McNaught Fine Art Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Signed lower right, 'Nura' for Nura Woodson Ulreich (American, 1899-1950) and painted circa 1935. This early twentieth-century painter, lithographer, muralist, author, poet and ill...

Painted by Nura Woodson Ulreich (American, 1899-1950) as a full-page illustration for the book 'The Buttermilk Tree', circa 1935. A rare example of a fully-developed pen, ink and gou...

Signed lower left, 'Jais' for Johannes Knud Ove Jais-Nielsen (Danish, 1885-1961) and dated 1938. A powerful figural work showing a view of Jesus kneeling in the Garden of Gethsemane on the evening before his trial and execution. Born in Denmark, Jais Nielsen initially studied at Kunstnernes Frie Studieskoler under Kristian Zahrtmann and exhibited for the first time at the 1907 Autumn Salon at the Charlottenborg Palace. Nielsen participated in the early and groundbreaking, “Group of Thirteen" Modernist show, where his focus on dynamic figural painting and his bold use of color set him dramatically apart from his contemporaries. From 1907-11, Nielsen's use of 'primitive' Fauve colors would continue to reinforce his break with traditional Danish painting. During this period, he made study excursions to important art centres, including, in 1909, to Berlin. In 1911, he moved to Paris where he settled in the Latin Quarter near the Musée Cluny. His first formal Paris exhibition was at the Salon d’Automne of 1912. During this first Paris period, Nielsen attended meetings of the Section d’Or at the studio of Jacques Villon and, as a result, began to incorporate subtle, yet distinct, Cubist elements into his work.   With the outbreak of World War One, Nielsen returned to Copenhagen, taking with him both his increasing compositional sophistication and a thorough understanding of the principles of Modernism. During this period, ports, dance and circus life became subjects of interest and he painted many canvases in the style of Analytic Cubism, of which he became the earliest and, arguably, the finest Danish exponent. From 1915 onwards, Nielsen also created Cubist sculptures and, from 1922-28, was employed as a sculptor by the Royal Copenhagen porcelain factory. Here, he produced a series of ceramic sculptures on Biblical themes which included the Good Samaritan and several versions of Jacob Wrestling with the Angel...

Signed lower right, 'H. Hammond' for Horace Murray Hammond (British, circa 1879-1966) and dated 1921. A luminously painted, bucolic view of harvest time in England with the lilac of the evening casting a soft light over the contented horses and loaded hay-cart, as the harvesters come to the end of their day's labors. Son of the noted landscape painter, Robert John Hammond, Horace Hammond was born and raised in Warwickshire. In 1927, he moved, first to Worcestershire and then to London. Over the course of a long and successful career, Hammond exhibited widely, including at the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists, the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool and at London's Royal Academy, among numerous other locations. A well-listed painter...

Signed 'Todros Geller' (Russian-American, 1889-1949) and dated 1937 An elegant and painterly, southwestern landscape painted when the artist was 48 years old. Born in Vinnytsia, now in the Ukraine, Todros Geller first studied in Odessa before moving to Canada. He continued his studies in Montreal (1906) and, subsequently, at the Art Institute of Chicago with George Bellows and John Norton. Geller exhibited widely and with success including, from 1925, at the Chicago Art Institute as well as at the Riverside Museum (New York, 1939), the New York World's Fair (1939) and at the Whitney Museum of American Art (1941) in addition to other national institutions. Geller was the recipient of numerous prizes, medals and juried awards and his work may be found in private and public collections including the permanent collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. He was a member of professional associations including the Artist's Union, the Artist's Congress and the Chicago Society of Artists, which he also served as president. During the the 1930's, Geller was an active participant in the Federal Art Project (WPA) in Illinois and his large-scale murals and stained glass windows may be found in Chicago and Detroit as well as Tel-Aviv. We are pleased to offer this elegant, South-Western landscape painted when the artist was 45. Reference: Todros Geller Archives, Spertus Museum of Judaica, Chicago; Sparks, Esther. "A Biographical Dictionary of Painters and Sculptors in Illinois 1808-1945." Diss., Northwestern University, 1971, p. 390; Yochim, Louise Dunn. Role and Impact: The Chicago Society of Artists. Chicago: 1979, pp. 28, 44, 238; Mavigliano, George J. and Richard A. Lawson. The Federal Art Project in Illinois 1935-1943. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1990, p. 120; Dijkstra, Bram. American Expressionism: Art and Social Change 1920-1950. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 2003, p. 155. Chicago Modern...

Estate stamped, lower left, 'Wm. A. Gaw' for William Alexander Gaw (American, 1891-1973) and painted circa 1935. William Alexander Gaw was born ...

Signed lower left, in graphite, 'Carl Fischer' (Danish, 1887-1962) and created created 1935. Watermarked 'Ingres Van Gelder Zonen' along right edge. Carl Fischer first studied under Viggo Johansen...

Signed lower left, "E Hansen" for Ejnar Hansen (American, 1884-1965) and dated 1936. Ejnar Hansen studied at Copenhagen's Royal Academy of Art before moving to the United States in 1914 and settling in Pasadena in 1924. An ardent proponent of modernist color theory, Hansen became an influential teacher at the Chouinard School, the Otis Art Institute, the John Muir College, and the Pasadena School of Fine Arts. He exhibited widely and with success, including in Denmark and at the Art Institute of Chicago, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Brooklyn Museum, the 1939 World's Fair and at the Cincinnati Museum. Ejnar was a member of the Academy of Western Painters, the Los Angeles Art Association, the California Art Club, the California Watercolor Society, Pasadena Society of Artists and the Foundation for Western Art. Ejnar Hansen's works may be found in numerous public and private collections including LACMA, the Pasadena Art Institute and the San Diego Fine Art Society. Reference: Artists in California 1786-1940, Third Edition, Edan Milton Hughes: Crocker Art Museum, Sheridan Books 2002, Vol. 1, p. 484; Who Was Who in American Art 1564-1975: 400 Years of Artists in America, Peter Hastings Falk, Sound View Press 1999, Vol. 2, p. 1449; Weilbach, Dansk Kunstnerleksikon, the Castle and Cultural Agency, Copenhagen; Vollmer Allgemeines Lexikon der Bildenden Künstler des 20. Jarhhunderts, Hans Vollmer, Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag 1992, Vol. 2, p. 371; Revyen, Chicago 23.12.1916; 17.2.1917; 8.12.1917; 2.2.1918; 16.3.1918; Vore Herrer, okt. 1918; Internat. Studio, juli 1920; Ekstrabl. 14.2.1921 (G. Nygaard); Tidens Kvinder, maj 1934; Fr. Graae: Fra Sydhavsøerne, 1934, 133-45; Art Digest, aug. 1937, dec. 1944, maj 1945; Da. Tid., Chicago 3.9.1937; Arts and Arch., apr. 1938; P. Uttenreitter: Olaf Rude...

Signed lower right, 'W C Watts' for William Clothier Watts (American, 1869-1961), titled verso 'Water Pagent (sic), Burma' and painted circa 1930. A characteristically kaleidoscopic work by Watts showing a view of brightly caparisoned boats and gaily-dressed participants in a traditional Burmese Water ceremony. Watts began painting early and, by the age of 18, he had exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (PAFA) where he also studied under Thomas Anshutz and Robert Vonnoh...