Alfonso Grassi Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

A French art deco pastel portrait by Louis-Jean Beaupuy. The work is signed and dated bottom right. Presented in carved and gilded wood frame. Beaupuy has captured all the charm and...

'The Cabaret Dancer', crayon on art paper, by Kolomon Moore (circa 1930s). The Crazy Years (les Années Folles) of Paris in the 1920s hit an abrupt end in...

'La Montera', gouache, watercolour and ink on art paper, by Pierre Ambrogiani (circa 1960s). The artist created many artworks with bullfighting as theme. In this case, a single torer...

This figurative portrait drawing titled "Jade" is an original artwork by Chambers Austelle made of acrylic, chalk pastel, wax pastel. This piece measures 12"h x 12"w. Chambers Austelle is a contemporary figurative painter and educator living and working in Charleston, SC. Austelle is best known for her compositions of vivid color and female subjects. The isolated environments challenge the viewer to question the way beauty and women are perceived in our culture. Austelle’s work has been exhibited nationally and exists in many private collections. She was awarded Best in Show at The City Gallery for “Piccolo Spoleto’s 2016 Juried Exhibition”, as well as Charlie Magazine’s “50 Most Progressive”. Most recently, she was the 2018 recipient of St. Thomas’ Artist...

Pastel Portrait of a Circus Clown Samuel Brecher, American, (1897 - 1982) This portrait of a clown is pastel on paper, is fully signed by Samuel Brecher and dated 1943. This pastel painting of a clown measures 21.5 inches tall by 15.5 inches wide. Matted in the frame the pastel portrait measures 33.5 inches tall by 26.5 inches wide. Samuel Brecher was born in Boryslaw, Austria, a town near the Carpathian Mountains...

'Mother and Child II', watercolour on fine art paper (1970), by Raymond Debiève. In a clear nod to Picasso's influence both stylistically and in terms of subject matter (Picasso pain...

Miniature Portrait French School, late 18th/ early 19th century framed: 5.5 x 5.5 inches board: 2 x 2 inches provenance: private collection, France condition: very good and sound c...

This is an Art Deco original illustration drawing, hand-painted with ink and gouache on paper, designed by French artist Edouard Halouze. The artwork features two stylish female mode...

Portrait of an Elegant Lady original watercolour painting on paper by Marjorie Schiele (1913-2008) *see notes below piece of paper is 14 x 10 inches In good condition, though with mi...

Paul César Helleu is regarded among the most sought-after society portraitists of his era, and his Belle Époque works rival those of his contemporaries John Singer Sargent and Giovanni Boldini. He is best remembered for capturing the era's most beautiful socialites, including Consuelo Vanderbilt, the Duchess of Marlborough, the Comtesse de Loriol Chandieu and the Comtesse Mathieu de Noailles, among others. This work, however, stands out in that it captures the charming likeness of one of his art world cohorts, Mathilde See, a Parisian-born decorator and painter of floral still lifes. She is the essence of the modern woman, captured in her fashionable dress as she strolls along the flower-lined streets of Paris. Commanding in size, Portrait de Mathilde See fully displays Helleu's mastery over the medium of pastel. The muted palette of greys and blues is typical of the artist, bringing a harmony and cohesiveness to the composition. Furthermore, Helleu cleverly alludes to See's own artistic output with a backdrop of vibrant floral blooms, enlivening the canvas and complementing the greens and blues of the peacock feather adorning her hat. The portrait is all the more significant thanks to its provenance. It was previously in the collection of A. Alfred Taubman, one of America's most successful entrepreneurs and one-time owner of Sotheby's. Considering Taubman encountered some of the most noteworthy and beautiful works of art ever made through his auction house, the fact that he chose this portrait by Helleu to grace his collection is a testament to its import. Born in Brittany in 1859, Helleu moved to Paris in 1876 in order to study at the École des Beaux-Arts. Like so many other artists of his generation, he was trained there under the Academic master Jean-Léon Gérôme. That same year, he also attended the Second Impressionist Exhibition...

This exceptional quality watercolour depicts a snapshot of innocence and childhood with this delightful portrait of a red-haired young girl. Presented in a fine quality, hand carved and pierced, period frame with inlaid detail. Circle of Myles Birket Foster (1825-1899) Portrait of a red-haired young girl Watercolour with touches of white 4 inches diamter (image only) 11 x 11 inches with frame This beautiful image is of exceptional quality, as apparent in the delicate detailing to her eyelashes and the sunlit highlights of her hair. This is the work of an artist at the very peak of their powers and the intimacy of the work suggests a connection between artist and sitter such as daughter and parent. The level of draughtsmanship brings to mind artists from this period such as Myles Birket Foster, Fred Morgan and Helen...

On the cardboard applied on the frame there is an annotation, belonging to some of the old owners, reporting the names of the portrayed in Kurrent handwriting: "Urgroßvater Ludwig Fr(ei)h(e)r(r) von Keller" "Urgroßmutter Fr(ei)h(e)r(rin) von Keller geb(oren) von Niebecker". So we can deduce that the models were Ludwig Friedrich Heinrich Ferdinand Baron of Keller (1760-1835), a German politician who was the director of the district of Prussia, and his wife Auguste Johanne Henriette Baroness of Niebecker (1760-1832). Their high class provenience is highlighted by the not contained expressive liveliness, by the proud pose imitating movement and by the elegance of the clothes which fabric seems palpable (especially sincere is the evanescent depiction of the pleated veil of the gorget and the adorned with arabesques decoration of the sleeves and the vest). The two pieces can be attributed to John Singleton Copley...