That's Me Over There.......And Guess Where That Photo Was Taken?

You may have heard about the recent landslide and tsunami in the Tracy Arm Fjord in Alaska. Well that photo in the "About Me" section is of me standing on the pontoon of a de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver which had just landed in front of the South Sawyer glacier in Tracy Arm Fjord. Behind me is part of the massive wall of rock that recently fell onto the South Sawyer glacier and into the the fjord. That area where I am standing is now covered in tons of rock and ice. I took my youngest son on a trip to the Northwest, Washington, Oregon, and on to Alaska to do the inside passage on the Alaska Marine Highway and boy am I glad that landslide missed us by ten years!

Anton Endstorfer (1880-1961) Bronze Sculpture - Amor - Nude Boy With Bow - Early 20th Century

The Artist (Above)

I have had my collecting eye on this little bronze for over a month now. I did some cursory research on the artist and the asking price was within recent auction sales prices and tonight I decided it was time to buy the little guy. The title of the sculpture is “Amor” and dates from the early 20th century. Here is some biographical information: The Austrian sculptor and medalist Anton Endstorfer learned his art in various master classes in Wien (Vienna), where he worked until 1913. During this time, he exhibited his own works for the first time. From 1915 he was a member of the Künstlerhaus. As a freelance artist he created several monuments and public wells in Vienna, Moslar and Ybbs. During World War II he was subject to a professional ban because of his Jewish wife initiated by his colleague Wilhelm Frass, who was a Nazi sympathizer. Endstorfer was only allowed to work as an unskilled laborer in Edwin Grienquer’s workshop. After World War II, Endstorfer worked as a freelancer again but was appointed a professor in 1949. In the late 1950s, he had to give up his job because of an eye problem. The Female ball thrower is a 43 cm high bronze. The “Female relay runner” was shown in 1929 in the annual exhibition of the Künstlerhaus and was awarded a cash prize.

Here are a few more examples of his works:

Johann Friedrich Bolt - (1769-1836) . Engraving Standing Male Nude - Late 18th Century

I was researching the works of Gaston Goor tonight when I ran across this beautiful engraving of a standing male nude. It is by the German artist Johann Friedrich Bolt (1769-1836). Johann Friedrich Bolt was a German artist and etcher / engraver who studied and worked with the artist Daniel Berger and was close to Johann Gottfried Schadow. He was known for his classical themes, reproductions of the works of the old masters and for portraits often executed as stipple engravings or mezzotints. I thought I would share it with you.

Italian School - Early 20th Century - signed "Raul G..." - Winged Cupid - Eros - Circa 1900

I was getting ready to close the deal on the Italian drawing listed below when I spotted this little cutie on sale by the same Rome Gallery. My one and only grandson just celebrated his first birthday last month (three beautiful sisters to keep him on the straight and narrow... nothing like a pack of older sisters to beat up a bully) and this drawing just made me smile and reminded me of him. I sent a low ball offer for the drawing and now it is on it's way with the other drawing. It is partially signed by an unknown artst "Raul G......" and dates from the early 20th century, circa 1900 according to the Gallery. In Roman mythology, Cupid, the god of desire, is most often depicted with a bow and arrow (He's carrying a beautiful bow), not a ball, so the figure standing with his foot on a ball is somewhat mysterious. While the myth of Cupid and Psyche involves Cupid accidentally scratching himself with his own arrow, there's no mention of him playing with or using a ball in his stories. His primary tools are his arrows, which can inspire love or aversion depending on their tip (gold or lead)(In regards to my ex-wife, cupid definitly hit me with a lead tipped arrow). Enjoy!

Italian School - Late 19th - Early 20th Century - Seated Male Nude

Today I was doing my usual rounds looking for that elusive academic drawing gem when I spotted this unsigned but truly magnificant drawing of a seated male nude. Unfortunately the work is unsigned but comes from an Italian Gallery in Rome! Fingers crossed I can this beauty past Italian customs and into my collection. My luck when buying from Italian sellers has been a real hit or miss proposition. (More miss than hit). What captivated my eye (what's left of them) was the detail in hatching and cross-hatching to bring life to that figure. My attention deficient disorder would have kicked in ten minutes after applying the first application of that detail hatching and I would have been headed for a padded cell somewhere. My "fun money" for the month was exhausted so I had to set out in the torrential rain today and trade in a tenth ounce of gold to buy it. I have enlarged some of the illustrations so that you can see the fantastic skills of this very talented classically trained artist. Enjoy.