M.S. Rau Paintings

Signed in Cyrillic "F. Zakharov" (lower right) and signed again and inscribed "Fedor Zakharov/Football" (on reverse) Oil on card laid down on panel Undoubtedly, football, or socc...

Tamara De Lempicka 1898-1980 Polish Raisins et oranges Signed "Lempicka" (lower right) Oil on canvas This charming still life by Art Deco icon Tamara de Lempicka epitomizes the a...

Frank Sinatra 1915-1998 American Abstract with Blue on Red Signed and dated "Sinatra '89"(lower right) Oil on canvas Easily one of the greatest American pop musicians of the 20th...

Tamara De Lempicka 1898-1980 Polish Le turban orange (The Orange Turban) Oil on canvas Wrapped in a spectacular orange headdress, the alluring woman ...

John Singer Sargent 1856-1925 American Stamped by artist's estate (en verso) Oil on canvas John Singer Sargent, widely regarded as one of history's most distinguished portraitists...

Erté (Romain de Tirtoff) 1892-1990 Russian-French Conte Hindou en noir Signed “Erté”(middle right) Inscribed "Inscribed 1922" (en verso) Gouache on paper Designed for a 1922 show at the Folies Bergère, Erté draws inspiration from the splendors of India in Conte Hindou (Hindu Story). The central bare-chested figure, adorned with a resplendent jewel-encrusted headpiece and draped in cascading pearl...

William-Adolphe Bouguereau 1825-1905 French Jeune mère contemplant deux enfants qui s'embrassent (Young Mother Contemplating Two Embracing Children) Signed “W-Bouguereau” (bottom ...

Jean-Pierre Cassigneul b.1935 French Ciel incertain (Uncertain Sky) Signed “Cassigneul” (lower left) Oil on canvas This exquisite painting by Jean-Pierre Cassigneul, titled Ciel ...

Raoul Dufy 1877-1953 French Chevaux de courses (Racing Horses) Signed and dated "Raoul Dufy 1929" (lower right) Watercolor and gouache on Arches paper Raoul Dufy's fascination wi...

Yvonne Canu 1921-2008 French Marseille Signed "CANU" on lower left Oil on canvas The picturesque French Riviera is presented in French Post-Impressionist Yvonne Canu's signature ...

Frank Sinatra 1915-1998 American Squares and Rectangles Signed "F Sinatra 89" (lower right) Oil on canvas Widely considered the greatest American pop singer of the 20th century, ...

Alexander Koester 1864-1932 German Ducklings and a Mother Hen Signed "A. Koester" (lower left) Oil on canvas Esteemed German artist Alexander Koester was known for his charming p...

Ferdinand du Puigaudeau 1864-1930 French La fête foraine de nuit à Batz-sur-Mer (The Nighttime Fair at Batz-sur-Mer) Signed "F. du Puigaudeau" (lower right) Oil on canvas Glowing...

William-Adolphe Bouguereau 1825-1905 French La fille du pêcheur (The Fisherman’s Daughter) Signed and dated “W-Bouguereau-1882” (middle right) Oil on canvas William Bouguereau's...

Marcia Gaylor b.1947 American Casablanca Declaration Signed "M. Gaylor" (lower left) Oil on canvas In her original oil on canvas titled Casablanca Declaration, American historica...

Patrick Hughes b. 1939 British Nature and Culture Signed, dated "Nature and Culture / Patrick Hughes / 2000-2023" Oil on board construction Another success from the artist, Natur...

Patrick Hughes b. 1939 British Ideal Home Oil on panel Signed, titled and dated “Ideal Home / Patrick Hughes / 2023” Patrick Hughes, a London artist, creates works that blend pai...

Raymond Allègre 1857-1933 French Pont Neuf Signed “R. Allègre" (lower right) Oil on panel This exquisite Parisian city scene displays Raymond Allègre's Impressionist style throug...

Achille Laugé 1861-1944 French The Garden Near Cailhau Signed "A. Laugé 96" (lower left) Oil on canvas “Laugé’s art is one of great sensitivity and controlled reason; he is a mas...

Georges Croegaert 1848-1923 Belgian The Connoisseur Signed "Georges Croegaert Paris" (lower right) Oil on panel A Cardinal peers through a magnifying glass at gilded treasures in...

George Frederic Watts 1817-1904 British Portrait of Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone Oil on canvas This exceptional portrait captures the stately likeness of the famed “Gra...

Charles Walter Simpson, RBA, RI, ROI 1885-1971 British The Tent Signed "Charles Simpson" (lower right) Oil on canvas The sunny warmth of a leisurely day on the beach radiates fro...

William Bouguereau French 1825-1905 Petite Mendiante (Little Beggar) Signed “W. Bouguereau 1880” (center left) Oil on canvas William Bouguereau's faithful images of young women a...

William-Adolphe Bouguereau 1825-1905 French Au Bord du Ruisseau Signed and dated “W-Bouguereau-1888” (upper left) Oil on Canvas “Bouguereau’s paintings of children allowed for th...

Emperor Napoléon I was and remains one of the most legendary military and political figures in history, having held, for a brief period, the fate of the Western world in his hands. Composed by the French painter Joseph Franque...

Willy Schlobach 1864-1951 Belgian Les falaises (The Cliffs) Oil on canvas Signed with artist’s monogram “W.S.” (lower right) This coastal landscape showcases the bold palette and...

Jean-Gabriel Domergue 1889-1962 French La loge Signed (bottom right) Oil on panel Jean-Gabriel Domergue presents an elegantly seductive woman seated in a l...

Workshop of Bartholomaeus Spranger 16th Century Flemish Leda and the Swan Oil on panel Retelling one of the most legendary Greco-Roman mythological tales, this exceptional oil on...

Reuven Rubin Israeli 1893-1974 Orientala Signed “Reuven Rubin" Oil on canvas A striking and unique work rendered in a breathtaking jewel-toned palette, Orientala by Rueven Rubin ...

Pierre Carrier-Belleuse 1851-1932 French Danseuse Signed “Pierre Carrier-Belleuse” (lower right) Pastel on canvas Strikingly elegant, this extraordinary pastel by French impressi...

Sir Joshua Reynolds 1723-1792 British Sir Henry Bowles Howard, 12th Earl of Suffolk and 5th Earl of Berkshire Oil on canvas Sir Joshua Reynolds is unequivocally considered the most important English portraitist of the 18th century who was instrumental in adapting the Grand Manner style in the portrait genre. In fact, when the Royal Academy was founded in 1768, Reynolds was elected its first President, setting the precedent of quality for which all other portraitists would strive. Reynolds's portrait of Henry Bowles Howard, 12th Earl of Suffolk, showcases his genius in the genre and mastery over the medium. Reynolds’s portrait of the Earl expertly invokes classical values with strong lighting, rich colors and expert attention to detail to help underscore the prominence and revered echelon of the sitter. Howard was an esteemed British politician and Knight of the Garter. He served as Secretary of State for the Northern Department from 1771 to 1779, and he played a key role in utilizing mercenaries during the American Revolution and safeguarding Sweden's independence. The portrait employs Reynolds's signature style to render Howard rightfully as a gentleman of distinction. Captured seated in a stately library, the Earl appears learned and austere as he places one hand upon a stack of important documents and looks wistfully into the distance. Reynolds makes these compositional choices decisively, as the seated position gives Howard a weighty appearance of importance and the semi-profile turn captures his countenance at an attractive angle that highlights his strong, masculine features. The work draws on the classical conventions of Greek and Roman art and the Italian Renaissance masters, anchoring the nobleman in a history of refinement. Everything from his strong yet welcoming expression to his pale face enlivened by a rush of blood to the cheeks presents the picture of a strong, vital and powerful leader. As the first president of the Royal Academy in London, Reynolds’s commissions raised the status of an artist in Britain during the Romantic period and also established the portrait as an esteemed high art genre that garnered equal import to the history paintings that reigned supreme in decades prior. Today, Reynolds’s works grace the walls of the most important museums in the world, including the Louvre, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the National Gallery in London, among others. Circa 1770 Canvas: 50 1/2" high x 40 1/4" wide Framed: 61" high x 52 1/2" wide x 3 1/2" deep Provenance: Sir Henry Howard, 12th Earl of Suffolk and 5th Earl of Berkshire, 1739-1779 His mother, Lady Mary Howard, née Finch, Lady Andover, d. 1803 Acquired by descent to her daughter, Frances, and her husband Richard Bagot (later Howard) Acquired by descent to their daughter, Mary (1784-1877), and her husband Col. Fulke Greville Upton (later Howard), d. 1846 Acquired by descent to Lieutenant Colonel H.R.G. Howard Sale, Christie's, London, March 24, 1961, no. 29 Julius Weitzner, London and New York Sale, Paris, Musée Galliéra, December 7, 1965, no. 165 Newhouse Galleries, New York, NY Mr. and Mrs. F. Howard Walsh, Fort Worth, Texas, 1966 Walsh Family Art Trust Private collection, Oregon M.S. Rau, New Orleans Exhibited: British Institution, London, 1844, no. 130, loaned by the Hon. Fulke Greville Howard. South Kensington, "Second special exhibition of National Portraits," 1867, no. 478, lent by the Hon. Mrs. Greville. Agnew's, London, 1903, no. 17. Literature: Algernon Graves and W. V. Cronin, A History of the Works of Sir Joshua Reynolds, P.R.A., vol. 3 (London, 1899), p. 945. David Mannings...

Erté (Romain de Tirtoff) 1892-1990 Russian-French La Veuve Rusée Signed “Erté” (lower right) Gouache on paper La Veuve Rusée, first performed in 1748 in Venice, is a comedy cente...

Edouard Léon Cortès 1882-1969 French Boulevard Magenta, Place de la République Signed “Edouard Cortès” (lower right) Oil on canvas Celebrated as the “Parisian Poet of Painting,” ...

Erté (Romain de Tirtoff) 1892-1990 Russian-French Boucles d'oreilles en corail (Coral Earrings) Signed “Erté” (lower right) Inscribed “n°3544 / Boucles d'oreilles en corail et tub...

Erté (Romain de Tirtoff) 1892-1990 Russian-French Les travestis (The Transvestites) Signed “Erté” (lower right) Inscribed "No. 18.363 / Moi, j'aime le music-hall / Les Travestis" (en verso) Gouache on paper Erté’s costume...

Erté (Romain de Tirtoff) 1892-1990 Russian-French Conte Hindou en blanc Signed “Erté”(middle right) Inscribed "No. 76 / Conte Hindou 1922" (en verso) Gouache on paper Designed fo...

Erté (Romain de Tirtoff) 1892-1990 Russian-French Gysie Signed "Erté"(lower right) Inscribed "No. 5442" (en verso) Gouache on paper An enthralling pink gown by Erté is namedGysie,...

Erté (Romain de Tirtoff) 1892-1990 Russian-French Arthémis Signed “Erté” (lower right) Inscribed No. 4.8 (en verso) Gouache on paper This original gouache from the creative mind ...

Erté (Romain de Tirtoff) 1892-1990 Russian-French Fleurs du Mal(The Flowers of Evil) Signed "Erté" (lower right) Inscribed 114.6 (en verso) Gouache on paper Captivating and vibrant, this colorful gouache entitledFleurs du Mal showcases Erté's masterful creativity and keen eye. Inspired by Les Fleurs du mal, the famed volume of poems by French writer Charles Baudelaire, this ensemble marries light purple and green floral motifs with the suggestive form of red lips poised for a smooch. This daring yet feminine appearance encapsulates the Art Deco allure for which the artist's creations are cherished. The sophisticated arrangement emanates the fundamental richness and theatricality that can only be accomplished by Erté, often hailed as the "Father of Art Deco." First published in 1857, Baudelaire's Les Fleurs du mal was controversial for its suggestive content and themes of decadence and eroticism. The volume provided a wealth of inspiration for Erté and he drew from several themes to create original fashion sketches...

Erté (Romain de Tirtoff) 1892-1990 Russian-French Mistinguett Signed "Erté" (lower right) Stamped "Composition originale" (en verso) Gouache on paper Erté designed this costume fo...

Georges Croegaert 1848-1923 Belgian The Letter Signed "Georges Croegaert Paris" (lower right) Oil on panel A cardinal pauses while composing a letter in this oil on panel by Belg...

Guillaume Seignac 1870-1924 French Mutine Signed “G. Seignac” (lower right) Oil on canvas A mischievous maiden dominates this garden scene by French Academic artist Guillaume S...

Georges Croegaert 1848-1923 Belgian An Amusing Thought Signed "Georges Croegaert Paris" (lower left) Oil on panel This oil on panel by Belgian artist Georges Croegaert is a rich ...

Albert Ludwig Operti 1852-1927 Italian-American Portrait of Dr. Frederick Albert Cook Oil on canvas This highly rare portrait of the important Polar explorer, Dr. Frederick Albert Cook, is the work of American artist Albert Ludwig Operti. Renowned in the late 19th and early 20th centuries for his paintings of exploration, namely Arctic scenes, Operti was the only artist to accompany Robert Peary...

Ramon Dilley 1933 - Spanish Le château d’Artigny Signed “Dilley 90” (lower right) Signed and titled “Ramon Dilley / Le château d’Artigny” (en verso) Oi...

Hugues Claude Pissarro b.1935 French La plage à Pornichet (The beach at Pornichet) Signed “H. Claude Pissarro” (lower right) Pastel on card French artist H. Claude Pissarro utili...

Sir David Murray, R.A., H.R.S.A., R.S.W., R.I. 1849-1933 • Scottish Across the River Signed and dated D. Murray 1907 (lower left) Signed and inscribed “Across the River/by David M...

Georges Croegaert 1848-1923 Belgian The Chess Game Signed "Georges Croegaert Paris" (lower right) Oil on panel This oil on panel by Belgian artist Georges Croegaert is a rich and...

Lucas Cranach the Elder and Studio 1472-1553 German Moses and the Pillar of Cloud Oil on panel Moses and the Pillar of Cloud is a bold and evocative composition that showcases the signature intense color and intricate detail of Lucas Cranach the Elder’s celebrated oeuvre. The remarkable 16th-century oil on panel by Lucas Cranach and his studio captures the narrative moment when Moses leads the Israelites out of Egypt and encounters God manifested through a large pillar of cloud. Moses stands at the precipice of a bridge and turns back to soldiers helping to lead the group of Israelites who huddle closely together. Cranach depicts Moses with his traditional iconography, rendering the rays of light on his head which came to be interpreted as "horns" in the translation of the Bible. Using his traditional walking staff, Moses gestures toward the pillar, seemingly acknowledging that God will protect the group as they cross the bridge to the other side, leaving exile and entering a promised land. In a nod to Cranach’s Germanic locale, he renders the figures and setting in a manner that feels decisively more akin to European aesthetics than those of the Red Sea. Soldiers wear elaborate, gothic suits of armor that recall the livery of Northern European guardsmen. The terrain appears more like a European forest giving way to a sweeping valley than the arid landscape the Israelites trekked through on their journey across the Red Sea. Though still clearly recounting a story from the Old Testament, Cranach renders the cast of characters and setting in an earthly, familiar manner. This aesthetic shift speaks to Cranach’s own changing beliefs as he found himself at the center of the Protestant Reformation. After first gaining recognition in 1505 as the official painter of Frederick the Wise, Cranach established a thriving painting and print studio in Wittenberg, Germany. Cranach was renowned for his court portraits and genre paintings and was also well known for his association with the famous protestant reformer Martin Luther, then under the protection of Frederick the Wise. As Wittenberg became a bastion of new religious thought, Cranach soon befriended Luther and played an active role in creating the printed materials that proliferated throughout the Reformation...

Extraordinary in its beauty and rarity, this early 16th-century German painting of an illuminated manuscript showcases a masterful trompe l’oeil effect. Unequivocally among the finest of only 17 known works of its kind, the oil on panel is both rare and captivating. With illusory pages that appear to leap from the panel, this virtuosic painting of a hand-colored book suspended into space is exceptional. Created more than four centuries ago, the composition evokes a strong sense of realism. Executed by a masterful Northern Renaissance artist of the German school, the illuminated manuscript pictured shows the astonishing splendor of the historical books of the period. Sumptuously decorated with scrolling floral motifs in the margins, the manuscript appears before a deep black background, heightening the trompe l’oeil illusion of depth through its strong contrast and the naturalistic shadows falling across the fluttering pages. It has been said that of the 17 known versions of this composition, ours stands alone in its precision in both perspective and the play of light and shadow. The visible folios feature choral arrangements and other texts, indicating the pictured manuscript likely served a role in the celebration of church services. In fact, other examples of manuscript paintings...

Frans Hals 1582-1666 Dutch Portrait of a Gentleman (possibly Theodore Blevet) Oil on panel “Frans Hals is a colourist among the colourists...Frans Hals must have had twenty-seven blacks...

Henry Moret 1856-1913 French Barque de Peche en Mer Fishing Boat at Sea Signed and dated “Henry Moret 1912” (lower left) Oil on canvas A beautiful gestural composition imbued with the sublime beauty of the open sea, this oil on canvas by Impressionist Henry Moret showcases the artist's deft use of color and texture. One of the most celebrated painters of the Pont-Aven School, Moret’s lasting reputation is tied to his talent for capturing the bright skies, lively waterways and the diverse coastline of northern France. With a mastery of plein air composition and a deep appreciation for the natural world, Moret's Barque de Peche en Mer renders a fishing boat navigating through the ocean. Moret creates a visceral sense of the vitality of the water and the enormity of the open skies. The artist captures the vigorous energy of the sea with a profusion of green and blue hues applied with a thick impasto. Small yet mighty against the infinite backdrop, Moret's fishing boat forges ahead. Henry Moret was born in Cherbourg in 1856, though little else is known about his early life. He entered military service as a young man in 1875, and it was during that period when Moret discovered the beauty of France’s northern coasts, particularly those of Normandy and Brittany. After his tour ended, he embarked on his artistic career, completing his formal education at the École Nationale des Beaux-Arts under Jean-Leon Gérôme, and later, from about 1880, under Jean-Paul Laurens at the Académie Julian. He exhibited for the first time at the Paris Salon in 1880, submitting a landscape of the coast of Brittany. During his time in Paris, he frequently traveled to Brittany to paint the region he so loved. In 1888, he more firmly established himself in Pont-Aven, a town whose center had become an artistic refuge for artists such as the great Paul Gauguin, Ernest Ponthier de Chamaillard, Emile Jourdan and others. Under Gauguin's influence, he briefly explored the concept of Symbolism in his works, but after Gauguin left Pont-Aven in 1891, Moret returned to his Impressionist roots. He formed a relationship with the famed dealer Durand-Ruel in 1895, and his career was officially launched. Today, his works can be found in important museums including the Manchester Art Gallery, the State Hermitage Museum (St. Petersburg), the National Gallery of Art (Washington DC) and others. Dated 1912 Canvas: 28 3/4” high x 36 3/4” wide Frame: 36 5/8" high x 44 1/8" wide Exhibited:Henry Moret, Galerie Durand-Ruel, April 5-January 29, 1966, n° 47 Provenance: Sale Marcel Bernheim...

Jean-Pierre Cassigneul b.1935 French La terrasse devant la mer (The Terrace by the Sea) Signed “Cassigneul” (lower left) Oil on canvas laid on panel This monumental, three-panele...

This compelling portrait of Salome was composed by the French painter Marie Felix Hippolyte-Lucas. While the celebrated artist's oeuvre is filled with bright and cheerful portraits of aristocratic women surrounded by florals, here he takes a different approach. Hippolyte-Lucas' Salome is simultaneously exotic and highly modern, rendered in a style that is both theatrical and bold. The monumental work's rich color palette is filled with gem-inspired hues that lend drama to the scene, highlighting the blatant sexuality of this legendary seductress. Though Salome is not named in the New Testament, she has appeared time and time again in art and literature over the centuries, as both an innocent and a seductress. Her mother, Herodias, resented John the Baptist, who denounced her marriage to King Herod as unlawful. At one evening meal, Salome danced...

Georges Terzian 1939-2021 French Untitled Signed “G.TERZIAN” (upper right); signed, titled and dated “GEORGES TERZIAN MARS 2005” (en verso) Oil on c...

Auguste Herbin 1882-1960 French Aoum II Signed and dated 'herbin 1944' (lower right); titled "aoum" 2 (lower left) Oil on canvas This bold and vivid abstract oil on canvas was painted by French painter Auguste Herbin, a pioneer in popularizing Modernist abstraction. Over his expansive nearly 60-year career, Herbin rubbed shoulders with art history greats from Pablo Picasso to Georges Braque before honing his personal and innovative style. Entitled Aoum II, the painting stands apart for its daring color palette and crisp composition. Painted in 1944, Aoum II embodies Herbin’s fully-formed artistic aesthetic and stylistic tenets. Only two years prior to its creation, Herbin developed his “alphabet plastique,” a synergistic visual language of color and form that he described in detail in his published book L’art non-figuratif non-objectif. Though the artist was highly cerebral in his process of creating art, one does not need to perfectly understand his principles to feel Aoum II's magnetism. The geometric shapes visible in the composition — primarily fragmented triangles and circles — are rendered in bold pinks, blues and yellows on a deep black background. His tiered application of color creates a natural three-register visual effect as if to tell a story from the apex of the form to its denouement. Auguste Herbin began his artistic training at the École des Beaux-Arts de Lille before moving to Paris in 1901. In the early years of his career, he experimented with a variety of styles, exhibiting Post-Impressionistic works at the Salon des Indépendants in 1906 and Fauvist paintings at the Salon d'Automne in 1907. After a brief Cubist period following his introduction to Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque and Otto...

Eleanor Parke Custis 1897-1983 American Karnak Signed 'Eleanor Parke Custis -' (lower right) Gouache and charcoal on paper American painter Eleanor Parke Custis demonstrates her mastery of the gouache medium in Karnak. A celebration of color and a relic of the artist’s travels abroad, the composition is well-balanced, exuding photojournalistic and documentarian qualities. In Karnak, Custis paints a compelling and dynamic image of a great ancient Egyptian ruin. Seven distant men, likely Bedouins dressed...

John Atherton 1900-1952 American The Bass Season Saturday Evening Post cover, June 29, 1946 Signed "Atherton" (lower right) Inscribed "The Bass Season opens in the east July 1st /...

A Salvation Army Santa looks on with a mixture of fatigue and disinterest as a group of children tell him their Christmas gift wish lists in this lighthearted composition by leading American illustrator Leslie Thrasher. This painting was created for the December 20, 1930 issue of Liberty Magazine, for which the artist illustrated covers on a weekly basis for six consecutive years. Thrasher is known for his scenes of everyday American life imbued with a sense of humor, qualities represented to great effect in this charming painting. Born in 1889 in Piedmont, West Virginia, Thrasher studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts as a teenager and received a scholarship to study art abroad in Paris. Upon his return, he began studying under Howard Pyle, known as the “father of American illustration.” Thrasher sold his first cover illustration to the Saturday Evening Post in 1912, four years before Norman Rockwell’s first Post cover, and he would go on to produce over 360 magazine covers throughout his career. He painted humorous, relatable scenes of everyday life in America with colorful characters set against white backgrounds. He was also a successful commercial artist, painting advertisements for Cream of Wheat, Chesterfield Cigarettes...

William Clarke Wontner 1857-1930 British Portrait of a Beauty Signed and dated "W. Wontner 1918" (lower left) Oil on canvas Classical beauty a...