My gallery of art, I'm talking about. For many years I was a collector of antique art. Oil paintings, water colors, drawings. At one time I had over 100 works of art. I eventually sold some - and lost some when I moved from Texas to Tennessee.
I was never wealthy - and I'm extremely frugal. I only bought whatever I could afford. My art collection fit nicely in my big Texas house. Now that I'm living in a small place in Tennessee, there's no room for anything. Most of my art is stored in damp, moldy closets at the mercy of destructive mice.
I've fallen far from grace.
I've decided to document some of my art collection on my blog, mostly for my own selfish purposes - and with the hope that others might enjoy seeing them.
(I might extend this into two posts, if it's not too boring)
Jon
This is one of my favorites. It's a miniature pencil drawing of two horses by Princess Louise (1848 - 1939), daughter of Queen Victoria. She became an incredibly good sculptress and artist. This drawing was done in 1866 when she was eighteen.
(it was very difficult to photograph this - I finally used my cell phone)
This is the very first antique painting I ever purchased. I was intrigued by the date on it, which is 1750. The artist's signature is Lounsbury, the painting is originally from New York.
This is not one of my favorite paintings, but I purchased it because it's by Gare Barks. Her real name is Margaret and she was the wife of artist Carl Barks.
Carl Barks was a long-time illustrator for Disney studios and he was the creator of Donald Duck. All of the old Donald Duck cartoons and illustrations were done by Carl Barks. His wife Margaret (Gare) was mainly a landscape artist.
I love this painting of Bamburg Castle (England) which was painted in the 1840s. It is hanging above my antique desk (photo below)
This painting was done in the 1700s and I got it from a Beverly Hills estate. It's a copy of Raphael's painting Madonna of the Chair -
Mary, Jesus, and John the Baptist.
It is very large and heavy, and I'm reluctant to hang it on my flimsy walls.
This lovely pastel portrait was done in the 1920s. The seller swore to me that this is Thomas E. Lawrence - Lawrence of Arabia.
I purchased this from the mayor of a New Jersey city - - but I forgot what city it was (!!!).
I think the horse and cart are superbly drawn.
This is one of my very favorite paintings. It is huge, about five feet long. I have no information about it, except that it's from either Germany or Austria. My uneducated guess is that it was probably painted in the 1940s......or 30s?
I don't always buy expensive art. I got this painting of a deer in the snow at auction for nine (yes nine) dollars! It's quite large. I'm not crazy about the frame - - but it's presently hanging near the kitchen.
This is a Dutch painting from the 1870s. It's a haunting landscape of a windmill and rising moon by a lake. The gorgeous frame is original and in perfect condition.
