ANONYMOUS
Prints & Drawings by Anonymous Artists

  1. Italian 15th Century, The Man of Sorrows
  2. Florentine ca. 1470, Music Manuscript
  3. Greek or Byzantine 15th-16th Century, The Risen Christ
  4. French ca. 1500, The Mass of St. Gregory
  5. Italian 16th Century, Annunciation to the Virgin
  6. Itallian 16th Century, Study for a Draped Female Figure
  7. Dutch 16th Century, Christ Feeding the Five Thousand
  8. German 16th Century, Ornament with an Owl
  9. Italian 16th Century, The Virgin at the Cradle
  10. Italian 16th Century, The Forefathers of Christ
  11. Master L, Adoration of the Magi
  12. Master RR, Esther Before Ahasuerus
  13. Monogramist HWB, Sketches of Lovers
  14. Italian 16th Century, Gladiators in an Arena
  15. School of Fontainebleau, The Birth of the Virgin
  16. Flemish 16th Century, Hercules Fighting the Nemean Lion
  17. Flemish (?) 16th-17th Century, Satyr and Nymph Embracing
  18. after Ludolph Büsinck, Saint Matthew
  19. Flemish 17th Century, Doctor, Dying Miser
  20. Bolognese 17th Century, Robed, Seated Male Figure
  21. French 17th Century, Le Palais de Neptune
  22. Italian 17th Century, Male Figure in the Clouds
  23. Italian 17th -18 th Century, Panel of Ornament with Putti
  24. Dutch (?) 18th Century, Landscape with a River
  25. British 18th Century, A Woman Seated in an Arm Chair
  26. Italian late 18th Century, Neptune Before Juno
  27. French (?) late 18th-Early 19th Century, Bathers in a Landscape
  28. Spanish (?) 19th Century (?), Vanitas
  29. British 19th Century, Extensive Landscape
  30. Barbizon School 19th Century, Pair of River Landscapes
  31. American Mid-19th Century, Maylandville Road
  32. Spanish 19th Century, Street Scene
  33. French 19th Century, En Auvergne
  34. French 19th Century, Cavalry Skirmish
  35. British 19th Century, Badshahi Qila
  36. French 19th Century, Design for a Ceiling
  37. Russian 19th Century, Fortified Military Encampment
  38. American late 19th Century, Sheep on a Country Road
  39. British 19th (?) Century, Llyn Ogwen, North Wales
  40. German or Austrian 19th-20th Century, Prometheus Bound
  41. British 20th (?) Century, The Knife Grinder
  42. British 20th Century, The Knife Grinder
  43. German 20th Century, Death Leading a Woman
  44. American 20th Century, Straphanger



ANONYMOUS

Italian 15th Century, The Man of Sorrows
Florentine ca. 1470, Music Manuscript
Greek or Byzantine 15th-16th Century, The Risen Christ
French ca. 1500, The Mass of St. Gregory
Italian 16th Century, Annunciation to the Virgin
Itallian 16th Century, Study for a Draped Female Figure
Dutch 16th Century, Christ Feeding the Five Thousand
German 16th Century, Ornament with an Owl
Italian 16th Century, The Virgin at the Cradle
Italian 16th Century, The Forefathers of Christ
Master L, Adoration of the Magi
Master RR, Esther Before Ahasuerus
Monogramist HWB, Sketches of Lovers
Italian 16th Century, Gladiators in an Arena
School of Fontainebleau, The Birth of the Virgin
Flemish 16th Century, Hercules Fighting the Nemean Lion
Flemish (?) 16th-17th Century, Satyr and Nymph Embracing
after Ludolph Büsinck, Saint Matthew
Flemish 17th Century, Doctor, Dying Miser
Bolognese 17th Century, Robed, Seated Male Figure
French 17th Century, Le Palais de Neptune
Italian 17th Century, Male Figure in the Clouds
Italian 17th -18 th Century, Panel of Ornament with Putti
Dutch (?) 18th Century, Landscape with a River
British 18th Century, A Woman Seated in an Arm Chair
Italian late 18th Century, Neptune Before Juno
French (?) late 18th-Early 19th Century, Bathers in a Landscape
Spanish (?) 19th Century (?), Vanitas
British 19th Century, Extensive Landscape
Barbizon School 19th Century, Pair of River Landscapes
American Mid-19th Century, Maylandville Road
Spanish 19th Century, Street Scene
French 19th Century, En Auvergne
French 19th Century,  Cavalry Skirmish
British 19th Century, Badshahi Qila
French 19th Century, Design for a Ceiling
Russian 19th Century, Fortified Military Encampment
American late 19th Century, Sheep on a Country Road
British 19th (?) Century, Llyn Ogwen, North Wales
German or Austrian 19th-20th Century, Prometheus Bound
British 20th (?) Century, The Knife Grinder
British 20th Century, The Knife Grinder
German 20th Century, Death Leading a Woman
American 20th Century, Straphanger
Click on an image above or a title at the left to view the work.

Anonymous art has been with us since the dawn of civilization, hardly surprising. What is odd, perhaps, is that it has persisted to our own day, artists, accidentally or even purposely, leaving works undocumented and unsigned, or simply vanishing into obscurity, leaving paintings, drawings, prints, sculpture, photographs to be identified only as of unknown authorship. But there are different ways of being anonymous. There are works signed with a pseudonym, a monogram or a device, bodies of work by recognizable artists whose real names and conditions of life we do not know. There are those unsigned works whose authorship no one can identify, or no one thus far has done so. And then there are those works that merely we cannot identify, but perhaps someone else can. There may be a number of those in this exhibition and we, of course, invite viewers to let us know what we have missed.

It is a truism of the art business that almost the first necessity for selling a work is that one must be able to say, with some authority, who did it. So an exhibit such as this one goes totally against the grain. There is, however, one great advantage in buying anonymous prints or drawings, and that is that one is buying purely on the basis of the quality and interest of the particular work. This is, to us, far preferable to spending money on some negligible scrap, or even a forgery, that happens to have an important artist’s name attached to it.