Peggy Kirk was a Washington State artist. My painting has what appears to be a gallery label verso that says "Kirkland Artists Group Gallery", and information about the painting. I have found no trace of this gallery or artists group. Ms. Kirk may have been a member of this group.

    Peggy's very informative obituary* appears on the web site of the Harrison Family Mortuary, 311 W. Market Street, Aberdeen, WA 98520:

Peggy Kirk (Puggy)

Our Beloved and Cherished wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother of many, Peggy Kirk (Puggy) was called home by our Lord Jesus, with whom she dedicated her life and career, peacefully in the comfort of her own bed at home with her husband at her side on October 12, 2012. Peggy's life began in Everett, Washington on May 20, 1927. She grew up in Medford, Oregon with her parents Grover and Bea Corum, and her two siblings Jim and Dick Corum. Peggy was the wife of James Kirk, her husband of 43 years; and the mother of Tony, John, Heidi, Paul, Grace, Kristina, Cheryl, and Lynnell.

Peggy's educational accomplishments include Medford High School with honors, Northwest Bible College, B.A. Suma Cum Laude, B.A. in Counseling, Masters Degree in Practical Theology, Doctor of Biblical Literature and family counseling: Divinity School of Practical Theology in Evansville, Ind. GPA 4.0 with honors.

Peggy Kirk, a northwest marriage and family counselor, musician, and award-winning writer, has recently taught watercolor art at Grays Harbor. Along with her counseling, Peggy published a column "Grandma's Cupboard" in the Ocean Shores Journal. Her next writing adventure she became a columnist for "The Vidette" newspaper in Montesano, Wash. Peggy and her husband, Jim, were also known to be political activists which included being Charter Members of the State Board for the Christian Coalition in the State of Washington. Peggy was on-call as a counselor for Hearts and Hands Pregnancy Center, along with the Professional Resources of Celebrate Life Incorporated.

Peggy Kirk has won many prestigious art awards. She has illustrated magazine covers and booklets, and has paintings hanging in the Galleria d'Arce, Venice, Italy, Waterloobay, Bredon Teewkesbury Glos., England. A watercolor painting was chosen by the Bellevue Chamber of Commerce to presented to His Excellency, Gustav Petricciol, Ambassador of Mexico in 1991.

Peggy's true love and dedication to our Lord, patriotism for our country, and her love for the fellow man, opened her home to anyone interested in furthering their biblical knowledge by attending the bible classes therein. Another contribution to the local area was free instruction of watercolor lessons. Her grateful students who have grown to love and respect Peggy, consisted of beginning and advanced artists. Peggy was the recipient of prestigious awards. The Golden Key award by the Master of Divinity School. The Dream of Peace award from the Ocean Shores Lion Club. The Theodore N. Vail Medal in 1948 for self sacrificing her own safety to save others during the Bamport flood in Bamport, Ore. Many lives were saved when Peggy and a co-worker stayed behind the Exodus to continually alert people to leave the area and barely made it out on time to escape from the oncoming flood waters. Certificate of Ministerial License "Denomination of The Gospel Ministry".

Peggy put to use her Minor Degree in Music obtained from Sacramento State College, she taught piano, organ, and accordion. As an accomplished musician she started teaching lessons from her home. Through out Peggy's life she has directed many choirs, and helped build choirs. Jim and Peggy are accredited with establishing the first Cantata in Ocean Shores.

With all the above accomplishments, people who knew Peggy, could not help but admire one of her most admirable qualities of "Humility". Example: one of her many ministries was to create and handmake "get well" cards and send to people in need of support without identifying herself as the sender. Hand crocheted afghans were handled in the same manner. By not claiming her personal recognition, Peggy gave all credit to her Lord Jesus.

As a young girl, Peggy had polio and was unable to walk. Doctors said she would never walk again. Friends and family prayed for her and one day, she felt the need to walk to a tree in the family yard and she did. From then on, her ability to walk continued to improve.

A service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, October 20, 2012, at Montesano Presbyterian Church.

*This obituary is copyrighted by the Harrison Family Mortuary.

verso

    There is another painting on the reverse. The painting was cardboard backed and may date from the 1960s-1980s. Whoever filled out the label misspelled "glen".

I originally displayed this painting on one of my Unknown Artist's pages until, with the help of several folks, discovered her identity. For instance, in October of 2010, I received the following email:

"hello I may have some info on the p kirk paintings I have 3 of them that my great aunt had. 1 oil on canvas from peggy kirk 1005 104th s.e. bellevue, Wa 98004 455-9466 painting is called california coast. also a small framed mix of seven watercolors ocean theme, signed on back to my great ant for being the best sunday school teacher with her signature peggy kirch 1984. also have one larger watercolor. hope this is a start if you would like to find more info."

"I found these 2 watercolors by Peggy kirk Bellevue wa. her bio is on blue dolphin publishing website"

"

Sure I remember Peggy Kirk and by chance we still exchange Christmas cards.  Her address is now as follows:

  Peggy Kirk,

  305  S 9th St.,

  Montesano, WA 98563
Phone:  360 289 0288  (this goes back to when she liived in Ocean Shores .)"

Unfortunately, I just missed talking to her before her death.

    Jill C. Weisberg is a Florida artist who is best known as a muralist. She works both as a street artist and as a commercial muralist. She received a masters degree from Florida Atlantic University. This painting was exhibited in a local art show. It was painted in 1996 or 1997, according to the artist.

    Jack Larson is an Albuquerque, NM artist who specializes in zombie art. The image above is from a series of 1000 zombie cat paintings he is doing. Many are ACEO sized works. Jack sells under the ebay id ev01z28 and also sells on Etsy. He has a blog. I really like his work, especially his cats. He also does zombie portraits  of you and your loved one(s) from photographs, on a commission basis. 

    Carole D. Barnes was born in 1935 in Bellefonte, PA and is a resident of Boulder, Colorado.  She received a degree in Art Education from Pennsylvania State University. She is listed in Who's Who in American Art and An Encyclopedia of Women Artists of the American West. Her work is in the collection of the Albuquerque Museum. She is a member of the American Watercolor Society and National Watercolor Society. Her later work typically bears the "AWS" designation She has a web site.

"Daisies", Carole Barnes, 6.75" x 4", mixed media

    I found all three of these paintings at a thrift shop about sixty miles from where I live. They were all well framed and matted, probably in the original frames. I have not been able to get a decent image of "Flowers of the Field", below. The colors are much deeper than I have been able to capture. Since all of these works are so well framed and backed, I have not attempted to take them out of the frame to photograph and examine them.

"Flowers of the Field", Carole Barnes, 5.5" x 5.5", mixed media

    I was able to contact Ms. Barnes and confirm that these paintings are her original work.

Carole Barnes signature  

    James Elias Cribbs was born on 25 March 1891 in Mercer, PA, a son of Austin Garfield Cribbs and Agnes Gray Shannon. Austin Cribbs was employed as a farmer during the 1900 and 1910 censuses. James Elias Cribbs received an A. B. degree in 1914 from Grove City College, PA and his Masters in Botany in 1916 and Ph. D. in 1918 from the University of Chicago. He was employed as a " school teacher, in academy" during the 1910 census, as a professor of biology in 1917 at Grove City College, Grove City, PA according to his WWI Draft Registration card, at the College of Emporia at Emporia, KS during the 1920 census and at Drury College in Springfield, MO during the 1930 census. He authored several books  and journal articles on the subjects of botany and biology.  J. E. Cribbs was the curator of the biology section of the Edward M. Shepard Museum on the Drury College campus in 1925 and 1932. Cribbs was married to Dorothy May Wing about 1920, probably in Chicago, which was Dorothy's home. Dorothy received an S.B. degree from the University of Chicago in1917 and was an instructor at the College of Emporia, according to the 1919 alumni directory of UC. 

James Elias Cribbs

    Cribbs was a painter in oils and watercolors. It is not known where James Cribbs obtained his artistic training, but Google reports several references to the Art Department at Drury College, so it is possible that he studied there. Cribbs was the President of the Ozark Artists' Association at the time of his death in 1942 and, since this organization was formed in 1938, this work was likely created between those two dates, as it bears an exhibition label associated with that organization. Cribbs is mentioned in Who's Who in American Education (1930). He is not mentioned in any art reference resource, excepting mentions in Arts Magazine Volume 16 (1941) and the Magazine of Art Volume 34 (1941), which announced an exhibition of his paintings spanning the month of December at the Springfield Art Museum, and mention of a memorial exhibition of his work in the month of December 1942 in Magazine of Art, Volume 35. James' brother, George A. Cribbs, was a well listed artist, so both brother's artistic abilities may have been nurtured in the family home. Three generations of James' descendants have been trained artists.

James Elias Cribbs

    The painting in my collection is not signed, but is identifiable as the work of Cribbs because of the remnants of an exhibition label for the "1th All-Ozark Annual Exhibition". This was a very short lived series of exhibitions that were sponsored by the Springfield Art Museum. The backing is missing from this painting, but the pattern of nail holes in the frame and on the board where the painting was secured in the frame prove that this board is the only one that has ever resided in this frame.

Snake River location in comparison to painting, nearly 75 years later

    Additionally, several members of the family of Mr. Cribbs confirmed that this is his work, having accidentally been sold at the estate sale of his son-in-law, Dr. Clyde A. Kirkbride who died on 15 September 2011 in Souix Falls, SD. The Kirkbride's residence was in Brookings, SD, but they moved to Souix Falls to be near family in their later years, while maintaining their home in Brookings. The estate sale took place at the Kirkbride family home in Brookings where the painting was purchased by a seller there who later sold it on ebay. Dorothy Cribbs Kirkbride, widow of Clyde, confirmed that this is definitely one of her father's paintings. The family took two trips west to take Mary Louise (J. E. Cribbs daughter) to school at USC in about 1936. They took another trip later, no later than 1938, but she was not sure of the year. She was sure that JEC's inspiration for the painting was a canyon on the Snake River as viewed from one of these trips. She was certain that this painting is of the Snake River. I was able to locate a photograph of what is almost certainly the scene of this painting, from a slightly different vantage point.

    Howard Ashman Patterson was born on 13 September 1891 in Philadelphia, PA, a son of Thomas Elliot and Bertha Remington Patterson. Thomas Patterson was employed as a Lawyer in Philadelphia in 1900 and 1910. The family was living at 4032 Green St. in 1910. Howard studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts with Henry McCarter. Howard was working as an artist as early as 1914 when he applied for a passport in order to travel abroad, noting that he intended to return to the United States within 2 years. His destination was not noted. No WWI Draft Registration Card was found for him, so he may have still been abroad in 1917, or had enlisted. No records of military service have been found for him, though and he was listed on the membership roles of the Society of Independent artists in 1917 with an address of 4032 Green Street, West Philadelphia, Pa. He was living alone during the 1920 census, renting a house at 514 Walnut St. in Philadelphia, and self employed as a landscape artist. He married Elizabeth Mary Perrigo on 13 June 1924 and they were living in Villa Hermitage St. Paul, Villefrance, France in 1926 when their son, Remington was born. The family returned to the US on 3 October 1927 and gave their residence as 4032 Green St., Philadelphia. By the time of the 1930 census the Pattersons were living in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where Howard had a studio. He was listed in the census next to several very well known artists, and all were employed as "artist, artist studio". Included were Andrew Dasburg, William Penhallow Henderson, Fremont Ellis, Willard A. Nash, Jozef Bakos, Datus Ensign Myers, Lydia Cranton and Eugene Walker Callin. For the last two artists in this list, I can find no information, but list them as they appear nowhere else and were in good company. By the time that Patterson completed his WWII Draft Registration Card he was residing in New York City.

    Frank Eric Goddard was born on 8 August 1930, in Manchester, England, a son of Thomas and Amy Goddard. He was married to Maria J. Stadler, a native of Vienna, Austria, in 1954 in Montreal, Canada. He attended McGill University in Montreal. The Goddards moved to New York City in 1957, where Mr. Goddard studied at the Art Students League. Mr. Goddard painted from a young age because he enjoyed painting but did not strongly pursue a career as an artist with the intent of making a great deal of money, though he was quite talented and painted prolifically. He often painted copies of paintings at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, often on commission, sometimes selling the paintings on the spot to passersby and delivering them after they had cured. It was not unusual for Mr. Goddard to attract an audience as he worked, but he was not distracted by this. He also did other commission work. He was not a fan of modern painting styles but did not criticize or denigrate styles that he did not favor. Mr. Goddard conveyed an aura of trustworthiness and was it was not unusual for his patrons to do business with him without the benefit of receipts or contracts. He is remembered as a very kind person with a great love of animals. The Goddards were not motivated by making a lot of money and Mr. Goddard was not a businessman, but they enjoyed their life together and life in general. The painting in my collection, shown above, is signed in block letters down one edge of the canvas, "Goddard", but I have not had a chance to photograph the signature. It also has the artist's address label, verso, with name F. E. Goddard and a Rego Park, New York address. Mrs. Goddard mentioned to me in a telephone conversation that Goddard did not always sign his work. Mr. Goddard is not listed in any art reference resource and there are no auction records for his work.
    Mr. Goddard died on 20 June 2001 in Brunswick, North Carolina. He was buried in Vienna, Austria in his wife's family plot.

    Faye Palao is a native New Orleans artist. She is mentioned in Italians in New Orleans by Joseph Maselli. This painting came with her business card and biography attached.    

    Carlton Daniel Ellinger was born on 8 November 1888 in Allegan, Michigan a son of Daniel J. G. and Amelia R. Ellinger. Daniel J. G. Ellinger was deceased by 1900 and Carlton and his mother were living with his grandparents, Daniel and Regina Ellinger in Allegan. Daniel Ellinger was a "preacher". Carlton was living in Detroit, Michigan in 1910 where he was a self employed "Designer, Book Cover". Carlton may have received his artistic training in Detroit, but no record has been found to support this. There are indications that he was employed in Grand Rapids, Michigan before moving to Detroit. He was living in Manhattan, New York on 5 June 1917 when he completed his WWI Draft Registration. His occupation was listed at "Artist, Self employed". His registration noted that he was the sole support for his mother and wife. Ellinger served as a private in Company 8, Ninth Coast Artillery Corps, during WWI. Carlton was married to Mary L. Snyder between 1910 and 1917, probably closer to 1910. Mary was also born in Michigan. The Ellingers were still living in Manhattan in 1920 where Carlton was employed as a "Commercial Artist". By 1930 Carlton and Mary had relocated to Bronxville, Westchester County, New York and Carlton was still employed as a "Commercial Artist". Carlton worked for several printing companies in Michigan and New York, starting before 1910. Mention of Carlton in printing trade journals and advertisements started before 1920. There are few mentions of his work as a fine artist.

Advertising example

    Carlton was a member of the Salmagundi Club in 1925 and the Artists Guild of the Author's League of America (New York City). He is mentioned in Davenport's Art Reference and Price Guide, Who Was Who in American Art by Falk, William Morris: Ornamentation and illustrations from the Kelmscott Chaucer by William Morris and Some Examples of the Work of American Designers by Bowles.
     The last reference to Carlton found using Google was a mention in 1947 in Financial World, Volume 88. He was employed by Sun Life Assurance of Canada.

    Charles Arthur Failles, AKA Carl Arthur Faille, was born on 17 February 1882 in Detroit, Michigan, a son of Charles Arthur and Cordelia Leduc Failles. The Faille family operated the Faille Silk and Ostrich Feather Dye Works for four generations, according to a Newport, Rhode Island newspaper. The Faille family reportedly came to Detroit about 1850 from Laprairie, Quebec, Canada, though it was more likely after 1861, as Charles Sr. and his father, also Charles, are listed in the 1861 Canadian census. Charles and Cordelia married on 13 December 1868 in a French Catholic church in Detroit, Michigan. Charles is listed in Detroit city directories as an "Ostrich Feather Dyer" in 1881, with a notation that he had won a First Premium Award at the State Fair in 1880. In one instance, he is mentioned as Charles Failles Jr., so his father may also have moved to Detroit. The Failles relocated to Indianapolis, Indiana by 1884, where the family was still occupied in the ostrich feather trade. Charles Failles was a charter member of the Indiana Audubon Society in 1898. The family name appears as both Faille and Failles in records.
    The first record of Carl is in the 1900 census of Indianapolis, though he was still known as Charles. The first appearance of the use of the name of Carl was in the 1930 census. Carl was living in Chicago, Illinois during the 1910 census, where he was employed as a "designer, interior". His WWI draft registration card gave his profession as "Zoo Designer, self employed". Failles was living in Seattle, Washington at the time. Failles could not be located in the 1920 census, but was mentioned in the 1926 May issue of Dearborn Magazine as Charles Failles Jr. of Indianapolis, a "mountain painter" of great ability. The first appearance of Carl A. Faille was in the 1930 census of San Diego, California, where he was employed as an "artist, landscapes". According to a lengthy biography in Dictionnaire des artistes de langue francaise en Amerique du Nord by David Karel, Faille was living between Santa Cruz, CA and Brooklyn in 1925, in San Diego, CA and Columbus, OH in 1929 and Ocean Beach, CA in 1934. Faille was living in Newark, New Jersey in 1938, where he was employed as an artist. He was married to Joanne R. Mutschmann by this time. Faille taught at the Albany Institute of History and Art in 1943 and there are several mentions of the "Carl A. Faille Lecture Courses in Art Appreciation" in the late 1940s. The Failles relocated to Albany, New York by 1944 where he operated a business called Paint-O-Crayon-Crafts. By 1948 he was also operating the Faille Studios of Art in addition to his earlier business. The Failles were living in Gloucester, MA in 1953.
    Faille exhibited his work at the Montclair Art Museum, Los Angeles Art Museum, Kansas City Art Institute, Detroit Art Institute, Maryland Art Institute, and J. B. Speed Museum in Louisville, Kentucky. He also exhibited at the McClees Gallery in Philadelphia in 1934 and at the Albany Annual Exhibition in 1941. He was a member of the Salmagundi Club, California Art Club and the American Artists Professional League. Faille is listed in The Salons of America, 1922-1936 by Marlor, Who's Who in American Art (1953), Index of Artists by Mallett, Who Was Who in American Art by Falk, Davenports Art Reference and Price Guide, Dictionnaire des artistes de langue francaise en Amerique du Nord by David Karel, Artists of the West by Dawdy and Artists in California by Hughes.
    Faille died on 13 January 1956 in Newport, Rhode Island. His obituary appeared in the The News in Newport, RI on the day of his death.

Carl Arthur Faille, Noted Marine Artist

Carl Arthur Faille, 72, marine painter, graver, lecturer and teacher, died of a heart attack at his home on Ledge Road today.
    Mr. Faille had been preparing for a show, by invitation, at the Eggleston Galleries in New York. He had permanent exhibitions in the Joslyn Memorial Art Gallery, the Detroit Institute of Art and the Albany Institute of History and Art. He also had exhibited in numerous other galleries in the country. He was a member of the Solomon Grundy Club of New York.
    Mr. Faille was born in Detroit, Mich., on Feb. 17, 1883. He cam to Newport from Salem, Mass. about two years ago. During a chance visit to the city, he decided that this area was the best on the New England coast for marine painting. His Newport home was close to the ocean shore.
    His wife, Mrs. Joan Mutschmann Faille, survives.
    Services and burial will be held in Boscobel, Wis.

    An article in The News in 1966 noted that Faille's widow had donated ten of his works called the "Dream Sequence" to Vernon Court Junior College. Around the same time, his widow permitted a showing and sale of fourteen paintings, all marine scenes, that were to be part of the Eggleston Gallery Show.
    The painting in my collection was part of a collection of Faille's work, fourteen paintings, that were sold at Cordier Antiques & Auctions at Camp Hill, PA on 8 November 2009. My work was described as from his "early naive period".

    Robert Knox is a Denver, CO artist. He attended the Art Student's League in New York City in the 1980s.

    Dorothy Brenholtz was born on 22 November 1901 in Red Oak, Montgomery County, Iowa, a daughter of William Lincoln and Florence Byrkit Brenholtz. She attended the University of California at San Diego and graduated with a bachelor degree from Stanford University. She continued her art studies at the California School of Fine Arts and the Art Student League. She also studied in Paris and Florence, Italy. She married at least twice and painted under her married names of Stauffer and Hay.
    Dorothy died on 5 March 1974 in Tuscon, AZ. Her obituary appeared in the Santa Fe New Mexican on Friday 8 March 1974, page 11:

Friday, March 8,1974 DOROTHY HAY. Dorothy Hay, former SF painter, dies in Tucson A former Santa Fe resident and painter, Dorothy Stauffer Hay, 73, died Tuesday in Tucson Medical Center, Tucson, Ariz. Mrs. Hay first settled in Santa Fe in 1939 and moved to El Paso in 1951 where she married John Hay. They moved to Tucson in 1961. While in Santa Fe, Mrs. Hay was recognized for her work on the rooftop Christmas decorations around the Plaza and the nativity scene for St. Francis Cathedral. She also painted the murals in the children's room at Bishop's Lodge and the original murals in La Fonda Hotel. Mrs. Hay was graduated from Stanford University and studied at California School of Fine Arts before going to Paris in the 1920s to study at Academic d'Andre L'hote. She also studied in Florence, Italy, and with the Art Students League in New York. After returning to the United States, Mrs. Hay engineered Denver's first sidewalk art exhibit. Her works have been exhibited at Jacques Seligman Galleries in Paris, the American Artists Association and Delphic Studios in New York City, the Philadelphia Print Club, Springfield, Mass., museum and in many galleries in Tucson and New Mexico. The artist was founder and first president of the El Paso Artist Association and listed in Who's Who in American Art and a member of the Black Range Artists of New Mexico. No services arc scheduled for the former resident. Her remains were cremated as she had directed. Survivors include her husband, John Hay a son, Peter Stauffer, and a granddaughter.

    Edward Joseph "Joe" McDonnell was born about 1946. Joe studied at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris from 1964-1967. He also apprenticed with Siegfried Hahn and Howard Wexler. He was married first to Sallie Ann Dickinson and second to Cynthia Jean "Cindy" (last name unknown). Cindy is also an artist and they work together and have a web site. Joe won first place at the Peach Tree City Show and Merit and Purchase Awards at the La Grange National Convention in 1974. This last information comes from a hand written card taped to the back of this painting. I have been unable to discover any information about the La Grange National Convention. Originally, a painter in oils, McDonnell began to work primarily as a sculptor. The McDonnells now live in Rio Rancho, New Mexico and their art is represented in galleries in Albuquerque and Santa Fe, New Mexico and Scottsdale, Arizona.

    Tom Valenti is a New Jersey artist who was born in the South Bronx, NY. He is listed in Who's Who in American Art and Who's Who in America. He graduated from the Newark School of Fine and Industrial Art.

    Jane Pickens Langley was born on 10 August 1907 in Macon, Georgia. She was perhaps best known as a member of a popular sisters singing group, The Pickens Sisters, in the 1930s. She was a solo singing artist in the 1940s on radio, in theater and in movies. She studied music at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia, the Fontainebleau in France, and at Julliard. She married twice, to prominent businessmen, and became active in New York society and charities. She was an artist in oils, specializing in florals, notably roses, and sold and exhibited her work. She is mentioned in Davenports Art Reference and Price Guide.
    This painting is unsigned but was part of a lot of Hovey's artwork and photographs sold at an estate sale. Other items in the lot are shown below.
    Jane Hovey died on 21 February 1992 in Manhattan, New York.

          

    

Items from Jane Pickens Langley auction lot

    Joan Beringer Pripps was born on 12 June 1913, in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin the daughter of  George and Johanna Wupper Beringer. After studying at the Milwaukee Art Institute and Mount Mary College in Milwaukee, Joan established herself as a successful portrait painter, but was also a doll maker, landscape and still life painter, potter, illustrator, and arts and crafts artist. Beringer began making dolls depicting historic or ethnic costumes when she was seventeen years old, and by 1939 had complete d over 170 dolls. In October 1947 Beringer, conceived the idea of making doll figurines of prominent Wisconsin women as a way to celebrate the upcoming Wisconsin State Centennial. She made 70 of these dolls, some of which are now in the collection of the Wisconsin Historical Museum. During 1948, Beringer lectured on the prominent women of Wisconsin, using her dolls as an aid to illustrate her presentation. She married Norman Pripps, a heavy equipment operator, in 1949 and moved to his land in Springstead, Iron County, Wisconsin. Norman Pripps had a cabin on the land that they converted into "The Studio in the Woods", an art shop and tourist attraction. The Pripps built a small home next to the cabin and lived there for the next 46 years.

In progress...

    Ashlee Comerford was born in 1983 in St. Johns, New Foundland, Canada, but now resides and works in Colorado. Ashlee studied under Daniel Edmondson of Fort Collins, and Ron Hicks of the Denver Art League. She is a member of the Cheyenne Artists Guild and the American Impressionistic Society. She has a web site and a blog.

    Al Barker was born in New Jersey and grew up in the Metropolitan New York area. He earned a bachelors and masters in Forestry. He is a largely self taught artist, but well known for his miniatures. I have a thing for laundry hanging on a clothesline, flapping in the wind, so I love this painting. It hangs just inside my back door and it is the first thing I see when I get home every day. I am generally not a huge fan of miniatures, but this one is an exception.

    I purchased this little watercolor from an ebay seller located in Oak View, California in August 2010. In an email, she told me:

"Thanks for your message. I bought the pieces at an estate sale, from the artist's daughter. She was moving to Mexico with her husband, so they couldn't keep much. The other pieces are at my friend's house now. They are black and white, signed and titled, depicting European buildings. I don't have pictures now, but I can get them back from my friend if it's worth doing so. Thanks! Ginger"

The other pieces mentioned were  two lithographs by Zemp. A couple of mentions of lithographs by Zemp may be found on the Internet. A Johann Jakob Zemp is mentioned in Davenports Art Reference and Price Guide, and on AskArt.com. His dates are given as 1909-1996. No biographical information is available for him and there are no obvious American genealogical records. It is possible that he did not emigrate to the US, but his daughter did. Perhaps the inscription "An Marli Zum" is his daughter's name and the date, 8 May 1982, the date that this painting was framed.

    Ann Kennedy-Black is a Melbourne, Australia artist. She has been a member of the Brighton Arts Society and Malvern Art Society. She served as president of the Brighton Art Society.

    The back of this painting has extensive information about this painting's history, including Ruth E. Hoffman's signature. This painting was part of Hoffman's personal collection and later in the collection of Dr. Anthony J. Sisti.

    Garnette M. Widdifield was born 13 April 1914 in Indianapolis, Indiana, a daughter of Alva "Alvy' and Mary Catherine Ernest Rodenbarger. Alvy was employed as a "driver, auto delivery" during the 1910 census and his 1918 WWI draft registration card reported that he was employed as a "motor truck driver for Citizens Gas Co. Alvy was working as a "truckman, gas co." in Indianapolis in 1920 and he was still employed for Citizen's Gas Co. when he filled out his WWII draft registration card in 1942. Garnette graduated from Butler University and in the 1930s from The John Herron School of Art with a DCA, Diploma in Commercial Art/Advertising Art. She worked as a professional artist after graduating. She married John Widdifield and they traveled extensively before settling in Phoenix, Arizona in 1963. She worked for Frank Lloyd Wright at one time and also worked as an art instructor. She served as president of the Arizona Art Guild 1983-1985. She worked in oils and watercolors. Though well trained and prominent in the Phoenix art scene for many years, Widdifield is not listed in any art reference resource.
    Garnette Widdifield died on 28 February 2004 in Phoenix, Arizona. Her obituary appeared in a Phoenix newspaper.
  

Garnette M. Rodenbarger Widdifield passed away on February 28, 2004 in Phoenix, Arizona at the age of 89. She was born in Indianapolis, Indiana on April 13, 1914. She was the daughter of Alvy Rodenbarger and Mary Catherine Ernest Rodenbarger. She received degrees from Butler University and the John Herron School of Art in Indianapolis, where she began her career as a drafting engineer, art instructor, and professional artist. After marrying her late husband, John Widdifield, she traveled throughout Europe and Japan finally settling in Phoenix in 1963. She worked for Frank Lloyd Wright at Taliesin West and was an art instructor and past president of the Arizona Artist Guild. She was a renowned artist especially in water color and the author of many books including her own autobiography, A History of the Arizona Artist Guild, and a complete genealogy of the Rodenbarger-Redenbacher family in Germany and the United States. She was working on a biography of her father at the time of her death. She was a brilliant, caring person who encouraged all who knew her to be the best they could be. She is survived by her sister, Mary H. Schultz; niece, Mary Lorraine Claybrooke; and nephews, John Rodenbarger, Jerry Rodenbarger, Richard Schultz, Raymond Schultz, and Elmer Muesing, along with many great- and great-great-nieces and nephews. Visitation will be held at the G.H. Herrmann Madison Avenue Funeral Home, 5141 Madison Ave., on Wednesday, March 3, 2004, from 6 to 8 p.m. with a service at the funeral home at 10 a.m. on Thursday. Contributions may be sent to the John Herron School of Art, 1701 N. Pennsylvania St., Indianapolis, IN 46202. Arrangements by Vandivier-Parsley Funeral Home, Franklin.

    Jack Murray is a difficult artist to research. There is little documentation to support various vague biographies found for him on the Internet. His name is very common, and the fact that Jack is likely a nickname for John does not make it easier. His dates are generally given as 1889-1965, but I have not been able to confirm this. There was a Jack Murray born on 12 May 1889 and died in March 1965 in California, enumerated in the Social Security Death Index, who may have been this man. He seems to have had a prominent, national career as an illustrator, so it would seem possible that his death would have been mentioned in New York Times, but it is not. These facts, and the generally faded and toned condition of this painting, are probably why it was first offered on ebay for $795, marked down to $495, and finally purchased by me for $45.

Photos and inscription, verso

    All of this being said, there is no doubt that this Jack Murry was a prominent illustrator, based on the signature on this painting. The signature is distinct and matches that on several of the covers the artist created for the Saturday Evening Post in the 1930s and 1940s. Murray changed his signature in 1936 in that he started signing with his first name stacked on top of his surname, as opposed to having both names on the same line as in earlier works. This may help to date this painting. The style of the signature was unchanged, though. There are two newspaper or magazine clippings of WWI scenes taped to the reverse of this painting and a "Soldiers gratitude" dedication, which may indicate that Murray was a veteran. In addition to the Saturday Evening Post, Murray also created illustrations for several boys, sports, and fishing magazines and books with outdoor themes. There are also several mentions of Jack Murray working as "art director" for numerous magazines in the 1940s, including Outdoors Magazine, Saltwater Sportsman, Child Life, and Open Road for Boys. Murray also designed at least one stamp for the Federal Duck Stamp Program in the 1940s.

Jack Murray signature

    I purchased this from a seller in Gladstone, New Jersey. When I queried the dealer about the source for the painting, he replied:

"I purchased this painting from another dealer, the artist name is Mary Hise, Mary Cathawne Hawley, formerly Mary Hise 1910-1983, artist from South Wales/East Aurora N. Y. area in western new York State. Mary painted from the 50's-70's"

    Velma Wallace Rayness was born on 31 October 1896 in Davenport, Iowa, a daughter of William W. and Eva Wallace. William was employed as a "Painter" during the Des Moines, Iowa 1910 census, and a "Painter, House" there in 1920. Velma was employed as an "Artist, School" in 1920.  Velma married Gerard M. Rayness on 22 November 1929 in Des Moines, Iowa. Both were students of Charles Atherton Cumming and taught at the Cummings Art School in Des Moines. She was living with her husband and her husband's parents in Ames City, Iowa in 1930, employed as a "teacher, private school". Gerard was employed as a "teacher, public school". Velma and Gerard moved to Ames City permanently in 1932 and opened a studio near Iowa State College. Gerard was also an artist. Andrew Rayness, Gerard's father, was occupied as a "teacher, college" in 1930, which may have influenced Gerard and Velma's choice. Gerard and Velma taught art to adults and children, and Velma continued to teach after Gerard's death. Their studio was open for 23 years. Velma also worked under Grant Wood in the Public Works of Art program in 1933. Both Gerard and Velma were active in the Iowa Art Guild.
    Velma is mentioned in Dictionary of Women Artists by Pettys, Who Was Who in American Art by Falk, Davenports Art Reference and Price Guide, Index of Artists by Mallett, several editions of American Art Annual, and Who's Who of American Women by Marquis. She is also mentioned on ArtPrice.com and AskArt.com. Velma published a book called Campus Sketches of Iowa State College in 1949, and a second edition called Campus Sketches of Iowa State University in 1962. Velma also collaborated on Charles Atherton Cumming: Iowa's pioneer artist-educator in 1972 published by the Iowa Art Guild. She also illustrated a book called The Corn is Ripe in 1944. Velma exhibited at the Des Moines Women's Art Club, Iowa State Fairs, the Iowa Guild, Davenport Museum of Art, Souix City Art Center, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha, Souix City Art Center, Cornell College, and other places. She won numerous prizes for her work as an artist. The Rayness' papers are held by Iowa State University.
    Velma Rayness died in April 1977. Gerald Rayness died in 1946. Both died in Ames City, Iowa.

    I am still researching this artist, as information about her personal life is scarce and her name is fairly common, particularly in New England where she lived. Luckily, an extensive professional biography was attached to this painting, along with a tag from a Rockport, MA art exhibition. I believe that she is the Martha Nickerson whose dates of birth are given in the Social Security Death Index as 16 January 1914 and 11 March 2002. Her social security number was issued in New York and she died in Needham Heights, MA. Martha Nickerson lived at various addresses in Rockport, MA, and I believe that Nickerson was her married name and that her husband's name was Lewis.

Nickerson biography

    An extensive professional biography was attached to the back of the painting.

Tag from painting

    A tag attached to the painting showed that this painting was exhibited at a 1995 Rockport Art Association exhibition. A couple examples of Nickerson's work that I have seen are in a much more impressionistic style, and better than the painting in my collection, in my opinion. Nickerson would, I think, have been in her early 80s when this painting was created.

Nickerson business card

    This is an example of Nickerson's business card from another on line auction. The address agrees with some city directory entries that also give the 16 January 1914 birth date, which I think is strong evidence that the Social Security Death Index entry is for Martha. A Massachusetts death record that gives her spouse's name as Lewis also includes the same birth date for her.

    The painting above and the painting below were sold together at a Vermont estate auction. Each has a similar price tag from a much earlier sale and appear to be by the same artist. The first painting is on an unmounted canvas and is noted to be a sketch of Picket Mt., which is in Maine. It is also signed twice, M. A. Safford. The second painting is an oil on board and is unsigned. Unfortunately, the seller of these paintings was negligent in packing them and both were badly damaged in the mails. I kept them anyway, so they would at least be preserved, since this artist's work appears to be scarce, and because I had spent a significant amount of time and effort in researching this artist.

    Martha died on 9 October 1912 in Rochester, New Hampshire, according to the 1917 Rochester City Directory.

M. A. Safford signature, verso

    John Jerome Tupa was born 16 February 1928 in Chicago, IL, a son of John and Vlasta Porak Tupa. He attended the Academy of Fine Arts in Chicago 1948-1950. He worked as a self employed artist for 40 years. According to his obituary, he was a member of several art leagues in Chicago, Wisconsin, and Arizona. He was married to Valerie Sadler in Chicago, IL on 27 August 1958. His obituary appeared in a Grass Valley, Arizona newspaper:

    Mr. Tupa is not listed in any art reference book that I have examined.

    The label above appeared on the back of the painting in my collection.  He seems to have lived at several Rhinelander addresses and also in Green Valley, Arizona.

    Otto Henry Rothenburgh was born on 29 October 1893 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a son of Henry and Margaret Rothenburgh, German immigrants. Henry was working as a "Sugar Boiler" in 1900 in Philadelphia and as a "Foreman, Sugar Refinery" in Yonkers, New York in 1910. Otto Rothenburgh was living in Yonkers, New York, when he completed his WWI draft registration card. His occupation appears to be student, and perhaps the name of the school, but I cannot make it out. Otto applied for a passport in 1921 stating that he was an artist and traveling to Holland to study and visit relatives, and also traveling to study in the British Isles, Italy, Belgium, Switzerland, France, and Gibraltar. This passport was later canceled. He applied for a new passport in 1925, stating he was traveling to Hungary and the Balkan States. At the same time, his wife, Livia, also applied for a passport, stating she was a native of Budapest, Hungary and that she and Otto were married in Budapest on 20 September 1922. She noted that she had lived in Hungary, Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. Otto was living in Middle Valley, New Jersey in 1943 when he filled out his WWII draft registration. He gave Mrs. Marguerite Rothenburgh as his contact. I am not sure if this was his mother or wife. His occupation was "Freelance Artist".
    Otto is listed in Who Was Who in American Art by Falk.
    Rothenburgh died on 4 July 1992 in Califon, Hunterdon County, New Jersey.

    Dewitt Hardy was born in June 1940 in St. Louis, Missouri. He attended Syracuse University. He is a well known Maine watercolor artist. Hardy has a web site. (in progress)

   Italo George Botti was born on  24 March 1923 in Greenwich Village, New York a son of Ettore and Filomena Botti, Italian immigrants. The Bottis immigrated to the US on 22 August 1920 from Agripoli, Italy on the S.S. Duca Degli Abruzza. Ettore's occupation was give as "Tailor" on the ship's passenger list and as "Tailor, Clothing Co." on the 1930 census of Brooklyn, New York. Several Botti men and their families were his neighbors in 1930; James "boot black, shoe shine parlor", Dominick "laborer, railroad", and Biase "laborer, lithograph co". These men may have been brothers of Ettore, as all were near him in age.    
    Italo G. Botti was well known for his painting, stained glass, sculpture, and mosaic work. Botti attended the Brooklyn Academy of Fine Arts, Leonardo da Vinci School of Art, the Abracheff School of Fine Art, the National Academy of Design, and the Art Students League. He studied under Frank Vincent Dumond, Nicolai Abracheff, Reginald Marsh, and Bernard Lamott. An example of his mosaic work my be seen on the Botti Studio web site. He taught at the City College of New York, the Art Students League, and the Art Institute of Chicago. As it turns out Botti is listed in Davenports Art Reference and Price Guide, Who Was Who in American Art by Falk, and is also mentioned on a couple of the more popular on line art web sites.

           





   




Examples of Barrel's work

   Botti painted under the pseudonyms "George Barrel" and "Barrel Botti", before starting to use his birth name, Italo Botti. This may have only been true while he worked with Arts International and other galleries. He seems to have signed his work either Barrel or Botti in block letters. This piece caught my eye as I skimmed ebay. I paid very little for it, without researching it and kind of kicked myself afterward, expecting it to turn out to be an import or by an obscure artist, though the seller claimed he was "listed". The seller was  completely clueless as to the identity of the artist, claiming it was by W. R. Barrel, despite the fact the George Barrel's biography and the original sales receipt were attached to the back of the painting! Yes, hard to believe, but true. I am including several images of Botti's work as George Barrel, found on the Internet, since he is something of a mystery artist under the pseudonym Barrel. I am reasonably certain that all of these works are by the same artist. I was quite surprised when an Internet search fairly easily turned up several auction records for his work and other sellers with his work for sale. All of the works are largish, the smallest I have seen listed was 24" x 36". A couple of the auction houses who brought his work up for sale don't sell junk, so his work seems to be considered of value. He is frequently misidentified as W. R. Barrel for some reason, though I had no difficulty in determining that Botti painted under other names. Of course the biography taped to the back of the painting helped. It should also be noted that there was an Argentinian artist named Italo Botti (1889-1974) and there also seems to be some amount of confusion between these two artists. One of the paintings shown above was attributed to the elder Botti, but the style is more in keeping with that of the younger artist.

    Ruby Merle Mylar was born on 17 January 1900 in Arnold, Custer County, Nebraska and she was living there with her family during the 1900 and 1910 Federal censuses. She was a daughter of Joseph Otto and Catherine Ethel "Etta" Hargraves Mylar. Joseph was a farmer. Ruby, and several siblings, attended a sod constructed school, Powell Canyon School, in Custer County 1909-1910. Ruby was employed as a "stenographer, Drug Co." in the 1920 census of Pueblo County, CO where she was still living with her family. She married James Ira Topping on 14 September 1922, in Cheyenne, Wyoming. James was born on 9 May 1895 in Rio Grande, Gallia County, Ohio, a son of James Alexander and Anna Martin Topping. He was living in Raccoon, in Gallia County in 1920 and his future wife was living in Pueblo, Colorado with her parents, so Ruby and J. Ira, as he preferred to be called, must have had a whirlwind courtship. Ruby's brother, Wilbur K. Mylar, was a doctor and coroner in Cheyenne, Wyoming and Ruby Mylar was mentioned numerous times between 1917 and 1921 in the social news section of various editions of the Wyoming State Tribune, Cheyenne, Wyoming. Ruby apparently often visited her brother, and in one instance, it was noted that she was spending the winter with his family and gave her residence as Fowler, Colorado. Ruby and J. Ira Topping were living in Cheyenne, Wyoming in 1930, where J. Ira was employed as a lawyer in a "local firm" and Ruby had no occupation. They had no children after eight years of marriage. J. Ira Topping is mentioned in the book Wyoming from Territorial Days to the Present, by Frances Birkhead Beard, 1933, Volume 3, page 471. He was a WWI veteran. After J. Ira's death Ruby married Oyer Saunders. Ruby did not have any biological children, but she and J. Ira adopted Una Topping, probably a relative of J. Ira.

    Ruby and J. Ira were living in Dearborn, Wayne County, Michigan between 1939 and 1943, where J. Ira was employed as a lawyer for the Veteran's Administration, according to Dearborn city directories. I have found no mention of Ruby's work as an artist. William Greason, a well known Detroit artist, whose studio Ruby mentions on the back of one of her paintings, died in Detroit in 1945, and the painting in my collection is dated 1942. Greason was a student of William Merritt Chase, Thomas Anshutz, Hugh Breckenridge, and also attended several prestigious art schools. It seems likely that Ruby was a student of William Greason. It is obvious from the quality of this painting that she was at least an advanced amateur artist by the early 1940s. The dealer who sold this painting to me noted that he had had several works by Ruby, and that this was one of the best. Ruby also wrote poetry, and in 1953 published a 32 page volume of poetry about her early life in Nebraska. This book may have been privately published as the only record I have found of it is the copyright notice. She was still using the name Ruby Mylar Topping, so this may indicate that J. Ira was still living at that time.

    It is fortunate that this painting contains so many clues about the artist's background and training. I am always puzzled when I buy a painting from an artist or from a reseller and the artist's signature is illegibly scrawled on the front and no information is included verso, even if painted on a store bought medium that includes a place to include the title and information about the artist. This painting is a really nice example of a good artist who obviously devoted considerable time and effort to her craft, and whose work might have just become another anonymous junk shop painting about which nothing was known. If no other painting by this artist ever came to light, hopefully, as a result of her thoughtful inscription, she will not be forgotten. Identification of this artist would likely have been very difficult without this inscription since she signed it "Ruby Merle".

Ruby Mylar, ca 1920

    Ruby died in May 1990 according to the Social Security Death Index, but no place of death is given. Oyer Saunders died in January 1983 in Evergreen, Jefferson County, Colorado, and that may be where Ruby died, too.

    Bruce has a web site, blog, and also sells his work on ebay under the id stam2m8d.

    I really like these small desert scenes, and have a couple more that I have not had time to photograph yet. Either my monitor or Mr. Stam's camera fails to capture the vivid colors of the paintings that he sells on ebay, so it is always treat to receive one and see what they look like "in the flesh".

    Taylor Lynde was born in Red Lodge, Montana in 1970. He is the son of syndicated cartoonist Stan Lynde. He was influenced and mentored by artists Scott Switzer and Michael J. Kosorok. Lynde attended the Pratt Institute in New York for one year, where he studied drawing and art history. Taylor has a web site.

    This one reminded me a lot of some of the remote landscapes painted by English artist Thomas Collier RI. I think it is the wide vista and cloudy sky. Collier was a master at painting clouds, and I think Ms. Butcher is on her way to emulating Collier, even if she never heard of him.

    This is more of a pleine aire sketch, perhaps a study for a larger painting. This painting is not signed, but the frame is signed and titled, along with a price of $45 on the back. The signature is in pencil and very faint, and the title is too faint to make out, but appears to be "Name: Winter (illegible)". I messed with the images using gimp but was not able to make much out of them. It may be logical that he wrote on the frame, as the painting is on a rough board that could not be written on. The board is similar to a couple of examples of board used for other paintings by Mr. Knauth. Mr. Knauth is still living at age 91, so I sent him some images of the painting, in an attempt to see if he could confirm that this is his work and maybe get some history for it. He responded to my letter and informed that this is his work, "it is exactly right". He could not, unfortunately, remember when he painted it, or the title, not surprising since it was painted perhaps fifty or sixty years ago.

Signature and title in pencil on back of frame.

    Arnold Whitman Knauth II was born on 18 October 1918 in New York, New York, a son of Oswald Whitman Knauth and Anna Dixwell Clements. Oswald Knauth reported his employment as "Asst. Prof. Economics, Princeton University" in his WWI draft registration. He was employed as an "Executive, Department Store" in 1930. Arnold Knauth attended Harvard University, the National Academy of Design, the Hibbard Summer School of Painting, the Wellfleet Art School, and he studied with Xavier Gonzalez. He was a member of the Salmagundi Club, the American Watercolor Society, Philadelphia Watercolor Club, Audubon Academy, Guild of Boston Artists, Northshore Artists Association, and Rockport Art Association. He exhibited widely, including at the National Academy of Design, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, John Herron Art Institute, and Boston Museum of Fine Arts. He won numerous awards for his work. He is listed in several editions of Who is Who in American Art, Who Was Who in American Art by Falk, and Davenports Art Reference and Price Guide.

Knauth framed and verso

    Dr. George Feldman was born 13 October 1897 in New York City, New York, a son of Isaac and Fannie Feldman, Austrian immigrants. Isaac Feldman owned a tailor shop. George gave his occupation as "dental student" on his WWI draft registration. He applied for a passport in 1923, giving his occupation as dentist, and his intent to travel to Germany, Switzerland, and France to "study". There is no indication if he was studying dentistry or art, or both. He was living alone during the 1930 census of New York City, occupied as a dentist. There are numerous mentions of him on passenger lists for various ocean voyages to Europe. He traveled frequently in the 1920s and 1930s.
    Feldman is listed in Falk's Who Was Who in American Art, where it is noted that he was a painter, cartoonist, craftsperson, and graphic artist. He painted in both oils and watercolors. Feldman attended the Art Students League and New York University. He was a member of the American Watercolor Society. He exhibited at the 1939 World's Fair in New York City, and at the American Watercolor Society, Brooklyn Museum, Morton Gallery, and Chautauqua, NY. He was 89 when he painted the painting my collection. There is a bit of glare from the glass. I will get a better photo, by and by. This may not be his best work, but I like that he kept painting. His signature is very strong, so he may have retained his skills. I have not been able to find any other examples of his work for comparison.
    George Feldman died on 9 April 1997 in Ithaca, NY at the age of 99.

    Russel Whitten is a Maine artist who was born 7 June 1962. He studied at the Maine College of Art, the Art Student's League, and with DeWitt Hardy, Norman West and Richard Brown Latham at Heartwood College of Art in Kennebunk, Maine. He has a web site.

    Lynn Charles "Chuck" Foster was born in 1949 in New York. He is a sculptor, painter, and musician currently residing in Louisville, Kentucky. He has a web site. He is best known for his abstract sculpture work,  but I like his landscape paintings. I also like that he signs his work on the back.

    Jan Gendron was born on 11 November 1949 in New York City. He studied at the Vesper George School of Art in Boston, with Henry Henche at the Cape School of Art, and with Robert Cormier. Gendron is mentioned in The New Renaissance, Volume 6 by Louse T. Reynolds. Jan has a blog.

Jan Gendron signature

    Albert Washington Weitershausen was born on 20 April 1879 in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, a son of Charles R. and Antonetta Weitershausen. Charles worked as a fire insurance agent. A. W. Weitershausen is listed in the 1902 Pittsburgh and Allegheny directory as an  employee of the Commercial Glass Co., of Millvale, PA. Albert was listed as "prest" of the Commercial Glass Co. in the 1903-1905 city directories. This may have been an abbreviation for "president". Albert is listed as the secretary-treasurer of the Pittsburgh Art Glass & Mosaic Decorative Co. 1906-1910. He appears in later directories at the same company with various titles, including Superintendent, etc. Albert married a woman named Mary Bertha about 1907, probably in Allegheny County. The couple was living in Millvale, PA in 1910 where Albert was employed as a stained glass designer. I have not been able to discover where Albert received his training. Albert received a  patent for an improved technique in creating leaded glass constructions in 1914. He was an employee of the Pittsburgh Art Glass Company at the time. Albert completed WWI and WWII draft registration cards and in 1942 was still employed by the same company, which had been renamed Pittsburgh Art Glass Studios in 1924. This company was founded in 1903, so Albert was certainly one of its longest serving employees by 1942. Albert's profession was given as stained glass artist in the art glass industry in 1930. The Weitershausens had one daughter, Mary H., born about 1919.

Label, verso

    I have found several references to Albert's work as a stained glass artist, but he seems to be completely undocumented as a fine artist. Several contemporary stained glass artists in Pittsburgh, and the vicinity, were also well known fine artists. Judging by the monogram on the front, and label attached to the back of this painting, his lack of recognition, may be attributable to the fact that he signed his work using a monogram. The fact that a special label was printed for this painting would seem to indicate that Albert routinely created fine art. I found the following definition of thumb-box sketches using Google Books: "They were such sketches as an artist commonly makes in the field, with a small box of colors held on the thumb, and arranged, when open, to serve both as palette and easel - hence the name 'thumb-box sketch.'" It was also noted in various sources that such paintings tended to be miniatures, so this painting would be a rather large example of such a work. Mussini Oil Colors are still in production today.

    Robert Coombs is a Utah artist who has exhibited widely, across the US. He worked as an illustrator, before transitioning to fine art. He has a web site. Robert received a BFA from Utah State University. He is member of Oil Painters of America. His list of exhibitions and awards is lengthy and best viewed on his web site.

Inscription, verso

    Carolyn Moline is a Florida artist. She graduated with a BFA from Kent State University. She also studied under Fran Larson, Peter Rubino, and Bruno Lucassii. She works in oils, watercolors, and pen and ink. She sculpts in terra cotta, bronze, ceramic, and porcelain. Her works are part of the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Fine Art and Bonnet House Museum and Gardens. She is a member of the National League of American Pen Women, Miami Art League, Gold Coast Watercolor Society, Broward Art Guild, Corona Art Association, Plantation Art Guild, and Hollywood Art Guild. She has judged art exhibitions at the Florida State Art Institute and Broward Art Guild. She has a web site.

    Donald W. Lambo was born on 3 December 1921 in Amsterdam, New York, a son of John O. and Anna M. Lambo. John was an Italian immigrant and Anna was a German immigrant. Both immigrated to the US in the late 1880s. John was working as a "loom fixer, rug mill" in 1930. Donald worked as an illustrator for many years and I found numerous books that he supplied the illustrations for. He later started working as a fine artist. His wife was also a fine artist.

    This label was glued to the back of the painting, and gives a brief biography of Lambo. I am not sure if this painting falls under the category of fine art or illustration. It may have started as an illustration and later was sold as fine art.

    Olin Farrell Vought was born in February of 1870 in Dover, Morris County, New Jersey, the only child of William Allen and Emily "Emma" Farrell Vought. Allen, as he seems to have preferred using his middle name, was a druggist. He died before 1894 and Olin was living with his mother in Dover, Morris County, New Jersey 1900-1920. Emma probably died before 1930, as Olin was living alone in Roxbury, New Jersey in 1930. His occupation in each census was given as artist, though the type of artist varied from just plain artist, to " artist, watercolors" and "artist, paintings". His name is sometime spelled "Vaught" in census records. He is listed as an artist in various Morris County, New Jersey directories as early as 1894. There is a permanent exhibit of his art at the Silas Riggs Saltbox House Living Museum in Roxbury, NJ. Vought was a well known local artist who worked in glass plate photographs, drawings, pen and ink sketches, and watercolors of the canal area in northern New Jersey. He focused on the area from Rockaway-Hibernia to Phillipsburg. His photographs are prominent in the local histories of the canal, including "The Morris Canal: across New Jersey by water and rail" by Robert R. Goller, which is available, in part, on Google Books. His photographs were also used extensively in books by James Lee, a New Jersey historian who specialized in the Morris Canal. Vought was a member of the Dover Camera Club in 1899 and exhibited his photographs at the Club's exhibitions.
    I do not know where Vought trained as an artist. It is peculiar that an artist so well known is not listed in any art reference book, except for Mallett's Index of Artists and Davenport's Art Reference and Price Guide, where he is misidentified as "Olif" Vought. His death was reported in the New York Times on 12 July 1940:

Olin F. Vought

Succasunna, N.J., July 12 (AP) - Olin F. Vought, landscape and floral painter, died at his home here today of a heart ailment at the age of 70. He had been ill since February.

Vought's signature

    Peter Koster was born on 31 May 1891 in the village of Zaamslag, in the Netherlands. He immigrated to the US in 1910, but does not appear in the 1910 US census. His first appearance in US records is the record of his arrival in New York on the ship Potsdam from the port of Rotterdam on 21 May 1910. He was apparently traveling with two other men as all three were from Holland and their destination was Grand Rapids, Michigan. The other men were Cornelis A. Kaag, aged 16, a baker, and Johannes van Herp, aged 25, a painter. Koster gave his occupation as "painter" and his father's name as J. Koster. On 5 June 1917, he supplied information for his WWI draft registration. He was working as a sketch artist for Myercord Co. in Chicago at the time, but residing in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He was married, but did not give the name of his wife. The 1930 census indicates that Koster married about 1913. His status was given as "Alien - First papers". Koster was still living in Grand Rapids in 1920, working as an artist in a furniture studio. The census that year reported that he had become a naturalized citizen in 1917, but I have not been able to locate his naturalization papers. He was married to a woman named Nellie who was born in Michigan of Dutch parents. They had a 1 1/2 year old daughter, Vivian. This marriage apparently did not last as Koster was living as lodger in a boarding house in Grand Rapids working as an artist "at home" in 1930. His marital status was reported as single. His ex-wife, Petronella E., had remarried to a man named Peter Bajema and they were still living in Grand Rapids. Vivian J. Koster was listed as Bajema's step-daughter. Peter Koster traveled to the Netherlands and his arrival was reported in New York City on 14 September 1930, on the ship Rotterdam which had departed from the port of Rotterdam on 6 September 1930. The address recorded on the passenger list was 159 Bostwick St., Grand Rapids, Michigan, and once again gave his naturalization year as 1917 in Grand Rapids. This is also the same address he was residing at during the 1930 census.  According to Koster's WWII draft registration card, he was a resident of Bearskin Neck, Rockport, Essex County, Massachusetts. He was self employed in Rockport and then married to a woman named Lena.

Notation, verso

    Koster's biography appears in American Landscape and Genre Paintings in the New York Historical Society by Koke. I have not yet been able to examine this book, but the snippet view on Google Books reveals that Koster received his training as an artist in the Netherlands. Koster was a member of the Rockport Art Association and North Shore Art Association. He is not listed in any art reference book that I have examined, though I suspect he appeared in one of the pictorial histories of the Rockport Art Association that this society periodically generated. A P. Koster, a 20th Century Gloucester, Massachusetts artist, is listed in Davenport's Art Reference and Price Guide. As this is the only artist I have encountered with this first initial and last name, I suspect they may be the same artist. Koster worked in oils and my paintings appear fairly typical of his work.

Koster biography and RAA application

    A copy of Koster's biography and application to the Rockport Art Association were taped to the back of the Cape Ann painting.

"Bayshore", P. Koster, 9" x 12", oil, 1975

     The second painting is likely Koster's work, as well. The signatures are very similar, though the second painting is signed "P. Koster". The painting is inscribed verso "Bayshore 1975". Bayshore (Gardens) is in Sarasota, Florida. Peter Koster died on 18 July 1978 in Sarasota, Florida, so this is a very late work for him.

 
    This was an ebay purchase. Kyle has a blog. Kyle is a self taught artist, and very talented. Check out his blog for some really nice paintings. This painting does not photograph well. It is very loose, and the close up image of it does not do it justice. It has nice depth  and use of shadow when seen from an appropriate viewing distance.

    Jason Cordula is a self taught Canadian artist who works in oils. He was voted the most popular landscape artist on ebay in 2009. He has a web site. The last time I checked, he had closed his ebay store and his blog was not active. I like his work a lot. 

    Helen Marie Stockton was born on 18 April 1889 in New Jersey, a daughter of John Potter and Lynda Thorndyke Low Stockton. John was a lawyer and son of a US Senator. John was a descendant of Richard Stockton, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Helen graduated from Columbia University Teachers College with a Special Diploma in Fine Arts in 1908, and in 1912 with a Special Diploma in Education. I have found several references of her contributions of articles to various art and educational journals, the earliest in 1914. Helen was living with her mother and sisters in Westfield, New Jersey during the 1920 census. Her occupation was given as "Supervisor of Training, Westfield Schools". Her sister Margaret was occupied as "Supervisor of Domestic School, Woodbridge, N.J.". Helen contributed several articles to Industrial Arts magazine in the 1920s. She was described as Supervisor of Fine and Industrial Arts at the State Normal School of Trenton, New Jersey in the credits. Helen was living with her widowed mother in 1930 in Westfield, New Jersey, employed as a school teacher. Her occupation is listed as “artist" in the 1938 Polk's Directory of Westfield, New Jersey. She contributed several articles to American Artist magazine in the 1950s. She also wrote several books, for instance one called Drawing and Picture Making. She also collaborated on several books intended for children and students. Her younger sister, Janet, was also an artist who painted in oils, and was a member of the Westfield Art Association. Her sister, Edna Margaret, graduated from the Columbia Teachers College in 1908 with a BS degree in Teacher of Household Arts.
    The December 1920 edition of the New Jersey Education Bulletin reported:

To succeed Miss Taylor, Miss Helen M. Stockton has been appointed. Miss Stockton's special training was taken at the New York School of Fine and Applied Arts; at Teachers College, Columbia University; at New York University, and through extension work at Rutgers College. She has held the positions of supervisor of art at Morgantown, West Virginia; supervisor of art and hand work at Westfield for the past eight years, and director of fine and industrial arts at Rutgers College summer session for the last five years. Miss Stockton has also been engaged in various activities in the field of art outside the schoolroom, having served as director of a base hospital craft club, and president of the Art Teacher's Association, and the Manual Arts Association, of Union County.

(Note: “Miss Taylor” was instructor in the art department at the Trenton State Normal School. The New York School of Fine and Applied Arts was founded by William Merritt Chase and is now known as the Parsons school.)

    She is mentioned several times for her work as an artist in the local Westfield newspaper. From The Westfield Leader, 8 December 1955:

Helen Stockton's Landscapes Exhibited

Several of the landscapes of Miss Helen M. Stockton of 117 North Euclid avenue, artist and author, will be among a display of her works this month sponsored by the Verona-West Essex Art Association in the Verona Public Library.

The Westfield artist recently exhibited her paintings in the Paper Mill Playhouse, Millburn. Several art centers in New Jersey and New York have presented her awards.

Miss Stockton also has written and illustrated a number of children's books and has taught at several art schools in the state.

   Elizabeth L."Betty" "Liz" Widmayer was born 28 January 1926 in Queens, New York, a daughter of Walter and Bessie Widmayer. Walter was occupied as a chauffeur in 1920 and a "hacksman, taxical" in 1930. For many years Betty lived with her sister, Joan Widmayer, at 333 57th St., New York City, according to old telephone directories. This relationship is proved by the obituary of their brother, Walter J. Widmayer, who died in New Smyrna Beach, Florida on 11 January 1997. This address is written on the back of many of Betty's paintings, along with her name. Joan used the pseudonym Walters in the music business, and possibly in other ventures. I have also found references to her as Joan Walters Widmayer. One record for a Joan Widmayer identifies her as a student at the Frostburg State Teachers College.  I have no proof that this is the same woman. Joan was born in November 1930. Betty and Joan copyrighted several songs in the late 1970s and early 1980s as the team of Walters and Widmayer.

unnamed, Elizabeth Widmayer, 38" x 28", oil

    A Betty Widmayer is mentioned in "Savage Art: A biography of Jim Thompson". She was identified as "a young graphic artist in charge of layout and design" at the New York magazine "Police Gazette" in 1951. An Elizabeth Widmayer of New York was a patron member of the American Society of Portrait Artists. I have seen claims that she was a fashion model with an "outgoing and positive personality", but cannot confirm that. A significant number of her paintings were offered on ebay in late 2009 by several sellers, so it is possible they came from her estate, or the estate of a relative. All of the work by I have seen by Widmayer has been figurative. She was an accomplished artist, but I have not found listings for her in any art reference book, any records of exhibitions of her work, and no auction records for her work, except on ebay.
    After her death, a lot of fashion illustrations, prints and proofs, signed by Elizabeth was purchased at a nearby 58th Street estate sale. The dated proofs and prints were from the late 1960s. The work was done for various New York fashion publications, including Bergdorf Goodman, the Ritz, Lord & Taylor and Abercrombie and Fitch. The work bore the Widmayer's 57th street address and some bear the name of Jane Walters as Elizabeth's representative.     
    Betty Widmayer died on 16 September 2008 in New York City.

    Mrs. Catherine H. Gardner was a member of the Dutchess County Art Association of Poughkeepsie, New York. She served as Treasurer of that organization. She was a frequent exhibitor at the shows sponsored by the art association. She exhibited oils and watercolors in the 1930s and 1940s. In 1942, one of her watercolors, "Manchester Bridge Houses", was chosen for a WWII Victory Calendar. Each month featured a painting by a Dutchess County artist. Her painting was used for the month of December. The announcement of the winners of the calendar contest was made by Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt. Mrs. Gardner is mentioned several times in the Poughkeepsie Eagle News, Poughkeepsie Daily Eagle, and the Harlem Valley Times, in connection with her work as an artist. The names of her paintings are often given, and the themes of her work appear to be coastal scenes and florals. Her works are often described as "brightly colored". She is not mentioned in any art reference book that I have examined, but I have found several mentions of her works in auction records. I was not able to locate her in census records or other primary records. She resigned as Art Supervisor in the Dutchess County public schools in December of 1936. I have found references regarding a Catherine Gardner who was working as a teacher in various parts of New Jersey in the 1920s, but cannot connect them to this Catherine.

    This painting was an ebay find. An index card with the artist's name, title, medium, and date was attached to the painting. This was advertised as "prison art", which it appears to be, but it is uncertain how Flagg was associated with the prison. He could have been a prisoner, guard, some other employee, or even a visitor. I think it is an interesting example of mixed mediums and styles, pointillism and impressionism.

    I have not been able to identify any other records pertaining to Flagg. Research disclosed that Tappan was the medium security unit of Sing Sing, but it is now closed.

    I have no information on this artist. I purchased it on ebay from a seller in Michigan City, Indiana, who purchased it at an estate sale. It is painted on a Craftint All Purpose Panel. I like the whimsical nature of the painting, the grace of the dancers, and the colors. It has a surprising amount of depth, and in person the dancers appear to dance out of the painting. It reminds me of a cave painting, which is likely what the artist intended. Any information about this artist would be appreciated.

Shugart Signature

    Alma Wilhelmina Monahan was born on 27 September 1888 in Marinette, Wisconsin a daughter of Herman and Minnie Fiker Monahan. She was one of three sisters. Her father worked as a bookkeeper. Herman Fiker died in 1906. Minnie and two of her daughters, Pearl E. and Iola A., were living in Oshkosh, WI in 1910. I have not located Alma in 1910. I suspect she was attending or teaching school. Alma married Arthur James Monahan about 1910. They were divorced before 1930 when Alma was living with her mother and sisters in Oshkosh. Alma and both of her sisters were employed as public school teachers in the Oshkosh school system. Alma was working as a teacher by 1910, when she appears in the Wisconsin School Directory, and spent the majority of her career working as a science and art teacher at Roosevelt Jr. High School in Oshkosh. She also worked as Vice Principal of the school in the 1940s and 1950s. She retired from teaching about 1954. I suspect that all three sisters attended the Oshkosh Teachers College, but have no proof of that.
    After her retirement, Alma continued to be active in the Presbyterian Church, the Twentieth Century Club, and other civic organizations. She is mentioned 168 times in Oshkosh newspapers between 1923 and 1964. She founded the Oshkosh Public Museum Art Club. The Oshkosh Public Museum has 54 works by Monahan in their permanent collection. She was awarded an honorable mention at the Neville Art Museum in Green Bay. She exhibited her work in the Oshkosh vicinity, including one and two artist shows at the Oshkosh Public Museum. She painted in oils and watercolors and was known for painting scenes of the Marinette and Green Bay shore regions, sand dunes, quarries, farms, flowers, and snow scenes. She also taught at the Oshkosh Public Museum, Paine Art Center and Arboretum, and the Rose C. Swart Campus School. She continued to teach art to children and adults for many years after her retirement. She was served as a judge at many art exhibitions.
    This painting has two labels on the back, the first with the title of the painting and Alma's name and address, and the second with historical information about this scene, "Golden Girl, the boat on the left, was a rum runner during the prohibition days. Shine On, the boat on the right, was a fisherman's boat".
    Alma died on 17 January 1983 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin and is buried in the Riverside Cemetery in Oshkosh.

    Mercedes Garcia was born in Mexico and moved to Santa Monica, CA at the age of 12. She has an art web site. I like the colors in this painting. Judging by the other work on her web site, she does not appear to be a formally trained artist, and does not mention any art education in her biography. I bought this at a charity auction.

    Erisa Yuki is a New York artist. There are a couple of women by this name involved in the art scene in New York City. One of these women exhibited her paintings at the School of Visual Art in 2008. The other is a fashion designer who was active from the mid-1990s to the present and seems to have been known for her wedding dress designs. I am not sure which artist's work this is, if there is a third woman by this name, or if the two artists are the same person.

    Mrs. Nellie Stoneham was born on 3 September 1879 in Sherman, Grayson County, Texas. She was the daughter of Dr. Elijah Evans Winn and Medora F. Stith. Medora was Dr. Winn's third wife and Nellie was the youngest of his children. Nellie attended the North Texas Female College and Music Conservatory, also known as Kidd-Key College, in Sherman. At the time she attended there, this was a very well known and prestigious finishing school for women. This is likely where she received her artistic training. After graduating, she worked as a teacher and cared for her father and mother during their last illnesses. About 1920 Nellie married David Jenner Stoneham who was 20 years her senior. At some time prior to her marriage Nellie moved to Dallas where she attended business school and later sold insurance and may have met her future husband while pursuing this work in Sherman, Texas. Some of this information comes from Nellie's daughter Dora Evelyn Colley, an artist, and member of the San Antonio Watercolor Society.

    Dora Colley knew that her mother had done some work as an artist, primarily charcoal portraits, but also remembered that she had worked at home for a company during the Depression. This company would send prints to Nellie which she would then paint using oil paints. Nellie did this in the hopes of making some money for her family, but her daughter had the impression that Nellie did not make much money doing this work. These three paintings are likely represent this endeavor. Nellie also worked as Postmaster of Stoneham, Texas which is in Grimes County.

    George Knecht was born on 31 October 1926 in Philadelphia, PA, a son of Elmer and Marie E. Church Knecht. He graduated from the Hussian School of Art. Knecht was the founder and Chairman of the Graphics Art Department at Temple University until he retired in 1987.
    George Knecht died on 15 January 1998 in Meadowbrook, PA. His obituary appeared in a local newspaper:

George Knecht

George Knecht died January 10, 1998 at his home in Meadowbrook. He was 71. Born in Philadelphia, he was the son of the late Marie E. Church and Elmer Knecht. He was a graduate of the Hussian School of Art in Philadelphia. An accomplished artist, he started and headed the Graphic Arts Department at Temple University until his retirement in 1987. Mr. Knecht was an Army veteran of World War II, having served in the Philippine Islands. He is survived by his wife, Henrietta W. Dotterer Knecht; a brother, William Knecht of Philadelphia; a sister, Betty Fidler of Philadelphia; stepchildren, Scott S. Dotterer III of Tokyo, Japan and Susanna E. Lipscomb of Catlett, Va.; and a step grandson, Thomas Lipscomb. A memorial service will be held Friday, January 16 at 1:30 p.m. in the Baron Rowland Funeral Home, 1059 Old Yord Rd., Abington. The family will receive friends after 1 p.m. Interment will be private. Remembrances may be sent to the charity of the donor's choice

    He was also mentioned in the Temple University staff and alumni publication:

Label on back of painting

    Knecht exhibited and sold his work, as evidenced by the label on the back of this painting. The Hussian School of Art web site emphasizes that the instructors there are also active professionals in the world of graphic design. Knecht may have incorporated this into the Graphic Arts Department at Temple University. This work is not dated, and it may also have been painted after his retirement. I have not found many mentions of his professional work and none of his fine arts work. Knecht is not listed in any major art reference source.

Knecht's signature from this painting

    William Reginald "Reggie" Watkins was born on 11 November 1890 in Manchester, England. His birth was recorded in early 1891 in Chorlton, a suburb of Manchester. Watkins declared his intent to become an American citizen on 12 November 1914. His declaration form indicated that he arrived in New York City on 12 November 1907 on the ship "Columbia". He last resided in Bristol, England and departed the UK from Glasgow, Scotland. His address in 1914 is listed as 800 Williams St., Baltimore, MD. His 17 July 1917 petition for naturalization listed his wife's name as Catherine A., born 24 October 1891, and their child as Viola Laura, born 26 January 1916. They were residing at 801 Williams St., Baltimore. Watkins took the oath to become a naturalized US citizen on 27 November 1917. I have not been able to locate Watkins in the 1910 census. He completed his WWI draft registration form in 1917. According to the form, he was living with his wife and child in Baltimore, Maryland where he was employed as a draftsman. The name of his employer is hard to read but appears to be H. P. Printing Co. Watkins and wife Catherine were living at 801 Williams St. in Baltimore in 1920, with their children Viola L., and William P. Watkins was employed as a commercial artist at that time. The Watkins family was still living in Baltimore at 801 Williams St. in 1930 where he was employed as an artist for "Tin Dec. Co.", the Tin Decorating Company. Another child, a son named Bryan, was born about 1926. Watkins' WWII draft registration indicates that he was living at 3120 Weaver Ave. in Baltimore, then married to a woman named Laura M. He was working at Owens-Illinois Can Co., but his occupation is not given. It was noted that his right arm "cannot be fully extended". His signatures from both draft registration forms are very similar to that of his estate stamp signature.
    Watkins

In progress....                 

    Lozito seems to have signed some of her work more than once. For instance the painting above is signed both "Gilda" and "Gilda Lozito. All four of these works, particularly this work and the two below suffered from what was apparently poor storage and are dirty and stained with some tears and fraying at the corners. I hope they can be cleaned. The two below were seem to have suffered the most. Both are half sheet size (15" x 22.5") and are watercolors.

    This painting is my favorite, but has suffered the most damage. It is signed with her monogram.

    These watercolors could almost be mistaken for California style watercolors. I wonder if Lozito was influenced by California artists? Lozito died in Palm Beach, FL on 12 February 2010, and her obituary appeared in the Palm Beach Post:

Lozito's signature from the still life shown above.

    Katherine M. Mallett Howe was born in Norwich, Connecticut in February 1895 a daughter of James W. and Jennie A. Mallett. James was employed as a sign painter in 1900-1910. Though aged 63 in 1920 and 73 in 1930, his occupation was listed as "Awning Maker, Awning Shop" and "Manufacture, Awnings". James was born in Nova Scotia and Jennie in Maine. James was a naturalized US citizen who came to the US in 1860. Katherine's name is sometime spelled with  a "C" in census records and her middle initial is consistently given as "M.", though it appears as "L." in other records. She was an artist, illustrator, and author. She studied at the Norwich Academy Art School, the Boston Museum Fine Arts Academy School, the Art Students League and with Philip Hale, Henry Hunt Clark, George Brant Bridgman, and John Bindrum. Katherine received a scholarship from the Boston Museum Fine Arts School in 1915. It was noted that she resided in Norwich. Her occupation in 1920 was "Art Teacher, Public School". She was a teacher at the Norwich Art School in 1928. Katherine married Marshall Victor Howe on August 25, 1928 in Norwich. The Howes were living at 504 West 136th Street in New York in 1930. Marshall's occupation was "Artist Designer, Stained Glass" and Katherine was not employed. Both later worked as artists and designers for the Norcross Company, a New York City greeting card company. Katherine also authored and illustrated children's books.  I have found numerous references to Katherine's work as an illustrator and watercolor artist. One reference notes that her work is part of the permanent collection of the Slater Museum, Norwich.
    Howe was a member of the National Association of Women Artists and the Mystic Art Association. She is mentioned in Who's Who in the East (1962), Who's Who in America (1950), Artists Directory (1928), Who Was Who in American Art by Falk, Artists as Illustrators by Castagno, and Davenport's Art Reference and Price Guide. Falk cites Mallett as a reference, but I could not find Katherine listed under either her maiden or married name.
    Katherine died on 23 September 1957 and I have found a reference to her obituary in the New York Times, though I have not been able to locate it.

    Judi Coffey is a well known Texas artist. (Bio in progress)

    Marjorie Mae "Marge" Roberts Boysen Hart was born in Kansas on 3 July 1916 a daughter of Emmett C. and Clara M. Roberts. Emmett Hart was a farmer but also very involved in rodeo and was the founder of the Strong City, Kansas Rodeo. Two of their sons, Kenneth and Gerald were World Champion rodeo cowboys. At the age of 13 Marge Roberts joined the Clyde Miller Wild West Show for the summer and returned full time after graduating from high school. She won the Woman's Bronc Riding prize at Cheyenne, Wyoming in 1940. This feat later equated to a World Championship, but took place before such a title existed. Marjorie Roberts Hart was posthumously inducted into the Cowgirl Hall of Fame in Hereford, Texas. There are several web sites that commemorate the Roberts family pioneering work in the rodeo.
    Where Marjorie received her training as an artist is not known, but she had a distinctive style. Her subject matter was typically landscapes, probably of Chase County, Kansas. All of her work that I have seen was in oils.

unnamed, M. Hart, 10" x 8", oil

    It is not known if she exhibited her work or was known as an artist. The works that I have seen have been very well done. One had a label verso that aided in her identification. She is not listed in any art reference book that I have examined, and was probably an amateur artist.

Label verso one of her works

    Marjorie Hart died on 23 April 1982 in Strong City, Kansas and is buried in the Strong City Cemetery. Her tombstone bears the inscription, "World Champion Cowgirl". She signed her work in at least two ways.

                   

    Emilie Stearns Perry was born 18 December 1873 in New Ipswich, New Hampshire a daughter of John P. and Emma R. Perry. John was a retired clergyman during the 1880 census and born in New Hampshire. Emma Perry was born in Denmark. Emilie had two brothers, John and Chauncy. John P. Perry died between 1880 and 1900 when his widow, Emma, and daughter Emilie were living together in Boston, Mass. Emilie's occupation was listed as "student". Emilie Perry studied at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts School, the Massachusetts Normal Art School, and under Max Broedel. Emma and Emilie Perry were in the 1910 Federal census of Los Angeles, CA. Emilie's occupation was listed as "Artist (Painter & Modeler). She lived and worked in Los Angeles, CA from 1909-1916 and exhibited her work at several societies and galleries. Perry copyrighted a sculpture, "Ruins of City Hall, San Francisco, Cal.", in 1914. She won silver and bronze medals at the Panama-California International Exposition in 1915. She was employed to create a bust of prominent Los Angeles educator and founder of the Los Angeles Shakespeare Club, Mrs. Kate Tupper Galpin, to commemorate her work in Shakespearian studies. The bust was placed in Stratford, England.
    Emilie was living alone in a boarding house in Baltimore, MD in 1920, occupied as a "Reconstruct Aide USA Hospital". Perry worked as a sculptor and illustrator. Her illustration work included sketches of operations during surgery at the Fort McHenry  War Hospital during WWI. She was appointed the Illustrator of Clinic Publications at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor in 1921 with an annual salary of $2000. She was listed as "Medical Illustrator, University Hospital" in the General Register of the University of Michigan in 1927.
    This painting is in the original frame and has the label from the Ann Arbor Art Association annual exhibition verso, containing the title of the painting, name of the artist, and price, $8. The painting is not signed. Emilie was a member of the Ann Arbor Art Association. Her biographical information appears in the Dictionary of Women Artists by Pettys, Who Was Who in American Art by Falk, Index of Artists by Mallett, Artists in California 1786-1940 by Hughes, Artists of Early Michigan by Gibson, American Art Directory 1927, Artists as Illustrators by Castagno, Women Artists in America: 18th Century to the Present by Collins, Dictionary of American Sculptors by Opitz, A Dictionary of American Artists, Sculptors and Engravers by Young, and Davenport's Art Reference and Price Guide.
    Emilie Perry never married. She died on 16 July 1929 in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

    Francois Blin is a French artist who specializes in naturalist subjects. He attended the Ecoles des Beaux-Arts de Rouen et de l'Ecole Camondo de Paris, from which he received a diploma. He is best known for his paintings of birds. As of mid-2009 there have been nearly 100 exhibitions of his work worldwide, including France, Japan, Canada, Korea, and the US. Mr. Blin has a web site. He is a member of the Society of French Artists. I will get a better image when time permits. The detail of this painting is incredible.

    Charles Ernest Pont was born on 6 January 1898 in St. Julien, France the son of Francoise Pont and an unknown father. His mother came to America with him on 16 May 1898 on the ship SS La Gascogne. She gave her nationality as Swiss, her occupation as teacher, and it was noted that her father had paid for her fare. Francoise reportedly abandoned her son to a German couple shortly after her arrival and in 1900 was living in Tuxedo, New York working as a "ladies maid" for a "Capitalist" couple named Walker and Maude Smith. She was born in Dec 1874, according to the census. Charles Pont was raised by the German couple until the age of 17 when he was told of his adoption, at which time he returned to using his birth name. There is an extensive biography of Pont on Wikipedia, though I have not been able to confirm all of it. It contains numerous citations of source information, though. 

    I am not sure what the notations on the back of Pont's paintings mean. Of the three fields he used the third is obviously the title, though in the case of the painting above the first two fields may have provided more helpful description information. He obviously had a system for cataloging his work.
    Both of these paintings came from a seller on ebay who purchased them at an auction in Plainville, CT. They were among several lots from the estate of Joan D. Pont, the daughter of Charles Ernest and Dorothea Ford Pont. She apparently did not marry and died in the home her father built in Wilton, CT. Charles Pont died

    Mary Elizabeth Kable was born 9 June 1911 in Portland, Oregon, the only daughter of Charles H. and Ethel M. Mackey. Her father was an architect and her mother a public librarian. She graduated from the University of Washington in 1936 with a BA in Art. She worked as a photogrammetrist for the US Army Map Service during WWII. She is mentioned in two classified books, Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing and Photogrammetric Engineering, both published by the American Society of Photogrammetry. She returned to Oregon and married Ernest J. Rubin in 1947.
    According to her family Mary  was a close friend of famous chef James Beard. This watercolor came from the portfolio of Mary Kable from her daughter, Mollie Hunt. I do not know the extent of her work as an artist.
    Mary Elizabeth Kable Rubin died on 2 October 2002 in Portland, Oregon. Her obituary appeared in the Portland Oregonian on 29 October 2009:

Mary Elizabeth Rubin
 
Mary Elizabeth Rubin died Oct. 2, 2002, at age 91.

Mary Elizabeth Kable was born June 9, 1911, in Portland. She graduated from Washington High School and
the University of Washington. During World War II, she was a photogrammetrist for the U. S. Army Map Service
in Washington, D.C., and then was a homemaker. In 1947 she married Ernest J.

Survivors include her husband; daughter, Mollie E.R. Hunt; one grandchild; and two great-grandchildren.

Private service. Arrangements by Family Memorial.

    Serge E. Rossolowsky was born 18 August 1895 in St. Petersburg, Russia. He arrived in New York City in October of 1951 aboard the USNS General W. G. Haan. Though technically a US Navy ship, the Haan was operating under control of the International Refugees Organization from 1950-1953, carrying displaced East Europeans from northern European ports to the U.S. Rossolowsky gave his destination in New York as 150 5th Avenue, as did several other passengers. This was probably some kind of temporary housing for refugees. Rossolowsky became a naturalized U. S. citizen on 8 November 1957. He was residing at 1412 Wilkins Avenue, Bronx, NY at the time. Sometime after this date Rossolowsky moved to Portland, Maine.
    Photographs of four of Mr. Rossolowsky's paintings are part of the collection of the Photographic Archives of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. One of these paintings is untitled but the other three are titled, "Old City - France", "Old Street - France", and "France - Am Rheine". This may indicate that Rossolowsky traveled to France before or after coming to the U. S. Rossolowsky is one of only two Russian artists mentioned as examples of prominent Russian-American artists in Russian Americans by Paul Robert Magocai. This book was part of the Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America and was published 14 years after the death of Rossolowsky.

    Rossolowsky overcame a very tragic life to become a prominent New York and Portland, Maine artist, though largely forgotten today. A story about his life was published in The Portland Evening Express on 11 February 1964:

    I am including the frame in the image of this painting as most of the works I have seen by Serge were only displayed in a mat. Not sure if the frame is original, but this painting came from the same source as the other paintings, so my guess is that it is original. It is also not an oil like the others but seems to be ink, gouache, and possibly acrylic.

    Jo Myers-Walker was born an Carol Jo Clymer in 1944 in Holland, Michigan. She started painting when she worked as a television illustrator at the U.S. Naval Base at Quantanamo Bay, Cuba. She graduated from Iowa State University at Ames with a BA in Art Education in 1971 and an M.S. in Art Education from Iowa State in 1980. She works in watercolor, paper, fabric, wood, and clay. This is a very early work by Myers-Walker, probably dating to about 1976, just after her divorce from her first husband, as she started painting to support herself and her three children. I spoke with her about this painting and she said it was done during a very "empty" time in her life, hence the ruined house with views through the windows to the opposite side of the house. This painting is nicely framed and backed so I have not taken it apart to photograph it, and have not been able to get a photo of it that I have been satisfied with. The colors are much brighter than shown here. Myers-Walker operates her own studio and has an extensive web site, and is also featured on the Iowa Women Artists Oral History web site. This oral history site is very cool. It contains mp3s of female artists talking about their art and their lives. As a collector I find this fascinating, as I often wonder what motivates the artists whose work I include in my collection.

    Arthur Lyall Lush was born 29 July 1907, possibly in Adelaide, Australia. He was an illustrator and painter and also did ink line drawings. All of the works by Lush that I have seen are watercolors or ink and watercolors, though I have been contacted by other people who have works by him in oil. It is also possible the he painted in acrylics. Lush was married to Edith Jean Hilton about 1938 in Adelaide, Australia. Lush had a business there and also worked as a minister. A. Lyall Lush operated Lush Studios in Adelaide in the 1930s and 1940s, publishing children's books and Christian children's comics, which he illustrated. The Lushes moved to Seattle, Washington in the late 1940s and both were involved in Christian ministries there. Both became published authors, though Jean Lush was more prominent in that respect, writing several self-help books for women.

    Lush continued to work as an illustrator and artist in Seattle, though was primarily occupied in Christian ministries. He was in some way connected with both Seattle Pacific College, now Seattle Pacific University, and CRISTA Ministries. I have seen one reference to him as A. Lyall Lush D.D., no doubt Doctor of Divinity. One reference suggests that he was a professor at Seattle Pacific College and another that he was a "Bible college president". One of Jean Lush's books mentions his work as a minister in Australia during WWII.  Lyall and Jean Lush were well known citizens of Seattle during the time I resided there from 1979-1992, though I was not familiar with them then.  I lived within walking distance of Seattle Pacific University for 11 years.

    I was contacted by both a daughter and granddaughter of Lush, who found this web site. I was told that Mr. Lush exhibited his work in numerous public shows and also exhibited at a gallery in Seattle. His home also had a gallery and people came to his home to view and purchase artwork. Lush created the drawing above while on a trip to Alaska with his son, David. They found an abandoned Russian community where this church was located. Lush is not mentioned in any major art reference book.
    A. L. Lush died on 11 April 1991 in Edmonds, WA. Jean Lush died on 4 June 1996 in Edmonds, WA.

    Angela Moulton is a artist who recently moved from Chicago to the Pratt Creek Ranch in Salmon, Idaho. She has been plaiting for about five years. She paints a lot of small but lively paintings like the one above.

"Sleeping Cat #4", Angela Moulton, 8" x 8", oil

    Her preferred medium is oils. but she also works in watercolor, fabric, and wood. She sells her work on ebay using the id prattcreekart.

"Prickly Perch", Angela Moulton, 5" x 7", oil

    Phyllis E. Blair was born in New York in 1923. She is a teacher and painter in oils, acrylics, and watercolors and studied at the Art Student's League in New York City, Skidmore College, and Westminster College. She first worked as an illustrator for General Electric and later as a fine artist and sculptor in bronze and marble. Her artist statement says, in part, "my main objective is to transmit a mood which in turn determines the techniques and medium". She was living in New Castle, PA in the 1990s and early 2000s where she served on the board of the Hoyt Institute of Fine Arts. Blair donated a large oil painting titled "Midtown Manhattan, 1975" to the Butler Institute of American Art in 1983. This painting and her biography were used in a series of art books for grade school children. She helped to found the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D. C. Blair exhibited at The Butler Institute of American Art, Hoyt Institute of Fine Arts, and Westminster College. Blair moved to the Sweetwood Retirement Community in Berkshire County, MA about 2004, where she continues teach and pursue her art. Blair was active as late as 2006 when her work was exhibited at museums and galleries in Delray Beach and Palm Beach, Florida. This painting was framed by M. Thomas framers in New Castle, PA according to the label verso.

    Patt Hammond is a Florida artist who works in oils. She is a member of the Tampa Bay Plein Air Painters and of Plein Air Florida. She told me that most of her work is fanciful. Note how the tree in the yard in the painting above grows into the house. The painting below, she said, is one of her few "straight" works.

    Gerard "Jerry" Salinas was born in East Chicago, Indiana in 1967. He attended the Art Institute of Chicago briefly, before attending the American Academy of Art where he studied painting and illustration. He graduated with a Fine Arts degree. He subsequently worked as a storyboard artist and illustrator for several Chicago agencies. He kept his interest in fine art alive by joining the Palette and Chisel Academy of Fine Arts. There, he painted with artists including Romel del la Torre, Clayton J. Beck III, and others. Jerry has a web site and blog. He currently lives and works in Scottsdale, Arizona.

    John Thomason was born on 14 December 1903 in the Bronx, New York City of an English father and a German mother. His parents were Samuel and Hedwig A. “Hattie” Koch Thomason. Samuel was a successful bricklayer who died between 1920 and 1930. The family was well off enough to have a live-in maid in 1910 and 1920. John was still living at home in 1930, the oldest son in the household. He was a laborer working as a bricklayer at the time as were his two younger brothers. This identification is possible because, in addition to signing his name on the back of one of his oils, he also included his address, 1559 Undercliff Avenue, an address found in the Bronx, New York. The family was residing there in 1920 and 1930 during the censuses.

Signature from "S B Ranch"

        Thomason’s is sometimes confused with John William Thomason Jr., a career Marine Corps officer who was also a writer, artist, and illustrator. I sent images of these paintings and signatures to the Special Collections Librarian at the Newton Library at Sam Houston State University, JWT Jr.’s alma mater. The Library has over 2,000 examples of his work in their collection. The librarian assured me that the work and signature of John Thomason were very different than that of JWT Jr. Judging by the examples that I have seen, the work of John Thomason, the subject of this biography, is much more sophisticated than the work of JWT Jr., who's art seems to be mostly drawings, illustrative sketch work, and a small amount of watercolors mostly used as cover art for his books. To further confuse identification, both men studied at the Art Students League in New York City.

"Johnson Foundry Homes", John Thomason, 15" x 9.5", oil

    John Thomason is listed in Davenport’s Art Reference and Price Guide as a 20th Century New York artist. John Thomason is mentioned in Falk’s Who Was Who in American Art, 3 volumes edition, but I have not yet had the opportunity to examine Falk’s work, so do not known which John Thomason it is. John Thomason was one of six artists who were featured in an exhibition of oils and watercolors called “Exhibition of Paintings by a Group of Six” at a New York gallery, Barbizon-Plaza Art Galleries in 1941. The other artists were David Jacobson, T. Oscar Maine, Arthur Tilgner, Oscar Ralph Weidhass, and Edward Sunquist. This show ran from 22 September – 20 October 1941. All of these artists were active in New York City in the 1940s, though none seem to have gained enduring notoriety.
    Thomason received his early training as an artist in New York City high schools. He also studied at the National Academy of Design, Art Students League, Rochester Institute of Technology, and University of Rochester Memorial Art Gallery under Fritz Trautman. In 1963 Thomason went to Rochester, NY to teach at the newly opened Monroe Community College. He later became the Director of Art there and retired in 1970. His home and studio were on Conesus Lake in Geneseo, NY. His biography appears in Scenes of Monroe and Ontario Counties Past and Present by Anne Peacock-Jacobs. Thomason was active in the Rochester Art Club and Geneseo artists' groups. He exhibited in Rochester and New York City.
    John Thomason died in January of 1985 in Geneseo, New York.
  

    Tom Cox is a watercolor artist and resident of Sunapee, New Hampshire. He is a native of North Carolina where he graduated from North Carolina State University with a degree in Architecture. Tom has a web site and also sells his art on ebay under the id of onefamilyart.

"Trap line", Tom Cox, 8" x 10", watercolor




"Tug", Tom Cox, 8" x 10", watercolor

    Radek Vizina is a painter who lives in London, Ontario, Canada. He is an instructor at The ARTS Project in London and for the continuing education program at the University of Western Ontario. He was profiled in the September issue of Artscape a monthly London art magazine. His art varies from abstract to surreal to realism. He describes himself as primarily a contemporary realist who is still searching for his voice. He strives to "provoke thought in the viewer, have them question what is being said".  That is what attracted me to this painting.

    Elayne Moseley was born in Texas and attended Texas Christian University where she graduated with a BFA in Secondary Art Education. She taught junior high school and high school art in Houston, Texas for five years before relocating to Aurora, Colorado where she continued to teach as a substitute art teacher for eight years. She is a member of the Plein Air Artists of Colorado and a member and past President of the Colorado Artists Guild. She has a web site and is represented in several galleries. I really like the colors in the top painting and the way the artist captured the grace and mood of the subject. When I went back and read artist's comment she wrote "I liked the elegance and simple beauty of the model", so I guess I "got it".
    The artist had the following to say about her motivation for the painting below:

    Sylvia Belle Maxey was born 16 June 1921 in Springfield, Missouri, a daughter of Lloyde Edwin and Anna Belle Wilson Maxey. She was  an artist and art educator. She received a Bachelor of Art degree from Southwest Missouri State University in 1942 and a M. S. Ed. degree from the University of Kansas in 1948. She worked as an art teacher and administrator from kindergarten through the university level. Maxey was the Art Coordinator for the Poudre School District in Colorado for  28 years and also at Colorado State University for 3 years. She was a member of the National Art Education Association and received the Colorado State Educator award from that organization in 1982. She was a charter member of the Poudre Valley Art League, which later became the Northern Colorado Art Association of which she was an honorary member. Maxey was a life member of the Colorado Art Education Association. In retirement she continued to teach art classes.

     Maxey is mentioned in American Art Directory (1980), Patterson's American Education (1954), and Art Theory and Practice by Bayles.
    Maxey died 11 August 2008 at her home in Ft. Collins, CO. Her obituary appeared in the Ft. Collins Coloradoan:

    Sylvia Belle Maxey, 87, of Fort Collins, died Aug. 11, 2008, at her residence.
Sylvia was born June 16, 1921, in Springfield, Mo., to Lloyde Edwin Maxey and Anna Belle Wilson Maxey. Sylvia received her Bachelor's Degree in Art from Southwest Missouri State College in Springfield, Mo., in 1942. She then received her Masters Degree from the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kan., in 1948.
    Sylvia was an art teacher and administrator for 40 years from kindergarten through college. She was the Art Coordinator for the Poudre School District for 28 years and three years at Colorado State University.
    She was a charter member of Poudre Valley Art League (now the Northern Colorado Art Association,) a life member of the Colorado Art Education Association, and National Charter Member of Alpha Delta Kappa in Fort Collins. Sylvia was also a member of American Baptist Church. Sylvia was a volunteer at The Worthington Apartments, leading a painting class. She enjoyed traveling, photography, water color painting, and spending time with nature in the "Great Outdoors."
    Survivors include a sister, Charlotte Braly of Sedona, Ariz. Preceding Sylvia in death are her parents and two sisters, Barbara Embry and Rosemary Thompson. A Memorial Service will be held at 10 a.m. today at American Baptist Church, 600 S. Shields. A Private Interment will be held at Grandview Cemetery. Pastor Bill Prather will officiate at the service.

    Robert "Bob" Karsten was born 17 April 1943 in New York, a son of Erna Karsten. At 22 Karsten earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, majoring in painting with a minor in sculpture and intaglio printmaking. He graduated Cum Laude in 1965, then in 1967 earned a Masters degree at the Maryland Institute College of Art Huffberger School of Painting, again majoring in painting with a minor in intaglio printmaking. Karsten was a tall man, about six foot four, and slender of build at about 220 lbs. He was an Olympic-style weightlifter and much of the information below comes from a weightlifting acquaintance who met Karsten in Louisiana and became a friend of both Karsten and his mother for many years.

unnamed, Robert Karsten, 14" x 11", oil on masonite panel, 1965

    Karsten was as an Associate Professor in the School of Art at Louisiana Tech University, starting in 1968, teaching painting and drawing,
including figure drawing and anatomy, as well as graduate courses in painting. About 1984 he relocated to Red Lion, Pennsylvania where he worked as an fine artist. Karsten was a painter in oils and pastels, and an illustrator. He had a "massive fascination" with trucks, trains, and horse racing and painted those things. Among other subjects, he created a series of semi truck paintings in pastels and lithographs that were created from his original oil paintings. He was commissioned by a hobby shop, Trainmaster of Montgomery, located in Montgomery, Alabama, to paint a series of paintings for lithographs of well known trains. These lithographs are now very sought after by train afficianados. He was also commissioned by Wither's Publishing to do covers for two books about trains, Norfolk & Western Volume 1 and Volume 2. Karsten did a book cover for a book about Seaborn Air Lines trains for an author named Warren Calloway. The first painting above reminds me a bit of the "flatscape" style of Harold Gregor.

"Study for 'In Harmony'", Robert Karsten, 8" x 12", casein on masonite panel, 1966

    Karsten did not marry and his only relatives were his mother and a childless aunt and uncle on his mother's side. His mother and sister came to the US about 1918 from Germany at the end of WWII. They all settled in York, PA. Karsten did not know his father. Karsten's aunt and uncle died in York County, and later his mother died there, too. Karsten lived with his mother for many years both in Pennsylvania and Louisiana. Robert Karsten apparently became despondent upon the death of this mother and possibly due to a diagnosis of macular degeneration which resulted in him taking his own life.
    Robert Karsten died 16 August 1996 in York, PA.

    Walter Lynn Mosley was born in 1960 in Hattiesburg, Mississippi and now lives in Brooklyn, NY. He received a BA in Art from San Jose State University and attended the Art Student's League. He studied under Bob Gerbracht, Maynard Stewart, and Frank Mason. He is a member of the Salmagundi Club, fellow of the American Artists Professional League, and a signature member of the New York Plein Air Painters. I like that every painting he does seems to be personal and unique to him, and he explains the location, context, and intent of the work as he did for this painting:

    Mr. Mosley has a website and a blog. He sells his work under the ebay id of wlmartist. He does daily paintings and sells them on ebay, many of them plein air, as the painting above is. Capturing light is one of his motivations and one of the things that strongly draws me to his work.

    Mosley also included a short paragraph about his motivation for this painting which is another thing that attracts me to his work. Even though these are plein air oil, which he paints every day, he takes the time to share his motivations and other interesting information. It is easy to see that he cares about his work and is just not cranking out "a painting a day":

"This was painted just this past summer, in Hyde Park, a National Park, and once the estate of the Vanderbilt family. On the grounds are some of the most exceptional trees to be found in the United States. Prior to the Vanderbilts taking over the area, another wealthy land owner landscaped the area, therefore the trees are several hundred years old and are among the largest of their species in the United States. To read more about the history of the grounds and there trees, and to see a picture of the purple beech tree in the painting itself, click here.

The purple beech gets it's name by the fact that the leaves can take on a deep hue of red-purple. I was drawn to this scene, the composition, by the majesty of the tree itself. In the background, a family of Indian origin picnic on the ground, a standing female figure can be seen with a colorful long flowing pink gown that the women of India are known for. The figures were quickly jotted down in the field (with no further manipulation later in the studio.)"

"Winter Shadows", Walter Mosley, 11" x 14", oil, 2007

    An example of a winter painting without snow. WLM had this to say about this one:

"This was a demonstration for a student and has the quality of spontaneity of a work done in one sitting, all at once - "alla prima". It is a copy of a work by John Singer Sargent, his portrait of Jean Joseph Marie Carries. In the original Sargent signed his name along withe sitter's on the top of the canvas (with the back of the brush) and I likewise signed my copy with "Mosley a/Sargent" in the upper right."

    Saul Hanig was born 3 November 1914 in Scranton, Pennsylvania the son of Hungarian Jewish immigrants Benjamin and Matilda Feuerstein Hanig. Benjamin Hanig worked as cap maker in Scranton for many years after immigrating to the US by way of New York City on 15 June 1902. Saul was in his family's home in 1920 and 1930. His name was given as "Solomon" in 1930. He had four sisters. Mr. Hanig married a woman named Theresa who was 2 years his senior. She died in Wilmington, Delaware on 15 December 2005. The paintings in my collection came from a sale of her possessions that was held at Kemblesville, PA. Prior to this sale the family donated about thirty of Hanig's paintings to the University of Delaware.

Saul Hanig, New Castle, Delaware, ca 1968

(photo by Harvey Hanig)

    I was able to locate the son of Saul and Theresa Hanig who has provided information that I am including in this biography. I have not been able to discover where Hanig trained as an artist, but he studied under Nicolo Cortigilia, Roy C. Nuse, and Rosell Weidner according to his biography from an exhibition at the Delaware Art Museum in 1966. According to Hanig's son, his father had a scholarship to a university to study art, but did not attend. Mr. Hanig's son believes that his father was largely self taught, though I suspect he did attend some institution where he received formal training, but he probably did not graduate. Saul Hanig moved to Wilmington, Delaware about 1941 where he was employed as a sign painter in the advertising department of the Hercules Powder Company. He exhibited at the Everhart Museum, Delaware Art  Museum, Baltimore Museum of Art, the Warehouse Gallery, and the University of Delaware. Mr. Hanig's son remembers that his father also had several one man shows. Hanig's work is part of the permanent collection of the University of Delaware. A 1942 edition of American Artist magazine notes that Hanig had won second prize in a pencil drawing competition.

    Hanig is not listed in any major art reference book that I have searched. Judging by the list of his teachers I believe that Hanig may have attended the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts for a time. If so, he probably attended between 1935 and 1940. I really like the colors that he uses, and the sense of motion in some of his works. I normally do not like seeing pencil lines in watercolors, as they are usually just a guide for the artist, but in Mr. Hanig's work I feel they are part of the action of the works.
   

    Zaidee Lincoln Morrison was born 12 November 1872 in Skowhegan, Maine, the daughter of Lucius L. and Stella E. Morrison. Her father was a merchant and rug manufacturer and her mother a teacher. Her mother was deceased by 1900 and she was living with her father, brother, and sister and already occupied as a artist. Her sister was a school teacher and her brother was attending college, so she apparently had financial advantages that allowed her to pursue a career as an artist. Lucius Morrison was aged 78 in 1910, still living in Skowhegan and still proprietor of a rug factory, with all three of his children and an unmarried sister in his home. It does not appear that any of the Morrison children married. Zaidee was still listed as an artist, her brother a violin instructor and her sister an "accompanist, piano". Zaidee was on her own in 1920, living at the Art Students League on West 57th in Manhattan, New York City. Her immediate neighbors were William J. Whittemore, Ilse Bischoff, Charles Avery Aiken, Margery Hawley, and several other well known artists. Many successful artists were her student peers in 1920.
    Morrison worked as a painter and illustrator. She studied at the Cooper Union Art School, National Academy of Design, Art Students League, and was a student of Frank DuMond, John Henry Twachtman, William Merritt Chase, and R. H. Nichols. She exhibited widely and her work is part of the permanent collections of Mt. Holyoke College, the History House of Skowhegan, the Smithsonian Institute, Boston University, and the Municipal Gallery in New York City. She is listed in Dictionary of Women Artists by Petteys, Who Was Who in American Art by Falk,  Mallett's Index of Artists, Dictionary of American Painters, Sculptors, and Engravers by Fielding, and Davenports Art Reference and Price Guide.

    I am guessing at the title of this painting. There is a partial label attached to the back of the painting with just enough of the title remaining to suggest it is "Morning Glories". Morrison also wrote her name and address on the back of the painting which appears to be in the original frame. Zaidee Morrison died on 29 August 1953.

    James W. House is a watercolor artist who lives in West Memphis, Arkansas which is near Memphis, Tennessee. I found this small painting on ebay. I like small paintings and am a sucker for winter scenes. I like the way that the background seems to disappear into the snow and darkness in this one. There is a business card taped to the back that has the artist's name, address and telephone number, and the text "Paintings by Commission". The telephone number contains an old area code, but the same number with a new area code was in whitepages.com. I was able to contact Mr. House and spoke briefly with him about my interest in his career and desire to obtain biographical information about him for this web site. I gave him the URL for my home page and my email address, but he did not contact me again. Mr. House is not listed in any major art reference book and a Google search did not yield any information about his work as an artist. He may no longer be active. He is listed as over the age of 65 in various on line directories. I have not had a chance to take this out of the frame to re-mat and re-back it yet. I'll get a decent photo when I do.

    Mayo Sorgman was born 29 March 1912 in Brockton, Massachusetts, the son of Swedish immigrants Max and Lena Sorgman. He was a watercolor painter, designer, teacher, and art educator. Sorgman graduated from the Massachusetts College of Art (MCA), and studied at the Parsons School of Design and Kansas Art Museum, before obtaining a Masters degree at New York University. After graduating from MCA, he took a teaching job with the Stamford Connecticut School Systems and later became the head of the Art Department there. After completing his Master's degree he wrote an art education book, Brush and Palette: Painting Techniques for Young Adults, which became a popular high school text book which was reprinted five times. I have a copy in my library.
    He is mentioned in Contemporary Authors by Gale Research, Davenports Art Reference and Price Guide, and Who Was Who in American Art by Falk. Sorgman was member of the Connecticut Watercolor Society, Rockport Art Association, and Eastern Art Association. He exhibited widely.
    Sorgman died on 13 September 2006 in Harwich, Massachusetts. His obituary appeared in the 22 September edition of the Cape Cod Times, Hyannis, MA:

Mayo Sorgman, 94

Well-known painter; influential arts educator

    HARWICH - Mayo Sorgman, 94, died in his home Sept. 13.
     He was the husband of Eleanor Rashbaum Sorgman for 58 years.
     Born and raised in Brockton, Mr. Sorgman was a veteran of World War II. After the war he became an influential arts educator. He taught and lectured at Silverman College of Art in Stamford, Conn., as well as in adult education programs.
     In 1965 he published a book of painting techniques for young adults, ''Brush and Palette: Painting Techniques for Young Adults,'' which became a popular high school text. Mr. Sorgman's paintings were widely shown, most notably in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico; Santa Fe, N.M.; and throughout New England.
     His most recent museum exhibition showcased his watercolors from the 1940s and 1950s at the Cape Ann historical Association in Gloucester. In 2003, a retrospective of Mr. Sorgman's work was displayed at the Cape Cod Museum of Fine Arts in Dennis.
     In 1997, Mr. Sorgman and his wife began living year-round in their Harwich summer house. He was painting lyrical, semi-abstract Cape Cod landscapes at the time.
     Besides his wife, survivors include a son, Bram Sorgman of Chapel Hill, N.C.; a daughter, Dara Mark of Lamy, N.M.; three grandchildren and six nieces.

    Betty K. Walker is a Clinton, South Carolina artist who works in watercolors. She is a signature member of the American Watercolor Society, National Watercolor Society, Georgia Watercolor Society, South Carolina Watercolor Society, and other societies. She has exhibited at all of the societies listed above and also at the South Carolina State Fair and other places. She is a well known South Carolina artist. I am attempting to contact her to obtain more complete biographical information.
    I have not had time to make a decent image of this painting. What I used above was heavily modified image supplied by the seller. It was  not square so I used GIMP to alter it. I'll get a better image when I can. Any information about this artist would be appreciated.

    Nathan "Nate" Dunn was born 4 July 1896 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Polish/Russian parents, Israel and Edith "Ida" Dunn. Israel Dunn was a dry goods peddler in 1900 and immigrated in 1890, becoming a naturalized US citizen in 1895. Nate was painter in oils and watercolors and began his career in Uniontown, PA and later settled in Sharon, PA before 1930. He taught for ten years at the Girls Buhl School in Sharon. He was an early member of the Associated Artists of Pittsburgh and a member of the Royal Society of Art. He studied at the Carnegie Institute of Technology with Arthur Sparks, Alfred Taylor, and George Sotter. Dunn was known as a Pennsylvania Modernist and is thought to have been associated with the Pennsylvania Impressionists of the New Hope School. His teacher, George Sotter, was definitely associated with the Pennsylvania Impressionists. Dunn exhibited widely, including yearly at the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh, and his work is part of the permanent collections of the Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown, Ohio and the Carnegie Institute of Technology. His work was included in the Vincent Price Collection.
    Dunn is mentioned in Who's Who in American Art (1973-1984), Who Was Who in American Art by Falk, and Davenport's Art Reference and Price Guide.
    Dunn was in the habit of going to Cape Cod to paint for two or three weeks each summer. He was married to a woman named Beatrice who died in January of 1983. Nate Dunn died in November 1983 in Sharon, PA. I found a record of the arrival of Nate and Beatrice Dunn from Hamilton, Bermuda on 8 February 1926, a trip that may have been their honeymoon.

    Mark Matson is a Maine artist who was born in Massachusetts. He is a painter in oils and watercolors, and also draws in pen and ink, and pencil. He works as a historical artist and illustrator. Some his Native American illustrations were used in a Smithsonian exhibition in 2004. Matson received a degree in scientific illustration and museum exhibition from the University of Alaska Anchorage where he  studied under Hugh McPeck and Dee  Boyles. I like his use of color and knowledge of anatomy that allows him to really imbue his work with a sense of life and motion.

    Brandon Newton is a Fredericksburg, Virginia artist who was born in Clearwater, Florida. He paints in oils. Brandon attended Virginia Commonwealth University where he was a student of Durwood Dommisse. In addition to painting, he operates an interior design and home improvement business in Fredericksburg. More of his work may be seen at his business web site and his painting-a-day web site.

    Miriam Schulman is a New York artist who works in oils and watercolors. She received a BA from Dartmouth and a Masters degree from M.I.T. She studied under New Jersey artists Elise Morenon and Mel Stabin. Miriam works as a professional artist and is a member of The Connecticut Society of Portrait Artists, Mamaroneck Artists Guild, the Scarsdale Art Association, and Greenwich Art Society. She has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions. More of her work may be viewed on her web site.
   

"Vanity", Miriam Schulman, 7" x 10", watercolor

    What first attracted me to these watercolors were the colors and the loose style of them, though I also struggled a bit with the same looseness. Then I felt that they captured a sense of life and vitality that contradicts the suspended motion of the subjects in them. I like that.

"Sleeping Tabby", Miriam Schulman, 7" x 10.75", watercolor

    Harriett Curtin Ermentrout was born 26 November 1915 in Philadelphia, PA the daughter of Allen Sheldon and Theresa B. Ermentrout. Her father worked in the leather trade for many years. Her mother died between 1920 and 1930 and her father remarried and moved to Bucks County, PA. Harriet is an artist in watercolors, oils, pastels, pen, and pencil but prefers watercolors. She studied interior design at the Moore Institute of Art, and also studied with Roy Nuse, John Pike, Ranulph Bye, and Ed Whitney. Ermentrout is a member of the Philadelphia Sketch Club and exhibited at the Woodmere Art Museum and other places. She is a resident of Bucks County, PA and best known for painting Bucks County scenes of buildings and landscapes. She was still exhibiting her work in her nineties. Her signature is very consistent on all of the paintings I have seen, and I suspect that she uses a stamp.

    Louis Kinney Harlow was born 28 March 1850 in Wareham, MA, son of Ivory Hovey Harlow and Mary Kinney. He was educated at the Pierce Academy, Middleboro, MA and Phillips Academy, Andover, MA. He married Julia A. Coombs in 1873 in Middleboro, MA. Harlow worked as a watercolor artist from 1875. He also worked as an illustrator and book designer, most notably for the L. Prang & Co., Fine Art Publishers of Boston. His works were reproduced by many leading publishing houses of the time in England and Germany. Harlow resided in Newton, MA, Dedham, MA and Brooklyn, MA with offices in Boston, MA. He traveled and painted extensively in the US and Canada. He seems to have signed his work several ways, i.e., monogram LKH, L. K. Harlow, Louis K. Harlow, Louis Kinney Harlow, etc.
    Harlow was mentioned in Marquis' Who's Who in America 1903-1905. John W. Leonard ed., Marquis' Who Was Who in America 1943, Who Was Who in American Art by Falk, and Davenport's Art Reference and Price Guide. Harlow exhibited at the Boston Art Club from 1883 through 1894, the Jordan Gallery (Jordan Marsh Department Store), and at the Newton Club in Newtonville, MA.
    Harlow may have changed the spelling of his name, as it is spelled “Lewis” in the 1850-1870 censuses. Harlow died before 1920. His wife was a widow in 1920 census. I have seen one death date of 1913 for him. The style of his work seems to have varied greatly. I have seen everything from very loose impressionist style watercolors to those done in a realistic, almost photographic style.
    This painting has a bit of mat burn that I may or may not mat out. It came in an amazing period frame and wavy glass, but it is so huge that I have decided to re-frame it. I show it mat burn and all here.
    It appears that someone may have been cranking out counterfeit Louis K. Harlow paintings like the one shown below. The work is very crude compared to that of Louis Kinney Harlow. I purchased the painting below for a small amount on ebay and sent an image of it to a knowledgeable collector of his work and his opinion was that it was definitely not by Louis Kinney Harlow, though it is signed "L. K. Harlow, Loretto, Toronto '10". After looking at many of Louis Kinney Harlow's works, I have to agree. At first I thought maybe this was a coincidence of names, but later several other nearly identical paintings surfaced, some signed "Louis K. Harlow", "Louis Harlow", etc. Other paintings in the same style and with some variation of signatures have also surfaced. Most appear to be old so are probably not recently created. I now believe that these are outright fakes meant to fool buyers.

    Paulo J. Mendes was born in Porto, Portugal in September 1965. He worked as a layout illustrator at a phone book company until 2001 when he began to work as a ceramic wall tile painter. He started to paint in watercolors in his spare time in 2001, usually large paintings of abandoned traditional Portuguese houses which are a passion of his. The complex, battered surfaces of these old houses challenged him to learn techniques for realistically reproducing them in watercolor. While rewarding, these larger paintings were very time consuming to complete, usually amounting to only a handful of paintings each year as they were done in his spare time and very detailed. Starting in late 2007 Mr. Mendes began painting smaller paintings, typically of fanciful scenes created from his memory and imagination. He especially likes to reproduce the types of architecture and scenes that are rapidly disappearing from his country due to modernization. He decided to try selling his work on ebay and has been very successful.

    As you can see from the paintings in my collection Mr. Mendes' work remains detailed and charming. I like his work very much. Each one seems to tell a story, to provide a glimpse into every day Portuguese life. I discover something new I hadn't noticed before almost every time I examine one of these paintings. I also like the color palette that he uses. I will get more detailed photographs of these paintings as time permits.

     Mr. Mendes has a blog though it is primarily devoted to photographs of the types of scenery that inspires him to paint. His ebay id is pjorge1808, in case you would like to see more of his work.

"Bunch of grasses", Paulo J. Mendes, 5" x 7", watercolor

    This painting is an experiment. I frequently browse through ebay painting auctions to learn about different artists, styles of painting, look for sleepers and bargains, etc., and one of the things that I am forced to wade through are the thousands of paintings from China and other places. I typically just blow by them but became curious and spent a couple of hours going through a fraction of the 3,000 paintings on the ebay site of one of the companies that sell Chinese art. These paintings start at $9.99, so I thought I'd satisfy my curiosity and buy one and see if a) these are a scam and b) if there are any good paintings to be had for little money. I finally settled on this artist out of the many that the company was selling. Though you can not see it in this painting the artist does a very nice job of painting hands. What you can see is that he also does a nice job with torsos and often, but not always, with faces. I really liked the play of light and shadow in this one, and also the colors. Oh yeah, and the naked chick.
    This artist is named Zhangbo and the web site says that he is a 1996 graduate of the Art Department of the Academy of Art and Design of  Tsinghua University in Beijing. I checked and this school really exists and has an extensive web site to boot. The ebay site says that Zhangbo is contracted to the company and is a professional artist with 15 years of experience. I have not received this painting yet, but I hope it will be worth the $9.99 I paid for it and the $20 shipping. The site swears that this is a hand painted oil painting signed by the artist, and I hope to be pleasantly surprised, but expect to get what I paid for. I'll add an update when I receive the painting. Oh, by the way, this seller has perfect feedback and several hundred completed auctions. Wish me luck!

UPDATE: Above are the images of the painting pictured on the ebay auction site on the left and the painting I received on the right. The colors in the painting I received are closer to the ebay image than I captured with my camera. I may try to get another image to show this. The first thing I noted when the painting arrived was that it was not on a stretcher, but rolled up in a triangular box. Upon opening it, it became obvious that this was a new painting, the smell of oil paint was overpowering and it had obviously not cured. Next I noticed that the painting was not on canvas but what appeared to be burlap. There was a layer of some type of clear plastic over the painting to keep the rolled painting from sticking to the burlap. At first glance it appeared to be very similar to the original, but I decided to have it stretched before making a close examination (Hobby Lobby did a fair job for $32 including tax). After it was stretched, I took a photo so that I could compare it in detail to the original.
    There are some marked differences between the original and the copy that I received. Most notable is the fact that there is considerably less detail in the copy. This is most noticeable in the flowers, shadows, and eyes. The woman's features are different, possibly more Caucasian in the copy, and there is a muscular vertical line down the copy's stomach and a more pronounced crease at the pelvis. There are other small differences. Because the painting was not cured there were numerous small pieces of debris embedded in the painting, most of which I have been able to remove. A few are too deeply embedded, and I fear that I will remove paint if I try to remove them. I am going to try again when the painting has cured more. All in all, I think this painting is striking and worth what I paid for it, though I am not sure that it suits my tastes, yet. I'll start looking for a thrift shop frame, since this is on a standard sized stretcher, and hope to put less than $75 total into this painting. I am struggling with the fact that this is a very large painting compared to what I normally buy. I tend to like smaller paintings and I am not sure if I am going to like this painting in the long run, but am going to give it a chance. I wish it was about half the size that it is or less.
    I contacted the seller to express my concerns that their description of this item did not include the fact that it was not on a stretcher and that it would be copy. I also expressed concern about whether or not it was copied by the original artist. I received a very contrite reply apologizing for the omissions, assuring me that the copy was created by the original artist and that they would not omit this information in future item descriptions. I am monitoring their auctions to see if they comply. This seller has a wide range of offerings from landscapes, ethnic scenes, and both tasteful and somewhat raunchy nudes. Most of the paintings seem to be large. Perhaps it is easier to copy these large paintings? If you are looking for sofa art or inexpensive large original art this may not be a bad option.

    Mrs. Ruth Lotan was born in 1917. Her maiden name is not known. She attended the Indiana State Teacher's College, working her way as a commercial artist. She was a member of the Illinois Art Association where she exhibited in Chicago. While in Chicago she studied under Frederick Mizen and  Phil Schroeder of the Chicago Art Institute. It was probably in Chicago that she met her future husband artist Lotan Welshans, also known as Lotan Lotan. The Lotans moved to Arizona where she committed suicide at Cave Creek in 1971.

    Lotan Lotan was born Lotan Welshans 19 June 1905 in Danville, Hendricks County, Indiana the only child of Samuel Alfred Welshans and Anna L. Jenkins. The Welshans relocated to Bayonne, New Jersey where Samuel was employed in a mail order house. By 1918 the Welshans were living in Maywood, Cook County, IL and Samuel was a sales and office manager for the Reuben A. Donnelly Corporation where he worked until at least 1930. His mother was an invalid by 1930 and Lotan's occupation at that time in the census was given as "takes care of mother". Lotan attended the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts, though he did not graduate. I have seen a claim that he completed 2500 hours of coursework in two years, though that is hard to believe. He may have worked as a commercial artist in Chicago as examples of advertising art signed Lotan Welshans are known to exist as are some WPA era paintings. He made many false claims about his life before moving to Arizona in 1952 but it is thought that he served in the Navy during WWII and briefly operated an art school in Chicago. He arrived in Arizona with his girlfriend, Ruth, and they were later married and used the last name Lotan. When Ruth became terminally ill in 1971 they made a suicide pact which Ruth kept and Lotan failed to keep. He lived in Prescott, AZ until 1985 teaching painting and painting.  He died in the Pioneers Home in Prescott.
    The Lotan painting in my collection may have been a study for a larger work as there is a notation on back scaling this painting to a size nearly four times a big. Most of his work that I have seen is much more surreal than this painting. Lotan was sometimes called "the Dali of the Desert".

    Herman Rednick was born Hyman Rednick in Philadelphia, PA on 2 March 1902 a son of Russian Jewish immigrants, Joseph and Anna Rednick. Joseph and Anna were married about 1896 and moved to England by 1898 where their first child, Meyer, was born. The Rednicks emigrated to the US in 1898 or 1899 but do not appear in the 1900 census which may indicate that Rednick is an Anglicized version of the original family name. The Rednick family moved to the Bronx, New York by 1918 and Hyman started using the name Herman there. He graduated with honors from the National Academy of Art in New York City and worked as a commercial artist. Rednick is listed in Who Was Who in American Art by Falk, and in Davenport's Art Reference and Price Guide. Later in life Rednick developed an interest in meditation and spiritualism for which he became well known. He often created paintings meant to assist his students in meditation as I suspect was the case with the painting above. Rednick died in April of 1985 in Taos, New Mexico.

     Albert Hopkins was born in New Jersey in 1947 and is a New Mexico artist who paints in oils. Hopkins studied at the New York Art Student's League and Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art. To me his paintings really capture the vibrancy of nature using light and color. Check out his web site for some really beautiful southwest paintings.

"Rio Grande Gorge Late Afternoon Sunset", Albert Hopkins, 18" x 24", oil

    His work was recently featured in Southwest Art Magazine, so I am not alone in my my appreciation for his paintings. I found the small painting, "Cloud Shadows", on ebay in a very low key presentation with no reference to Mr. Hopkins name, training, or resume and was immediately struck by the quality of the work. After purchasing it I was not surprised to find out that the artist is so accomplished. This was painted in Portugal. I'm sorry that my old digital camera can not do it justice. I'll copy this one and the paintings below from my collection again when I upgrade my camera.  I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to be able to collect several of Mr. Hopkin's paintings at one time.

    The image of the Rio Grande gorge shown here was reproduced by Mr. Hopkins after I admired the original. They were both done en plein air but in different seasons so ended up being quite different in composition.

    There was a bit of glare on the paintings when I photographed them that was not apparent until I started working on them with the Gimp, so I'll get some better images of them when time permits. One nice thing about the size of the 8x10s is that it is very easy to find thrift shop frames for them!

    Robert E. "Hans" Kline was born  4 Oct 1924. He studied at Assumption College, Windsor, Ontario (BA),  Wayne State University, Detroit, Detroit Society of Arts and Crafts, and Cranbrook Academy of Art (MA). Kline studied under Sarkis Sarkisian and Zoltan Zepeshy. He exhibited widely from the 1960s into the 1990s. He resided in Michigan and later was a long time resident of East Hampton, NY. A retrospective of his work was held at the Blue Heron Arts Center in New York City in 1999. His work is part of the permanent collections of several museums including the Safaad Museum, Israel; Flint Art Institute; Cranbrook Academy of Art; Hecksher Museum of Art, and the Guild Hall Museum of East Hampton. His work is also included in numerous corporate and private collections.

Hans Kline in the backyard of his East Hampton home
(Courtesy of Lee Walter)

    Hans Kline died on 18 March 1994 and is buried in the Green River Cemetery, Springs, East Hampton, Suffolk County, NY. Several notable artists are also buried in this cemetery including Jackson Pollock and his wife Lee Krasner.

    Hagop K. Kasparian is self taught artist who lives in Hassocks, Sussex, England. He is an art teacher and a member of the Attic Club in Mid Sussex. He has exhibited at the Mall Galleries, London and in local art shows. I am not sure of Mr. Kasparian's ethnicity or if he is a citizen of the UK so I have not listed him in the section of my web site devoted to British artists. I did find a snail mail address for Mr. Kasparian as I was curious about the medium used for these small paintings, but there was no reply to my letter via snail or email. These small paintings are very nicely framed in a single frame and have been hanging over my desk at work for many months. A nice escape from the "salt mines" from time to time.

    Cooper Dragonette is a painter in oils from Cape Elizabeth, Maine. He holds a BFA from the University of Southern Maine and a BA from Prescott College. He moved to Maine in 1996 and pursued a career in teaching art while operating his own studio before becoming a full time artist in 2006. His first exhibition was in 1998. He has been a member of the Provincetown Artists Association, co-president and founder of the Midcoast Artists Association, and member of the Maine Art Educators Association. He still teaches painting and drawing.
    Cooper has both a web site and a blog site. I like his use of color and light and the ruggedness of Maine landscapes that he paints.

    This painting arrived at the same time that I happened to have a frame to fit it, and I have it hanging above my desk at work. I had discarded the frame as it did not suit anything art work that I had. It had actually come with a watercolor in it that had been damaged by broken glass due to poor packing and the whole mess was in a box on my back porch waiting for the garbage man, when I remembered it. It suits this painting perfectly.

    The Maine art dealer that I bought this painting from was selling it as a French painting, but I think it is probably by an English artist of a scene in France. The seller also interpreted the signature as Y. B. Mathews, but I think it may actually be L. B. Mathews and possibly by Mrs. Lydia B. Mathews who was active about this time. This church is much painted and photographed but typically not from this odd angle which is why I like it. The frame and glass also appear to be original and are very nice, too. The painting is thoroughly glued to a card so we will never know if there are any clues on the back of the painting. Until I can find some justification for putting it in the "British Artists" section, I will leave it here. Opinions on the signature and origins are welcome!

    Nganga Ndeveni is a Kenyan artist who works in watercolors and acrylics. He is a member of the Akamba Tribe and known for images showing details of Akamba life and for his paintings of nature.This painting is thought to have been painted Amboseli Game Park, judging by the view of Mount Kilmanjaro in the background. I like his work and the amazing detail. This is the first painting by an African artist that I have added to my collection. The shadows at the edges of the painting are there because it is on heavy paper and may have spent part of it's life in a shipping tube so the sides of the painting are rolled up a bit. I have not found a frame for this one, yet.

    Richard J. Van Wagoner was born in Midway, Utah on 14 March 1932. He is a painter in oils and watercolors and was a teacher both in the public schools and Weber State University in Utah, where he retired from as a professor. Mr. Van Wagoner holds Master degrees in both printmaking and painting. He was a founding member of the Utah Watercolor Society. He is listed in Artists of Utah, and various editions of Who's Who in American Art.

    William Robert Shulgold was born in Kamenietz, Russia on 10 July 1897, a son of Bernard and Ada Reisberg Shulgold. The Shulgolds were Jewish and lived in what was called Russian Poland, emigrating to America in 1898 where they settled in Pittsburgh, PA. Bernard worked as a watchmaker in a jewelry store there. By 1920 his father had passed away and William was a naturalized
US citizen working as the proprietor of a bottling works company. Fielding notes that he was a painter and etcher and a student of Arthur Watson Sparks, George W. Sotter, and Charles Webster Hawthorne. Falk notes that, in addition to the aforementioned artists he also studied with Levy, probably Alexander Oscar Levy or William Auerbach Levy, and that he was also a teacher. Shulgold was a student and then teacher at Carnegie University and also studied at the National Academy in New York City, the Art Students League, the Academie de la Grande Chaumiere in Paris, and in Florence, Italy. Shulgold was a member of the Pittsburgh Art Association.
    He is mentioned in Fielding's Dictionary of American Painters, Sculptors, and Etchers, Who Was Who in American Art by Falk, Mallett's Index of Artists, Davenport's Art Reference and Price Guide, and various editions of Who's Who in American Art and American Art Directory. He was also mentioned at least once in Who's Who in American Jewry. His works have been exhibited at the Corcoran Gallery of Art, New York in 1957, the Los Angeles County Museum in 1951, Carnegie International in Pittsburgh, the Chicago Institute of Fine Arts, and the National Gallery, Toronto. Two of his works are part of the permanent collection of the Westmoreland Museum of American Art and his work is part of the collection of the Carnegie Museum. He was awarded the Carnegie Prize, Pittsburgh Associated Artists Prize, a Tiffany Foundation Scholarship, and other awards and prizes. He painted many portraits for Hollywood and celebrities including Ronald Coleman for his Oscar winning movie "A Double Life", Helen Hayes, and Bud Abbott.
    Shulgold seems to be best remembered as a portrait artist in oils. The watercolor from my collection may be an example of his early work. Shulgold is listed on a passenger record of a ship arriving in New York from Southampton, England on 19 September 1928, and this watercolor was actually painted in Toledo, Spain, not Ohio as one would assume for a Pittsburgh artist. The scene is looking out to the east from the city of Toledo across the Puente de Alcantara with the Castillo de San Servando on the hill in the background. The Puente de Alcantara bridges the Tagus River at the east entrance to Toledo.

Looking east below the Puente de Alcantara                            Looking east from the Toledo city walls
                                                                                                with the Castillo de San Servando in the background

                     

Self portrait, William R. Shulgold, etching       Self portrait, William R. Shulgold, 24" x 20", oil, 1942               

    Above left is an etching of a self portrait of William Shulgold. The Westmoreland Museum of American Art also has a copy of this etching in their collection. The self portrait above right is also from my collection. Below is an example of Mr. Shulgold's landscape work in oil.

"Lumber Yard", William R. Shulgold, 16" x 20", oil

    I was contacted by Mr. Shulgold's son and he gave me the picture of his father shown below. I was also able to purchase "Lumber Yard" and an oil self portrait from him as he has many of his father's paintings. I would be happy to put anyone interested in obtaining one of Mr. Shulgold's paintings in contact with his son.  

William Robert Shulgold at a showing of his work.

    William Robert Shulgold died on 1 October 1989 in Los Angeles, CA.

    Sara Norwood Bartle was born in 1858 in Washington, D.C., a daughter of George and Miranda Ellis Bartle. George Bartle worked as a clerk at the State Department. Sara was listed as an artist in census records starting in 1880 through 1930. She had several brothers and sisters and her family employed servants in each census. She and her sister, Missouri Bartle were house mates for many years. Sara seems to have remained in  Washington, D.C. during most of her career as a painter of landscapes and miniature portraits in oil on ivory. She studied art in New York with Carroll Beckwith, at the Art Students Leagues in New York, and also in Washington DC. Sara also painted and studied in Europe. She was a member of the Washington Water Color Club and exhibited there as well as at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1916. Her miniature portraits were unique in that they often had landscape backgrounds. She reportedly took up water color painting late in her career. She also worked as an illustrator as I have found several examples of her illustrations dating from the 1870s on.
    Below is an example of one of her miniatures. This one is of Jay Cooke, a famous Civil War financier. No landscape background in this one, however.

    Sara Bartle is mentioned in Paul Sternberg, Sr.'s Art by American Women, Who Was Who in American Art by Falk, Women Artists Born Before 1900 by Pettys, The Artists of Washington, D.C., 1796-1996 by McMahan and various art directories of her time. She was also listed in The North Shore Blue Book, a yearly listing of notable people who were summer residents of the principle resorts of the northern shore of Massachusetts. Bartle was listed as an exhibitor in Gloucester Art and Loan Exhibition in the book Memorial of the Celebration of the Two Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of the Incorporation of the Town of Gloucester, Mass in 1892. She showed two paintings, titled "Rocky Pond" and "Roses".
    Ms Bartle died on 13 January 1931 and her death was reported on 16 January 1931in the Washington Post. She is buried with her parents and siblings in the Glenwood Cemetery in Washington, D.C.

    Thomas Mower Martin was born in London, England on 5 October 1838. He came to Canada in 1862 where he became one of Canada's early prominent artists, founding member of the Ontario Art Union, the Ontario Society of Artists, the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts, and founder and first president of the Ontario School of Art. He is the first Canadian represented in my collection and is going to be a tough act to follow. I was quite lucky to get this painting, probably because it has a couple of condition problems, which I believe can be corrected. In the mean time I am happy to be able to care for this painting until it can reach it's potential. More on TMM's biography later, after I have had time to go through all of the information available for this artist.

    John Clifford Huffington was born 5 February 1864 in Brooklyn, New York and died 3 May 1929 in Darien, Connecticut on his houseboat on Five Mile River. He is an interesting guy. His father, John Worthington Huffington, was an art dealer and John associated with artists who came into his father's store and through that association became a self taught artist. At the height of his career he became blind, but about 1925 his vision was somehow restored and he resumed painting. I found him employed as an artist in the 1900-1920 Federal censuses and employed as a clerk in 1880. His father's occupation in 1880 is indecipherable, but does not appear to be "art dealer", so John C. must have started painting between 1880 and 1900.
    John Clifford Huffington was a marine painter, illustrator, and teacher. Who Was Who in American Art notes that he exhibited at the National Academy of Design while still a school boy. He was member of the New York Watercolor Club and Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts and exhibited at both places. He is also listed in Mallett's Index of Artists.

    Charles Jewett Page was born 6 August 1837 in Boston, MA, the son of a prosperous mason, Gilman Page and his wife Louisa Robinson. Page had many occupations, bank teller in 1861, cap and hat salesman in 1870, etc., before settling on real estate around 1880, which occupation he pursued for many years. He was listed as both a real estate and insurance agent in Boston City Directories from 1882 through 1893. He was also listed as an auctioneer and Treasurer of the Real Estate and Building Co. several times.
    When Page developed an interest in art or where he received his training is not known, though he was a subscriber to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts in 1890. He was listed as a member of the Boston Art Club in 1908 (Clark's Boston Blue Book) and by 1910 he appeared in the artist category of the Boston City Directory. I have been unable to locate him in the 1910 Federal census, which may show if that was his primary occupation then.
    Charles married Kate Chase Norcross on 26 December 1859 in Boston and they had one son, Walter Gilman Page, who later became a prominent professional artist and writer. The 1880 census lists Walter G. Page as an invalid, which may be why he pursued a career as an artist. This may also be why his father developed an interest in painting. The first mention of Walter Gilman Page as an artist is in the 1890 Boston City Directory, and he was a member of the Boston Art Club in 1893, and was occupied as an artist while living in his parent's home during the 1900 Boston Federal census. Both Walter and his father were listed as painters in the 1908 American Art Annual Volume VI, which was published by the American Federation of Artists, New York. Walter Gilman Page attended the Boston Museum of Fine Arts School, studied in Paris, and served on the Massachusetts Art Commission in the 1920s. I was also unable to locate Walter Page in the 1910 census, though he married about 1901. It may be that father and son were traveling together when the census was taken.
    Charles Jewett Page was a member of the Boston Watercolor Society, Boston Art Club, and is mentioned in Who Was Who in American Art by Falk and Davenport's Art Reference and Price Guide. One of his paintings sold at auction for nearly $4000. Page died on 5 July 1916 in Boston, MA and his death was reported in the New York Times.

    Elizabeth Rupp Withington was a Rockport, Massachusetts illustrator and artist in watercolors, gouache and oils. She was born on 6 September 1883 in Roxbury, Massachusetts to John Rupp and Emily Wiswell Wilder Withington. Her father was a long time Jamaica Plains, Boston resident who worked for several decades as a Boston customs house clerk. The Withington family came to Massachusetts in the 1630s. Elizabeth was attending art school while residing at her parent's home at 22 Burroughs Avenue, Jamaica Plain, Boston, MA during the 1900 census. By 1910 she was employed as an artist and illustrator and was thus occupied in the 1920 and 1930 censuses. She was listed in Rockport city directories as an artist residing at 105 Main Street in Rockport from the 1930s until her death in 1962.
    It is not known, for certain, where Elizabeth was a student in 1900, but by 1903 she was listed in the American Art Directory as a teacher at Pape's School of Art in Boston and was listed as an assistant there in 1905.  Eric Pape started his school in Boston in 1898, so it is possible that Elizabeth was enrolled there in 1900. Such famous artists as N. C. Wyeth attended Pape's school at the time that Elizabeth was there. Pape was a well known and successful educator, artist, and illustrator. Elizabeth must have continued her training while at Pape's school as she was also listed as a student there in 1905 and won an award for "Composition Sketches".
    Elizabeth became a member of the Rockport Art Association in 1923 and was a member until 1960. She was also a member of the American Watercolor Society. She exhibited her paintings frequently at the Rockport Art Association, and also at the American Watercolor Society and Art Institute of Chicago. She illustrated many books. Most of these books were published by the Boston publishers Lothrop, Lee, and Shepard (LLS) and L. C. Page & Co. (LCP). I have included a list of all of these books I have been able to identify at the end of this biography. The last credit for her as an illustrator that I can find was in 1930, when she would have been 47. She continued working as an artist for many years, so may have continued as an illustrator, as well, but without credit for her work.
    One book that may or may not have been her work is different from all of the others. This book, Lullabies of Many Lands, was published by the H. M. Caldwell Co., New York and Boston, in 1908. What makes this book atypical is that it was completely the work of Elizabeth Withington, drawn and compiled by her. It is not a large book, only 30 pages, but contains 13 beautifully done, full page illustrations and many smaller illustrations. I have a copy of this book but I have not been able to determine if it was done by Elizabeth Withington of Boston and Rockport, MA. I obtained a copy of Mr. Tuckerman's Nieces, which was illustrated the year before this book was published and the illustrations are done in the same style. In my opinion, the book is her work.
    Elizabeth's paintings appear frequently at the yearly Rockport Art Association Auction, and at auction houses and galleries in Essex and Suffolk counties. She is mentioned in Lost Colony: The Artists of St. Augustine, 1930-1950 by Torchia, Who Was Who in American Art by Falk, Davenport's Art Reference and Price Guide, Index of Artists by Mallett, Who's Who in American Art, and other art reference books.
    The painting in my collection was titled under the mat, but I was unable to decipher Withington's writing. A visitor to my web site identified the location depicted in the painting and it is now easy to understand the title.

 
  One of Withington's illustrations:

Illustration from Anne of Green Gables by Elizabeth Withington, 1925

Books illustrated by Elizabeth:

Those Thornton Girls (LLS, 1930), The "Icicle" Melts (LLS, 1929), Barbara Winthrop Abroad (LCP, 1927), Barbara Winthrop at Camp (LCP 1926),  Homer Bright's New Adventure (LCP, 1925), Anne of Green Gables (LCP, 1925), The Adventure's of Joan (LLS, 1924), Nan's Christmas Boarder (LCP, 1924), Denise of the Three Pines (LCP, 1922), Blue Bonnet Keeps House (LCP, 1921), Marjorie's House Party (LCP, 1921), When Gretel was Fifteen (LLS, 1921), Blue Bonnet: Debutante (LCP, 1921), The Independence of Nan (LLS, 1916), A Real Cinderella (LLS, 1915), Making Mary Lizzie Happy (LLS, 1914), Laddie: The Master of the House (Little, Brown & Co., 1913), The Long Way Home (LLS, 1912), Hester's Wage Earning (LLS, 1912), Girl from Arizona (LLS, 1911), Lost on the Trail (LLS, 1911), Maisie's Merry Christmas (LLS, 1911), Victorine's Book (LLS, 1911), Dorothy Brown: A Story for Girls (1909), Mother Tucker's Seven (LLS, 1909), The Browns at Mt. Hermon (LLS, 1908),   Mr. Tuckerman's Nieces (Houghton Mifflin, 1907), Four Girls at Chautauqua (LLS, 1904), Little Queen Esther (LLS, ?), Ester Reid (LLS, ?)

    Samuel B.  Chapman was born about 1866 in Wayne Township, Wayne County, Indiana. He and his brother Charles E. Chapman, b. ca 1857, worked as professional artists for more than 30 years, painting in Wayne County, Indiana, New Orleans, and Lexington, MA. The brothers were sons of George A. and Annie B. Chapman, born in Scotland and England, respectively. They moved to New Orleans about 1903. While in New Orleans, both men first appear in censuses with the trade of "painter". Charles is also listed as a "Decorator". According to a descendant, Charles had an architectural business in New Orleans, and numerous of his architectural paintings and drawings survive. The brothers moved to Lexington, MA before 1918 when Samuel was listed as a farmer and Charles as an architect in the Lexington city directory. Both brothers were listed as managers of Ryder's Stock Farms in the 1922 city directory. The 1924 directory lists Charles as an architect and assistant manager at Ryder's Stock Farms and Samuel as manager. The 1928 directory shows both men and their wives living at the same address as they had for several years, but occupied with "The New England Fruit & Rural Development  Co.". Both men were thusly occupied in 1932 and were living at the same address in 1942. Charles had a studio in Lexington for many years and gave his occupation as "artist" in the 1920 and 1930 censuses. Where the brothers received their training as artists in not known.
    A large number of works by both artists was passed down in the family until they were sold by a grandson in 2006. Neither artist is listed in any of the major art reference books, but must have achieved some measure of success in order to have worked for so long as professional artists. They may have enjoyed good reputations locally. Both men seemed to have worked almost exclusively in watercolors. The painting above was probably painted in Indiana.