Romantic Prints and Multiples

Phrosine and Mélidore Etching, 1879 Signed in the polate lower left of image This etching is after the Dantan painting, a copy after the Pierre-Paul Prud’hom painting Published by Vv...

This artwork titled "Thanksgiving" 1995 is a color off set lithograph by British/American artist Pati Bannister, 1929-2013. It is hand signed, titled and numbered 587/950 in pencil by the artist. Published by Masters Publishing INC, New York. The image size is 17.75 x 21 inches, sheet size is 23.75 x 26 inches. It is in excellent condition. About the artist: Pati Bannister was born in Highgate, England, overlooking London in 1929. Growing up, both of her parents were artists. Her mother painted watercolor landscapes, while her father painted portraits. To help further her natural talents, she took art lessons as a young girl and ultimately went to work for J. Arthur Rank, the movie maker, as an animator.​ At 22 years old, she came to the United States as a governess for a family in Connecticut. Later she became a flight attendant in Florida where she met her future husband, Glynn. Little did she know, he would become the strongest influence in her life as he inspired her to pursue and share her artistic abilities with the public. ​In 1958, Pati and Glynn moved to New Orleans and she started painting portraits in Jackson Square. Eventually, she opened two art galleries located in the French Quarter. In the late 1960's, they moved to the Mississippi Gulf Coast...

Théodore Géricault and Eugène Lami, 'Mazeppa' from the series 'Oeuvres de Lord Byron', lithograph, 1823, 2nd state of 3, Delteil 94. Rendered by Thé...

'Le Compliment ou La Matinee du Jour de L'an, Dediee aux Peres de Famille' (The Compliment, or New Year's Morning, Dedicated to the Fathers of the Family) and it's pair 'Les Bouquets...

Eugene Leroux (1807-1863) La Sortie Du Bain Lithograph, c. 1840 Signed in the lower left corner of the image (see photo) Inscribed "Imp Bertauts Paris" in bottom margin Inscribed "55...

The present print is one of several examples produced for Nathaniel Currier by his longtime collaborator Frances F. "Fanny" Palmer. Harry T. Peters wrote of her: "There is no more interesting and appealing character among the group of artists who worked for Currier & Ives than Fanny Palmer. In an age when women, well-bred women in particular, did not generally work for a living Fanny Palmer for years did exacting, full-time work in order to support a large and dependent family ... Her work ... had great charm, homeliness, and a conscientious attention to detail." One of a series of four prints showing American country life in different seasons, the image presents the viewer with a picturesque view of a successful American farm. In the foreground, a gentleman rides a horse with a young boy before a respectable Italianate country house. Two women and a young girl pick flowers in the garden and several farm workers attend to their duties. Beyond are other homes and a city on the coast. 16.63 x 23.75 inches, artwork 28.13 x 33.38 inches, frame Entitled bottom center "American Country Life - May Morning" Signed in the stone, lower left "F.F. Palmer, Del." Signed in the stone, lower right "Lith. by N. Currier" Copyrighted lower center "Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1855 by N. Currier in the Clerk's office of the Southern District of N.Y." Inscribed bottom center "New York, Published by N. Currier 152 Nassau Street" Framed to conservation standards using silk-lined 100 percent rag matting and Museum Glass with a gold gilded liner, all housed in a stained wood moulding. Nathaniel Currier was a tall introspective man with a melancholy nature. He could captivate people with his piercing stare or charm them with his sparkling blue eyes. Nathaniel was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts on March 27th, 1813, the second of four children. His parents, Nathaniel and Hannah Currier, were distant cousins who lived a humble yet spartan life. When Nathaniel was eight years old, tragedy struck. Nathaniel’s father unexpectedly passed away leaving Nathaniel and his eleven-year-old brother Lorenzo to provide for the family. In addition to their mother, Nathaniel and Lorenzo had to care for six-year-old sister Elizabeth and two-year-old brother Charles. Nathaniel worked a series of odd jobs to support the family, and at fifteen, he started what would become a life-long career when he apprenticed in the Boston lithography shop of William and John Pendleton. A Bavarian gentleman named Alois Senefelder invented lithography just 30 years prior to young Nat Currier’s apprenticeship. While under the employ of the brothers Pendleton, Nat was taught the art of lithography by the firm’s chief printer, a French national named Dubois, who brought the lithography trade to America. Lithography involves grinding a piece of limestone flat and smooth then drawing in mirror image on the stone with a special grease pencil. After the image is completed, the stone is etched with a solution of aqua fortis leaving the greased areas in slight relief. Water is then used to wet the stone and greased-ink is rolled onto the raised areas. Since grease and water do not mix, the greased-ink is repelled by the moisture on the stone and clings to the original grease pencil lines. The stone is then placed in a press and used as a printing block to impart black on white images to paper. In 1833, now twenty-years old and an accomplished lithographer, Nat Currier left Boston and moved to Philadelphia to do contract work for M.E.D. Brown, a noted engraver and printer. With the promise of good money, Currier hired on to help Brown prepare lithographic stones of scientific images for the American Journal of Sciences and Arts. When Nat completed the contract work in 1834, he traveled to New York City to work once again for his mentor John Pendleton, who was now operating his own shop located at 137 Broadway. Soon after the reunion, Pendleton expressed an interest in returning to Boston and offered to sell his print shop to Currier. Young Nat did not have the financial resources to buy the shop, but being the resourceful type he found another local printer by the name of Stodart. Together they bought Pendleton’s business. The firm ‘Currier & Stodart’ specialized in "job" printing. They produced many different types of printed items, most notably music manuscripts for local publishers. By 1835, Stodart was frustrated that the business was not making enough money and he ended the partnership, taking his investment with him. With little more than some lithographic stones, and a talent for his trade, twenty-two year old Nat Currier set up shop in a temporary office at 1 Wall Street in New York City. He named his new enterprise ‘N. Currier, Lithographer’ Nathaniel continued as a job printer and duplicated everything from music sheets to architectural plans. He experimented with portraits, disaster scenes and memorial prints, and any thing that he could sell to the public from tables in front of his shop. During 1835 he produced a disaster print Ruins of the Planter's Hotel, New Orleans, which fell at two O’clock on the Morning of the 15th of May 1835, burying 50 persons, 40 of whom Escaped with their Lives. The public had a thirst for newsworthy events, and newspapers of the day did not include pictures. By producing this print, Nat gave the public a new way to “see” the news. The print sold reasonably well, an important fact that was not lost on Currier. Nat met and married Eliza Farnsworth in 1840. He also produced a print that same year titled Awful Conflagration of the Steamboat Lexington in Long Island Sound on Monday Evening, January 18, 1840, by which melancholy occurrence over One Hundred Persons Perished. This print sold out very quickly, and Currier was approached by an enterprising publication who contracted him to print a single sheet addition of their paper, the New York Sun. This single page paper is presumed to be the first illustrated newspaper ever published. The success of the Lexington print launched his career nationally and put him in a position to finally lift his family up. In 1841, Nat and Eliza had their first child, a son they named Edward West Currier. That same year Nat hired his twenty-one year old brother Charles and taught him the lithography trade, he also hired his artistically inclined brother Lorenzo to travel out west and make sketches of the new frontier as material for future prints. Charles worked for the firm on and off over the years, and invented a new type of lithographic crayon which he patented and named the Crayola. Lorenzo continued selling sketches to Nat for the next few years. In 1843, Nat and Eliza had a daughter, Eliza West Currier, but tragedy struck in early 1847 when their young daughter died from a prolonged illness. Nat and Eliza were grief stricken, and Eliza, driven by despair, gave up on life and passed away just four months after her daughter’s death. The subject of Nat Currier’s artwork changed following the death of his wife and daughter, and he produced many memorial prints and sentimental prints during the late 1840s. The memorial prints generally depicted grief stricken families posed by gravestones (the stones were left blank so the purchasers could fill in the names of the dearly departed). The sentimental prints usually depicted idealized portraits of women and children, titled with popular Christian names of the day. Late in 1847, Nat Currier married Lura Ormsbee, a friend of the family. Lura was a self-sufficient woman, and she immediately set out to help Nat raise six-year-old Edward and get their house in order. In 1849, Lura delivered a son, Walter Black Currier, but fate dealt them a blow when young Walter died one year later. While Nat and Lura were grieving the loss of their new son, word came from San Francisco that Nat’s brother Lorenzo had also passed away from a brief illness. Nat sank deeper into his natural quiet melancholy. Friends stopped by to console the couple, and Lura began to set an extra place at their table for these unexpected guests. She continued this tradition throughout their lives. In 1852, Charles introduced a friend, James Merritt Ives, to Nat and suggested he hire him as a bookkeeper. Jim Ives was a native New Yorker born in 1824 and raised on the grounds of Bellevue Hospital where his father was employed as superintendent. Jim was a self-trained artist and professional bookkeeper. He was also a plump and jovial man, presenting the exact opposite image of his new boss. Jim Ives met Charles Currier through Caroline Clark, the object of Jim’s affection. Caroline’s sister Elizabeth was married to Charles, and Caroline was a close friend of the Currier family. Jim eventually proposed marriage to Caroline and solicited an introduction to Nat Currier, through Charles, in hopes of securing a more stable income to support his future wife. Ives quickly set out to improve and modernize his new employer’s bookkeeping methods. He reorganized the firm’s sizable inventory, and used his artistic skills to streamline the firm’s production methods. By 1857, Nathaniel had become so dependent on Jims’ skills and initiative that he offered him a full partnership in the firm and appointed him general manager. The two men chose the name ‘Currier & Ives’ for the new partnership, and became close friends. Currier & Ives produced their prints in a building at 33 Spruce Street where they occupied the third, fourth and fifth floors. The third floor was devoted to the hand operated printing presses that were built by Nat's cousin, Cyrus Currier, at his shop Cyrus Currier & Sons in Newark, NJ. The fourth floor found the artists, lithographers and the stone grinders at work. The fifth floor housed the coloring department, and was one of the earliest production lines in the country. The colorists were generally immigrant girls, mostly German, who came to America with some formal artistic training. Each colorist was responsible for adding a single color to a print. As a colorist finished applying their color, the print was passed down the line to the next colorist to add their color. The colorists worked from a master print displayed above their table, which showed where the proper colors were to be placed. At the end of the table was a touch up artist who checked the prints for quality, touching-in areas that may have been missed as it passed down the line. During the Civil War, demand for prints became so great that coloring stencils were developed to speed up production. Although most Currier & Ives prints were colored in house, some were sent out to contract artists. The rate Currier & Ives paid these artists for coloring work was one dollar per one hundred small folios (a penny a print) and one dollar per one dozen large folios. Currier & Ives also offered uncolored prints to dealers, with instructions (included on the price list) on how to 'prepare the prints for coloring.' In addition, schools could order uncolored prints from the firm’s catalogue to use in their painting classes. Nathaniel Currier and James Merritt Ives attracted a wide circle of friends during their years in business. Some of their more famous acquaintances included Horace Greeley, Phineas T. Barnum, and the outspoken abolitionists Rev. Henry Ward, and John Greenleaf Whittier (the latter being a cousin of Mr. Currier). Nat Currier and Jim Ives described their business as "Publishers of Cheap and Popular Pictures" and produced many categories of prints. These included Disaster Scenes, Sentimental Images, Sports, Humor, Hunting Scenes, Politics, Religion, City and Rural Scenes, Trains, Ships, Fire Fighters, Famous Race Horses, Historical Portraits, and just about any other topic that satisfied the general public's taste. In all, the firm produced in excess of 7500 different titles, totaling over one million prints produced from 1835 to 1907. Nat Currier retired in 1880, and signed over his share of the firm to his son Edward. Nat died eight years later at his summer home 'Lion’s Gate' in Amesbury, Massachusetts. Jim Ives remained active in the firm until his death in 1895, when his share of the firm passed to his eldest son, Chauncey. In 1902, faced will failing health from the ravages of Tuberculosis, Edward Currier sold his share of the firm to Chauncey Ives...

This artwork titled "Winter's Tales" 1995 is a color off set lithograph by British/American artist Pati Bannister, 1929-2013. It is hand signed, titled and numbered 409/950 in pencil...

A pair of French classical romantic prints original created in the 18th century by Jacques-Firmin Beauvarlet (1731-1797) after paintings by Francois Boucher (1703-1770), utilizing ...

This is a hand-colored aquatint and engraving entitled "Principal Square in Grand Cairo, with Murad Bey's Palace", published in London by R. Bowyer in 1801. The print was created by ...

This is an exclusive handprinted limited edition cyanotype. Lovely scene of a hidden pond in a Scandinavian forest. Details: + Title: Scandinavian Enchanted Forest + Year: 2024 + ...

Antique Dog Portrait Lithograph in the Taste of Alfred De Dreux Newfoundland France, circa 1870 Lithography 25 5/8 x 19 5/8 (28 x 20 frame) inches Six lithographs of dog portraits...

Ceiling of the Paris Opera House This is a print made by Center Art Galleries-Hawaii, Inc. You can google their name to get a sense of the litigation surrounding this manufacturer,...

This high-quality reproduction of "The Seduction of Psyche" by William-Adolphe Bouguereau, published in 1999 by the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, captures the delicate beauty and ref...

This beautiful 19th century framed engraving "The Fighting Temeraire" by James Tibbetts Willmore is based on an original painting by the renowned British artist J.M.W. Turner. It was published by James S. Virtue & Co. in London between 1859-1875. It depicts the once mighty British warship the HMS Temeraire being towed away down the river Thames by a much smaller steamboat to a ship-breaking yard to be broken up for scrap. The Temeraire was first launched in 1798 and represented the pinnacle of British ship-building. 180-feet long, constructed of English oak and armed with 98 guns, she was one of the largest warships of the period. The Temeraire became a symbol of British pride and military power that endured throughout the 19th century. The man-of-war served during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars and was among the last serving ships to have been at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. It became one of the many older ships put out of service in the 1830s and 1840s. The once mighty and feared ship symbolizes a once magnificent, but now obsolete, technology. Turner seems to lament her inglorious final journey, being towed by a less magnificent, but modern steam powered tugboat. The Turner painting was created in 1838 and is now held in the National Gallery in London. Willmore's engraving, created in 1859, captures the dramatic scene with great detail and skill. The image has become an iconic representation of the decline of Britain's naval power and the transition from sail to steam in the 19th century. The sunset in the background is symbolic of the sun going down on British naval power and tradition. The painting conveys profound and diverse themes that are central to the human experience: those of mortality and change, technology and progress, heroism and brutality. The painting demonstrates Turner’s skill as an artist. His ability to produce scenes of great beauty that are dramatic, but are also symbolic, stimulating both thoughtful analysis, as well as emotion. Turner's painting was voted by the British public in a 2005 BBC radio sponsored survey to be the British people's favorite painting of all time. In 2020 it was included on a new British banknote...

This is a hand-colored aquatint and engraving entitled "Part of the New City of Alexandria, with the Light House", published in London by R. Bowyer from 1802-1805. The print was crea...

This is a hand-colored aquatint and engraving entitled "Pool of Bethesda, Jerusalem", published in London by R. Bowyer in 1804. The print was created by Thomas Milton (1743-1827) from drawings by Luigi Mayer. This beautiful, detailed, original engraving is printed on deluxe J. Whatman paper with very wide left and right margins. There is a watermark "1801" indicating the year the paper was made. The sheet measures 11.25" high and 16" wide. There is a small faint spot in the upper margin on the left and a tiny faint spot in the right upper corner and another in the left lower corner. The engraving is otherwise in excellent condition with vibrant colors throughout the image. "The Pool of Bethesda...

Artist: Alvar Title: Woman with Birds Year: c.1980 Medium: Color lithograph Paper: Wove Image size: 18.5 x 24.5 inches Framed size: 26.5 x 32.65 inc...

Limited edition Heine Hartwig print from a painting by the same artist, signed & numbered in gold in the lower right, 722/800. This beautiful, colorful a...

Théodore Géricault, 'Garçon donnant l'avoine à un cheval dételé' (Boy Giving Oats to a Hitched Horse), lithograph, 1822, 2nd state of 2, Delteil 89...

This beautiful 19th century framed engraving "Line Fishing Off Hastings" by William Miller is based on an original painting by the renowned British artist J.M.W. Turner, which depicts a scene of fishermen at work off the coast of the town of Hastings in East Sussex, England. The Miller engraving faithfully reproduces Turner's painting, capturing the same atmospheric quality and sense of motion. In the foreground of the image, a group of fishermen are shown in a small boat, with one man using a fishing line to catch fish. In the background, there is a larger ship, along with a view of the town of Hastings and the cliffs beyond. Overall, the Miller engraving "Line Fishing Off Hastings" is a beautiful and detailed representation of Turner's original painting, and provides a glimpse into life in a 19th century fishing community. This colorful 19th century engraving is presented in a gold-colored wood frame and a cream-colored French mat highlighted with a light blue band and thinner mustard and gold-colored bands. There is a gold-colored fillet which further embellishes the engraving. The frame measures 18" high, 20.5" wide and 1" deep. The engraving, frame and mat are in excellent condition. Joseph Mallord William (J.M.W.) Turner (1775-1851) was an English painter who is widely considered one of the greatest landscape painters in Western art history. Born in London, he showed a remarkable talent for art from a young age, and studied at the Royal Academy of Arts from the age of 14. He quickly gained recognition for his watercolor landscapes, which were highly innovative and expressive. Turner's style evolved over time, and he became increasingly interested in the effects of light and color. He traveled extensively throughout Europe, and his experiences of the natural world, particularly the sea and the sky, had a profound influence on his art. His paintings are known for their luminosity, atmospheric effects, and dramatic use of color. Despite facing criticism and ridicule from some of his contemporaries, Turner continued to push the boundaries of art, experimenting with new techniques and styles throughout his career. He was a prolific artist, creating thousands of paintings, sketches, and watercolors, and his legacy continues to inspire artists today. William Miller (1796-1882) was an English engraver and publisher, best known for his work in reproducing the paintings of J.M.W. Turner. Miller was born in Bristol and began his career as an engraver at a young age, working for a variety of publications and artists. In the early 1820s, Miller began working with Turner, engraving many of the artist's most famous works, including "The Fighting Temeraire...

This beautiful 19th century framed engraving "Scarborough" by W. Chapman is based on an original painting by the renowned British artist J.M.W. Turner. It was published in London by ...

Lithograph on fine vélin paper, mounted on archival mat-board, as issued. Unsigned and unnumbered, as issued. Good Condition; never framed or matted. Notes: From the folio, Eugène De...

Lithograph on fine vélin paper, mounted on archival mat-board, as issued. Unsigned and unnumbered, as issued. Good Condition; never framed or matted. Notes: From the folio, Eugène De...

Artist: Alvar Title: From Barcelona Suite Year: 1979 Medium: Color lithograph with embossing Edition: Numberd 145/185 in pencil Paper: Arches Image siz...

Image dimensions: 24 x 28 cm. La Delivrance De La Princesse Olga is an original print in etching technique on ivory-colored paper, realized by M. Roux after Eugène Delacroix . In v...

This artwork titled "Peaches" 1996 is a color off set lithograph by British/American artist Pati Bannister, 1929-2013. It is hand signed, titled and numbered 548/950 in pencil by the artist. Published by Masters Publishing INC, New York. The image size is 17.5 x 21 inches, sheet size is 23.5 x 26 inches. It is in excellent condition. About the artist: Pati Bannister was born in Highgate, England, overlooking London in 1929. Growing up, both of her parents were artists. Her mother painted watercolor landscapes, while her father painted portraits. To help further her natural talents, she took art lessons as a young girl and ultimately went to work for J. Arthur Rank, the movie maker, as an animator.​ At 22 years old, she came to the United States as a governess for a family in Connecticut. Later she became a flight attendant in Florida where she met her future husband, Glynn. Little did she know, he would become the strongest influence in her life as he inspired her to pursue and share her artistic abilities with the public. ​In 1958, Pati and Glynn moved to New Orleans and she started painting portraits in Jackson Square. Eventually, she opened two art galleries located in the French Quarter. In the late 1960's, they moved to the Mississippi Gulf Coast...

This beautiful 19th century framed hand-colored engraving is entitled "St. Michael's Mount, Cornwall" by J. Saddler after an original painting by the British artist Myles Birket Fost...

PLAINS OF JUPITER is a hand drawn color lithograph by the British painter Harold Hitchcock printed using hand lithography on archival Arches paper 100% acid free. In the dreamy, roma...

This artwork titled "Strawberies" c.1985, published 1996 is a color off set lithograph by British/American artist Pati Bannister, 1929-2013. It is hand signed, titled and numbered 656/950 in pencil by the artist. Published by Masters Publishing INC, New York. The image size is 16.5 x 21 inches, sheet size is 22.25 x 26 inches. It is in excellent condition. About the artist: Pati Bannister was born in Highgate, England, overlooking London in 1929. Growing up, both of her parents were artists. Her mother painted watercolor landscapes, while her father painted portraits. To help further her natural talents, she took art lessons as a young girl and ultimately went to work for J. Arthur Rank, the movie maker, as an animator.​ At 22 years old, she came to the United States as a governess for a family in Connecticut. Later she became a flight attendant in Florida where she met her future husband, Glynn. Little did she know, he would become the strongest influence in her life as he inspired her to pursue and share her artistic abilities with the public. ​In 1958, Pati and Glynn moved to New Orleans and she started painting portraits in Jackson Square. Eventually, she opened two art galleries located in the French Quarter. In the late 1960's, they moved to the Mississippi Gulf Coast...

Les Tuileries, Paris - Hand Colored Lithograph Delicate hand-colored lithograph of Tuileries Palace in Paris, France printed by Rose-Joseph Lemercier (French, 1803 - 1887). Published, Paris 1843 to 1867 by Hautecoeur Freres (Eugène and Alfred Hautecoeur (French). After Charles Riviere...

Prelude de Lohengrin (2e planche) (The appearance of the Holy Grail) Lithograph, 1898 Signed and dated in the stone lower left (see photo) Printed on chine collee paper Condition...

Lithograph on fine vélin paper, mounted on archival mat-board, as issued. Unsigned and unnumbered, as issued. Good Condition; never framed or matted. Notes: From the folio, Eugène De...

Lithograph on fine vélin paper, mounted on archival mat-board, as issued. Unsigned and unnumbered, as issued. Good Condition; never framed or matted. Notes: From the folio, Eugène De...

Lithograph on fine vélin paper, mounted on archival mat-board, as issued. Unsigned and unnumbered, as issued. Good Condition; never framed or matted. Notes: From the folio, Eugène De...

Lithograph on fine vélin paper, mounted on archival mat-board, as issued. Unsigned and unnumbered, as issued. Good Condition; never framed or matted. Notes: From the folio, Eugène De...

"Hyde Park on Sunday" - Hand Colored Etching from "Old and New London" Detailed etching of a typical Sunday in Hyde Park around 1800 after an etching by Ed...

Lithograph on fine vélin paper, mounted on archival mat-board, as issued. Unsigned and unnumbered, as issued. Good Condition; never framed or matted. Notes: From the folio, Eugène De...

Lithograph on fine vélin paper, mounted on archival mat-board, as issued. Unsigned and unnumbered, as issued. Good Condition; never framed or matted. Notes: From the folio, Eugène De...

Lithograph on fine vélin paper, mounted on archival mat-board, as issued. Unsigned and unnumbered, as issued. Good Condition; never framed or matted. Notes: From the folio, Eugène De...

Artist: Anthony Hamilton (British-French, 1645-1719) Title: "Susan, Lady Belasyse" (Plate 45) Portfolio: Memoirs of Grammont Year: 1808 (First edition) Medium: Original Stipple Engra...

The present hand-colored lithograph was produced as part of the funeral and mourning culture in the United States during the 19th century. Images like this were popular as ways of remembering loved ones, an alternative to portraiture of the deceased. This lithograph shows a man, woman and child in morning clothes next to an urn-topped stone monument. Behind are additional putto-topped headstones beneath weeping willows, with a steepled church beyond. The monument contains a space where a family could inscribe the name and death dates of a deceased loved one. In this case, it has been inscribed to a young Civil War soldier: William W. Peabody Died at Fairfax Seminary, VA December 18th, 1864 Aged 18 years The young Mr. Peabody probably died in service for the Union during the American Civil War. Farifax Seminary was a Union hospital and military headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia. The hospital served nearly two thousand soldiers during the war time. Five hundred were also buried on the Seminary's grounds. 13.75 x 9.5 inches, artwork 23 x 19 inches, frame Published before 1864 Inscribed bottom center "Lith. & Pub. by N. Currier. 2 Spruce St. N.Y." Framed to conservation standards using 100 percent rag matting and TruVue Conservation Clear glass, housed in a gold gilded moulding. Nathaniel Currier was a tall introspective man with a melancholy nature. He could captivate people with his piercing stare or charm them with his sparkling blue eyes. Nathaniel was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts on March 27th, 1813, the second of four children. His parents, Nathaniel and Hannah Currier, were distant cousins who lived a humble yet spartan life. When Nathaniel was eight years old, tragedy struck. Nathaniel’s father unexpectedly passed away leaving Nathaniel and his eleven-year-old brother Lorenzo to provide for the family. In addition to their mother, Nathaniel and Lorenzo had to care for six-year-old sister Elizabeth and two-year-old brother Charles. Nathaniel worked a series of odd jobs to support the family, and at fifteen, he started what would become a life-long career when he apprenticed in the Boston lithography shop of William and John Pendleton. A Bavarian gentleman named Alois Senefelder invented lithography just 30 years prior to young Nat Currier’s apprenticeship. While under the employ of the brothers Pendleton, Nat was taught the art of lithography by the firm’s chief printer, a French national named Dubois, who brought the lithography trade to America. Lithography involves grinding a piece of limestone flat and smooth then drawing in mirror image on the stone with a special grease pencil. After the image is completed, the stone is etched with a solution of aqua fortis leaving the greased areas in slight relief. Water is then used to wet the stone and greased-ink is rolled onto the raised areas. Since grease and water do not mix, the greased-ink is repelled by the moisture on the stone and clings to the original grease pencil lines. The stone is then placed in a press and used as a printing block to impart black on white images to paper. In 1833, now twenty-years old and an accomplished lithographer, Nat Currier left Boston and moved to Philadelphia to do contract work for M.E.D. Brown, a noted engraver and printer. With the promise of good money, Currier hired on to help Brown prepare lithographic stones of scientific images for the American Journal of Sciences and Arts. When Nat completed the contract work in 1834, he traveled to New York City to work once again for his mentor John Pendleton, who was now operating his own shop located at 137 Broadway. Soon after the reunion, Pendleton expressed an interest in returning to Boston and offered to sell his print shop to Currier. Young Nat did not have the financial resources to buy the shop, but being the resourceful type he found another local printer by the name of Stodart. Together they bought Pendleton’s business. The firm ‘Currier & Stodart’ specialized in "job" printing. They produced many different types of printed items, most notably music manuscripts for local publishers. By 1835, Stodart was frustrated that the business was not making enough money and he ended the partnership, taking his investment with him. With little more than some lithographic stones, and a talent for his trade, twenty-two year old Nat Currier set up shop in a temporary office at 1 Wall Street in New York City. He named his new enterprise ‘N. Currier, Lithographer’ Nathaniel continued as a job printer and duplicated everything from music sheets to architectural plans. He experimented with portraits, disaster scenes and memorial prints, and any thing that he could sell to the public from tables in front of his shop. During 1835 he produced a disaster print Ruins of the Planter's Hotel, New Orleans, which fell at two O’clock on the Morning of the 15th of May 1835, burying 50 persons, 40 of whom Escaped with their Lives. The public had a thirst for newsworthy events, and newspapers of the day did not include pictures. By producing this print, Nat gave the public a new way to “see” the news. The print sold reasonably well, an important fact that was not lost on Currier. Nat met and married Eliza Farnsworth in 1840. He also produced a print that same year titled Awful Conflagration of the Steamboat Lexington in Long Island Sound on Monday Evening, January 18, 1840, by which melancholy occurrence over One Hundred Persons Perished. This print sold out very quickly, and Currier was approached by an enterprising publication who contracted him to print a single sheet addition of their paper, the New York Sun. This single page paper is presumed to be the first illustrated newspaper ever published. The success of the Lexington print launched his career nationally and put him in a position to finally lift his family up. In 1841, Nat and Eliza had their first child, a son they named Edward West Currier. That same year Nat hired his twenty-one year old brother Charles and taught him the lithography trade, he also hired his artistically inclined brother Lorenzo to travel out west and make sketches of the new frontier as material for future prints. Charles worked for the firm on and off over the years, and invented a new type of lithographic crayon which he patented and named the Crayola. Lorenzo continued selling sketches to Nat for the next few years. In 1843, Nat and Eliza had a daughter, Eliza West Currier, but tragedy struck in early 1847 when their young daughter died from a prolonged illness. Nat and Eliza were grief stricken, and Eliza, driven by despair, gave up on life and passed away just four months after her daughter’s death. The subject of Nat Currier’s artwork changed following the death of his wife and daughter, and he produced many memorial prints and sentimental prints during the late 1840s. The memorial prints generally depicted grief stricken families posed by gravestones (the stones were left blank so the purchasers could fill in the names of the dearly departed). The sentimental prints usually depicted idealized portraits of women and children, titled with popular Christian names of the day. Late in 1847, Nat Currier married Lura Ormsbee, a friend of the family. Lura was a self-sufficient woman, and she immediately set out to help Nat raise six-year-old Edward and get their house in order. In 1849, Lura delivered a son, Walter Black Currier, but fate dealt them a blow when young Walter died one year later. While Nat and Lura were grieving the loss of their new son, word came from San Francisco that Nat’s brother Lorenzo had also passed away from a brief illness. Nat sank deeper into his natural quiet melancholy. Friends stopped by to console the couple, and Lura began to set an extra place at their table for these unexpected guests. She continued this tradition throughout their lives. In 1852, Charles introduced a friend, James Merritt Ives, to Nat and suggested he hire him as a bookkeeper. Jim Ives was a native New Yorker born in 1824 and raised on the grounds of Bellevue Hospital where his father was employed as superintendent. Jim was a self-trained artist and professional bookkeeper. He was also a plump and jovial man, presenting the exact opposite image of his new boss. Jim Ives met Charles Currier through Caroline Clark, the object of Jim’s affection. Caroline’s sister Elizabeth was married to Charles, and Caroline was a close friend of the Currier family. Jim eventually proposed marriage to Caroline and solicited an introduction to Nat Currier, through Charles, in hopes of securing a more stable income to support his future wife. Ives quickly set out to improve and modernize his new employer’s bookkeeping methods. He reorganized the firm’s sizable inventory, and used his artistic skills to streamline the firm’s production methods. By 1857, Nathaniel had become so dependent on Jims’ skills and initiative that he offered him a full partnership in the firm and appointed him general manager. The two men chose the name ‘Currier & Ives’ for the new partnership, and became close friends. Currier & Ives produced their prints in a building at 33 Spruce Street where they occupied the third, fourth and fifth floors. The third floor was devoted to the hand operated printing presses that were built by Nat's cousin, Cyrus Currier, at his shop Cyrus Currier & Sons in Newark, NJ. The fourth floor found the artists, lithographers and the stone grinders at work. The fifth floor housed the coloring department, and was one of the earliest production lines in the country. The colorists were generally immigrant girls, mostly German, who came to America with some formal artistic training. Each colorist was responsible for adding a single color to a print. As a colorist finished applying their color, the print was passed down the line to the next colorist to add their color. The colorists worked from a master print displayed above their table, which showed where the proper colors were to be placed. At the end of the table was a touch up artist who checked the prints for quality, touching-in areas that may have been missed as it passed down the line. During the Civil War, demand for prints became so great that coloring stencils were developed to speed up production. Although most Currier & Ives prints were colored in house, some were sent out to contract artists. The rate Currier & Ives paid these artists for coloring work was one dollar per one hundred small folios (a penny a print) and one dollar per one dozen large folios. Currier & Ives also offered uncolored prints to dealers, with instructions (included on the price list) on how to 'prepare the prints for coloring.' In addition, schools could order uncolored prints from the firm’s catalogue to use in their painting classes. Nathaniel Currier and James Merritt Ives attracted a wide circle of friends during their years in business. Some of their more famous acquaintances included Horace Greeley, Phineas T. Barnum, and the outspoken abolitionists Rev. Henry Ward, and John Greenleaf Whittier (the latter being a cousin of Mr. Currier). Nat Currier and Jim Ives described their business as "Publishers of Cheap and Popular Pictures" and produced many categories of prints. These included Disaster Scenes, Sentimental Images, Sports, Humor, Hunting Scenes, Politics, Religion, City and Rural Scenes, Trains, Ships, Fire Fighters, Famous Race Horses, Historical Portraits, and just about any other topic that satisfied the general public's taste. In all, the firm produced in excess of 7500 different titles, totaling over one million prints produced from 1835 to 1907. Nat Currier retired in 1880, and signed over his share of the firm to his son Edward. Nat died eight years later at his summer home 'Lion’s Gate' in Amesbury, Massachusetts. Jim Ives remained active in the firm until his death in 1895, when his share of the firm passed to his eldest son, Chauncey. In 1902, faced will failing health from the ravages of Tuberculosis, Edward Currier sold his share of the firm to Chauncey Ives...

Medium: Lithograph with tint stone Dimensions: Sheet: 13 3/4 x 10 1/2" (34.80 x 26.70 cm); Mat: 20 x 16" Publisher: G. Engelmann References And Exhibitions: Published by G. Engelmann Reference: Beraldi p. 17Medium: Lithograph with tint stone Dimensions: Sheet: 13 3/4 x 10 1/2" (34.80 x 26.70 cm); Mat: 20 x 16" Publisher: G. Engelmann References And Exhibitions: Published by G. Engelmann Reference: Beraldi p. 17 Medium: Lithograph with tint stone Dimensions: Sheet: 13 3/4 x 10 1/2" (34.80 x 26.70 cm); Mat: 20 x 16" Publisher: G. Engelmann References And Exhibitions: Published by G. Engelmann Reference: Beraldi p. 17 Joseph Louis Hippolyte Bellangé (17 January 1800 – 10 April 1866) was a French battle painter and printmaker. His art was influenced by the wars of the first Napoleon, and while a youth, he produced several military drawings...

Handcoloured portrait of otherworldly lovers, immobilised in marble, dancing in blooming meadows. A whimsical tale of adoration, Ursa and her spiritual partner take visual cues from Titania and Bottom in Dieterle and Reinhartd’s 1936 interpretation of A Midsummer Nights Dream. Taken from The Sialia Marbles, a series of portraits containing ephemeral human sculptures taken between 2016-19. Together these works act as tales contained in a fictional sculpture hall, in direct reaction to Andre Malraux’s 1947 Le Musee Imaginaire (Museum Without Walls). Original title: URSA LOVES YOU, 2017 Hand-coloured Archival Pigment Print on Hahnemuhle Photorag 40.5 x 30.5 cm Unique Series: The Sialia Marbles Signed and dated on verso "I’m not a sculptor, but I wanted to construct my own stories. Photographers have often used sculpture in order to challenge our idea of a “sculptural” body or object, by casting them in a two-dimensional light. I love playing with perception. A lot of my work is influenced by the nineteenth century—the pictorialist movement for instance. When photography was a new experiment, people would play around with perception tricks—Victorian paper theaters...

Lithograph on fine vélin paper, mounted on archival mat-board, as issued. Unsigned and unnumbered, as issued. Good Condition; never framed or matted. Notes: From the folio, Eugène De...

This officially published poster of Francesco Hayez’s celebrated masterpiece Il Bacio was produced by Italy’s Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and distributed by Electa L...

Katie Eleanor, ‘Your Hand, Your Tongue III’, 2017 Hand-coloured portrait of a regal monarch, immobilised in marble, her reigning celebrated the blooms she becomes entwined in. The characterisation is inspired by visual depictions of Lady Macbeth, in particular, John Singer Sargent’s 1889 portrait of actress Ellen Terry. Taken from The Sialia Marbles, a series of portraits containing ephemeral human sculptures taken between 2016-19. Together these works act as tales contained in a fictional sculpture hall, in direct reaction to Andre Malraux’s 1947 Le Musee Imaginaire (Museum Without Walls). Original title: 'Your Hand, Your Tongue’, 2017 Hand-coloured Archival Pigment Print on Hahnemuhle Photorag 40.5 x 30.5 cm Unique Series: The Sialia Marbles Signed and dated on verso "I’m not a sculptor, but I wanted to construct my own stories. Photographers have often used sculpture in order to challenge our idea of a “sculptural” body or object, by casting them in a two-dimensional light. I love playing with perception. A lot of my work is influenced by the nineteenth century—the pictorialist movement for instance. When photography was a new experiment, people would play around with perception tricks—Victorian paper theaters...

The Wrath of Elihu. 'I Am Young, And Ye Are Very Old, Wherefore I Was Afraid'. 1823-25. Engraving. .Binyon catalog 117 state ii, Bindman catalog 632. Image 7 7/8 x 5 15/16; plate 8 ...

Emmanuel Brune’s Pavillon d'Agrément sur un Étang (Pavilion of Leisure on a Pond) is a refined architectural rendering that exemplifies Brune’s mastery of combining functionality and...

Chester Cathedral - Drypoint Etching in Ink on Paper Dramatic drypoint etching by J. Alphege Brewer (British, 1881-1946). This composition shows the interior of Chester Cathedral in Brewer's characteristic style - highly detailed and with strong contrast. The scene encompasses the cathedral from floor to ceiling, capturing the immense size of the building. There are several people in the scene which contribute to the sense of scale. Signed by hand "J. Alphege Brewer" in the lower right corner. Titled "Chester Cathedral" in plate, lower left corner. Includes original card with artist's name. Presented in a new black mat with foamcore backing. Mat size: 16"H x 12"W Paper size: 10.75"H x 7.75"W James Alphege Brewer was well known in the early 20th century as a producer of color etchings of European cathedrals and other scenes of church, college, and community. He was born July 24, 1881, in the Kensington section of London, England, the son of Henry W. Brewer, noted artist of historical architecture and prominent convert to the Catholic Church, and the grandson of John Sherren Brewer, Jr., “the brilliant editor of the Calendar of Letters of Henry VIII.” His great uncle was E. Cobham Brewer, the polymath who compiled Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. Among his older siblings were the artist Henry C. Brewer and the organist and writer John Francis Brewer. Brewer attended the Westminster School of Art in London, where his brother Henry also trained. In 1910, he married Florence Emma Lucas, an accomplished painter in oil and watercolor, whose father was the noted landscape artist George Lucas and whose great uncle was David Lucas, the famous engraver for John Constable. Florence's brothers Edwin and George assisted Brewer in the printing of Brewer's etchings. Brewer exhibited at the Royal Academy (RA) and the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolour (RI), at the Paris Salon of the Académie des Beaux-Arts, and in the shows of the Royal Cambrian Academy (RCA). He became an associate of the Royal Cambrian Academy in 1929 and a full member in the last two years of his life. He was also a member of the Hampstead Society of Artists, the Society of Graphic Art, and the Ealing Arts Club, where he was first Honorary Art Secretary and then Honorary Art Chairman. Most of Brewer's larger etchings were published by Alfred Bell...

Théodore Géricault 'Le maréchal flamand' (The Flemish Blacksmith) from the series ‘Etudes, de chevaux lithographiés,’ lithograph, 1822, 2nd state ...

JEAN-BAPTISTE CAMILLE COROT (1876 - 1875) PAYSAGE D’ ITALIE 1866 (Melot 7 iii/iii) Etching, plate 6 ¼ x 9 inches, Third state after the removal of the text but before the random scr...

Business cards like this fall into the category of what art historians today generally refer to as "ephemera." Ones like this were produced for companies in the late 19th century, pr...

The invitation for Grisebach's 'Spring Auctions in Berlin' held from May 31 to June 3, 2017, features the artwork Frühsommerlicher Weinberg in Pillnitz by Carl Gustav Carus. Grisebac...

Antique Dog Portrait Lithograph in the Taste of Alfred De Dreux Bulldog and Frog France, circa 1870 Lithography 25 5/8 x 19 5/8 (28 x 20 frame) inches Six lithographs of dog portr...

This exceptional hand colored etching and aquatint is by the noted Parisian artist William Adolphe Lambrecht (1876-1940). The print depicts the Souk, or market in Gabes, Tunisia. It ...

Cottage and Harvesters (after a watercolor by Peter De Wint, 1784-1849). 1907. Mezzotint. Hardie 88. 6 5/8 x 10 11/16 (sheet 14 x 19 1/4). Edition 100. Housed in a 16 x 20 mat. A ver...

Thomas Balfour Garrett, 'Search', monotype in colors, c. 1910, a unique impression. Signed and titled in pencil. A superb, painterly impression with fresh colors on off-white, wove p...

This is a limited edition print from a painting by Heine Hartwig (1937- ) depicting a Native American encampment in a meadow at the base of majestic moun...

John Raphael SMITH (1752-1812) Lady Stanhope Original etching after a painting of Joshua Reynolds Unsigned On vellum 51.5 x 37 cm (c. 20,27 x 14.56 in) Very good condition, little...

Antique Dog Portrait Lithograph in the Taste of Alfred De Dreux Greyhounds D France, circa 1870 Lithography 25 5/8 x 19 5/8 (28 x 20 frame) inc...