Michel Debiève

Still Life with Flowers and Fruit

1964

'Still Life with Pitcher', oil on paper, by Charles Réal (circa 1950s). Still-lifes make voyeurs out of all of us. No matter the era to which they belong, they always give us the sense that we’re spying on a table set for a night of gluttony or perhaps, romance. Whatever is set on the still-life table can transport us to another place limited only by our imaginations. What is not well known is that those tabletop items often had coded meanings. The secret meanings behind the paintings and their unofficial language spawned several sub-genres, including floral still life, breakfast paintings...

'Chinatown, San Francisco', gouache on fine art paper, by Edward Wilson Currier (1903). Spofford Alley in San Francisco's Chinatown is best known for an address (number 36) where Dr. Sun Yat-Sen plotted the overthrow of China's last dynasty. During Prohibition, it was the site of turf battles over local bootlegging and protection rackets. Today it is lined with seniors' community centres. However, the quiet alley livens up in the evenings when a Chinese orchestra strikes up a tune, mah-jongg games begin with a cascade of clicking tiles, and barbers and florists use the pretence of sweeping their doorsteps to gossip. In this artist's depiction, a man smokes a long-stemmed Chinese pipe under the awning and colourful lanterns hanging from the wooden supports while a child looks on. The artwork is interesting from several standpoints including architectural, cultural and historical. Shortly after this work was painted, the neighbourhood was completely destroyed in the 1906 earthquake that levelled most of the city. From 1910 to 1940, Chinese immigrants were detained at the Angel Island...

Donald Stacy "Sleeping with Fruit" c.1950s Gouache paint on paper 24" x 18'" unframed Unsigned Came from artist's estate *Custom framing available for additional charge. Please expec...

by Paul-Louis Bolot (French 1918-2003) original gouache painting on thick paper/ card unframed condition: very good and sound; the edges have a few curls and scuffs/ edge tears whic...