Bernie Fuchs Figurative Paintings

Marin County Meadows and Pond with Oak Trees by Manuel Valencia Tonalist Pioneer A painter of California history and western landscapes, Manuel Valencia was born in Marin County, California in 1856 on the Rancho San Jose, the Valencia hacienda. The family received many land grants in the San Francisco area because of their ties to settlement history. Image 8"H x 11.5"W Frame, 14.5"H x 18.5"W x 2.75"D The central focus of the painting is a cluster of lush, verdant trees, likely deciduous, situated near a calm body of water, possibly a pond or slow-moving creek. With a faint outline of figures emerging into the meadow below the towering trees. The foreground features a grassy area with hints of wildflowers or textured ground cover, leading the eye towards the water's edge. In the background, beyond the main cluster of trees, there appears to be a smaller, indistinct structure, possibly a house or shed, suggesting a subtle human presence in the otherwise natural scene. The overall composition is balanced and serene, typical of Tonalist works seeking to evoke a peaceful mood rather than dramatic narrative. Color Palette and Light: The painting employs a subdued, Tonalist color palette, dominated by varying shades of greens, browns, and grays for the landscape elements, and a muted, possibly overcast or hazy sky in the upper portion of the canvas. The light source is diffused and soft, creating a gentle luminosity across the scene, particularly noticeable on the surface of the water which reflects the muted tones of the sky and surrounding foliage. This soft lighting emphasizes the atmospheric quality and quiet mood of the scene. He was a descendant of General Gabriel Valencia, the first governor of the state of Sonora, Mexico under Spanish rule. He was named for his grandfather, who arrived in California in 1774 and became administrator of the Presidio in San Francisco. As a Tonalist, Valencia primarily focused on variations in value and muted color palettes, often featuring greens, purples, blues, and grays. This emphasis on subtle shifts in tone, rather than sharp contrasts, allowed him to create smooth transitions between light and shadow, mimicking the soft, diffused light found in atmospheric conditions like mist, twilight, or moonlight. Valencia studied with artists including Jules Tavernier in the San Francisco area, where he lived his entire life, and attended what is now Santa Clara University. He also spent some time in Mexico where he was a member of the Esquela de Bellas Artes de Mexico. Early in his career, he was a commercial artist who designed calling cards. After the 1906 earthquake and fire, Valencia and his family moved to San Jose, but he commuted to his studio in San Francisco. There he was art editor of the "San Francisco Chronicle" newspaper under art patron M.H. de Young, for whom the museum in San Francisco is named. War Cry, the Salvation Army newspaper, also hired Valencia as its first illustrator. During the time he did illustration work in San Francisco, he kept studios in Monterey and Santa Cruz, did landscapes in Tonalist styles including moonlit scenes that were similar to those of Charles Rollo Peters and indicated he had an awareness of the poetic aesthetic of James McNeill Whistler. Around 1912, he began exhibiting in San Francisco galleries such as S & J Gumps and in New York at Macbeth Gallery and exclusive restaurants such as Delmonico's. President William McKinley, who purchased one of his Yosemite paintings...

Mid-century figurative seascape with boats by Henryk Dzienczarski, (Poland, b-1917). Signed "H. Dzienczarski" lower right. Displayed in a wood fra...

"Take me Home" by Lu Haskew Oil 19x16" framed, 12x8" image size Signed lower left A young child very apparently ready to go home from their intense yet cute look. The child is weari...

Mid-century self-portrait by California artist Myrtle Cureton (American, 1909-2000). Signed "Myrtle Cureton" lower left. Artist's Santa Cruz Art League ...

Charming oil painting of the Wells Fargo Express Office building in the gold country town of Columbia State Historic Park in Columbia, California by Cecil ...

MANE-KATZ RABBIS, c. 1935 Oil on canvas 18 H. x 14 W. 1/2 in. (45.5 x 35.8 cm.) Signed PROVENANCE Dominion Gallery, Montreal Christies, New York, November 04, 1982. Lot 177: $11,000 Private Collection, New Jersey, 1982-2021 Estate of the above, 2021. Raised in an orthodox Jewish family in Russia, Mane-Katz was born in the Ukraine and became an early 20th-century artist, known especially for portraits and paintings with Jewish themes. From childhood, he had been influenced by stories of Jewish mysticism, which was reflected in his paintings. He had a peripatetic life between Russia, France, Israel, and America. He first studied art in Kiev at the Beaux Arts Academy, and in 1913, went to Paris where he associated with Chaim Soutine and Marc Chagall and continued his art studies there at the Beaux Arts Academy. During World War I, he tried to join the Foreign Legion but was rejected because he was too short. He went back in Russia again, this time joining the Soviet Revolution but rejected the cause because he was so horrified by Josef Stalin. He worked briefly for the Russian ballets, and in 1921, he returned to Paris where in 1927 he took French citizenship. For the next twelve years, he traveled widely, showing his art work and doing many paintings. In 1939, as World War II was breaking out, he was drafted by the French and then was taken prisoner by the Germans. He escaped and went to the United States and remained there until 1945, exhibiting his paintings at Katia Granoff Gallery and Wildenstein Gallery. After the war, he returned to Paris where he had exhibited in the Salons. In Paris to the end of his career, he worked happily, painting hundreds of portraits of rabbis...

"Les Artistes du Cirque" is an original painting in ink, watercolor, and gouache on paper by leading Fauvist artist Kees Van Dongen, signed in the lower right. In the piece, two circus performers stand against against a wall. On the left, a pale woman in a blue leotard with red flowers on the shoulder stands with her arms crossed, looking out at the viewer. The painter fills in her tights with delicate white brushstrokes, lending them an almost iridescent appearance. Her strawberry blond hair is piled on top of her hair according to the fashion of the period. On the right, an African man stands in a vivid orange toga, looking somewhere off to the left. His feet are clad in bright white shoes...

Small limited edition run of 49 and 6 E.A."s (Edition of the artist). Each canvas reproduction is crafted by a skilled printer under the supervision of the artist. Román Francés has...

Wonderful Spanish landscape of a humble farm in Rota, Cadiz, Spain with horses, a cow with two herons, one of which is on cow's back by San Francisco artist John Sackas (American, 1910-2004), circa 1950s. Signed lower Left "Sackas" and verso Rota Farm House Cadiz" "John Sackas" . Verso has location, attribution and full artist's biography. Presented in gilt-toned carved wood frame. Image size: 14"H x 18"W. Born in New Jersey on May 22, 1910. John Sackas studied at the San Francisco Art Institute (1934), Chouinard Art School in Los Angeles, Corcoran Gallery of Art, and California School of Fine Arts, Jerry...

Small limited edition run of 49 and 6 E.A."s (Edition of the artist). Each canvas reproduction is crafted by a skilled printer under the supervision of the artist. Román Francés has...

Le jardin de Daubigny Style of Vincent Van Gogh by Stephen Goosson The painting depicts the enclosed garden of Charles-François Daubigny, a French landscape painter whom Van Gogh ad...

Eva Makk has been called “the world’s foremost living impressionist painter”. She is celebrated for graceful, light-infused compositions executed with shimmer...