Vanessa Stafford Art

A charming and stylized depiction of a day at the Central Park Zoo. with World War Two uniformed visitors front and center. Sea lions put on a show in front o...

Detailed European Landscape in Watercolor and Gouache on Paper This finely detailed watercolor painting captures a serene countryside setting with an old stone church, a rustic hous...

Venice, Italy, mid century urban view 0f daily life in this iconic city by Henri Levasseur. The painting is signed and dated bottom right and titled bottom left. Presented in a fine ...

Lionel S. Reiss (1894 - 1988) Lobstermen in Gloucester, Massachusetts, circa 1943 Watercolor on paper Sight 17 1/2 x 23 inches Signed lower left Provenance: Private Collection, Las Vegas, Nevada In describing his own style, Lionel Reiss wrote, “By nature, inclination, and training, I have long since recognized the fact that...I belong to the category of those who can only gladly affirm the reality of the world I live in.” Reiss’s subject matter was wide-ranging, including gritty New York scenes, landscapes of bucolic Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and seascapes around Gloucester, Massachusetts. However, it was as a painter of Jewish life—both in Israel and in Europe before World War II—that Reiss excelled. I.B. Singer, the Nobel Prize winner for Literature, noted that Reiss was “essentially an artist of the nineteenth century, and because of this he had the power and the courage to tell visually the story of a people.” Although Reiss was born in Jaroslaw, Poland, his family immigrated to the United States in 1898 when he was four years old. Reiss's family settled on New York City’s Lower East Side and he lived in the city for most of his life. Reiss attended the Art Students League and then worked as a commercial artist for newspapers and publishers. As art director for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, he supposedly created the studio’s famous lion logo. After World War I, Reiss became fascinated with Jewish life in the ‘Old World.’ In 1921 he left his advertising work and spent the next ten years traveling in Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. Like noted Jewish photographers Alter Kacyzne and Roman Vishniac, Reiss depicted Jewish life in Poland prior to World War II. He later wrote, “My trip encompassed three main objectives: to make ethnic studies of Jewish types wherever I traveled; to paint and draw Jewish life, as I saw it and felt it, in all aspects; and to round out my work in Israel.” In Europe, Reiss recorded quotidian scenes in a variety of media and different settings such as Paris, Amsterdam, the Venice ghetto, the Jewish cemetery in Prague, and an array of shops, synagogues, streets, and marketplaces in the Jewish quarters of Warsaw, Lodz, Krakow, Lublin, Vilna, Ternopil, and Kovno. He paid great attention to details of dress, hair, and facial features, and his work became noted for its descriptive quality. A selection of Reiss’s portraits appeared in 1938 in his book My Models Were Jews. In this book, published on the eve of the Holocaust, Reiss argued that there was “no such thing as a ‘Jewish race’.” Instead, he claimed that the Jewish people were a cultural group with a great deal of diversity within and between Jewish communities around the world. Franz Boas...

Fishing Boats Along The Coast Watercolor painting depicting two fishing boats and fishermen along the oceanside by Robert Wayne Daley (American, 1922-1999). Rocks make up a pathway along the beach, while fishermen pull boats along the shore. Blue skies, with the ocean and hilltops making up the near distance. Signed "Robert W Daley...

Figures by River Frank Duffield (British, 1908-1982) signed original watercolor painting on thick artist paper, unframed size: 10 x...

Clara Montalba (British, 1842-1929) Venetian Canal Scene, 1919 Watercolor on paper 10 x 15 1/2 in. Framed: 16 5/8 x 21 5/8 x 1 1/4 in. Signed and dated lower right: Clara Montalba 19...

Whitehall Building, July 1939 - Harbor Seascape with Tugboat in Watercolor Detailed harbor landscape by Ernest Clegg (British, 1976-1954). The Whitehall Building towers over the sce...

Outsider Folk Art American Mid-Century Naive WW2 Self Taught WPA Depression Era "Victory for Now" Ralph Fasanella (1914-_1997) "Victory and After,” gouache on paper. Signed, titled...

越波飛翼 (Yuè bō fēi yì) by 朱永 Surmounting Waves Flying Wings by ZhuYong Image, 26.5"H x 40.5"W Frame, 35.5"W 49.5"W . 1.5"D A Chinese painting featuring two cranes in flight against a backdrop of stylized waves. The painting is rendered in traditional Chinese style, with flowing brushstrokes and a muted color palette dominated by blues, whites, and earth tones. The cranes are depicted with detailed plumage, their wings outstretched as they soar through the air. The waves are represented in a swirling, abstract manner, suggesting movement and energy. Chinese painting is known for its emphasis on capturing the essence of the subject matter rather than a literal representation, and this piece exemplifies that approach. The use of ink and color on silk or paper is typical of this art form, as is the focus on natural themes such as birds and landscapes. he style is reminiscent of traditional Chinese ink wash painting, which emphasizes brushwork and capturing the spirit of the subject. The swirling water and mountain details could also be interpreted as fractal art...

"Showers Today" San Francisco's Chinatown on an Overcast Day Original Watercolor A two sided watercolor on Arches paper by San Francisco and Maryland artist Harolod Gretzner (America...

London Frank Duffield (British, 1908-1982) original watercolor painting on thick artist paper, unframed size: 8 x 10.5 inches condition: overall very good, minor wear to the edges as...