Charles Herbert Woodbury Art

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...

Louis Osman was an English artist, architect, goldsmith, silversmith and medallist. He is notable for the gold coronet he designed and made for the investiture in 1969 of Charles, Pr...

Indian miniature showing Krishna, cows and the gopis (girls) Watercolour on paper, c mid 20th century Size Mounted: 33 x 22 cm Image Size: 24.2 x 13.4 cm Signed bottom right with a...

Attribuetd to Eugène Devéria (1805-1865) La Famille heureuse (The Happy Family) Watercolor on paper 23 x 18 cm In quite good condition : a small tear i...

French Figures by Bernard Labbe (French mid 20th century) original gouache on card size: 19.5 x 13 inches condition: very good and ready to be enjoyed ...

Limited edition lithograph on Arches paper from edition of 2,000 of "La Revue Blanche" by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. Reproduction reissued in 1974. Th...

Original Saxoleine Petrole de Surete, artist Jules Cheret. Linen-backed turn-of-the-century original stone lithograph poster advertising Saxoleine, a lamp oil. The glow from this l...

This beautiful and light filled painting testifies of a new dawn: in the 1880s the landscape and animalier artist William Baird turns to Impressionism. Our Sunny Path, with looser brushwork and lighter colours, convey the fleeting nature of the present. Our lovely oil on canvas may well be homage to Claude Monet - according to Baird's inscription on the stretcher, it was painted in Mantes, which is only about 6 miles from Vétheuil, where Monet was living and working in the 1880s! William Baptiste Baird was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1847, but as an adult moved to Paris to perfect his painting technique. In Paris, Baird studied under Adolphe Yvon...

In "Harborfront" the artist uses colorful, impressionist brushstrokes to bring a working waterfront to life.

"With shades of Pierre Bonnard’s Parisian street vistas and Edward Hopper’s New York shopfronts, American impressionist Cindy Shaoul’s oil paintings depict the much-loved locales and...

A wonderful impressionist pastoral landscape with beautiful color tones throughout. Waltsak has portrayed this piece in a most intimate, yet energetic way, and has packed much feelin...

CLINIQUE CHÉRON is a fine art lithographic re-creation after the original 1905 vintage French advertising poster created by Théophile Steinlen for the veterinary CLINIQUE CHÉRON Fran...