Mid-19th Century Paintings

Japanese two panel screen: Amorous Cranes and Turtles. In Japan, cranes symbolize fidelity as they mate for life and turtles symbolize longevity. Additionally, this screen also has the Japanese motif of sho-chiku-bai, or the three friends of winter (pine, plum, and bamboo). So called the three friends of winter because all three flourish during the cold months. This screen was originally fusuma doors...

19th Century painting titled 'Who Stole My Supper?' by Edward Armfield (1817-1896) Well known for his paintings of dogs and brother to artist George Armfield this painting depicts a...

Unknown artist Rabbits and Horsetail Reeds Painted in the Year of the Fire Dog, 1826 or 1886. 19th century. The scene depicted here is set under moonlight, with two hares hi...

Clarkson Stanfield: The Gulf of Salerno This oil painting on canvas shows commercial shipping and fishermen in the Gulf of Salerno. The tower at Vietri is visible in the background...

19th Century oil on canvas titled ‘Dean Swift & The Young Merchant’ by Thomas P. Hall. Thomas Paul Hall (1810 - 1867) was a London painter of genre and historical scenes, who enjoye...

Fine quality mid 19th century period oil on canvas painting; American School depicting a schooner in full sail at sea; resembling the popular yacht, and first America's Cup winner "T...

A small, mid-19th-century English School watercolor portrait of a young girl with her hair in perfect curls and wearing a plaid dress. She has a serious look appropriate for standin...

This 19th century watercolor with pen and ink is most likely Dutch, having been acquired in Holland. It shows a romantic scene of an attractive walled city with buildings and rooftop...

A skilled English painter from the mid-19th century painted this lovely pair of watercolors. They exemplify the traditional style of the era, with light and airy backgrounds that fo...

Very fine mid 19th century oil on canvas, mounted on board; depicting pastoral countryside scene of flock of 16 sheep covered in full grown fleece; walking in stride down a winding d...

Three hand painted watercolor portraits of little girls. These watercolor portraits each capture that girl's unique personality and expression. Painted by skilled portrait artists...

Birds & Flowers of the seasons Pheasants & Plum in Snow Unframed painting. Ink, pigment and gofun on silk Kano Chikanobu 1819-1888 Signature...

Three Friends of Winter Nakajima Raisho (1796-1871) Late Edo period, circa 1850 Ink and gold leaf on paper. This is a double-sided Japanese Furosaki or tea-ceremony screen from the mid 19th century; bamboo and plum on the front, young pines the back. It by Nakajima Raisho, a master painter of the Maruyama school in the late Edo and early Meiji periods. In this work Raisho combines exquisite ink brushwork with large open spaces of brilliant gold-leaf to inspire the viewers imagination. Rather than naturalism, he is searching for the phycological impression of the motifs, resulting in abstraction and stylization. His simplification of the motifs the result of looking to capture the inner nature of the objects. This art motif is known as Sho Chiku Bai, or the Three Friends of Winter. Evergreen pine connotes steadfastness, bamboo suggests both strength and flexibility, while plum blossoms unfurling on snow-laden branches imply hardiness. Combined, this trio is emblematic of Japanese new year. Chinese literati were the first to group the three plants together due to their noble characteristics. Like these resilient plants flowering so beautifully in winter, it was expected of the scholar-gentleman to cultivate a strong character with which he would be able to show the same degree of perseverance and steadfastness even during times of adverse conditions. The screen would have been placed near the hearth of a room used for the Japanese tea ceremony, shielding the fire from draughts and also forming a stimulating and decorative backdrop behind the tea utensils. It would have been used in the Hatsugama, or first tea-ceremony of the new year. Nakajima Raisho (1796-1871) originally studied under Watanabe Nangaku before entering the school of Maruyama Ozui. He was the highest ranking Maruyama school painter at the end of the Edo period and was known as one of the ‘Four Heian Families’ along with Kishi...

‘The Chocolate Girl’ Watercolour by August Von Schiegel (German, 1828-1895), after a pastel work by Jean Etienne Liotards. It shows a young German c...

Cherry blossoms and maples among ragged pines. Mineral pigments on mulberry paper with gold mist clouds. Completely remounted utilizing an antique silk brocade...

Dramatic and beautifully executed cherry blossoms trickle down the two panels with natural willows calmly coexisting with luminous gold dust fading to the ground. Mineral pigments an...

Birds and flowers of the four seasons Early to mid-19th century Ink, pigment and gofun on silk Unidentified artist Signature: S...

Very large Sèvres porcelain plaque by Pastier after Jean-Baptiste Greuze French, 1853 Frame: height 71cm, width 89cm, depth 9cm Plaque: hei...

Birds & Flowers of the Seasons Pheasants & Plum in Snow Ink, pigment and gofun on silk Kano Chikanobu 1819-1888 Signature: Chikanobu Seal: Shateki Offered here is an unframed ‘kacho-e’ painting by the 19th century Japanese Takamatsu domain painter Kano Chikanobu. There are 8 individual paintings available, which originally would have been part of a set of 12. ‘Kacho-e’ literally means ‘pictures of birds and flowers’. In reality it covers a wide range of natural motifs including birds, fish, insects and small animals in combination with flowers, grasses or trees. The theme has a long history in Japanese painting. It is one of three painting genres, the other two being landscape and figure, which derive from Chinese academic painting classification. As one of the accepted types of painting to be shown in official residences, scenes of birds, flowers and animals were rife with metaphorical reference as well as physical beauty. In these paintings Chikanobu has made conspicuous use of brilliant pigments and meticulous brushwork. The rocks, water, trees, blossoms, and birds are treated as stylized formal elements in a grand design. All of the components contribute to the patterned effect and tactile richness of the surface. Beyond their highly decorative qualities, the subject of some of the paintings are also an allusion to imperial allegiance; the pheasants are symbolic of bravery and steadfastness, peacocks represent divinity and power, and the phoenix paired with paulownia a just and benevolent ruler. Cranes and turtles symbolize longevity, and the lush, full bloom of the peony flower represents wealth and opulence. Paintings of native Japanese birds and flowers were appreciated primarily for their evocation of the seasons and the traditional poetic emotions associated with them. This is the case with the spring scene of cherry blossoms and birds and the winter scene of narcissus, nandina and sparrows. The rich expression of flower and bird paintings...

Birds & Flowers of the Seasons Pheasants & Plum in Snow Unframed painting. Ink, pigment and gofun on silk Kano Chikanobu 1819-1888 Signature...

Ink on gold leaf with a silk brocade border. Signature reads: Nakajima Raishou (1796-1872). Student of Maruyama Okyo (one of Japan's most famous artists).

Kishi Renzan (1804-1859) Tigers Pair of six-panel Japanese screens. Ink and gold-leaf on paper. In this monochromatic pair of six-fold Japanese screens painted on gold-leaf, Kishi Renzan has created a breathtaking composition of a family of tigers. The screens are filled with a sense of drama which is conveyed by both the subject matter and the wet, expressive brushwork. The running mountain stream and the towering waterfall allude to refreshment during the summer months and we feel the tiger families familiarity and security within their environment. Renzan’s master, Kishi Ganku...

With various flowers, manderin ducks and garden stone accented with gold leaf on ground surface. Nagasaki School Painting.

American portrait miniature by Thomas Story Officer, Woman in a White Gown, Signed "T.S. Officer, Pinxt", The 1830s The American portrait miniature signed by Thomas Story Officer depicts a beautiful young woman, her red hair “Coeffure a la Chinoise”, sitting in a red chair confidently looking out towards the painter and us, the viewers.  She wears a white dress with a pin in the center of her chest.  Based on her style of dress and her hair, we believe this was painted while Officer was in Philadelphia. It is signed to the lower right "T.S. Officer, Pinxt" along at edge. The reverse has a small oval glass Dimensions: 3 inches high x 2 3/16 inches wide x 1/4 inch deep Reference: Thomas S. Officer: Miniature and Portrait Painter, Gardner Library,  Author: Merri Lou Schaumann. Born in Carlisle in 1810, this gifted artist trained in Philadelphia, traveled extensively and won awards for his paintings. In 1872, James Miller McKim wrote a series of reminiscences for the Carlisle Herald newspaper about the places and people of Carlisle in an earlier day. He wrote that “David Smith, a boot and shoemaker, had two sons… one of whom early developed a taste for art and finally devoted himself to miniature painting as a profession. He was a contemporary, and for a while, a rival of Mr. Thomas Officer, though I believe he never reached the celebrity attained by that gifted young artist. Mr. Officer, by the way, was one of the last miniature painters of any eminence produced by this country, the daguerreotype and photographer having come in to sweep away the entire profession.” Thomas Story Officer was born in Carlisle on August 15, 1810, to cabinetmaker John Officer and his second wife Margaret. He trained in Philadelphia with the well-known portrait painter Thomas Sully and began his career there in the 1830s. Officer left Philadelphia occasionally to paint portraits in Mobile, Alabama in 1837, in Richmond, Virginia in 1845, and in New York City from 1846-1849 where he became a member of the National Academy of Design. In 1842, Officer intended to travel to Mexico and needed a passport. He asked Attorney Charles B. Penrose, formerly of Carlisle, to write a letter of recommendation for him. In his letter to Fletcher Webster, Esq., Penrose wrote, “This will be handed to you by Thomas S. Officer, Esq., a friend of mine, and a native artist of Pennsylvania, who is a gentleman of great talents and respectability. Intending to visit Mexico, he wishes to procure passports at the State Department…”  Officer was issued a passport in July 1842. He was described as 30 years old, 5’ 11” with a “full and round forehead, bluish-gray eyes, an ordinary nose, medium mouth, ordinary chin, sallow complexion with an oval face and brown hair.” Officer went to Mexico and later to Australia. In 1854, he opened a studio in Sandridge, Australia, and while there he “entered several oil portraits in the 1854 Melbourne Exhibition preparatory to sending them to the 1855 Paris Exhibition.” Officer left Australia, and in 1855 he settled in San Francisco where he would spend the last years of his life. He set up a portrait painting department in James Johnson’s photographic gallery in San Francisco. In 1857, Officer received a bronze medal for his oil portraits exhibited at The First Industrial Exhibition of the Mechanics’ Institute of San Francisco, as well as awards at several other exhibits in 1858. A short piece in the San Francisco newspaper, Alta, on October 30, 1859, read, “Mr. Thomas S. Officer, the talented portrait painter, lies near to death’s door and is in pecuniary distress. Out of the many to whose pleasure he has contributed by his gay, social manners, as well as by his pleasing artistic productions, may there not be found someone who will extend a helping hand?”  Officer died on December 8, 1859. Almost an entire column in the January 18, 1860 edition of the Carlisle Herald, was devoted to a very long and informative obituary of Officer taken from the Alta, California newspaper. Officer was buried in the now defunct Lone Mountain Cemetery in San Francisco. In 2014, the Cumberland County Historical Society received a bequest of a portrait painted by Thomas Officer from the estate of historian John J. Snyder, Jr. It joined a miniature portrait already a part of the Society’s museum collection in Carlisle, not far from where Officer was born. Notes: The May 28, 1834 edition of the Carlisle Weekly Herald reported that Thomas S. Officer had "...within the last few weeks, taken the portraits of several gentlemen of this borough...Mr. O. is principally self-taught, and although young, already evinced a degree of taste, judgment, and talent..." A short biography of Officer can also be found in Early American Portrait Painters in Miniature by Theodore Bolton, published by F. F. Sherman (New York, 1921). The entire book is one line  Bio. of Officer on page 117. See Officer’s portrait...

Birds & Flowers of the Seasons Pheasants & Plum in Snow Unframed painting. Ink, pigment and gofun on silk Kano Chikanobu 1819-1888 Signature...

A pair of French reverse glass paintings or cartoons, each of oval form, one depicting a man with a mass of hair or full wig using a brush to fence with a woman wielding a broom, the...

An intriguing and well-painted watercolor, gouache and graphite on paper depicting a cavalier with a dagger, lying in wait, signed and dated lower left "F. Smallfield 1862", titled l...

Four individual mounted panels of calligraphy. Each panel contains a poem inspired by one of the four seasons. Each panel signed: To Rei. Ink on mulberry paper with silk brocade border.

In Japan, cranes symbolize fidelity as they mate for life and turtles symbolize longevity. Additionally, this screen also has the Japanese motif of sho-chiku-bai, or the three friends of winter (pine, plum, and bamboo). So called the three friends of winter because all three flourish during the cold months. This screen was originally fusuma doors...

Hasegawa School painting in ink and gold dust accents on mulberry paper.

Chinese Pheasants Yoshizawa Setsuan (1809-1889) Hanging scroll, ink and color on silk. Painting inscription: Setsuan Houyou Upper seal: Y...

Birds & flowers of the seasons Pheasants & plum in snow Unframed painting. Ink, pigment and gofun on silk Kano Chikanobu 1819-1888 Signature...

Mother’s Breast (Chichi) 1844 Hanging scroll. Ink, pigments and gofun on silk. Inscription: Kouka era, dragon year, late winter, painted by Shozan Yashou Artist’ seals: ...

Birds & flowers of the seasons Pheasants & plum in snow Unframed painting. Ink, pigment and gofun on silk Kano Chikanobu 1819-1888 Signature...

Birds & flowers of the seasons Pheasants & plum in snow Unframed painting. Ink, pigment and gofun on silk Kano Chikanobu 1819-1888 Signature...

Signed 'Thomas Steel 1850'.

Iwase Hirotaka (1808-1877) Koi and Water Plants Hanging scroll, ink, color, gold wash and gold flecks on silk Inscription: Hirotaka Seal: Ille...

Japanese Two Panel Screen: Mountain Landscape with Calligraphy. Late Edo (c. 1850) painting of a dramatic mountainside carved by a waterfall with a crane flying in the foreground an...

Hermann Brücke (Berlin Ger. 1830–1871 Pisa Italy) Neapolitan fishing family signed and dated 1863 German Artist Hermann Brücke was a Genre, history and portrait painter. He was th...

19th Century oil on canvas portrait of a lady reading set within Neoclassical garden scene. Unsigned

Made circa 1840, this English watercolor painting on paper shows a charming young girl in a plaid dress. Her hair is cut short with curls all around. Her dress is colored blue and ...

Chinese China trade watercolors of exotic fruit on pith paper, Gilt frames, Mid-19th century The eight Chinese watercolors on pith paper are of fine quality and depict various e...

ARTIST: Nicolas François Octave Tassaert (French, 1800-1874) MEDIUM: Oil on canvas TITLE: 'A lady in an elegant dress reclining under a tree' YEAR: circa. 1850 SIGNATURE: signed 'O...

Mid-19th century oil on canvas, "Holding the Keys" of a girl holding a plate of fruit and wine in beautiful gilded frame, English. Unsigned.

Japanese Two Panel Screen: Trees in Floral Landscape, Edo period painting (mid 19th century) of pine and other trees amongst flowers, with bamboo shoots on the right panel, and white...

Medium: Hanging scroll; ink and pigments on silk Signature: Zeshin Seal: Tairyukyo Date: circa 1880 Painting size: 98 x 20 cm Mounts size: 182 x 32 cm Shibata Zeshin...

Japanese Six Panel Screen: Snow Scene at Water's Edge with Flowers and Waterfowl. Edo period painting (mid 19th century) of plum, bamboo, white camellias, cranes and mandarin ducks ...

The 1844 summer market in the town of Lengerich, in the western German province of Westphalia, is the subject of this antique KPM porcelain plaque...

The large watercolor picture depicts the Bellerophon sailing out to sea past South Sea Castle off Spithead. Figures can be seen on board. She flies the Blue Ensign, a Union Jack and the Royal Standard. South Sea Castle is to her left and land with a row of houses on the right. An inscription below reads: The Bellerophon 74 Sailing OFF South Sea Castle 1855 Bellerophon: A Greek hero who, with the help of the winged horse Pegasus slew the monster Chimaera Bellerophon: "Common" 74 gun 3rd Rate. Based on HMS Dublin of 1755, a total of 14 ships of the Bellerophon class were built, and a total of 93 "Common" class vessels were built in all. Mr Timothy Akers MA, B.Sc (Hon's) Maritime Research Archaeologist. An Account of the Fitting out of H.M.S. "Bellerophon." This affords a brilliant example of what can be done in the Navy, when a ship's company are commanded by officers possessing the requisite union of due seamanlike and administrative qualities, and I give it as a high standard by which all such may be measured, and as an appropriate pendant to the first section of our subject. On March 7th, 1847, orders were unexpectedly received for the 90-gun ships "Rodney", Captain Edward Collier...

Orientalist watercolor of an Arab boy on an oriental rug. Inscribed in the back the former owner of the painting: W. de Keller 1 rue Goethe Par...

Large Port scene painting of a view of Valletta Harbour, Malta, Oil on canvas, Mid-19th century. The massive painting was made from the upper gardens...

The Chine trade watercolors are of fine quality and depict various exotic fruits including pineapples, lychees, finger citrus and orange amongst others. Now framed with a thin gilt f...

Japanese Two Panel Screen: Mandarin Ducks and Geese Among Bamboo and Flowers, Edo period painting (c. 1850) of mandarin ducks and geese on a grassy sh...

19th Century oil on canvas animal scene of a resting dog alongside a monkey grasping a bone. Housed in a carved giltwood frame this painting is by the art...

The Ford, by Thomas Creswick (1811-1869). Oil on canvas. Signed and dated.

Pair of Mid 19th century Italian Neapolitan views, gouache on paper.

This pair of screens depict just the middle sections of aged pine trees, painted in bold brush strokes on a background of gold leaf clouds. The trees are draped in vines, the lush cr...

A large scale highly decorative and dramatic portrait depicting an historic Persian foreign and ultimately prime minister, Mirza Aghassi also known as H...