20th Century Decorative Art

Oumar Bocoum Mali, 1990's Spectacular Malian wedding hanging. Fulani weaver Oumar Bocoum from Segou is known to have learnt his distinctive style from an earlier master Abdurraham Bura Bocoum who is thought to have pioneered the development of large scale figurative pattering on blankets that are displayed as prestige hangings for the weddings of important families...

Amour Nu by Adolfo Arenas Alonso We share what we love, and we love this original lithograph printed and signed by the well renowned artist Adolfo Ar...

French majolica plate with flowers & butterfly, circa 1900.

Collage assembled from boxes, stained linen, stones, patinated metal and wire. Showing the influence of Alberto Burri. Unknown artist, English School, c. 1960's. Measures: 55cm H x ...

A very fine carved over door pane: l in the Louis XVI style. France, circa 1980. P Dimensions: height 36 3/4 x width 66 1/2" depth 5" CW5323 & CW5324. Pai...

Rare brass cross designed by Arnaldo Pomodoro and his brother Giò Pomodoro in the 1950s, of fine Italian manufacture. It is part of the V/58/16 model. The...

Large mural of artisanal tiles of the 20th Century impressive mural of tiles of the 20th Century made in an artisan way with hand-painted and fire-fired tiles. Measures 280 x 155 cm.

White Bunny Drawing by Oleg Cassini for Playboy October 1979, Signed. Illustration of a woman wearing a white body suit, choker, and hat. Signed by Oleg Cassini. Notice the body suit is in the shape of the head of a bunny with clever use of the 'whiskers'. Approximate Measurements: Length: 11" Width: 14" Property from the Collection of Steven Rosengard, Chicago, Illinois This original drawing was commissioned by Playboy and included in the October 1979 issue of Playboy Magazine (pages 225-227) in a feature that included works from designers such as Bill Blass, Oleg Cassini, Edith Head, Fernando Sanchez, and Monika Tilley, among others, who create their versions of the Playboy bunny costume. Candace Collins can be seen modeling some of the designs in the feature. Oleg Cassini is an icon of twentieth-century fashion. Though born to Russian aristocracy and raised in Italy, he built a fashion empire that was unmistakably American. Cassini is perhaps best known for the hundreds of designs he created for First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy (see images 4-8), but his achievements as a collector, connoisseur, and quintessential twentieth-century man go far beyond Camelot. In 1913, Oleg Cassini was born in Paris to the Russian diplomat Count Alexander Loiewski and Countess Marguerite Cassini, a Russian aristocrat of Italian ancestry who also had an interesting link to America. The daughter of Count Arthur Cassini, Russian Ambassador to the United States during the McKinley and Roosevelt administrations, Marguerite dazzled turn-of-the-century Washington as her father’s official hostess and left her mark on the capital city. Stationed in Denmark when the Russian Revolution toppled the czar, Ambassador Cassini and family were exiled to Switzerland before settling in Florence, Italy, where young Oleg was raised. A true Renaissance man, he spoke Russian, French, and Danish before adding Italian and English; he studied medieval and modern European military history and costume and learned to draw; he learned horseback riding, fencing, and the art of chivalry; and, most importantly, he came to understand the struggles of the Russian titled class and other European aristocrats in the wake of the Russian Revolution and World War I. Countess Cassini started a successful fashion business in Florence, and soon the talented young Oleg was sent to Paris to sketch the latest collections for recreation in Italy. In Rome in his early 20s, Cassini created fashions for high society women and designed for a few films, which planted the seed for his move to Hollywood. The drive to reinvent himself brought Cassini to America in the 1930s; in his autobiography he describes arriving nearly penniless in mid-Depression New York City where his title as an exiled Russian Count meant even less than in war-devastated Europe. Down and out, Cassini struggled for employment, having sketching skills but no knowledge of the wholesale trade required for survival in Manhattan’s Seventh Avenue fashion district. However, he excelled at making connections, and Cassini slowly entered New York society. He was soon joined by younger brother Igor (who had studied in America and travelled with the young Emilio Pucci) and his parents, the once-dazzling Countess and his father, the displaced diplomat still loyal to Russia. The family settled in Washington, D.C., and Igor worked his way up the Hearst newspaper chain to become the famous society columnist Cholly Knickerbocker. In New York, Oleg Cassini married the troubled socialite Merry Fahrney (who would go on to marry eight times), but the marriage ended in scandal for Oleg, and he decided to follow his original intention and head for Hollywood. Despite initial difficulties, Cassini gained access to Hollywood’s elite (partially through his skills on the tennis court), and was soon hired as a designer at Paramount Pictures alongside the redoubtable Edith Head. In her 1941 film debut I Wanted Wings, Veronica Lake wore a memorable Cassini design. That same year, Cassini met and married the newest young Hollywood star on the scene, the beautiful 20th Century Fox–talent Gene Tierney. With the outbreak of World War II, Cassini enlisted in the Coast Guard but was transferred to the U.S. Army Cavalry which allowed officers of foreign birth. He attended basic training at Fort Riley, Kansas, and the horsemanship he learned as a boy served him greatly. He attended Officer Candidate School and reached the rank of First Lieutenant (he also became an American citizen at this time, losing his title of Count). Cassini spent several years posted at Fort Riley, where Tierney joined him before he landed a convenient military post in Hollywood. As Tierney’s career thrived (she played the title role in Otto Preminger’s Laura in 1944), she was able to assert her influence over 20th Century Fox’s head Daryl Zanuck, who hired Cassini as designer for Tierney on her 1946 film The Razor’s Edge, which proved to be a brilliant showcase for his talents. The pair separated the same year and, again seeking reinvention, Cassini re-established himself in New York City as a fashion designer. By 1950, the Oleg Cassini label was born. Combining his knowledge of Old World and modern Europe, Hollywood, the tennis courts of Palm Beach and Newport, and of course, New York City, Oleg Cassini invented a new brand of fashion that was distinctly American and of its moment. For his first collection, Cassini took to the stage, narrating the looks and imbuing the scene with his personality, unusual in an industry where the designers typically remained backstage and the models were called by number over a PA. The first collection was a smash — the president of Lord & Taylor devoted all of their storefront windows to his designs — and by 1955 sales had reached $5,000,000. Oleg Cassini’s career had turned a very positive corner. Cassini spent the early 1950s traversing the country, personally selling his collections to department stores in the interior, something his predecessors had never done, and moving between the Hollywood and New York scenes. Cassini’s brother Igor coined the term “the Jet Set” for this generation that constantly flew from New York to Los Angeles (then a ten-hour flight), Las Vegas, Paris, Rome, and the Riviera. In 1954, Cassini set out to woo Grace Kelly and sent her roses every day. The two were briefly engaged before her marriage to Prince Rainier of Monaco. In December 1960, Cassini’s career-defining opportunity came when he was chosen by Jacqueline Kennedy to design her fashions for the White House. Cassini had long known Joe Kennedy and his war-hero son John, and had first met Jacqueline Bouvier before her marriage in the early 1950s. Invited by President-Elect Kennedy to meet Jacqueline at Georgetown Hospital (she had just given birth to son John Jr.) to present to her drawings of potential dresses and First Lady looks, Cassini worked furiously to prepare a new line for the First Lady. Mrs. Kennedy had always had her clothes made by the top French couturiers of the day, but for the White House she wanted an American designer. Cassini wrote in his autobiography that he told the First Lady: “‘You have an opportunity here,’ I said, ‘for an American Versailles.’ She understood completely what I was trying to communicate; she began to talk excitedly about the need to create an entirely new atmosphere at the White House. She wanted it to become the social and intellectual capital of the nation” (Oleg Cassini, In My Own Fashion, 1987, p. 327). Mrs. Kennedy loved Cassini’s design for a gown to wear to the Inaugural Gala (she had already ordered a dress from Bergdorf’s for the Inaugural Ball), and Cassini was selected as the First Lady’s designer and was soon dubbed the “Secretary of Style.” From 1960 to 1963, Oleg Cassini would design over 300 items for Mrs. Kennedy, creating the “Jackie Look” that contributed not only to a fashion revolution but also the dawn of a new age. Cassini wrote that “Jackie played a very active role in the selection of her clothes. She loved brilliant colors — pistachio, hot pink, yellow, and white among others. Her sense of style was very precise; she would make editorial comments on the sketches I sent her. She always knew exactly what she wanted; her taste was excellent” (Oleg Cassini, In My Own Fashion, 1987, p. 334). After the Camelot years, Cassini’s business flourished and grew into a major industry; his name appeared on everything from couture to tennis-, sport-, and swimwear, car interiors, housewares, and perfume. He collected beautiful and rare artwork, arms and armor, and antique furniture, and lived the lifestyle projected by his image. From this period onward, Cassini also came to live in important homes. Of his Gothic Gramercy Park townhouse on Manhattan’s 19th Street he would write imaginatively, “I walked into the foyer and immediately fell in love. It was a place unlike any other in New York, a sixteenth-century Dutch house transported brick by brick from Europe by the Wells Fargo family in the early twentieth century. There was a vaulted, twenty-foot ceiling in the living room, leaded windows, elegantly carved wood paneling...

1960's Oil Painting on Canvas "Fall Reflections". Oil painting on Canvas in a gilt wooden frame.

Hans Osswald (1919-1983), Swedish artist. Mixed media on paper. Fish. Mid-20th century. Visible dimensions: 42 x 34 cm. Total dimensions: 51 x 45 cm. ...

Found in the US. Unknown origin. Circa 1910 large hand carved and framed walnut panel. Very intricately rendered work featuring leaves, vines and flowers. This is heavy piece and is...

Vintage framed art. Dimensions. 16 3/4 W; 1 D; 21 H.

Mid-20th Century hand carved wood plaque of General MacArthur. Signed A.B. Deleourey 1856-1944 Boston, MA. Minor scratches. This can be seen at our 4...

French Miniature Quimper Heart Plate Circa 1950.

Chromolithograph titled 'Lester'. Lester Berchart Reiff (1877–1948) was an American jockey who achieved racing acclaim in the United Kingdom in the first decade of the twentieth cent...

Fabulously large and fine example of the work of the well-known decorator Bert Bentley. Very few portrait medallions of this size were made, in all the time that Wedgwood has been making portrait medallions. Priestly's advocacy for free speech and freedom of religion...

Wonderfully quirky and colourful design by Bohdan Bocianowski features on this original Cyrk Polish Circus poster from 1974, its very first print...

Article: Ceramic Studio Pottery, set of 2 Decade: 1960s Producer: Atelier Schäffenacker, Ulm Germany Design: Helmut Schäffenacker This fantastic vase...

Large mural of artisanal tiles of the 20th Century impressive mural of tiles of the 20th Century made in an artisan way with hand-painted and fire-fire...

A small ceramic decorative chinoiserie plate. Decorated in a bright blue, this plate features chrysanthemums in yellow, red, and pink among lush green leaves. A hanger has been appli...

True Arts & Crafts two-tone geometric pair of stained glass windows. Subtle workmanship which exudes simplified elegance. In very good or...

Earl McCutcheon was a pioneer in the studio glass movement who spent 40 years at the University of Ga. In the 1950's he was among the most influential experimental glass makers in th...

2 wall plates WMF Style: Jugendstil, Art Nouveau, Liberty year: 1909 Country: Germany Materials: silver plated Several of the WMF objects can be seen in museums. We have specialize...

Needlepoint wall object in the manner of Jean Lurcat and Picart Le Doux. Decorative French Folk Art embroidered needlework on canvas 1930s-1950s These works were popular French...

Decorative Oil on Canvas Painting of the City of Marbella Measurements with frame: 56x73x3cm

Rare Oyster Plate signed Robert Picault. Robert Picault (1919 - 2000) was born in Vincennes, Paris and studied at the School of Applied Arts in Paris. After the war he spent a short...

We love this original Italian film poster for a 1970s Pink Panther Super Festival. This vintage film poster was originally folded (as issued), it has been professionally linen-backe...

Green Majolica oyster plate signed Sarreguemines, circa 1930.

Large, bold, signed, oil-on-canvas painting by Michael Raburn "Dawsons View". Southwestern landscape signed original art. Southwestern landscape large painting by highly regarded American artist Michael Raburn. Hand-signed and title by the artist. Oil acrylic on canvas stretched on wood. Circa 1980's. by Michael Raburn December 29, 1951 ~ September 11, 2021. Beautiful Arizona Sunset...

Enamel Horses in many colors , on a Thick Wénge panel . Love the movement in the Horses . Attributed to Julia F.M.T. Braendle (1929-1982). Background information. Juliana Francisca Maria Tosco Braendle (Brändle) was born on 28 August 1929 in Rotterdam, with Swiss nationality. Julia was a student of the arts and crafts school (Kunstgewerbeschule) in Zurich and of the Academy for Visual Arts in Rotterdam. She lived in Bingelrade (South Limburg) since 1969 where she died on 30 September 1982. She was a watercolour painter...

(1935 - ) Oil on canvas; 24" x 36". Fellows grew up in California where he worked as a cowboy and was an apprentice for four years to a saddle maker. He roped calves and steers on the rodeo circuit. Without formal art training he spent 10 years as a commercial artist and as an art director, later moving to Big Fork, MT to devote himself full time to painting. His studio contains a serious collection of early western guns, Plains Indian artifacts...

Italian frieze in hand-carved wood and gilded gold-leaf. Made by a good craftsman who carved it by hand, copying from an ancient frieze. (See all my p...

A very attractive early 20th century French fashion plate which was published by La Mode Illustrée. La Mode Illustrée was published in Paris in the 1...

1990s Moroccan hand-stitched raffia fabric with geometrical shapes.

Decorative collection plates from the finest bone china from the famous German manufactory Kaiser (Kaiser). Series “Classical lullabies of the wor...

A fine color lithograph by American female artist Robin Morris. This is an original hand drawn limited edition lithograph printed using hand lithography techniques on archival Arches paper, 100% acid free. Presented in a very good quality professionally framed and mat boarded Hollywood Regency style frame. Titled "The Couple" this modern Art Deco styled portrait of a sophisticated, elegantly dressed urban couple formally poses for their portrait, an attractive woman with her short blonde bob hairstyle is seated wearing a fashionable purple and magenta ensemble and 1920's style flapper hat...

Large mural of artisanal tiles of the 20th Century impressive mural of tiles of the 20th Century made in an artisan way with hand-painted and fire-fire...

An attractive abstract decorated tile artwork, framed in hardwood and brushed aluminium. Signed by Rachel Savir, ceramicist, active Israel 1970s. Bold c...

A buck deer animal needlepoint artwork wall art with Birdseye maple frame, circa 20th century, Europe. Dimensions: 10.13" Width x 8.94" Height....

Stylish and perfectly handcrafted pair of classical Art Deco picture or photo frames. If you are looking for the perfect picture frames for a pair of photos of your children or of...

Newcomb-Macklin, Stanford white design 28 x 24 period frame Extremely rare and fine original Newcomb-Macklin Stanford White frame, circa 1920s-...

"Destruction from the Stratoshpere!" Very fun design features on this original 1950s first-year-of-release and country-of-origin film poster for Missile Monsters! This original...

Free form Ceramic plates/dish or plaques by Peter and Denise Orlando, France 1960s. Glazed in black with abstract and geometric decoration engraved and over-glazed in shiny terraco...

This rather eccentric early 20th Century wall plate has a fine matte glaze. At first sight it looks innocent and geometric, but upon further 'research' is becomes clear what the artist wants to show us. On the floor of this green ceramic plate...

Suzani, a Central Asian term for a specific type of needlework, is also the broader name for the hugely popular decorative pieces of textile that feature this needlework in vivid col...

An original “It’s supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!” Mary Poppins British Cinema Billing Poster, the original film was released in 1964, this poster is 1970’s re-release poster, printed in England by Lonsdale & Bartholomew Ltd This example has 31st MARCH stenciled onto it by the cinema which is a great addition to its cinematic history. The poster is in good condition, fold lines are visible. Newly framed in simple black frame with non-reflective polycarbonate sheet. Cast Info: Julie Andrews, Dick Van...

Philippe Andrianne Oil Painting on Canvas in a Gilt Frame. Oil painting on canvas with a liner and gilt wooden frame.

Beautiful jewelry box by the known American artist Ken Belgian. He worked in Taxco, Mexico in a modern/primitive style craft . This wooden box ...

This is a set of 10 vintage festival lanterns. A Chinese, decorative tree bauble with Oriental motif, dating to the late 20th century, circa 1970. ...

Np2 by Patuzzi Nerone & Garonetti Torino year 1975, great wall panel zinc. Unique piece work of art. Good vintage condition, measure 100 cm x 100 x ...

This buck head wood carved wall plaque is an excellent specimen of this master carver's artful work. This vintage hand-carved deer head has expressive featur...

Black and White Portrait in Needlepoint. Very interesting and dramatic image. Dark hue near mouth is a shadow - see second image. Frame and matting need to be replaced. (Sold with o...

Chinese Ming dragon, wall decoration/supraporte, gilded wood Solid wood, hand carved and gilded. Wall decoration, 20th century.

A mirror created by Mithé Espelt, circa 1960, in France. The mirror is composed of tiled fused glass within a gold crackle glazed ceramic frame. Very fine original condition. A si...

A hand painted faience oyster plate made by Saint- Jean de Bretagne, near Quimper, France – circa 1960’s. Saint-Jean de Bretagne earthenware became a thriving industry after the S...

Alfie, many people's favourite cinematic rogue and arguably Caine's best role. An iconic 1960s film and this US 1 sheet movie poster is in fantastic condition. Professionally clea...

Great map of Texas and adjacent States Original color. Good condition Published by Alexander Gross Unframed.

Antique bird print titled 'Larus Argentatus'. Old bird print depicting the European herring Gull (Winter). This print originates from 'Svenska Foglar Efter Naturen Och Pa Stenritade' by Magnus von Wright. Artists and Engravers: Printed in Stockholm. Magnus von Wright (1805 - 68) was the first taxidermist working with the vertebrate collections of Helsinki University. Starting out as a taxidermist in the 1820's, he stuffed birds for Societas pro Flora et Fauna Fennica, the oldest scientific society in Finland, and in 1845, became taxidermist at the university's zoological museum. Von Wright made several study journeys to Stockholm and St. Petersburg, and even wrote a short manual on how mount birds. Though a skilful taxidermist, his reputation, like that of his two brothers, Wilhelm and Ferdinand, rests on his skill as a zoological illustrator. In 1859 he published the first handbook on Finnish birds...