B. Grant watercolorist

unnamed, B. Grant, 8" x 10", watercolor

The seller of this painting speculated that it could be the work of Blanche Chloe Grant (1874-1948), based on the signature and label from a prominent Boston art dealer. Grant is best known for western scenes as she moved to Taos, New Mexico in the 1920s, where she painted mostly in oils. She studied in Boston at the Boston Museum School of Fine Arts and at the Art Students League, first, though, and worked as an illustrator with Howard Pyle.  My research shows that she won a prize for her watercolor work before 1920 and also travelled to Europe to study and paint before moving to Taos, so it is easy to understand this attribution.

 Label, verso

There are problems with this attribution, though. When I received the painting, I realized that it had been opened and that some modern materials, probably from the 1990s, had been used to mount this watercolor, so it cannot be confirmed that that this painting is original to this frame, or even that the label is original to the frame.

Signature

At first examination, I thought that the signature might have been done with a ballpoint pen, but close examination with a magnifying glass shows that it was more likely done with a fountain pen. All in all, a nicely done watercolor that could easily date to the 1920s, or before, and may, or may not, have origins in Boston, and may, or may not, be the work of Blanche Chloe Grant. I would appreciate hearing from anyone who is familiar with the early work of Ms. Grant and can confirm whether or not this is her work. In the mean time, this remains a mystery artist.

Alderly Park mystery artist

Alderly Park, unknown, 7" x 9", watercolor, 1887

This watercolor is likely by a British artist. I can make out the title and date, but the other writing is a mystery and may be the signature of the artist. I'd appreciate hearing from anyone who can identify this artist's work or signature.

Inscription, verso

Mystery handled pot

unnamed handled pot, unknown,  12" x 6", clay pot

I found this pot at a local thrift shop. It is very well done and unusual. There is a signature on the bottom, and if I knew what the name was, it would probably be easy to read. Unfortunately, I have no idea who the artist was. The last name may be "Beach".

Another view

Signature

Any help in identifying this artist would be appreciated.

Hotel Art?

 unnamed, H. Helgason, 10" x 8", oil on canvas

  Based on the amount of authoritative responses to my original post, I am updating this post in its entirety, instead of just adding an update section to the post.
  This is what I once thought was "Hotel Art", that is, art which was commissioned, or distributed, by a company that provided art to commercial institutions like hotels, motels, etc., perhaps copied from other works or maybe duplicated many times. A label on the back shows that the art was distributed by a company called Personal Preference Inc. (PPI) of Lisle, IL.
  Actually, PPI was a company that worked directly with artists to offer their original works to customers at "house parties", using a paradigm similar to that used for Tupperware parties of the 1950s. PPI used Tupperware's direct marketing strategy in which individuals contracted with PPI to present their wares, original art, at a house party. All of these art pieces had a PPI label verso, that contained PPI's contact information, the name of the person who brought the artwork to the party, an inventory number and sometimes the name of the person who purchased the artwork. All of the artwork was framed using frames made in Mexico. PPI worked mainly with unknown or new artists. Subsequently, some of these artists became successful, and even well known.
  I have other paintings, and a few collages, in my collection that were also distributed by Personal Preference Inc. of Lisle, IL, and all are quite well done.
  

Label

  Regarding the painting from my collection used as an example of PPI's wares, the artist has been identified as H. Helgason by a former PPI consultant who knew the artist, who was her mother's favorite artist. This may be the work of Hallgrimur Helgason, an Icelandic painter, writer, translator and columnist. There is a fairly lengthy Wikipedia entry for him and several YouTube videos featuring him. Helgason lived in Boston in 1985-6 and in New York in 1986-9 where he painted and exhibited and was apparently a starving artist with numerous occupations to support himself, so it does not seem implausible that PPI may have been one of them. He returned to New York, briefly, in 1995. Helgason later enjoyed, and enjoys, success as an artist, writer and poet. I am, though, still trying to confirm the identity of the artist who created this painting.

H. Helgason's Signature

California/Spanish mystery artist.

 unnamed, unknown, 10.75" x 8", watercolor

 I purchased this painting on ebay from a seller in California, so assumed it was by a California artist. Later, I spotted another work by this artist that was inscribed with the location of Granada, Spain and dated October 1967. The artist has a very unusual signature, which is totally illegible, but which I hope someone will recognize. The other watercolor was of Granada, Spain, from a distance, and I had to yoink on it with the Gimp image editor to get it squared up which probably somewhat distorted the proportions in an already poor photo. I did not purchase the second watercolor because the seller wanted too much for it, IMHO. Since my painting could also be a Spanish scene, I don't know if we are dealing with a Spanish painter or a Californian sojourning in Spain, or neither. Any help in identifying this artist is appreciated.

Fetching etching

 

unnamed, unknown, 6" x 8", etching on thin paper

I found this etching at a local thrift shop. It is on thin paper, perhaps just regular printer paper. I think it might be the artist's first test of his etching plate. It is really good, I think, and I suspect there are more copies of this etching out there. Unfortunately, it is not signed or marked in any way, so I'll have to hope that someone has seen another copy of this etching. Any help would be appreciated.

Bartsch smartsch.

unnamed, W. Bartsch, 15" x 18", oil on canvas

This was an ebay find. It was presented as the work of Wilhelm Bartsch (1871-1953) and the signature does somewhat resemble his signature, but this painting is done on a commercially produced American canvas, and Bartsch was a German painter with no records to indicate that he ever painted in the US. I doubt that this is his work.

The stretcher bears an 1886 patent date, but I doubt that this painting is so old. It more likely dates to around 1900-1920 and is in a European style. I think it is more likely the work of an immigrant named Bartsch, but would be happy to be proved wrong.