Big Sky Fine Art Figurative Paintings

Jack Crabtree. English ( b.1938 ). Welsh Miner Mixed Media. Signed. Image size 14.8 inches x 17.5 inches ( 37.5cm x 44.5cm ). Frame size 23.4 inches x 26.2 inches ( 59.5cm x 66.5cm ...

Late 18th or Early 19th Century Continental follower of Peter Paul Rubens. Flemish ( b.1577 - d.1640 ). Judith and the Head of Holofernes. Oil on Canvas. Image size 31.1 inches x 23...

Ferdinand Victor Leon Roybet. French ( b.1840 – d.1920 ). Le Mousquetaire. Oil on Panel. Signed upper right. Image size 31.1 inches x 24.4 inches ( 79cm x 62cm ). Frame size 39 inche...

John Arthur Lomax. English ( b.1857 - d.1923 ). When I was a Boy. Oil on Panel. Signed. Image size 9.5 inches x 11.4 inches ( 24cm x 29cm ). Frame size 17.3 inches x 19.5 inches ( ...

Harold Walton Freckleton. English ( b.1890 - d.1979 ). Milly with Minstrel. Oil on Canvas. Signed lower right. Image size 24.4 inches x 29.52 inches ( 62cm x 75cm ). Frame size 30.7 ...

Alice Anne Renshaw. English ( b.1849 - d.1900 ). Young Lady With Meadow Flowers In Her Straw Hat Watercolor & Gouache on Artist's Board ( An embossed stamp in the top left hand corn...

Elin Siân Blake. Welsh ( b.1981). Making Ripples. Oil on artist’s canvas board. Signed lower right. Image size 19.5 inches x 15.6 inches ( 49.5cm x 39.5cm ). Frame size 22.8 inches ...

Valerie Ganz. Welsh ( b.1936 - d.2015 ). Firing. Oil on Artist’s Board. Signed lower right. Image size 15.4 inches x 19.3 inches ( 39cm x 49cm ). Frame size 20.9 inches x 24.6 inches...

Elin Siân Blake. Welsh ( b.1981). Until Tomorrow (Tan Yfory). Oil on artist’s canvas board. Signed lower right. Image size 9.5 inches x 11.6 inches ( 24cm x 29.5cm ). Frame size 16....

Elin Siân Blake. Welsh ( b.1981). The Hosts of Rebecca. Oil on artist’s canvas board. Signed lower right. Image size 17.5 inches x 23.6 inches ( 44.5cm x 60cm ). Frame size 20.3 inc...

Elin Siân Blake. Welsh ( b.1981). First Light. Oil on canvas. Signed lower left. Image size 23.4 inches x 17.3 inches ( 59.5cm x 44cm ). Frame size 28.5 inches x 22.4 inches ( 72.5c...

Elin Siân Blake. Welsh ( b.1981). War Horse. Lest we forget. Oil on artist’s canvas board. Signed lower left. Image size 23.4 inches x 19.5 inches ( 59.5cm x 49.5cm ). Frame size 28...

Icilio Federico Joni. Italian ( b.1866 - d.1946 ). Painted Gesso, Gilt and Wood Tavolette Book Cover Binding in the Sienese Biccherna Style Book Cover size 11 inches x 8.1 inches ( 28cm x 20.5cm ). Frame size 16 inches x 13 inches ( 40.5cm x 33cm ). Available for sale; this painted gesso and gilt “tavolette” wooden book cover in the Biccherna style is by Icilio Federico Joni. The book cover is mounted and supplied in a contemporary black Tulip Wood frame (which is shown in these photographs) which is glazed with non-reflective Tru Vue UltraVue® UV70 glass. The wooden book cover is curved and float mounted giving a wonderful 3D depth to its presentation. The gesso and painted surfaces have benefitted from professional restoration which was performed on our instruction, supervision and approval. This antique book cover is now in very good condition, commensurate with its age. The frame presentation is new and in excellent condition. Combined, it wants for nothing and is supplied ready to hang and display. The story of these panels and of their artist is fascinating, and begins in 13th century Siena: The Biccherna was the person who held the position of Magistrate of Chancellery of Finance from the 13th to the 14th century for the republic and the city of Siena, in the Tuscany region of Italy. The records of that office were very important because Siena was one of the earliest and most significant banking centres in Italy, and indeed in Europe. It became the fashion to keep banking and taxation records of the region in large books with painted leather covers. These were originally made from wood and leather. In the competition to make these ever more prestigious the bindings and panels on the front and rear of the books were painted by the major artists of the day, such as Giovanni di Paolo. Many of these mainly secular covers are displayed in the Archives of the State of Siena located in the Palazzo Piccolmini. The Gothic Revival of the 19th century occurred partly as a reaction against the progress of industrialisation in Europe generally. It was however greatly affected by the unification of Italy in the second half of the 19th century. This led to the closure and downsizing of many religious institutions, which resulted in the dispersal of thousands of works of art dating from the Middle Ages and early Renaissance. Many aristocratic and bourgeois families struggled to pay debts or simply to make ends meet and so they sold off their private collections and family heirlooms. There was then an influx of goods into the antiques market which provided a great deal of work for Italy’s restorers and craftsmen, since many of these pieces were in need of cleaning, repair and, in keeping with the interventionist tastes of the times, radical restoration, before they could be sold on, often to foreign buyers. These early Italian works became so fashionable that demand soon outstripped supply. This in turn gave rise to a new type of artist-craftsman capable of turning out from scratch increasingly convincing reproductions, imitations and out-and-out fakes. Siena naturally became the epicentre of this thriving cottage industry because of the extraordinary continuity there in traditional craft skills. This technical expertise had been handed down from generation to generation, and it was perhaps inevitable that a number of artists with real talent, the flair of commerce and a genuine love and understanding of antique Sienese art should adapt their skills to these new market conditions. Among these artists were Igino Gottardi, Alceo Dossena, Fulvio Corsini, Umberto Giunti...

Alfred Henri Pailhès French ( b.1902 - d.1991 ). Rendez-Vous des Havrais Pour Leur Promenade Dominicale Oil on Panel. Signed lower left. Image size 12.4 inches x 15.6 inches ( 31.5cm...

Icilio Federico Joni. Italian ( b.1866 - d.1946 ). Painted Gesso, Gilt and Wood Tavolette Book Cover Binding in the Sienese Biccherna Style Book Cover size 11 inches x 8.1 inches ( 28cm x 20.5cm ). Frame size 16 inches x 13 inches ( 40.5cm x 33cm ). Available for sale; this painted gesso and gilt “tavolette” wooden book cover in the Biccherna style is by Icilio Federico Joni. The book cover is mounted and supplied in a contemporary black Tulip Wood frame (which is shown in these photographs) which is glazed with non-reflective Tru Vue UltraVue® UV70 glass. The wooden book cover is curved and float mounted giving a wonderful 3D depth to its presentation. The gesso and painted surfaces have benefitted from professional restoration which was performed on our instruction, supervision and approval. This antique book cover is now in very good condition, commensurate with its age. The frame presentation is new and in excellent condition. Combined, it wants for nothing and is supplied ready to hang and display. The story of these panels and of their artist is fascinating, and begins in 13th century Siena: The Biccherna was the person who held the position of Magistrate of Chancellery of Finance from the 13th to the 14th century for the republic and the city of Siena, in the Tuscany region of Italy. The records of that office were very important because Siena was one of the earliest and most significant banking centres in Italy, and indeed in Europe. It became the fashion to keep banking and taxation records of the region in large books with painted leather covers. These were originally made from wood and leather. In the competition to make these ever more prestigious the bindings and panels on the front and rear of the books were painted by the major artists of the day, such as Giovanni di Paolo. Many of these mainly secular covers are displayed in the Archives of the State of Siena located in the Palazzo Piccolmini. The Gothic Revival of the 19th century occurred partly as a reaction against the progress of industrialisation in Europe generally. It was however greatly affected by the unification of Italy in the second half of the 19th century. This led to the closure and downsizing of many religious institutions, which resulted in the dispersal of thousands of works of art dating from the Middle Ages and early Renaissance. Many aristocratic and bourgeois families struggled to pay debts or simply to make ends meet and so they sold off their private collections and family heirlooms. There was then an influx of goods into the antiques market which provided a great deal of work for Italy’s restorers and craftsmen, since many of these pieces were in need of cleaning, repair and, in keeping with the interventionist tastes of the times, radical restoration, before they could be sold on, often to foreign buyers. These early Italian works became so fashionable that demand soon outstripped supply. This in turn gave rise to a new type of artist-craftsman capable of turning out from scratch increasingly convincing reproductions, imitations and out-and-out fakes. Siena naturally became the epicentre of this thriving cottage industry because of the extraordinary continuity there in traditional craft skills. This technical expertise had been handed down from generation to generation, and it was perhaps inevitable that a number of artists with real talent, the flair of commerce and a genuine love and understanding of antique Sienese art should adapt their skills to these new market conditions. Among these artists were Igino Gottardi, Alceo Dossena, Fulvio Corsini, Umberto Giunti...

Alfred Henri Pailhès French ( b.1902 - d.1991 ). Rendez-Vous des Havrais Pour Leur Promenade Dominicale Oil on Panel. Signed lower left. Image size 12.4 inches x 15.6 inches ( 31.5cm...

Donald McIntyre. English ( b.1923 - d.2009 ). Girl and Chapel, North Wales. Oil on card. Signed with monogram twice lower left. Image size 12 inches x 15.6 inches ( 30.5cm x 39.5cm ...

William Arthur Breakspeare. English ( b.1855 - d.1914 ). A Rendezvous in the Park in the Autumn Fall. Oil on Panel. Signed lower right. Image size 12.6 inches x 7.3 inches ( 32cm x 1...

Meryl Watts. English ( b.1910 – d.1992 ) Enigma. Oil on Board. Signed. Image size 22.4 inches x 19.3 inches ( 57cm x 49cm ). Frame size 26.4 inches x 22.8 inches ( 67cm x 58cm ). Av...

Tony Giles. English ( b.1925 - d.1994 ). Vows Are Spoken Only to be Broken Oil on Board. Signed lower right. Image size 39.6 inches x 29.5 inches ( 100.5cm...

Available for sale; this original oil painting is by the French artist Raymond Moritz and dates from 1927. The painting is presented and supplied in a sympathetic contemporary frame (which is shown in these photographs), mounted with new fixtures. The canvas and the painted surface have benefitted from cleaning and conservation, 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. A later dedication to “Louise” dated April 1942 in the artist’s hand is set around the earlier signing. Raymond Moritz was a French impressionist artist and illustrator. He was born in Paris on 8 July 1891. His family came from the Alsace region and were poor and Catholic. On his mother’s side, the Staubs were from Wihr-au-Val where they had been coopers for several generations. His uncle, Marie Clement Staub, was the founder in Canada of the Sisters of Saint Joan of Arc. Moritz fought during the Great War in the Picardy region of the Somme with the 2nd machine gunner company. He won the French 1914-1918 War medal with bronze palm attachment, which signifies that the awardee was mentioned in dispatches at army level. Moritz obviously created some art during the war because during the inauguration of the new town hall in the town of Albert he was congratulated by the French President, Albert Lebrun, and the British press for the paintings he had produced. Albert was the main town behind the lines for the Allies on the Somme battle fields...