This really bowled me over!

bowl, Charley Reynolds, 8.5" x 3.25", glass, 1970

A thrift shop find. I believe that this is an example of the off hand glass blowing technique. I read the signature as "Charley Reynolds '70".  I found this in Normal, IL, the home of Illinois State University, which has a well known art glass program, though I believe that this piece predates the art program there by a few years. 

There is a well known glass artist named Charley Reynolds who is currently active, but he seems to exclusively produce glass smoking pipes. I contacted the editor of Glass Line magazine, and he did not think that this was his work. 

It is a quite striking piece, though, and I have taken to leaving the lamp on the table where this sits lit 24x7. Just a pretty thing to walk by and look at. 

I am not really expecting to find out much about this artist since this piece is nearly 50 years old and a quick search did not turn up any more potential candidates to be the artist. Possibly the work of a university student.

Got wood?

I am back from the dead! Actually, I have been retired for about a month and have both relapsed into my thrift shop addiction and also had time to very selectively add a couple of new items to my pile. Here goes!

unnamed bust, Vic Mason, 7"x3"x3", unknown wood, carving, 1987

This is just cute, in an eerie dead guy sort of way. It is very well done with fine detail and finish. The glasses are made from a single piece of heavy brass (?) wire which is not easily flexed, which may account for the fact that it is still attached to this bust.

The glasses are held onto the sculpture only by the tension of the wire.

The carving is finely finished and polished on all sides.

And, finally, it is signed and dated! The number 17  on the price tag suggests that it was displayed in an exhibition of some sort. I suspect it may have been produced as a project by a student at one of the nearby universities, Bradley University, Eureka College, Illinois State University, UIUC or Illinois Wesleyan University, since I found it at a thrift shop in Washington, IL. It seems perhaps a bit too finely done to be the work of a high school student. Really all guesses. It could easily be the work of a professional fine artist. I have found a significant number of works from all around the world in this area. The is possibly due to the travels of the faculties of these universities or by employees of a few large corporations in the region.

The only artist I have found to date that is a candidate to be the artist is Victoria Mason of Australia, though it appears that she is mainly a jewelry artist. I have sent an email to her asking if this is her work.

Who needs YouTube?

unnamed, unknown, 11" x 8", acrylic on MDF board w/etching

    I am always a sucker for cat paintings, and if there is a kitten in it too, well, what can I say?  This was an ebay purchase and was created using an interesting technique which might help to identify the artist. The painting is on MDF board. It appears that a gold colored base layer was laid down and then the images were loosely painted on top of that. The artist then refined the boundaries of the images of the cats and fish by etching the paint down to the gold under-layer. Of course, what appears to be a signature is really illegible. The frame may be a custom frame, since this is an odd sized painting. It appears to be of very good quality and could have been made by the artist. Any help is appreciated!
   The seller found this painting at an antique store in Roseville, CA. Maybe a California artist? I agree with the seller's assessment it probably dates to the 1960s or 1970s. Acrylic paint became widely used by artists in the early 1960s, so it can't be older than that. It has a kind of early 70s feel to me....

Framed painting

Signature? W. R/N.....?

Making a Nina out of a moleHIll?

 

unnamed, N.R. (Nina Hill), 10"x14", oil on MDF board, 1943

    This was one of several paintings offered by a North Carolina seller on ebay in October 2013. Some were signed "Nina Hill" and some had no visible signature, but all were undoubtedly by the same artist. I purchased this painting, which had no visible signature. Upon taking the painting out of the frame, I discovered a monogram, "NR 43". My guess would be, based on the fact that one painting was signed by Nina Hill and dated 1958, that she married a man named Hill after 1943 and before 1958, though the name change could also have been the result of a divorce. The sellers of this painting could not remember where and when they purchased it:

"I wish I could have more to tell you, we are in our mid 70s and have been to many sales over the years. We purchased the painting approx. 15 to 20 years ago. Possibly from a sale in the Pinehurst, N.C. area. I have no idea as to time of year."

    Several of the paintings were in Art Deco frames, similar to the one on my painting. There are a half dozen women named Nina Hill in North Carolina in the Social Security Death Index, though none were in the vicinity of Pinehurst. Note that the style of the trees in the 1943 and 1958 paintings are very similar, which may indicate that this artist's work and style were mature by 1943 and that she had been working for some time by then. The 1958 painting was later resold at auction attributed as the Nina Hill 1877-1970 who is weakly listed on AskArt.com. This attribution seems very iffy, based on the lack of any other information about this artist on that site, or in the auction listing. There is also no Nina Hill with these dates listed in the Social Security Death Index. There are several paintings at various auction house sites attributed to a British artist named Nina Hill 1877-1970 and her work does bear some similarity to this artist's work but not similar enough, in my opinion, to conclude that all of these works are by the same artist. The Dictionary of British Artists 1880-1940 by Johnson gives the following information about the British Nina Hill:

"Hill, Mrs. Nina. Exh 1927-1936. Flower and still life painter. Reigate, Surrey, 1927; Westerham, Kent, 1933. L 1, RA 5, RBA 1, RHA 1, RI 12, RSA 2. "

Any help in sorting this out would be appreciated!

 Nina Hill monogram

Other Nina Hill paintings and signatures

Do you ken Helen?

unnamed, Helen Ken, 9"x12", oil on board

    This was an ebay find from some years ago. I am calling it a plein aire sketch. It is actually quite striking from the proper distance, and well done, IMHO. There is another painting, another sketch, verso, along with an inscription, all of which is fairly clear, except for the name of the town where it was painted in New York. The artist recorded that she painted this work while spending the summer with her "Aunt Lilian". I believe the artist's last name is Ken, but it might be Kent. I have not been able to find an artist by either name. The name of the town appears to be Braincliff, and I wondered if it might actually be "Briarcliff" but can't quite make that fit with the artist's scribble. It is possible that it is "Briarcliff" and was misspelled by the artist.  I found several Helen Kens in searching records on Ancestry.com who are candidates to be this woman, but just don't have enough information to make the identification. Help!

Zuh-what?

unnamed, Z?, 7" x 6", oil on  card

    Another little ebay find from several years ago. I like small paintings, because I don't have much (any) free wall space. So small is among the first things I liked about this work. Then I liked the colors and motion in it. And lastly, I liked the $9.99 price, which is what I paid for it. The signature is close to readable, and I thought (argh!) it would be a good research opportunity. The name looks like "A. Zosber" or "A. Zesber". It could also be Zesbet or Zosbet. It came in an interesting frame that makes me think it is a 1950s, or early 1960s work. Just a guess. The seller was in Gouldsboro, PA, but this kind of feels like a California painting to me. I have found myself standing in front of this painting many times, trying to decipher the signature. Help!

No clute who painted this!

 unnamed, Clute, 16" x 20", oil on artists board

    This painting was purchased at an auction in Allentown, PA. There were at least three listed artists named Clute who were active in New York City, which is not far away. One died in 1914, long before this painting was created. This painting probably dates from the 1940s. There may have been other artists with the same surname, so it is by no means certain that one of the two remaining artists created this painting. The bridge in the painting, if it is based on an existing bridge, may be a clue as to the identity of the artist. I suspect that the bridge is in either New York or Pennsylvania. I would appreciate hearing from anyone who recognizes it.