Virginia J Hughins

Native American Figurative Woodblock -- "Weaving" #5/12

circa 1990

Figurative landscape capturing dock workers' afternoon break by John Theodore Edward Stoll (b. Germany; 1889, d. California; 1974). Signed "John Stoll" lower right. Titled "Drowsy Bu...

Mid-century portrait of a young girl by a window by acclaimed California artist Ben Messick (American, 1891-1981). Signed "Ben Messick" in plate, and in pencil in the lower right corner, by the estate. Presented in an off-white mat. Unframed. Paper size: 12"H x 12"W The following is submitted by Jim Lafferty whose sources include the autobiography of the artist: William Washington Messick married Sarah A. Bristow January 2,1889 and from this marriage a son, Benjamin Newton Messick was born on January 9, 1891 on a farm near Strafford, Missouri. His art talent was apparent from the time he was a child and later recognized by his commanding officer in World War I. He completed his training in Los Angeles at Chouinard in the late-1920s and is well-known for his Regionalist scenes and Modernist paintings. He was an instructor at Chouinard through the 1950s & influenced a generation of LA Modernists. Little is recorded in his autobiography about Messick's life from his teen years and service during the War. He enrolled at Chouinard Institute in the Fall of 1925, and was given a three-year scholarship by Mrs. Chouinard. In 1925 he won a cash award at the Los Angeles County Fair for a group of pen and charcoal drawings done in the parks and streets of Los Angeles. These works give the appearance of being spontaneous and fluid. In 1930 Messick left Chouinard as a full-time student and rented an apartment on West Eighth Street to use as a studio and living quarters. He had his own ideas on what he was trying to accomplish in art. "If you should ask what is the message of my drawings, I should say that they may explain themselves or may be just a technical exercise." By the mid 1940s, Messick's position in the art world had been well established as a teacher, painter, printmaker, writer and critic. Over his life time he had over 400 shows and exhibitions. Starting in 1939 he produced a number of stone lithographs that appear to the untrained eye as original drawings. To Messick the image was the most important aspect of his lithographs, and his signature in the plate was sufficient. Hand signing each lithograph did not seem necessary to him. He exhibited prints widely including the Albany Print Club and the Metropolitian Museum. To further substantiate the authenticity of Messick's prints the Eclectic Gallery under the authority of the Messick family posthumously pencil signed each estate-acquired stone lithograph. Messick had a childhood fascination with the circus and started drawing and painting the circus in 1935. His circus work, especially his clown studies, and his lithographs became his trademark work for in the 1940s and 1950s. A critic for ART REVIEW described his Big Top work this way: "His circus canvases...

"Fisherman's Wharf - San Francisco" Multi Layer Screen Print on Paper - Signed Rare and bold Screen Print (Silk Screen) of Fisherman's Wharf 1957 by Gordon Cope (American, 1906-1999). Several boats are docked at Fisherman's Wharf, with buildings directly behind them. In the distance, the hills of San Francisco can be seen meeting a pale blue sky. Of particular note is the skillful representation of the reflections of the boats in the water, and the clever use of grey paper as negative space. Numbered and titled in pencil in the lower left corner "22/100 Fisherman's Wharf - San Francisco" Hand signed and dated in pencil in the lower right corner "Gordon Cope 1957" Titled, signed, and dated "in plate" Presented in a silver colored frame with a double mat. Frame size: 22.5"H x 27"W Image size: 15"H x 20"W Gordon N. Cope (American, 1906-1999) was an educator and painter. Trained in Utah and France, he exhibited his landscape paintings and portraits in the United States and Europe, and he believed music was related to painting. Cope was born on May 14, 1906, in Salt Lake City. He was trained by Utahn artists LeConte Stewart and Lawrence Squires, and at the Académie Julian in Paris, France in 1928. He also studied singing at the Opéra-Comique. Cope taught art at Latter-day Saints University, and he served as the chair of its Department of Art in 1930–1931. He taught at the Mountain School of Art from 1932 to 1938, and he was the director of the Art Barn School in Salt Lake City in 1939–1941. Cope painted Utahn landscapes as well as a portrait of Henry H. Blood, who served as the seventh governor of Utah from 1933 to 1941. Cope exhibited his work in the United States and Europe. According to the Deseret News, Cope "felt that music and painting are closely interrelated, and that the study of one form may be used to complement the appreciation and understanding of the other." Cope died on June 10, 1999, in San Francisco, California. Gordon Nicholson Cope studied with well-known Utah artists A.B. Wright and LeConte Stewart, and became recognized as a major Utah artist of the Great Depression. Cope was born in Salt Lake City in 1906 and spent much of his life in Utah. Cope gained much of his artistic training from diverse environments and influences. Following his training with the previously mentioned artists, Cope spent the next year, 1924, working with Lawrence Squires in Arizona. To expand his knowledge and training, Cope traveled to Europe, where he studied the "old masters" such as Da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Raphael. From 1924 to 1928, Cope studied in England, France, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, Holland, and worked for a year at the Acadamie Julian, where many early Utah artists...

"Twilights Last Gleaming" - Vintage 1980's Etching Vintage etching depicting the characters from the 1977 movie "Twilights Last Gleaming" by Claudette M. McElroy (American, b. 1943...

"Study 6" - 1975 Figurative Lithograph on Paper Abstract figurative lithograph by Jim Smyth (American, b. 1938). The nude figure is seen with one hand above her head, holding a clot...

Male Figurative Study - Original Lithograph on Paper Original lithograph on paper depicting a male nude in pose. The male figure is depicted sitting, his arm across his leg as he ga...

From Poor Richard's Almanac portfolio. Hand signed and numbered by the artist. Lithograph on arches. Sheet size 25.5 x 19.5 inches. Image size approx 16.75 x 13.5 inches. From t...

From Poor Richard's Almanac portfolio. Hand signed and numbered by the artist. Lithograph on arches. Sheet size 25.5 x 19.5 inches. Image size approx 16.75 x 13.5 inches. From t...

From Poor Richard's Almanac portfolio. Hand signed and numbered by the artist. Lithograph on arches. Sheet size 25.5 x 19.5 inches. Image size approx 16.75 x 13.5 inches. From t...

From Poor Richard's Almanac portfolio. Hand signed and numbered by the artist. Lithograph on arches. Sheet size 25.5 x 19.5 inches. Image size approx 16.75 x 13.5 inches. From t...

Hand signed and numbered by the artist. Image size approx 20.5 x 16 inches. Frame size approx 32 x 27 inches. From the edition of 200. Artwork is in excellent condition. Certific...

Hand signed and numbered by the artist. From Tom Sawyer Portfolio. Sheet size 25.5 x 19.5 inches. Image size approx 17 x 13 inches. Frame size approx 28 x 24 inches. AP edition. ...