MORE FROM MY GALLERY

This is a continuation of my previous post, in which I inflicted you with paintings from my private art collection.
Here are some more - -

 

An Alpine scene by Bachmann.
When I was living in Texas, I had this painting hanging over my bed. One night when I was sound asleep, it fell off the wall and hit me directly on the head. I don't know if it was an act of God or a ploy of Satan - - but it was a rude awakening and hurt like....... hell.

This is a rarity and one of my favorites - -
a superb pencil drawing entitled The Betrothal by the French artist Adrien Moreau (1843 - 1906). 
It is an original illustration for the book Quest of the Absolute by Honore de Balzac.

I don't remember what I initially paid for this, but it's undoubtedly worth a lot more now.

Two King Charles spaniels with a feathered hat. This delightful painting is by a German artist, circa 1885.
It's inspired by a painting by English artist Edwin Landseer (1802 - 1873).
The painting is in beautiful condition for an antique - it's hanging in my living room.

 

I purchased this painting solely because I liked the colors - - a sort of amber, autumnal tint.

My cat Bosco doesn't seem to have an interest in art.

Two original watercolors by the British artist John Sell Cotman (1782 - 1842).

A rather whimsical Italian painting of a boy smoking, circa 1885.

This is a painting of Mount Baldy (California) by an amature artist, dated 1870. I was intrigued by this because when my parents first moved to Southern California, we lived in the foothill of the mountains near Mount Baldy.

I can never resist cats. This painting is probably from the 1950s.

That's my cat Kitzee (sitting on the piano) who is now deceased. I miss her immensely.

This painting is hanging above one of my pianos (notice it on the above photo). It's a landscape from Vienna, circa 1905.
I was intrigued by the mountains in the background.

This painting of a 1920s auto is by the contemporary artist H. Hargrove. He was born in Italy in 1941 (his real name is Nicolo Sturiano). He was originally a wine merchant but began painting when he moved to America. His paintings of Americana are immensely popular.

I always wanted to have one of his paintings in my collection - - I purchased this at an auction.

A haunting moon-drenched night in Imperial Russia. The painting is old (1867) and somewhat faded - - but I couldn't resist.

What's this - - another cat? This painting is so old (around 1840) that the back of it is in need of major repair and I can't hang it.

Is this finally the end???
I've just done two blog posts "showcasing" my humble art collection - - and I hardly scratched the surface. I have enough art to open a museum.

Thanks for taking a look.          Jon

POMPOUS RICH GUY

I was hesitant to post my previous blog entry because I thought it would make me look like a pompous rich guy showing off his stuff.

Hey, I might be pompous but I'm not rich. Trust me on that. When I said that I lost everything in Texas it wasn't an exaggeration - but I won't go into ugly details. Fortunately I still have most of my art collection (minus some that the movers "lost").

Eventually I'll have to consider selling some of it - - but dealing with greedy, unscrupulous art dealers is another story I won't go into. Believe me, I've had bitter experiences.

I've had an "expert" sniff at my Venice by Moonlight painting by Paulucci and tell me it's worthless (see previous post). I've since discovered that one of Paulucci's paintings sold for $18,000. No lie.

But what about me - a pauper collecting art? It started long ago when I decided that it would be neat (yes, I still use the word "neat") to own one antique painting. I snagged a very old painting for a low price at an auction: a family home painted in 1732 by someone named Lounsbury. 
My first art acquisition. Not much to look at but ancient, nevertheless.

 Thus, my passion for collecting antique art had begun. I always look for bargains - the lowest prices I can get. Fortunately I know a lot about art, which helps. The paintings that I purchase are not always the ones I want, but the price is usually right.

I got this 65 year-old painting of a deer on masonite for 9 dollars. Yup, nine bucks! It's very large and I still have it hanging on one of my walls here in TN.

  

I admittedly paid a sizeable sum for my two Henriette Ronner paintings. I threw them in the trunk of my car when I moved to Tennessee. That was an extremely fortunate decision. If the movers got their hands on those paintings, I would have never seen them again.

When the two Ronners were shipped to me from Italy, they were held in customs and sprayed (sprayed with what, I don't know). 
I think it would be a great idea if all foreigners would be held in customs and sprayed.
Some of my "sensitive" readers are cringing right now. Jon is a heartless Nazi!

Another of my more expensive acquisitions is this 1850 painting of a harvest scene. I bought it from the mayor of a city in New Jersey. It hangs above a piano in the living room.

 Sometimes I'm intrigued by paintings simply for the colors. I love this 1915 German mountainscape (below) which hangs in my bedroom.

I also like this snowscene (below) which I gave to my Mom for her bedroom when I lived in Texas.

I have numerous portrait paintings - but it never occurred to me until recently that several are smokers. That's merely coincidence (see Boy With Cigarette on previous post).

 The boy with the pipe is circa 1885 and painted on a wooden panel. Huckleberry Finn, perhaps?

 This 1949 painting is by Otto Helmut Eberspracher, who lived to age 101. He was a professor at Johns Hopkins University.

 Another bargain basement 19th century painting from France. I think it was around 20 dollars.

I have a large collection of antique drawings and watercolors. The best part about this medium is that they're more compact than oil paintings.

 A watercolor of the ruins of Fort Ticonderoga, with the signature C.N.Doughty.
Fortunately I recognized that "pseudonym". This in fact painted by John Joseph Englehart (1867-1915) who was a very well-known landscape artist.

 Two watercolors from the early 1930's

I have dozens of watercolors. Let's skip to some drawings. 

 A German pencil drawing titled Vertrauen (trust, or confidence), dated Christmas Eve, 1837

 A pencil drawing from England, circa 1845

 I have a portfolio of drawings by this German landscape artist (above). I have his name in my files, but unfortunately I can't remember it and am too lazy to look it up. These drawings were preliminary sketches for paintings.

 San Paolo (St. Paul)

by Giuseppe Beghelli

This post was a continuation of my previous post, and these examples are only a small part of the things in my collection.

I won't bother to mention the fact that I have a small insignificant unframed painting of two trees, which I got from a woman in France, and which has a curious but familiar signature on the verso....

C. Monet

I am not jesting. Could it possibly be........???

 

THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM

Here is some artwork that I'd like to share. I'll write more about it at the end of this post.

This is the artistic calm before the universal storm that the artist later created


All of the above paintings were done by a young Adolph Hitler.

He was an artist and a dreamer long before he became a maniacal dictator. He created nearly 3,000 known works of art, including drawings, watercolors, and oil paintings.

He was largely self-taught and his lack of professional training is the reason his efforts didn't impress his artistic superiors. His two attempts to enroll as a student in the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts were rejected - in 1907 and 1908. He was coldly deemed to have "unfitness for painting."

Another strike against him was that - at that time - cubism, surrealism, and fauvism were in vogue. Hitler considered himself to be an artist in the Academic tradition and his artistic style was viewed as drab and old-fashioned.

During his lean years, Hitler earned a meager living by selling his artwork on the streets of Vienna. One can't help wondering how history might have  changed if Hitler would have been accepted at the Art Academy.

My personal opinion?
When I look at Hitler's paintings, I view them solely for artistic value - without having any prejudices about the monster that the artist later became. I like his work.

He wasn't a sublime artistic genius, but I think he had extraordinary raw talent that could have been nourished and developed into something great.

In truth:
the arrogant, pompous officials at the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts unduly gave Hitler the shaft.

Note - 
In case anyone is interested - which I seriously doubt (*sarcastic smile*) -  I've posted more of Hitler's paintings on my other blog. This link should get you there.

Fuhrer With a Palette