Rob Zanger Rare Books LLC Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Pen and black ink on watermarked Ingres laid paper, 9 1/4 x 12 1/4 inches (234 x 310 mm), signed, dated and titled in brown ink, and initialed and titled in black ink in the lower right corner. Light to moderate age tone and mat tone, and with the signature and notations in brown ink having become quite attenuated, although legible. Presented in a basic black wood frame with a label from the Country Art...

English School, 19th century. Baths at Caracalla, Rome. 1852. Ink wash in brown ink on cream wove paper, 9 7/8 x 13 inches (250 x 330 mm), titled and dated in brown ink, lower right...

Ink and sepia wash on light wove paper, 5 1/8 x 4 inches (128 x 100 mm), signed in brown ink and dated in black ink below the image. Scattered light foxing and uniform toning. Adhered to nonarchival white cardstock, creating minor cockling, and obscuring the verso. Alberto Prosdocimi (1852-1925) was an Italian watercolorist and celebrated mansucript illuminator known for his atmospheric cityscapes and interior views of Venice. His canal scences are simple yet masterful, filled with languid motion...

Watercolor and gouache on cream wove paper. Signed and titled in watercolor in the lower right image area. Small circular pea-sized damp stain in the top center image area (visible in the are of the sky), and some additional small spots of unobtrusive foxing in the upper left sheet area. Otherwise in very good condition with fresh colors and intricate brushwork. Henri Schäfer...

Graphite with white heightening on greenish beige wove paper, 17 1/4 x 12 1/2 (437 x 317 mm). Scattered edge wear, tears and losses around the perimeter of the drawing. Margins are wide and the image area is clean and intact. Scattered light soiling and toning, all consistent with age. A dramatic image by a highly skilled draftsman, this works is likely a life study of the Hellenistic sculptural masterpiece of the same title, which is housed in the Uffizi's collection of ancient statues...

A lovely, early drawing of the Roman god Mercury. Pen and brown ink on cream laid paper, with a partial crown and shield watermark, 7 1/4 x 4 7/8 inches (184x 123 mm) (matrix). In go...

Black crayon and graphite with white heightening on blue handmade laid paper. Adhered at all four corners to a period support, on which the title and an illegible date (perhaps 1815) appear to be written in the artist's hand. ________ Aglio was born in Cremona is 1777 and his artistic talent was recognized early in his life. He was promised a place at the University in Milan by the Holy Roman Emperor, however, his formal education was upended before it even began by the invasion of Italy and Austria by Napoleon. Aglio joined the war effort and fought in a series of major battles near Venice before becoming seriously ill. At the age of about 23 he was released from duty, and traveled to Rome to focus on his health, and landscape painting. In Rome, Aglio studied with the renowned artist Campovecchio. At the invitation of well known British architect William Wilkins (designer of the National Gallery and University College London), Aglio relocated to London in 1803. He made London his permanent home, and married Letitia Clarke in 1805. He enjoyed a lucrative career painting frescoes in the interiors of high society townhouses, country manors, and major London concert halls and theaters. Most notably, Aglio painted multiple official portraits of Queen Victoria...

Graphite on hand made, fibrous wove paper, finished with gray wash. Unevenly trimmed sheet edges, non-archival tape remnants at all four corners, recto, well outside of image area. Horseshoe-shaped area of light discoloration that extends significantly into the figure's face, beneath the lips, and up over the rear of the head, dog-eared right lower corner with associated light discoloration at crease. DeMin and Belluno inscribed in graphite, verso. A detailed study showing 'primo pensiero' for Giovanni DeMin's large scale fresco, Assumption of the Virgin...

Graphite on greenish gray wove paper. 15 1/4 x 11 5/8 inches (390 x 295 mm). Initialed "G. B." in pencil on the lower right recto. In generally good condition with some minor scattered surface soiling. Condition is consistent with age. ____ This drawing is closely related to two known mid 18th century oils...

This is an engaging work with masterful detail that will unfold for an intent viewer, particularly in the area of the figure's well-worn hands, and her traditional clothing. The image depicts a Bavarian woman deep in thought while winding a skein of wool. She is seated outside of her home, where she has brought her yarn swift...

A bright and beautiful Orientalist landscape by a master of the genre. Watercolor and graphite on cream laid paper, laid down to archival board, 14 3/4 x 6 3/4 inches (374 x 170 m...

A portait of the first Allied airship to perform a bombing raid from the sky by a celebrated artist whose work hung on the Titanic. Watercolor and ink on heavy wove watercolor paper, 10 5/8 x 15 inches (270 x 380 mm). Signed in black watercolor in the lower right image area. In very good condition with minor surface soiling on the verso. Titled "Verdun" in pencil on the verso in the artist's hand. Adhered on the verso to matboard at the extreme margins with non archival tape. Presented handsomely in a simple, period maple frame. Titled, dated, inscribed and initialed by the artist on a label on the frame back. Born in Cambridge in 1898 and educated at Southsea School of Art, Norman Wilkinson is known for his graphic art, specifically his British Railway poster images, and also for something quite incredible; Wilkinson revolutionized the art of naval camouflage. Having been assigned to submarine patrols in Dardanelles, Gallipoli, and Gibraltar during WWI as a member of the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve, Wilkinson was deeply troubled by the unprecedented success the German submarine fleet had torpedoing British ships. He hoped to find a solution to this gaping vulnerability, and in a lightning bolt moment, he had an epiphany that would change everything. Wilkinson says in his autobiography, A Brush With Life (Seeley, 1969), that he realized a ship could be painted to hide its shape against the sea and sky. In his own words, Wilkinson states that the hull of a ship could be camouflaged "not for low visibility, but in such a way as to break up her form and thus confuse a submarine officer as to the course on which she was heading." After some preliminary testing, the theory Wilkinson called "dazzle camouflage" was accepted by British Admiralty and Wilkinson was placed in charge of the naval camouflage unit. The unit, which was headquartered in the basement of the Royal Academy of Arts, consisted of Wilkinson and about two dozen "camoufleurs;" they were artists, students, model makers and consultants, including a zoologist. The dazzle schemes were tested on models and then distributed to artists who were stationed at the docks, where the ships would be painted. At the end of the war Wilkinson was formally declared the inventor of dazzle camouflage and awarded for his contribution. Wilkinson went on to enjoy a long and celebrated career as a painter of maritime scenes, naval vessels, and warships. He served as the president of the Royal Institute of Painter in Water Colours (RI) from 1936 until 1963 (having been elected a member in 1906); he was elected Honourable Marine Painter to the Royal Yacht Squadron in 1919, and he was a member of the Royal Society of British Artists, the Royal Institute of Oil Painters, the Royal Society of Marine Artists, and the Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour. In 1918 he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), and a Commander of the Order (CBE) in 1948. In January 1920 he was appointed knight (chevalier) of the Belgian Order of the Crown. Among the many notable points of interest regarding Wilkinson's career is that his painting Plymouth Harbour, which was commissioned by Cunard White Star Lines for the first class smoking room of the RMS Titanic, was lost at sea when it perished with the ship. Wilkinson had also created a comparable painting entitled The Approach to the New World, which hung in the same location on the Titanic's sister ship, the RMS Olympic...

Pen and sepia ink wash on cream laid paper, 4 1/8 x 6 3/16 inches (103 x 152 mm). In good condition with scattered areas of light brown discoloration, and un...

Graphite and grayish ink wash on bluish wove paper, 7 x 10 1/2 inches (177 x 265 mm) (matrix). Scattered surface soiling, adhesive residue, dog-eared corners, and scattered edge tears along left margin, outside of image area. Paper is braced on the verso with two pages from a mid 19th century book with illustrations by C.Perrin. One image depicts a scene of a group of soldiers representing the Holy Roman Empire...

Graphite and ink on handmade, watermarked C & I Honig laid paper, 8 15/16 x 6 3/4 inches (226 x 170 mm). Signed illegibly in ink, lower margin. Scattered light creasing and surface...

Brush and brown ink and wash with graphite on cream wove paper, 6 1/2 x 9 1/4 inches (165 x 232mm). Inscribed "Fahlerant, No. 9754, Paisaje--Orillas de un lago" in ink on the verso. ...

Brownish ink and grayish ink wash with white heightening on handmade cream laid paper, 10 5/8 x 8 1/4 inches (267 x 208 mm)(matrix). Scattered minor losses to top sheet edge (outside...

English School, 18th century Pen and black ink with gray wash on cream laid paper, 9 1/4 x 5 inches (238 x132 mm). 1/4 inch repaired loss, top center, to the left of the figure’s h...

An early Devonshire landscape, ex-collection West Collection of British Watercolors & the Fine Art Society, London. Circa 1800 Ink and brown wash on paper, 7 1/8 x 10 1/4 inches (...