George Demont Otis (1879-1962)

121 George Demont Otis (1879-1962)

“Mt. Lassen” Oil on canvas

Signed lower right: Geo. Demont Otis; titled in ink on the stretcher; with the estate ink stamp verso 24” H x 30” W

$4,000-6,000

Provenance: The artist’s studio Grace Vantine Hartley, niece of George Demont Otis, by descent Frank G. Hartley Special Needs Trust, acquired from the above

Grimm; signed again and titled verso

124

Orrin A. White (1883-1969)

Eastern Sierra landscape with snow-capped peaks Oil on canvas

Signed lower right: Orrin A. White

16” H x 20” W

$2,500-3,500

126

James Swinnerton (1875-1974)

“Mountain Road,” 1915 Oil on panel

Signed lower right: Swinnerton; titled and dated by repute 16” H x 14” W

$1,800-2,400

Provenance: Sold: John Moran Auctioneers, Monrovia, CA, “California Living,” May 17, 2022, Lot 1066

125

William Ballantine Dorsey (1942-2019)

Yosemite Valley, Bridalveil Fall, El Capitan, and Half Dome Oil on canvas

Signed lower right: Will Dorsey 20” H x 24” W

$3,000-4,000

127 Sam Hyde Harris (1889-1977)

“Carlsbad Veteran #2” Oil on Masonite

Signed lower left: Sam Hyde Harris; titled in pencil verso

18” H x 24” W

$2,000-3,000

Provenance: Private Collection, Westlake Village, CA

Sold: John Moran Auctioneers, Monrovia, CA, “California and American Paintings

Sale,” October 21, 2008, Lot 18

128

A.D. Greer (1904-1998)

Lakeside landscape

Oil on canvas

Signed lower right: A.D. Greer

22” H x 34” W

$2,000-3,000

129 Clara Jane Stephens (1877-1952)

Houses and street glimpsed through dense trees Oil on canvas laid to canvas

Signed lower right: Clara Jane Stephens

25.5” H x 36” W

$1,000-1,500

Charles Reiffel

(1862-1942)

“Landscape,” circa 1925

Oil on canvas laid to canvas

Signed lower right: Charles Reiffel; titled on the frame plaque; titled again and dated on a label affixed to the frame’s backing board 24” H x 28” W

$15,000-20,000

Provenance: Jonathan Art Foundation, Los Angeles, CA

Notes: The Jonathan Art Foundation is a non-profit organization whose public charitable purpose is arts education and outreach through the acquisition and exhibition of outstanding artworks that focus primarily on Southern California artists and history, while also maintaining such works and books as a resource for use by scholars.

Hitting the auction block for the very first time, “Landscape,” is a quintessential painting by Charles Reiffel in the way the artist creates a playful composition of vibrant trees and quaint houses peeking out from the hillside. The color combination in this work is highly expressionist and lively, showing off Reiffel’s artistic mastery that has gained momentum in the public’s eye since the 2013 retrospective of his work at the San Diego Museum of Art and San Diego History Center. The show of over 50 Reiffel works created such excitement about the artists oeuvre that Los Angeles Times Art Critic, Christopher Knight wrote that “in the history of American art, Charles Reiffel is probably the best early Modernist painter you’ve never heard of.” While Reiffel did fall into obscurity following his death in 1942, connoisseurs of great American art know that Reiffel, the amazingly selftaught artist, stands head and shoulders above being just described as a plein-air artist by creating box-sized landscapes with endlessly expressionist force. His vibrant hues and quaint houses peeking out from the hillside in “Landscape,” create a composition that is entirely Reiffel’s ownógiving way to comparisons to such Impressionist and Post-Impressionist luminaries as Claude Monet, Childe Hassam, and even Van Gogh. With a multitude of colors dancing along the hillside, Reiffel’s “Landscape,” will certainly heighten the contents of any important American art collection that’s lucky enough to win it.

131

Ray Strong (1905-2006)

Cows under a shade tree

Oil on canvas laid to artist board

Signed lower right: Ray Strong

18” H x 24” W

$2,000-3,000

134

Toucan

Oil on waxed canvas

Appears unsigned

8” H x 14” W

$1,000-2,000

Provenance: DeRu’s Fine Arts, Laguna Beach, CA

Estate of DeWitt C. McCall, Laguna Beach, CA

Notes: According to an information label affixed verso, “This painting was formerly a portion of a mural removed from the Oaks Hotels in Ojai, CA.”

135

Tarmo Pasto (1906-1986)

Sunset behind the hills Oil on canvas

Signed near the center of the lower edge: Tarmo Pasto

42” H x 52” W

$2,000-3,000

Notes: This lot is being offered in a frame hand-painted by the artist. There is a number 257 written in ink on the stretcher, twice, verso.

Tarmo Pasto, a noted psychologist and art professor, was also a prolific painter who frequently exhibited his paintings during his lifetime. Though he is perhaps best known for bringing attention to the work of one of his patients, the so-called Outsider artist Martin Ramirez, Pasto was a key figure in a circle of artists working in and around the Sacramento area during the post-war period. This loose coalition of artists, which includes figures such as Mel Ramos, Wayne Thiebaud, Jack Ogden, is known for exhibiting their work at institutions such as the Crocker Art Museum which holds examples of Pasto’s work in its permanent collection.

In 1986, four years after a retrospective was held at the Crocker Art Museum, Tarmo Pasto died and left behind a large body of work that has largely remained unseen by subsequent generations of viewers. John Moran Auctioneers is pleased to offer this work for sale for the very first time.

136

Tarmo Pasto (1906-1986)

“Rolling Dry Hills,” 1965 Oil on canvas

Signed and dated lower right: Tarmo Pasto; titled and numbered in pencil on the stretcher bar: 179

44” H x 44” W

$2,000-3,000

Notes: This lot is being offered in a frame hand-painted by the artist. There is a number 179 written in ink on the stretcher, twice, verso.

137

Ray Strong (1905-2006)

House and a barn in a hilly landscape Oil on Masonite

Signed lower left: Ray Strong

26” H x 34” W

$3,000-4,000

139 Millard Sheets

(1907-1989)

Theatrical scene from “Solome”

Watercolor on heavy wove paper

Signed lower right: Millard Sheets; titled by repute

Image/Sheet: 16.5” H x 20.375-20.5” W

$800-1,200

Provenance: Stary - Sheets Fine Art Galleries, Irvine CA

The Estate of Mr. & Mrs. Kenneth Childs, by descent

Notes: Kenneth Childs was the President of Home Savings and Loan - a Southern California Institution whose branches were designed by Millard Sheets Studio and adorned with rich mosaics. Childs and Sheets became close friends, often traveling and vacationing together. So close was their friendship that Millard Sheets spoke at Kenneth Child’s funeral and the two families continued to stay in contact.

According to the Los Angeles Daily News, Howard Ahmanson Sr., the owner of Home Savings bank, wrote to Sheets in 1952 saying: “Have traveled Wilshire Boulevard for twenty-five years. Know name of architect and year every building was built. Bored... Need buildings designed? I want buildings that will be exciting seventy-five years from now.” Sheets designed 120 Home Savings bank buildings in total - many of which arestill standing and often admired.

This watercolor represents a rare opportunity to acquire a work with provenance so closely tied to Sheet’s legacy.

140 Frank Myers (1899-1956)

“The Traveling circus” Oil on canvas

30” H x 36” W

$1,500-2,500

141

Richard

“Rain,” 2009

Cold-painted bronze on stone base

Signed in the casting: R. MacDonald; signed again and dated to base: R. MacDonald / 2009

15.5” H x 6” W x 9.5” D

$1,500-2,500

Notes: This sculpture appears in the accompanying catalogue “The Art of Richard MacDonald,” presented by Cirque de Soleil, with inscription in pen by the artist, dated 2009. Also included are “Fall/Winter 2013,” “Spring/Summer 2013,” and a “Holiday” pamphlet from Atelier Richard MacDonald as well as a bi-fold and postcard.

The figure, titled “Rain” is meant to represent “the gentle humor of the mime.”

142

Mentor Huebner (1917-2001)

Figures seated at a table

Acrylic on board laid to board

Signed lower right: Mentor Huebner

Figures in a library

Acrylic on board laid to board

Signed lower right: Mentor Huebner

16.5” H x 36” W

2 pieces

$1,500-2,500

143

Paul Landacre (1893-1963)

“Sultry Days,” 1937

Wood engraving on cream-colored paper

From the edition of 200, aside from the signed edition of 60

With the printed signature and date in the image, lower left: © P. Landacre; titled in ink on a label affixed to Image: 8.125” H x 6.125” W; Sheet: 17.75” H x 13.125” W

“Forest Girl,” 1936

Wood engraving on cream-colored paper

From the edition of 225, aside from the signed edition of 60

With the printed signature and date in the image, lower center: © P. Landacre; titled in ink on a label affixed

Image: 8.625” H x 6.125” W; Sheet: 17.875” H x 13.125” W

“Rima,” 1936

Wood engraving on cream-colored paper

From the edition of 225, aside from the signed edition of 60

With the printed signature and date in the image, along the lower edge: © P. Landacre; titled in ink on a label Image: 8.625” H x 6.125” W; Sheet: 17.875” H x 13.125” W

3 pieces

$1,500-2,500

“Barn

Signed lower right: Gary Ernest Smith; signed again and titled on the stretcher: © Gary Ernest Smith

40” H x 60” W

$8,000-12,000

Provenance: Overland Gallery of Fine Art, Scottsdale, AZ

145

Conrad Buff (1886-1975)

Canyonlands

Oil on artist board laid to wood panel

Estate signed lower right: Conrad Buff; the estate ink stamp with signature by Mary Elizabeth Buff on the verso of the original thin board 16” H x 20” W

$5,000-7,000

Provenance: The Estate of Conrad Buff George Stern Fine Art, Los Angeles, CA DeRu’s Fine Art, Laguna Beach, CA Private Collection, Los Angeles, CA.

Notes: The verso of the original thin board also includes a hand-written number: GSFA / CB458 / 03450007 / #4

Provenance: Jonathan Art Foundation, Los Angeles, CA

Notes: The Jonathan Art Foundation is a non-profit organization whose public charitable purpose is arts education and outreach through the acquisition and exhibition of outstanding artworks that focus primarily on Southern California artists and history, while also maintaining such works and books as a resource for use by scholars.

147

Conrad Buff (1886-1975)

Desert butte

Oil on thin board laid to Masonite

Estate signed lower right: Conrad Buff; the estate ink stamp with signature by Mary Elizabeth Buff on the verso of the original thin board 16” H x 24” W

$2,000-3,000

Provenance: Sold: John Moran Auctioneers, Pasadena, CA, “California and American Fine Art,” October 19, 2010, Lot 214

Notes: The verso of the original thin board also includes a hand-written number: GSFA / CB422

$2,000-3,000

Notes:

149

Edward Reep

(1918-2013)

“Building the Hollywood Freeway,” 1955

Watercolor on heavy wove paper

Signed lower left: Reep; titled in ink, verso; dated by repute 21.625” H x 29.75” W

$2,000-3,000

Provenance: Jonathan Art Foundation, Los Angeles, CA

Notes: The Jonathan Art Foundation is a non-profit organization whose public charitable purpose is arts education and outreach through the acquisition and exhibition of outstanding artworks that focus primarily on Southern California artists and history, while also maintaining such works and books as a resource for use by scholars.

150

June Felter

(1919-2019)

View of Oakland (two views)

Watercolor on double-sided paper

Signed in pencil at the lower left on both sides of the paper: June Felter; titled on the frame plaque, Sight of recto: 22” H x 30” W; Sight of verso: 28” H x 20.75” W

$800-1,200

Provenance: Jonathan Art Foundation, Los Angeles, CA

Notes: The Jonathan Art Foundation is a non-profit organization whose public charitable purpose is outreach through the acquisition and exhibition of outstanding artworks that focus primarily on Southern history, while also maintaining such works and books as a resource for use by scholars.

Verso plaque, recto side of the frame arts education and Southern California artists and