A Grand Tradition Of Quality
OLD MASTERS LISTED ARTISTS ILLUSTRATIONS OTHER
OLD MASTERS
EX SOTHEBY'S 1999 11695. CIRCLE OF CHARLES-ANTOINE COYPEL, 1694-1752. Les Amours Forgerons, painted c. 1715-1720. Oil on canvas in gilt oval frame. Depicting a group of semi-naked Cherubs forging arrows for Cupid's bow under the watchful eye of Vulcan or perhaps a satyr. This painting repeats the composition of a lost work by Coypel which was painted for the Duc de Chartres, Louis d'Orleans (1703-1752). An engraving after the painting was executed by Louis Desplaces (see T. Lefrancois, Charles Coypel, p. 150, ills. P.12A). 16 inches diameter in 21 inch square frame. Sotheby's listing. Verso.
Charles-Antoine Coypel (1694-1752) was a French painter, and like his father, he became the "Premier Peintre du Roi" (First Painter of the King) and director of the Academie Royale in 1747. Coypel also wrote comedies, tragedies, and poetry and was a tapestry designer. Source: The J. Paul Getty Museum.
Coypel's paintings hang in numerous museums including the J. Paul Getty, The Hermitage, The Met, The National Gallery of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Harvard University Art Museum, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, and The Bilbao Fine Arts Museum.
Provenance: A Texas Old Master collection. Acquired at Sotheby's sale 7345, lot 92 in 1999 (Original Sotheby's catalogue included with the painting).
$15,000.
LISTED ARTISTS
IGNAZIO RICCA 7580. IGNAZIO RICCA. Italian (1860 - 1937). The Shoeshine Boy. Oil on canvas. Signed lower left. 13.5 x 19 inches in a high quality 19 x 24.5 inch frame. Paper tag on bac references the sale of a painting by the artist of similar size at the Litchfield Gallery for $2100. Written at bottom of frame is "Ignazio Ricca - Italian American ca. 1880. Studied with J.G. Brown, NYC." Enlargement. Signature. Enlargement of face. Back.
Ignazio Ricca was born in 1860 in Santa Margherita Belice, Italy where he became a classically trained artist. He came to America in 1888, where he lived in Brooklyn and had a studio at 236 Court St. Ignazio Ricca died February 7, 1937 at age 75. His son, Gaspano (Gus) Ignazio Ricca was a well known illustrator drawing for Time Magazine, The New Yorker and numerous other magazines.
Provenance: A private North Eastern collection. Acquired at Berman's Auction House, NJ, August, 1998.
MARIA ALCINA 10024. MARIA ALCINA, Brazil, Rio de Janeiro, 1983. Two Brazilian Maidens. Oil on canvas. 15 x 18 inches. Portrait of two young women, one semi-nude. The two girls seated with heads inclined to their left. The closer girl dressed in a transparent white blouse and red gown veiling her hair, the farther with a green gown veiling hers, together they form a beautiful sinuous composition. The painting stretched and ready for framing. In excellent original condition. Detail. Signature. Back.
Maria Alcina is a Brazilian artist listed in the Brazilian National Registry of Art.
Provenance: A private North Eastern collection. Acquired at Berman's Auction House, NJ, December, 2000.
S. NATTIODT 7581. S. NATTIODT. German, active early 20th century. Portrait of a young blonde girl in a rose blouse. Pastel on panel. 11 x 15.5 inches in a 13.5 x 17.75 inch frame. Signed lower left. A masterful work of exquisite beauty capturing the innocence and hope of youth! Small blue and white Lassen & CO. GmbH., Berlin 21 tag on back. Face enlargement. Signature. Back.
Provenance: A private American collection. Acquired at Berman's Auction House, NJ, August, 1998.
S. NATTIODT 7582. S. NATTIODT. German, active early 20th century. Portrait of a young blonde girl in a blue cap. Pastel on panel. Unsigned work by S. Nattiodt purchased together with the signed pastel work 7581 above. 10.25 x 12.5 inches in a 12 x 14.5 silver-gold frame. Remains of a small blue and white Lassen & CO. GmbH., Berlin 21 tag on back. Back.
Provenance: A private American collection. Acquired at Berman's Auction House, NJ, August, 1998.
ALONSO PEREZ 7579. ALONSO PEREZ. Spanish (1881-1914), Fine Jacquard woven silk street scene. 18th century Spanish street scene with a Spanish dandy offering his umbrella to a girl carrying a basket of flowers while various onlookers under an awning observe with interest and amusement. 7.25 x 8.5 inches in a 14 x 15 inch gold frame. Minor discoloration mainly to mat. The subtle detail and expression captured at such a small scale in a woven tapestry is truly amazing! Full view. Signature. Back view.
Born into a family of artists in Saragossa, Alonso Perez is famous for his small but extremely detailed paintings of 18th century city scenes featuring the spirited interactions of gentlemen and ladies of fashion. European and American art collectors alike were fascinated with nineteenth-century evocations of eighteenth century genre paintings, an aspect of the rococo revival that would eventually influence the development of art nouveau in the 1880s. Like many other artists Perez later moved to Paris where the commercial art market was strongest; by the 1860s, Paris was home to a substantial community of Spanish, mostly Catalan, artists. The lure of Paris—and its growing number of private galleries—proved to be an important outlet for the Pérez family as well.
As with the current example, Pérez’s artistic production also includes designs for very high quality woven silk tapestries for Neyret Frères et Cie of St. Etienne in the Rhone Valley region. These commissions were probably the result of his father’s earlier design work for the company, which made small scale silk tapestries as a side line to its primary business of designing luxury ribbons for special medals, opulent millenary and haute couture fashion. Read an expanded Alonso Perez biography here.
FINE ILLUSTRATION ART
AL ROSSI 8395. ORIGINAL AL ROSSI ILLUSTRATION. 'Bourbon Street'. Original gouache on artist's board illustration for True Action Magazine, April 1960? pps. 20-21. Illustrates a dapper thief making off with a bag full of loot and a beautiful blonde over his shoulder while the man of the house rails from the window in his bed clothes. A masterful illustration. 17 x 19 inches.
Al Rossi was a well-known American illustrator of paperback and adventure magazine covers in the pulp fiction genre during the ’40s and ’50s. His illustrations were widely published in Men's magazines and hardboiled crime novels. Originally an accomplished Jazz pianist, his career was cut short by World War II during which he served in Europe. After his return to the states he was accepted at the prestigious Pratt Institute in 1950, and later studied at the Arts Student League with Howard Trafton. After graduating from Pratt, Al Rossi worked for Bantam Press and others as an illustrator of paperback and adventure magazine covers. Gradually times changed and Men's magazines went out of fashion. In 1989 Al Rossi retired and he and his wife settled in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania, snug in the woods where he embarked on the third and final journey of his life, painting serene landscapes and figures in oils, watercolors and pastels. He had always harbored the desire to paint, and enjoyed that he was finally free to create without outside input or deadlines. His landscapes of New England and Nova Scotia, places which he and Martha Rossi often visited, were a stark departure from his earlier work. His work reflected a lone fisherman in a stream of muted, calming watercolor, or the soft strokes and colors of a small harbor scene or a quiet landscape. After a long bout with leukemia, Al Rossi died in 2004. During his life he received many art awards, and his work is in many business and private collections. The present work is one of Rossi's finest which have sold at auction for multiple thousands of dollars.
Provenance: A private North Eastern collection. Acquired at Berman's Auction House, NJ, April, 1999.
OF THE HIGHEST POSSIBLE PHOTO-REALISTIC QUALITY 9988. SUPERB PAINTING OF A PAIR OF PEREGRINE FALCONS, 20th century. Gouache on paper. Unsigned. 9 x 13.5 inches. An exceptional finely detailed and rendered lifelike work. Metal framed. Detail. Back.
The peregrine falcon, Falco peregrinus, also known as the peregrine, and historically as the duck hawk in North America, is a widespread bird of prey (raptor) in the family Falconidae. A large, crow-sized falcon, it has a blue-grey back, barred white underparts, and a black head. The peregrine is renowned for its speed, reaching over 320 km/h (200 mph) during its characteristic hunting stoop (high-speed dive), making it the fastest bird in the world and the fastest member of the animal kingdom. According to a National Geographic TV programme, the highest measured speed of a peregrine falcon is 389 km/h (242 mph). As is typical of bird-eating raptors, peregrine falcons are sexually dimorphic, with females being considerably larger than males.
Provenance: A private American collection. Acquired at Berman's Auction House, NJ, January, 2000.
OF THE HIGHEST POSSIBLE PHOTO-REALISTIC QUALITY 9989. SUPERB PAINTING OF A WHITE-HEADED VULTURE, 20th century. Gouache on paper. Unsigned. 9 x 13.5 inches. An exceptional finely detailed and rendered lifelike work of the White-headed vulture, Trigonoceps occipitalis. Metal framed. Detail. Back.
Though called the white-headed vulture, this African vulture has a colorful face. This species, like some other vulture species, is both a scavenger and sometimes a hunter, going for small vertebrates. It is found in sub-Saharan Africa, and has a very large range. But even so, populations have been declining for decades and in southern Africa, it is now found almost only in protected areas. There are an estimated 10,000-20,000 individuals left.
Provenance: A private American collection. Acquired at Berman's Auction House, NJ, January, 2000.
OTHER WORKS
SIGNED DAUMIER 10006. ODALISQUE AND SERVANT GIRL, Mid-20th century. Oil on canvas, signed Daumier lower right. The beautiful odalisque sits within the harem holding a mirror while her servant girl arranges her hair. 31.5 x 44 inches in ornate gold frame. Excellent condition with vibrant color. Back. Signature. Close up.
Provenance: A private North Eastern collection. Acquired at Berman's Auction House, NJ, July, 2000.
E. POLITIO 9999. A NOBLE GREEK LADY, 20th century. Oil on canvas, signed E. Politio lower right. A beautiful young Grecian lady dressed in a loose flowing gown sits on red velvet cushions on a marble bench with Greek flower vase and landscape in background. 25 x 36 inches. Stretched ready for framing. Beautifully done with excellent color reminiscent of John William Godward's works. Detail. Face. Signature. Back.
Provenance: A private American collection. Acquired at Berman's Auction House, NJ, July, 2000.
AFTER JULES-JOSEPTH LEFEBVRE 13018. LA CIGALE, AFTER JULES-JOSEPTH LEFEBVRE (French, 1836-1912). Trent M, 20th century. Oil on canvas. 31.5 x 44 inches in museum quality 3 inch gold leaf frame. Detail. Signature. Back.
Jules Joseph Lefebvre (Tournan, Gers, March 14, 1836 - Paris, February 24, 1912) was a French figure painter. Lefebvre entered the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in 1852 and was a pupil of Léon Cogniet. He won the prestigious Prix de Rome in 1861. Between 1855 and 1898, he exhibited 72 portraits in the Paris Salon. In 1891, he became a member of the French Académie des Beaux-Arts. He was an instructor at the Académie Julian in Paris. He is chiefly important as an excellent and sympathetic teacher who numbered many Americans among his 1500 or more pupils. One of his famous students was the Scottish born landscape painter William Hart. Georges Rochegrosse, Félix Vallotton, the Americans Childe Hassam, John Henry Twachtman, John Noble Barlow, Augustus Kenderdine, and Charles A. Platt were also his pupils. He was long a professor at the École des Beaux-Arts. His paintings are usually single figures of beautiful women.
Provenance: A private North Eastern collection. Acquired at Berman's Auction House, NJ, c. 2000.
10021. VOLUPTUOUS NEOCLASSICAL NUDE WITH DOVES, 20th century. Oil on canvas. 24 x 36 inches, shipped rolled. Provenance: A private North Eastern collection. Acquired at Berman's Auction House, NJ, December, 2000.
R. MARIO 9317. R. MARIO, LADY WITH PARROTS, 20th century. Oil on board. 8 x 10 inches, Signed lower right. Fine Neoclassical painting of a Grecian lady with her pet parrots, a happy smile on her face. Excellent condition. Unframed. Signature.
Provenance: A private North Eastern collection. Acquired at Berman's Auction House, NJ, c. 1999.
SIGNED 9316. PORTRAIT OF A YOUNG VICTORIAN GIRL. American School, early-mid 20th century. Oil on board, signed lower right. 8 x 10 inches, 14 x 16 inches in high quality gold leaf frame. Finely done, very romantic painting of a beautiful young girl with an enchanting smile. Excellent condition with vibrant colors. Detail. Signature. Back.
Provenance: A private North Eastern collection. Acquired at Berman's Auction House, NJ, November, 1999.
M.E. RILEY 7583. M. E. RILEY, Drawing of an Old Testament Prophet, 1884. A finely rendered original old master style drawing in chalk and crayon. Signed and dated M.E. Riley, 1884 lower right. 13 x 16 inches in an 18.5 x 22 inch period frame. Detail. Signature. Back.
Provenance: A private American collection. Acquired at Berman's Auction House, NJ, July, 2000.
