Pennsylvania - Wall Decorations

Over his long career, John Lear liked to depict nude or half-nude male figures set in fantastic or exotic environments such as the circus, carnival, deserted beach, or Dali-esque set...

Created by Hans Erni, arguably the last great, figurative artist of the 20th and early 21st centuries, this print of a nude male youth holding the head of a horse is an early and imp...

An unusual pair of silver-giltwood wall mirrors in the Baroque Taste, Italy, circa fourth quarter of the 19th century. Topped with leaf-carved crests, the oval mirror plates are f...

This dramatic drawing of St. George and the dragon was executed in 1954 by Gaston Goor, who was famous for illustrating a number of books by Roger Peyrefitte and others in France. Go...

Mid-Century Modern oil on canvas by listed artist George Barrel depicting a ballerina in several overlayed poses. In original frame with paperwork still taped to back. Measures 37.25...

Anonymous oil on canvas, likely English, depicting a bob‑tailed white horse in a tranquil pastoral landscape, presented in its original gilt frame, retaining subtle evidence of age a...

A very interesting and unusual Pfoutz Original Farm Scene Oil Painting by artist J. Earle Pfoutz. The painting is produced on artist and comes complete with what appears to be an original artist decorated/painted frame. The Pfoutz Original Farm Scene Oil Painting is signed on the front by the artist and appears to be dated 1948 on the rear. Known for his unusual subjects Pfoutz outdid himself with this effort, capturing the essence of a Lancaster County farm but with the startling twist of portraying a large turkey vulture in the foreground. Definitely unique. Overall frame Size approximately 33″ wide x 3″ deep x 26″ high J. Earle Pfoutz had a long and distinguished career as a self trained artist. More can be learned about him from reading this article produced by Gary Hawbaker at askART Earle Pfoutz Born: 1891 – Lancaster, Pennsylvania Died: 1957 Known for: Landscape, figure, still life painting An image of J Earle Pfoutz Biography from the Archives of askART J. Earle Pfoutz (John Earle Pfoutz) – (Oct 23, 1891-Nov 9, 1957) “A seventh generation descendant of a Swiss family which arrived in America early in the 17th Century, J. Earle Pfoutz was born in Lancaster, PA, son of John Bachman and Susan Allison Pfoutz. He painted houses for a living and pictures for a life. A self-taught artist, described as a primitive, he was distinctive for his vivid imagination and bold color application. He painted hundreds of Lancaster County scenes. Pfoutz traveled through the hills near his home and along the Susquehanna River in search of scenes. He began painting with a brush when he was fourteen, but added a palette knife after suffering an eye injury. He completed eighth grade in the Lancaster Public Schools and there his formal education ended. However, the Department of Public Instruction of the State of Pennsylvania thought so highly of his work as an artist that officials certified him as an art instructor and he taught for a year in the York (PA) public schools. He also was an art instructor under the program for disabled veterans, sponsored by the Veterans Administration, when he gave private instruction to veterans in their homes. In 1947, J. Earle Pfoutz finally earned national recognition as an artist. His painting, Opalescent October, was chosen by the Museum of Art of Dayton Ohio, to travel all over the country for a year with its Group Exhibition. Described as a “very colorful, calm scene, iridescent in color, sweeping in design,” the painting started on its journey around the country early in 1948. In an interview with the Sunday News (Lancaster, PA – Nov 2, 1947), Pfoutz stated that he didn’t know whether he was a “primitive” or an “impressionist.” No master taught him, no school channeled his style. “Sometimes I didn’t eat, but I always managed to paint,” he recalled. Many of his hundreds of canvases -most of them not sold, but given away to friends – found their way to other parts of the country. “I never remember the day when I did not love color,” Pfoutz said. “I was about 12 years old when I saw my first palette – a string of different colored paint paddles that graced the stores of that day. As a boy I had two great desires. One was to be able to eat all the strawberry jam I could, and the other to possess a string of those beautiful paint paddles. Well, I’ve got my fill of jelly, but I’ve never yet got my fill of beautiful colors.” In 1950, Pfoutz’s one man show of paintings made front page headlines in the Lancaster Intelligencer Journal: “Most of the twenty oil paintings on exhibition are landscapes, although there are several interesting figure studies. Colors again, as in all Pfoutziana are rich and full-bodied, but for the most part not as startlingly as in some of the earlier work. Most of the paintings were done during the past year, and also reveal the painter’s characteristic heavy impasto technique, in which the rich swirls of paint carry their own message. Among the figures, The Banjo Picker, and The Magician, are the most provocative. Both are character studies; the first being of a tramp musician whose drab clothing is set-off by a luminous aqua blue background. Modern in feeling and treatment is The Magician, a clown-faced wizard whose spinning ball in the air suggests the fourth dimension – space. The use of the primary colors in this picture serves to emphasize the theme effectively. A large colorful landscape, Opalescent October, depicting rolling hills against a late afternoon sky is new to Lancastrians, as it has just returned from Dayton, Ohio, where it hung in the Dayton Art Institute. Another landscape with soft dreamy colors is Fantasie D’Autumne, and one of the loveliest pictures in the show. Pennsylvania Dutch Country is another with eye appeal, and was one of the works which was hung in the Old Customs House in Philadelphia during Pennsylvania Week, and before that in a collection of Pfoutz work in the same place. In deep contrast to the sunny skies and brilliant foliage of many of the pictures, is the somewhat morbid Worry, in which the center of interest is a tremendous rat. This, the painter explains, was symbolic of 1948 in China, which was ‘The Year of The Rat’ in the Chinese calendar. Background material for the picture was furnished to Pfoutz by author Pearl Buck. Other pictures include Autumn Prelude, Miners Village, painted at Cornwall, PA; Humid Day, Saint Peters Kierch, at Middletown, PA; Lady Pfoutz, inspired by the painter’s wife; Sun Flowers, Sentimental Journey, Gyne, Luzon Woman, Old Bridge, The Cow Path. Lemures, based on Roman mythology, and Ethiopian, painted from an ebony wood carving from Kenya Province, S. Africa.” In 1953, Pfoutz was installed as President of the Lancaster County Art Association. A. Z. Kruse, New York City artist, writer and member of the faculty of the Brooklyn College and the Cartoonists and Illustrators School, Manhattan, was the guest speaker. In January of 1953, thirty-five Pfoutz oils were exhibited at the Old Custom House in Philadelphia, PA under the sponsorship of the Carl Schurz Memorial Foundation. Several Lancaster County landscapes and covered bridges were included as well as Katy, a Pennsylvania Dutch scene. Symbolic paintings included End of the Second Day, the artist’s visualization of the second coming of Christ, and Twilight, typifying the grief of mothers of all lands for sons lost in battle. In June of 1953, a Pfoutz oil made history in Lancaster. From the Lancaster New Era: “For the first in local art history, a painting has been withdrawn from an exhibition because of objections from viewers and hostesses serving at the show. The painting, Jeune Fille, a standing nude done by Pfoutz, was one of the paintings in the annual spring exhibition of the Art Association and had become the center of the controversy. Pfoutz said he took the painting down… ‘graciously but reluctantly.’ ‘From an artistic standpoint, there is nothing offensive about the painting,’ Pfoutz said. ‘This community just wants its nudes with clothes on.’ “It is most brilliant in color, and because it is so brilliant I thought it would make a nice lively spot for the show. This is the first time I’ve had to take a picture off the walls. I substituted a seascape for it.’ Pfoutz said he felt the painting brought a lot of viewers to the show because it was so controversial. It had never been exhibited before. ‘If this had been shown in a metropolitan city,’ he commented, ‘people wouldn’t have given it a second glance. But the viewpoint here is more conservative, even though I don’t think moderns would have minded.’ He said he felt the painting was neither ‘objectionable nor pornographic,’ but had complied with the wishes of fellow members of the Art Association who telephoned him to relay the protests they had received. The art controversy was the first to arise here publicly since the showing of Amish Grandmother, an oil by William Gropper which was part of the Gimbel Pennsylvania exhibit at the Griest Building several years ago. — Numerous viewers of Amish Grandmother, [a painting showing an Amish woman holding a white goose], expressed themselves quite vocally, calling it an affront to the Plain Folk. But it stayed on exhibit throughout the length of the Gimbel show. Pfoutz expressed no rancor, implying that if Gropper could take it so could he.” After his death, there were several shows of Pfoutz’ work organized by his son J. Earle, Jr. J. Earle, Jr. also saw to it that President Eisenhower would receive an oil called The Cow’s Path. The president first saw the painting in 1950 when, as president of Columbia University, he visited Lancaster to address a student assembly at Franklin and Marshall College. After his address was over, the then Gen. Eisenhower stopped at the Fackenthal Library on the campus to view an exhibition of Pfoutz’s paintings. The Cow’s Path intrigued him. For some time, as his aides fumed to get him back on his time schedule, Eisenhower and Pfoutz talked, as artist to artist. Prior to his death, Pfoutz requested that The Cow’s Path be given to the President if he wanted it. The painting was presented to Ike at the White House in November of 1959. Mrs. Eisenhower owned a Pfoutz painting titled, In the Manor. Though house painting was his livelihood, he worked for Millersville State Teachers College (now a university) for a time during World War II, and called himself “the Chimney Sweep of MSTC.” During that period he knocked out a dizzying canvas in the surrealist style (he thought it was terrible) and got into the campus newspaper when one of the students spotted it. Earle Pfoutz was not the humble, downtrodden artist, not the Douanier Rousseau type at all. As he developed his skill and style through the years, he also fashioned a resilient confidence in himself as an artist. Whether he was building his own home (he built two) or painting one for somebody else, he never lost faith in his ultimate recognition—though he was never sure he would live to see it. Whether he was working as a rigger for a hoisting company, in the Stehli Silk Mill of Lancaster, carving Cloister-style chairs, decorating old chests, cementing bricks from the old Safe...

Brilliantly painted in a palette of canary yellow, orange-red, browns and blues, this WPA-period painting of an open-air market under the Market-Frankford elevated train line ("the El") in Philadelphia was executed by Dorothy Van Loan...

Beautifully realized in sanguine, a ruddy chalk, this view of a North African cityscape dominated by a wide, tumultuous sky and a mosque with a large, low dome and high minaret, was drawn by Misha Reznikoff, a Ukranian-American artist. Reznikoff studied at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), and later in Europe where he became close friends with Arshile Gorky, a friendship that lasted a lifetime. Later he taught at the Art Students League and The New School for Social Research, was active in the WPA and socialized with Willem de Kooning, Mark Rothko, Jackson Pollock, Ad Reinhardt, Milton Avery...

A brilliant example of American Cubism, this vividly-hued still life depicts an autumnal array of fruit, green and red grapes, lemons, figs and persimm...

Vintage Hungarian Advertisement Print in German for Gebr. Hartmann / Bathychrokm Gravure Printing Inks published in Magyar Grafika (Hungarian Avant-garde Advertising Magazine) Hunga...

This rare and beautifully detailed etching by Sigmund Lipinsky depicts several of the Greek gods on Mount Olympus, dominated by Zeus and Athena, who are shown standing over a nude Hermes...

This piercing and powerful portrait of a Tunisian man with an open-necked shirt provides a glimpse into the life of artist Porter Woodruff in North Africa. Woodruff was best known for his paintings and illustrations for Vogue magazine -- one of five American fashion illustrators who worked for the magazine -- as well as House & Garden. He was born in Tennessee, but spent much of his creative life in Paris and Tunisia, where he lived with Georges Sébastian, an important Hungarian-born, French orchestra conductor...

Expressive clown painting - signed "Jen" circa 1950 - great frame Frame size = 22.5 x 26.5 Image size = 15.5 x 19.5.

Regency Opulence: Brookshaw's Plums from Pomona Britannica Object: Hand-Finished Aquatint and Stipple Engraving (Plate XVII) Artist/Author: George Brookshaw (British, active 1780-18...

WILLIAM SHAYER, SR. British, 1788-1879 "Sussex Coast" (1854) Oil on canvas signed lower left "William Shayer '54" titled in graphite on stretcher bars verso Item # 404REX19W Th...

Watercolor of a "Sewing Tape" in a Sculptural Suggestive Shape "Sin Titulo", signed: Franklin, 2002 Water Color on Arches Aquarelle Watercolour Paper, Unframed " very nice water c...

This classic, striking example of Art Deco painting, highly influenced by Cubism, depicts a fashionable woman expressed in tones of purplish blue and taupe, her head raised upwards, ...

Black & White Photograph of "Thumbs Up" by Robert Francis Giandomenico, c. 1970 Photograph is mounted on Board "thumbs up emoji before the thumbs up emoji" "unframed - will look a...

A fine Israeli oil on canvas painting. By Zvi Olivitzki (b. 1930, Haifa.) Depicting a woman with a floral skirt seated before a geometric Persian rug on a patterned upholstered chair...

Superbly conceived and executed, this Cubist-influenced Art Deco drawing shows four nude male figures, three below in various stages of surprise and exclamation, and a Christ-like figure above, gesturing to them in peace. The scene may be a modern day allusion to several Biblical stories of the risen Christ appearing to his followers, including on the road to Emmaus...

"Vital IV" is a one-of-a-kind wall-hanging piece as part of Vanessa Barragão's newest collection in a purple, pink, and red color palette. This piece is woven and handcrafted by the...

Beautifully rendered large still life of violin and books on a desk in warm light, with painterly effect. Signed Czene Apatfalvi. János Apátfalvi Czene (1904-1984) Canvas 24 x 36 ...

Poster for the 15th Annual Community Holiday Festival (1985), William Conion This massive, signed poster by American abstract artist William Conlon is an exceptional example of late...

A very interesting and unusual Cornwall Iron Banks Original Oil Painting by artist J. Earle Pfoutz. The painting is produced on canvas and comes complete wit...

Pascal Cucaro large still-life painting of flowers. Born in Youngstown Ohio in 1915, he moved to San Fransisco after World War 2 and painted numerous S...

This nude figure, decked out in an Errol Flynn moustache and slicked-back hair, was executed in dark red pencil by Joe Waano-Gano, an important Native American artist with a prestigious career in California in the 1930s and 1940s. Born a Cherokee Indian...

Mixed Media Abstract Skyline Collage Painting of New York Singed A. Gange, Artist Unknown, circa 1960 " in good vintage as found condition " " canvas has a thin wood frame " "This ...

Dating to the late 1930s or early 1940s, this fabulous design -- entitled "Rhythm" -- for an Art Deco folding screen depicts several nude figur...

Antique Persian Iznik Qajar Style Ceramic Pottery Tile Hexagonal Blue Couple C5. Item features the original crac...

Chinese export glass picture of a Persian warrior, The Chinese reverse glass picture depicts a Persian warrior seated on the back of a dappled horse riding at a trot, a shield slu...

This large-scale Paulo Machado painting is extremely bold with fantastic color saturation and presents beautifully. Stretched canvas on kiln dried hardwood frame. About the Artist ...

Fluttering Exotica: Eight China Trade Watercolors on Pith Paper This superb Set of Eight Chinese Watercolors, dating from Circa 1840–1860, offers a delicate and vibrant collection of...

The cluster of knotty male nudes depicted in this high-energy drawing by Ben Messick illustrates his mastery of mural painting and animation. He worked as a sketch artist at the Disn...

Vintage Lucite Wall Brackets with Lucite mounts attributed to Karl Springer or similar maker. These are substantial and can hold any sized custom shelf (within reason). Ships quickly...

A. J. Stillman mixed metals racing sailboats wall sculpture with etched signature and date; 1983. All original condition maintaining fiery brass, copper, steel metals and peacock blu...

Title: Marilyn Monroe Silver By: Steve Kaufman. Date: 1990s. A limited edition screen-print on canvas with hand embellishments (in oil) depicting Marilyn Monroe. Sign...

One of the most vividly painted and striking portraits of Native Americans ever painted in the 1920s, this oil on canvas depiction of a mother and child -- clearly reflecting centuries of painted Madonnas in Europe -- was made by Jean Hanau...

Perhaps because it depicts its figures more as Greek athletes rather than modern players, this bronze Art Deco plaque is very rare, or possibly unique. The artist, Fred Torrey, depicts a Classic jump shot, with two virtually nude basketball players leaping up for the ball. Best known for his "Lincoln Walks at Midnight" sculpture which premiered at the 1939-1940 New York World's Fair (now displayed near the West Virginia state...

"Floral Masterpiece": Large Vintage Botanical Lithograph after Joseph Nigg, Printed by Mourlot, 1947 A magnificent and large-scale botanical lithograph, beautifully reproducing a pa...

Feathered Elegance: Famille Rose Hawk on a Rose Branch This exquisite Chinese Porcelain Plaque, dating to the Mid-20th Century, is a vibrant example of traditional Chinese panel pai...

Created early in De Lue's career, possibly when he worked in the New York studio of Bryant Baker, this handsome Art Deco drawing depicts a nude male figur...

Antique Persian Iznik Qajar Style Ceramic Pottery Tile Blue and Green Man and Woman Kissing C2. Original crackle glazed finish, heavy ceramic pot...

Atmospheric and full of depth, this view of an old European archway, with high-chimneyed houses beyond and crowds of people below, was painted in the 1930s by J. Alvin Storck, a Chic...

Drawn by Robert Hale Ives Gammell, this depiction of a nude male figure holding a stylized child aloft is brilliant evidence of the artist's mastery of draughtsmanship. Gammell loved...

A wonderful example of Art Deco painting by William Hentschel, this depiction of a pink ostrich near a purple flowering plant has the feeling of 1930s and 40s animation such as Disne...

Impressionist large Philadelphia - A brisk morning walk under the Manayunk bridge. A bundled up man takes a stroll along the canal trail. A historic Philadelphia bridge cascades acro...

The Avian Wonders: Engravings from Buffon's Histoire Naturelle, Ornithologie ________________________________________ This meticulously presented a...

Clearly influenced by Gustav Dore's masterful painting of a crowd of Titans pushing an enormous boulder at the top of a mountain, with lightning bolts over...

Sleeper, woman lounging on daybed - Signed/Attested on Rear of Painting by artist's son, Marc Chatov, that painting was created in Atlanta, Georgia studio circa 1980 - Framed dimensions: 55.25 in x 32.5 in; Image dimensions: 48 in x 25 in Roman Gregory...

HERMANN DAVID SALOMON CORRODI Italian, 1844-1905 Bucolic Landscape of Shepherds Caring for an Injured Lamb (1868) Oil on canvas signed lower left "H. Corrodi Roma 68" Item # C104...

Impressive large realistic still life with fruit and adorable pair of monkeys. Signed by artist Steve Rodgers 38” W x 32” H x 3” D Canvas 24” H x 30” W

Striking in conception and execution, this half-portrait of a handsome, blue-eyed young man -- his back to a mirror and his arm folded over a chair -- was painted by Marion Huse, who...

Richly colored and stunningly beautiful, this 1920s depiction of a female figure in Classic Greek garb, her hair in a bun and her dress radiantly dyed candy-apple red, was painted by...

A brilliant and vividly-hued view of a traditional Pueblo dance -- the Tablita -- this Art Deco painting by Louise Morris includes several female figures wearing tablitas, or headdre...

Contemporary Victorian Style Carved Wood Blue White Distress Painted Corbel Wall Brackets - a Pair. Circa Late 20th Century. Measurements: 15" H x 5" W x 10.25" D.

Paulo Machado's Toxic Poppies is a bold and expressive large-scale work with great colors and dimensionality. Stretched canvas on kiln dried hardwood frame. About the Artist Inspir...

GOTTFRIED SCHULTZ German, 1842-1919 Still-Life with Fruits and Wine on a Marble Surface with a Small Fly Oil on linen Signed upper left "G. Schultz" Item # 402UJE16Z An intricately painted still-life scene centered around a blown glass goblet of white wine centered on a marble table top. Red and white grapes spill across the surface with a sprig of the grape vine together with several large leaves resting on the top while peaches, a pear, two plums and an open apricot are laid out on the table. A single fly looks on at the table of sweet fruits and juices, its tiny body casting...

Beautifully and sensitively painted, this WPA-period portrait of a young man in an unusual setting -- perhaps a boiler room or plumbing closet -- was executed by Dorothy Van Loan...

A fine Ukrainian impasto oil on board painting. By Leon Oziasovych Kopelman (b. 1904 Vovchynets, Ukraine) Depicting a couple on a village path (likely in the Carpathian Mountains) ...