Royal Academy in 1791, Westall the following year, and both were elected full-members in 1794 – the year Lawrence was appointed Painter-in-Ordinary to His Majesty King George III. Westall was to become Queen Victoria’s first Drawing Master, before her ascension to the throne. It was in this very year, 1794 - as the two young artists became Royal Academicians - that the present watercolour was executed, and it is exciting to speculate that Lawrence would have examined and given his thoughts on the work. Highly comparable to The Wallace Collection’s Nymph and cupids (c.1793, cat. P757), acquired by Francis Seymour-Conway (1777-1842), 3rd Marquess of Hertford, (who hung it in his bedroom), the mid-1790s saw Westall exhibiting and returning to similar subject-matter on a number of occasions. Two works with titles that could be applied to the present picture were exhibited at the Royal Academy, in 1794 (no. 341 Nymph and Cupids) and 1795 (no. 620, A Wood–nymph and Cupids). However, a print after the watercolour, engraved by F. Screen, entitles the piece Venus. Westall is regarded as a great virtuoso watercolourist, and Venus is evidence of the young artist’s mastery of the medium. Indeed, it is unusual to find a watercolour of comparable age so well preserved, and retaining such vibrancy - the superb condition providing an insight into his exceptional brushwork and use of colour. Venus languishes luxuriously on her woodland bed, the trunk of a tree resembling a curtain, while three winged putti play beside her, seeming to gesture to someone in the woods. Cupid draws back his bow and aims an arrow of love, perhaps about to pierce the heart of a hunting nobleman, or unsuspecting woodcutter. The striking contrast between the almost luminescent nymph, with the deep, rich, luxuriant forest, gives the glade an alluring sense of mystery – perhaps an allusion to the mysteries of the heart, a pre-occupation with Romanticism, central to the emerging thought of the time. Westall can be classified as one of the great Romantic artists, and even painted Lord Byron’s portrait...

Antique Horse Bronze Exceptional Bronze of a Draft Horse Pierre Jules Mêne (French, 1810-1879) Circa 1860s 4 3/4 (W) x 3.25 (H) As Mêne personally ov...

French Romantic school circa 1850 An antique Roman Atrium signed lower right (illegible) Ink, Ink wash and white gouache heightenings 20 x 13 cm Framed : 35.5 x 27 cm The signatu...

After Jacques-Clement Wagrez (French, 1850-1908), "Quadriga of Cupid", Oil on Canvas, late 19th century, monogrammed lower right in Cyrillic, original gilt composition frame. Image: ...

Archival pigment print Signed and dated by the artist 16 x 20 - edition of 10 20 x 30 - edition of 5 Flickering in the Midday Silver Beyond the pane a glimmer, barely perceived...

Lithograph on fine vélin paper, mounted on archival mat-board, as issued. Unsigned and unnumbered, as issued. Good Condition; never framed or matted. Notes: From the folio, Eugène De...

Recruits on a March Ink and watercolor on paper, mounted on support Unsigned Condition: watercolor sheet laid down on paper, moderately faded Original Ackermann frame and matting Ima...

Lithograph on fine vélin paper, mounted on archival mat-board, as issued. Unsigned and unnumbered, as issued. Good Condition; never framed or matted. Notes: From the folio, Eugène De...

The present hand-colored lithograph was produced as part of the funeral and mourning culture in the United States during the 19th century. Images like this were popular as ways of remembering loved ones, an alternative to portraiture of the deceased. This lithograph shows a man, woman and child in morning clothes next to an urn-topped stone monument. Behind are additional putto-topped headstones beneath weeping willows, with a steepled church beyond. The monument contains a space where a family could inscribe the name and death dates of a deceased loved one. In this case, it has been inscribed to a young Civil War soldier: William W. Peabody Died at Fairfax Seminary, VA December 18th, 1864 Aged 18 years The young Mr. Peabody probably died in service for the Union during the American Civil War. Farifax Seminary was a Union hospital and military headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia. The hospital served nearly two thousand soldiers during the war time. Five hundred were also buried on the Seminary's grounds. 13.75 x 9.5 inches, artwork 23 x 19 inches, frame Published before 1864 Inscribed bottom center "Lith. & Pub. by N. Currier. 2 Spruce St. N.Y." Framed to conservation standards using 100 percent rag matting and TruVue Conservation Clear glass, housed in a gold gilded moulding. Nathaniel Currier was a tall introspective man with a melancholy nature. He could captivate people with his piercing stare or charm them with his sparkling blue eyes. Nathaniel was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts on March 27th, 1813, the second of four children. His parents, Nathaniel and Hannah Currier, were distant cousins who lived a humble yet spartan life. When Nathaniel was eight years old, tragedy struck. Nathaniel’s father unexpectedly passed away leaving Nathaniel and his eleven-year-old brother Lorenzo to provide for the family. In addition to their mother, Nathaniel and Lorenzo had to care for six-year-old sister Elizabeth and two-year-old brother Charles. Nathaniel worked a series of odd jobs to support the family, and at fifteen, he started what would become a life-long career when he apprenticed in the Boston lithography shop of William and John Pendleton. A Bavarian gentleman named Alois Senefelder invented lithography just 30 years prior to young Nat Currier’s apprenticeship. While under the employ of the brothers Pendleton, Nat was taught the art of lithography by the firm’s chief printer, a French national named Dubois, who brought the lithography trade to America. Lithography involves grinding a piece of limestone flat and smooth then drawing in mirror image on the stone with a special grease pencil. After the image is completed, the stone is etched with a solution of aqua fortis leaving the greased areas in slight relief. Water is then used to wet the stone and greased-ink is rolled onto the raised areas. Since grease and water do not mix, the greased-ink is repelled by the moisture on the stone and clings to the original grease pencil lines. The stone is then placed in a press and used as a printing block to impart black on white images to paper. In 1833, now twenty-years old and an accomplished lithographer, Nat Currier left Boston and moved to Philadelphia to do contract work for M.E.D. Brown, a noted engraver and printer. With the promise of good money, Currier hired on to help Brown prepare lithographic stones of scientific images for the American Journal of Sciences and Arts. When Nat completed the contract work in 1834, he traveled to New York City to work once again for his mentor John Pendleton, who was now operating his own shop located at 137 Broadway. Soon after the reunion, Pendleton expressed an interest in returning to Boston and offered to sell his print shop to Currier. Young Nat did not have the financial resources to buy the shop, but being the resourceful type he found another local printer by the name of Stodart. Together they bought Pendleton’s business. The firm ‘Currier & Stodart’ specialized in "job" printing. They produced many different types of printed items, most notably music manuscripts for local publishers. By 1835, Stodart was frustrated that the business was not making enough money and he ended the partnership, taking his investment with him. With little more than some lithographic stones, and a talent for his trade, twenty-two year old Nat Currier set up shop in a temporary office at 1 Wall Street in New York City. He named his new enterprise ‘N. Currier, Lithographer’ Nathaniel continued as a job printer and duplicated everything from music sheets to architectural plans. He experimented with portraits, disaster scenes and memorial prints, and any thing that he could sell to the public from tables in front of his shop. During 1835 he produced a disaster print Ruins of the Planter's Hotel, New Orleans, which fell at two O’clock on the Morning of the 15th of May 1835, burying 50 persons, 40 of whom Escaped with their Lives. The public had a thirst for newsworthy events, and newspapers of the day did not include pictures. By producing this print, Nat gave the public a new way to “see” the news. The print sold reasonably well, an important fact that was not lost on Currier. Nat met and married Eliza Farnsworth in 1840. He also produced a print that same year titled Awful Conflagration of the Steamboat Lexington in Long Island Sound on Monday Evening, January 18, 1840, by which melancholy occurrence over One Hundred Persons Perished. This print sold out very quickly, and Currier was approached by an enterprising publication who contracted him to print a single sheet addition of their paper, the New York Sun. This single page paper is presumed to be the first illustrated newspaper ever published. The success of the Lexington print launched his career nationally and put him in a position to finally lift his family up. In 1841, Nat and Eliza had their first child, a son they named Edward West Currier. That same year Nat hired his twenty-one year old brother Charles and taught him the lithography trade, he also hired his artistically inclined brother Lorenzo to travel out west and make sketches of the new frontier as material for future prints. Charles worked for the firm on and off over the years, and invented a new type of lithographic crayon which he patented and named the Crayola. Lorenzo continued selling sketches to Nat for the next few years. In 1843, Nat and Eliza had a daughter, Eliza West Currier, but tragedy struck in early 1847 when their young daughter died from a prolonged illness. Nat and Eliza were grief stricken, and Eliza, driven by despair, gave up on life and passed away just four months after her daughter’s death. The subject of Nat Currier’s artwork changed following the death of his wife and daughter, and he produced many memorial prints and sentimental prints during the late 1840s. The memorial prints generally depicted grief stricken families posed by gravestones (the stones were left blank so the purchasers could fill in the names of the dearly departed). The sentimental prints usually depicted idealized portraits of women and children, titled with popular Christian names of the day. Late in 1847, Nat Currier married Lura Ormsbee, a friend of the family. Lura was a self-sufficient woman, and she immediately set out to help Nat raise six-year-old Edward and get their house in order. In 1849, Lura delivered a son, Walter Black Currier, but fate dealt them a blow when young Walter died one year later. While Nat and Lura were grieving the loss of their new son, word came from San Francisco that Nat’s brother Lorenzo had also passed away from a brief illness. Nat sank deeper into his natural quiet melancholy. Friends stopped by to console the couple, and Lura began to set an extra place at their table for these unexpected guests. She continued this tradition throughout their lives. In 1852, Charles introduced a friend, James Merritt Ives, to Nat and suggested he hire him as a bookkeeper. Jim Ives was a native New Yorker born in 1824 and raised on the grounds of Bellevue Hospital where his father was employed as superintendent. Jim was a self-trained artist and professional bookkeeper. He was also a plump and jovial man, presenting the exact opposite image of his new boss. Jim Ives met Charles Currier through Caroline Clark, the object of Jim’s affection. Caroline’s sister Elizabeth was married to Charles, and Caroline was a close friend of the Currier family. Jim eventually proposed marriage to Caroline and solicited an introduction to Nat Currier, through Charles, in hopes of securing a more stable income to support his future wife. Ives quickly set out to improve and modernize his new employer’s bookkeeping methods. He reorganized the firm’s sizable inventory, and used his artistic skills to streamline the firm’s production methods. By 1857, Nathaniel had become so dependent on Jims’ skills and initiative that he offered him a full partnership in the firm and appointed him general manager. The two men chose the name ‘Currier & Ives’ for the new partnership, and became close friends. Currier & Ives produced their prints in a building at 33 Spruce Street where they occupied the third, fourth and fifth floors. The third floor was devoted to the hand operated printing presses that were built by Nat's cousin, Cyrus Currier, at his shop Cyrus Currier & Sons in Newark, NJ. The fourth floor found the artists, lithographers and the stone grinders at work. The fifth floor housed the coloring department, and was one of the earliest production lines in the country. The colorists were generally immigrant girls, mostly German, who came to America with some formal artistic training. Each colorist was responsible for adding a single color to a print. As a colorist finished applying their color, the print was passed down the line to the next colorist to add their color. The colorists worked from a master print displayed above their table, which showed where the proper colors were to be placed. At the end of the table was a touch up artist who checked the prints for quality, touching-in areas that may have been missed as it passed down the line. During the Civil War, demand for prints became so great that coloring stencils were developed to speed up production. Although most Currier & Ives prints were colored in house, some were sent out to contract artists. The rate Currier & Ives paid these artists for coloring work was one dollar per one hundred small folios (a penny a print) and one dollar per one dozen large folios. Currier & Ives also offered uncolored prints to dealers, with instructions (included on the price list) on how to 'prepare the prints for coloring.' In addition, schools could order uncolored prints from the firm’s catalogue to use in their painting classes. Nathaniel Currier and James Merritt Ives attracted a wide circle of friends during their years in business. Some of their more famous acquaintances included Horace Greeley, Phineas T. Barnum, and the outspoken abolitionists Rev. Henry Ward, and John Greenleaf Whittier (the latter being a cousin of Mr. Currier). Nat Currier and Jim Ives described their business as "Publishers of Cheap and Popular Pictures" and produced many categories of prints. These included Disaster Scenes, Sentimental Images, Sports, Humor, Hunting Scenes, Politics, Religion, City and Rural Scenes, Trains, Ships, Fire Fighters, Famous Race Horses, Historical Portraits, and just about any other topic that satisfied the general public's taste. In all, the firm produced in excess of 7500 different titles, totaling over one million prints produced from 1835 to 1907. Nat Currier retired in 1880, and signed over his share of the firm to his son Edward. Nat died eight years later at his summer home 'Lion’s Gate' in Amesbury, Massachusetts. Jim Ives remained active in the firm until his death in 1895, when his share of the firm passed to his eldest son, Chauncey. In 1902, faced will failing health from the ravages of Tuberculosis, Edward Currier sold his share of the firm to Chauncey Ives...

Hendrik Barend Koekkoek Amsterdam 1849 – 1909 London Dutch Painter 'Figures Strolling through a Forest in Winter' Signature: signed lower right 'H B Koekkoek', c. 1882-1900 Medium: oil on canvas Dimensions: image size 76,5 x 64 cm, frame size 103 x 89,5 cm Biography: Hendrik Barend Koekkoek, often signing as Hendrik Barend (H.B.) Koekkoek, in the realm of 19th-century art, emerges as a captivating painter born in Amsterdam on November 23, 1849. A scion of the esteemed Koekkoek family, he gained renown for his landscapes and woodland scenes, following in the artistic footsteps of his father, marine painter Hermanus Koekkoek. Barend Hendrik Koekkoek’s life unfolds with a certain mystery, his artistic journey shaped by training from his father and, likely, his uncle Marinus Adrianus. In 1878, he tied the knot with Carolina Allardina Cornelia Pierson and ventured into the artistic scenes of Hilversum and Brussels, simultaneously opening an art dealership in Amsterdam. Around 1882, the call of London beckoned, echoing the path paved by his brother Hermanus Koekkoek the Younger. In England, he painted landscapes near Guildford, akin to his cousin Pieter Hendrik Koekkoek. The latter part of his life remains shrouded in obscurity. Barend Hendrik Koekkoek’s artistic style, steeped in the romantic tradition of the Koekkoek family, adorned canvases with landscapes, woodlands, and marine scenes. His London sojourn witnessed the creation of winter landscapes with towering trees, showcased in exhibitions across Dutch cities. He breathed his last in London before 1909. His artistic legacy lives on in institutions like the Paul Tétar van...

Contemporary figurative oil on canvas painting by Polish artist Katarzyna Szydlowska. Painting pictures female in nude. She is sitting on the beach, there is sea and cliff behind her...

A Gathering by a Lake in the Roman Campagna Oil on canvas: 48 x 65 in. Framed: 58 x 74 in. Circa 1840 Samuel James Ainsley (1820-1874) was a British artist recognized especially fo...

Jules SANSON Active in the 1830s and 1840s The arrival of the young girl at the monastery on the shores of Lake Como Oil on canvas 27 x 35.5 cm (31.5 x 39.5 cm with the frame) Signed...

The Condition is fair. work has been slightly over-cleaned. A heavy layer of glossy varnish. The surface of the canvas is undulated and most apparent from extreme side view . Yet in...

Eugène Cicéri (1813 - 1890) The Mill Signed lower right Monogrammed AE, probably a collector's mark as it appears on numerous drawings by Cicéri 30.5 x 22.5 cm In good condition : ...

BLUE HANDLE HORSE is a stoneware clay sculpture with blue clay inlay by Brooklyn, New York artist Rene Murray. It measures 24"H x 18"W x 7"D. It's an encha...

ROMAN OPERA HOUSE is a stoneware clay sculpture with Copper Green glaze by Brooklyn, New York artist Rene Murray. It measures 19"H x 23"W x 11"D. The sculp...