Old Staffordshire Ware, England. An antique pair of riders on horseback. Pre 1900, this is a true pair painted by the same artist. No chips or blemishes. On one, there is hairline cracking on the back of the base that was done during the firing process. The hairlines are not on the bottom and they are not on any area that can be viewed (see picture). Other than that they are in pristine condition. The riders are wearing helmets suggesting polo or hunting. Excellent condition. Purchase the pair.

A hand carved, ceremonial hardwood mask from the Ivory Coast.  Painstakingly hollowed out to quite a smooth interior finish. The mask is rather small leading me to believe that this was made for a woman. Quite a lot of detail with a protruding, horned  high-piece. Various holes in the circumference allow it to be tied to various sized people. Definitely an antique. Early last century or previous. Excellent condition with one minor repair. No signature visible.

“Canal with Windmill and Barge”. Large, mixed media, watercolour on paper by Max Ludby R.I., R.B.A., British 1858-1943. Windmill near Delft, Holland. Circa 1930. Incredible control of the watercolour brush strokes. The water depicted is marvelous.  Mounted in handsome gold leaf, hand rubbed frame. Ref. Benezit, Vol. 5, page 655. Artwork in perfect condition.

The Hitch-Hiker. Mixed media, egg tempura on masonite board by Fred Ross, C.M., LL.D., R.C.A., one of Canada’s leading figurative painters. The model for this painting in Fred’s son Christopher who came into the studio one day and put on the overcoat and the top hat which Fred interpreted into this painting. C. 1975. Signed “Fred Ross” upper right. Framed in wood with a greyish, specked finish. Inner fillet painted white. Excellent condition.

Oil and casein tempura on masonite by Fred Ross R.C.A. Signed and dated: “Fred Ross 57″. “Portrait of an Old Man” is an interesting piece. You’ll notice that the old man is winking OR has he lost an eye, at some point?  He has many stories to tell. It looks like he’s lost an ear as well. In the painting Fred Ross has put all the names of his family staring on the left with his wife, Sheila. Then there’s Lorna who is the eldest child, then Christopher, next oldest, then there’s a question mark (?) suggesting that there was another child on the way, while he was painting this picture.  It turns out that there was another girl, Catherine (Cathy Ross, an accomplished artist as well). This was a part of Max Stern’s collection, owner of the Stern Gallery and Dominion Gallery in Montreal. Labels on the back explain a few things. Frame is gold leaf over wood with a hand rubbed red/brown patina on top. The frame has been made to look like there are worm holes on the top, bottom and both sides. Excellent condition. Museum quality.

Fred Ross R.C.A. Original mixed media. Label: “Landscape, St. Andrews, N.B. ’97″. Signed, Fred Ross, lower right. Excellent condition. He doesn’t paint too many landscapes – here he captured the sky and surroundings showing the ruggedness of NB. Excellent condition. $2,000. Frame size: 15.75″ W x 19.75″ H. Art size: 12″ H x 8.25″ W. Wt: 2 lb. .9 kg.

Mixed Media, Fred Ross, R.C.A. Acrylic, chalk, ink. “Still Life With Tapestry Slippers” 1993. Gallery label “Galerie Walter Klinkhoff Inc. Montreal – an authentic work”. These are Sheila Ross’ house slippers. Fred thought they were fun and put them into quite a few of his paintings. This is the only composition where they are the main focus. Excellent condition.

Mixed Media, Fred Ross, R.C.A. Acrylic, chalk, ink. “Still Life With Pointe Shoes” 1993. Gallery label “Galerie Walter Klinkhoff Inc.” Montreal – an authentic work. It has the gallery seal embossed on the label that, in effect, is the COA for this piece. Excellent condition.

Oil and casein tempura on masonite by Fred Ross R.C.A. Signed and dated: “Fred Ross 1956″. This is a staggeringly interesting piece. I won’t try to define it here but suggest you read the written description in the book about Fred Ross, “A Timeless Humanism” by Tom Smart. You’ll notice that the boy is on the far side of the window sill but on the inside of the frame in which he is standing. Also the monkey is threading beads from the bottom upwards. The front of the scull is floating. Fred’s wife’s name, Sheila, is carved into the frame to the left of the boy’s head. Why is there an owl on his shoulder, a piece of rope hanging from the frame and a wish bone also hanging on the frame? Things to ponder when you enter this remarkable painting. This was a part of Max Stern’s collection, owner of the Stern Gallery and Dominion Gallery in Montreal.The frame is gold leaf with some red streaks and spackle.  There is a green velvet inner frame to further set the painting apart from the gold colour. Astonishing. Excellent condition. Museum quality.

Mixed media. This painting was a sketch for a future, larger painting but the cat got killed in traffic and the large painting was never done. The cat was just a street cat that came to visit Fred at his studio. Signed in pencil, upper right. Gallery Walter Klinkhoff label on reverse. Perfect condition.

Huge acrylic, chalk and collage on Masonite panel.  Another masterpiece by Fred Ross R.C.A. Entitled: “Artist in Studio” with Judith as the nude model.  It’s a fascinating piece of work in that it’s a self portrait with the artist facing us with a nude in front of him facing away from the viewer. Fred has his left foot resting on the divan that she is lying upon. Also there is an easel with another nude paining on it.  That small painting is signed: “Fred Ross” in the upper right corner and the main painting is signed: “Fred Ross’ in the extreme lower right corner. Two signatures – quite unique. Next to the artist is a spike of light coming in from a window that sheds light on the subjects from right to left – otherwise it’s a very dark room. The label is from Gallery Walter Klinkhoff stating: “Artist in Studio – Acrylic, chalk and collage 52″ x 42″ Fred Ross”  The label also has the Klinkhoff seal that gives this painting its COA. The frame is wood with gold leaf and three grey key lines as a border. There is an inner lined raised fillet that sets the painting away from the frame. Spectacular – a powerful artist’s statement and in perfect condition. Museum quality.

Mixed media on artist’s paper board by Maurice Verrier. Watercolour, pens and possibly in early felt marker. Classic scene from the ’40s in the Pigalle area of Paris. Signed “Verrier” lower right corner. “Pigalle” is written in the lower left corner. The frame is rough and is white washed over rough hewn wood – very effective and compatible with the rough, simplistic approach of the painting. There’s an inner painted wood fillet. Slight water mark on frame and typical watercolour on the painting. $2,900. Frame size: 22.5″ H x 18.75″ W. Art board size: 14.5″ H x 10.5″ W. Wt: 3 lb. 1.4 kg.

“Peacocks”. Mixed media, gouache on paper board by Manzana Pissarro. This is an original because of the pastel textures and elements that can’t be copied. Very lovely scene of peacocks with one nosing in from out of the frame. Watercolour, pastel, gold and silver paint and gold leaf set this painting off. It is of a very high standard. Signed lower left “Manzana”. The frame is wood with gold patina with a tinge of burnt red. Textured off-white matt with painted wood inner fillet. I have a COA from the Pissarro family. Excellent condition.

Mixed media, gouache by Manzana Pissarro.  Very lovely scene of hens and roosters. Watercolour, pastel, gold and silver paint make this an outstanding custom print. Each one is done individually, so no two are the same. It is of a very high standard. Signed lower left “Manzana – Pissarro. 33/100″. The frame is wood with a hand rubbed, gold patina.  Textured off-white matt with inner bevelled edge matt. Excellent condition.

Mixed media, pencil, crayon? Delightful small piece of typical French riverside with thatched cottage, woman and ducks. Au verso “Ludovic Rodo PISSARRO 1878-1952″ Signed “L. R” lower left. Contemporary frame with champagne linen matt. Excellent condition.