subject: public domain art
A Christmas Eve Visitor, by George Hinke (Victory)
I really loved this puzzle from Victory, cut design by Mark Cappitella. George Hinke (1883 – 1953) was a mid-20th century illustrator, born in Germany, who did a lot of these Christmas / jolly St. Nick-style illustrations. He doesn’t have a Wikipedia entry (yet), hmm. (-: This puzzle by Victory is thick — 7mm — […]
A Budmaster in His Shop (Workman 1000)
Parody of “A Goldsmith in His Shop” (1449) by Dutch Renaissance painter Peter Christus (1410/1420 – c. 1475/1476), but with pot! Parody (“satirical modification”) by James Williamson. This may have been my first Workman Publishing Puzzle. It was very like eeboo — high gloss, solid cardboard, standard piece sizes. The art, too, was like some […]
Franklin Carmichael Collection (Cobble Hill 1000)
I really loved this puzzle! Cobble Hill Puzzles, 1000-piece, “Carmichael Collection” in the “Canadian Artist Series”. Franklin Carmichael (1890-1945), member of the Group of Seven, and a Theosophist …. The five included artworks are all in the collections at the Art Gallery of Ontario and include, clockwise from top left, “Light and Shadow” (1937), “Autumn […]
Carnival Train by Carl Strathmann (Art & Fable 500)
Gosh, I really love the Art & Fable puzzles — and I loved this 1913 image, “Carnival Train” (also frequently listed as “Carnival Parade”), by Carl Strathmann (1866-1939). (canvas, 105 cm x 171.5 cm, Municipal Gallery in Lenbachhaus and Kunstbau Munich, https://sammlungonline.lenbachhaus.de/objekt/karnevalszug-maskentre-iben-300007267.html (this link from the puzzle description does not work, but more info here: […]
L’Ermitage by Paul Berthon, Sr. B
I love the Sr. B hand-cut puzzles, so it’s a real treat to get one from Hoefnagel. This one is “L’ermitage“, an 1897 Art Nouveau piece by Paul Berthon (1872-1909), used as a poster for the revue L’ermitage. The original seems to be in the Davis Collection at Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The […]
Optimago, Off for the Honeymoon by Frederick Morgan
This 266-piece Optimago (1979-2005) puzzle is listed as an “Enigma”, with no image available. As with a lot of vintage puzzles, and puzzles made of old European art, the colors were a little bit muddy. They look a lot crisper in the photo than they did to my eyes! Maybe it’s my eyes that are […]
Hotel Melrose Lobby by Perkins Harnly
I really enjoyed this 250-piece puzzle from Puzzly (via Hoefnagel). It was a fast solve, with a mix of traditional puzzle pieces and whimsies, like the two Wentworth puzzles I just did — but I enjoyed the puzzling experience more. I think the wood was a bit thicker than in those two Wentworths (they have […]
Renoir, Garden Scene in Brittany, Silverton
This is Renoir‘s 1886 “Garden Scene in Brittany“, from “Silverton”, a vintage (said to be hand-cut but probably not) puzzle company, via Hoefnagel‘s wood puzzle rental club. The original is in Philly, at the Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia, PA — not a museum I was previously familiar with. Hoefnagel’s description is brief: Around 300 pieces, hand-cut.* […]
The Witching Hour, Liberty
Vintage witch (that has a pleasant mouth-feel) by Liberty, with themed whimsies. I really liked the pumpkin …. Via Hoefnagel. I haven’t been able to identify an actual artist for this. Googling around, I found various listings for this image, described as an “I.S.L. series” postcard #552 (notice the #552 at bottom left corner of […]
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Bakemono Zukushi “Monster” Scroll, Art & Fable
Loved this 500-piece puzzle from Art & Fable, based on the Bakemono no e (“Illustrations of Supernatural Creatures”), aka Bakemono zukushie, from the Edo period. The original scroll is held at BYU in Utah. (Repatriation ….?) more info: Wikipedia, Public Domain Review, and further close-ups & descriptions at pinktentacle.com (2010).
Robert Burns’ The Hunt from Liberty
Hoefnagel sent me an amazing pack, with this puzzle from Liberty, and “Happily Ever Aftering” from Elms. This puzzle features “Diana and Her Nymphs” by Robert Burns (the painter, 1869-1941, not the poet of the same name, 1759-1796). “Diana and Her Nymphs” is a circa 1926 mural painted at the Crawford’s tearoom in Edinburgh. Lots […]
Louis Wain’s Fiddling Cat, from Artifact
I really loved Artifact‘s contribution to the Puzzle Parley 2024 — the speed puzzle, Louis Wain’s “Fiddling Cat“. So I picked it up, and Ash and I did it, speed-style (that is, with a timer) and I feel pretty good about our time! Which to be clear was more than double the time that the […]
Monet’s Poppy Fields, cut by Carol Ottenberg
In a recent pack from Hoefnagel, I had two fun hand-cut puzzles — one from Stave, and this one from Carol Ottenberg (aka Ledgewood Puzzles), who I was happy to meet at Puzzle Parley 2024. Look at those fabulous whimsies — hand-cut! The image is cited as Claude Monet’s “Poppy Fields at Vetheuil” (1879), and […]
Rackham’s Forest Nymphs, FoxSmartBox
Arthur Rackham is one of my favorite Victorian children’s illustrators, so I was happy to pick up “Forest Nymphs” from FoxSmartBox. FoxSmartBox calls this image “Forest Nymphs”, but I’ve seen it more commonly labeled “Wood Nymphs” — for instance, at the NYPL digital collection, in an illustration of John Milton’s Comus (1634), published in 1921. […]
King Dasaratha, Inside Out
From Inside Adventure (via Etsy), this beautiful painting of King Dasaratha, from a scene in the Ramayana. Inside Adventure says: This puzzle contains dozens of hand-drawn whimsy pieces, intricately cut into the shapes of different characters, animals and plants. They are works of art within the puzzle. … Our whimsies are carefully crafted and designed […]
Sewing Girl by Carl Larsson, Sr B
Loved this puzzle, cut by Sr B, with “Sewing Girl”, a 1911 painting by Carl Larsson. Ash and I assembled it handily …. It also came with a very cute little side picture, too!
Mona Lisa, Ronald W. Butler puzzles
This puzzle (Leonardo da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa”, from Ronald W. Butler Puzzles), was courtesy of Hoefnagel. I ordinarily steer clear of the “old masters” because (a) the images are often too familiar to be interesting and (b) the colors often reproduce in a muted and muddy way. And that was true with this puzzle, as […]
Raeburn’s The Skating Minister
Via Hoefnagel, a Wentworth puzzle, “Reverend Robert Walker Skating on Duddingston Loch“, painted by Henry Raeburn, circa 1795; the original work is held by the National Galleries of Scotland. There were a bunch of themed, etched whimsies — mittens, steaming cup of something (I imagine chocolate), a wreath, skates, a skier …. I had imagined […]
Artifact Puzzles Abu al-Hasan Squirrels
From Artifact Puzzles, via Hoefnagel, public domain art by Abu al-Hasan (1589-1630) or possibly Ustad Mansur. Squirrels in a plane tree by Abu al-Hasan (1589 – c. 1630) , Mughal India. Ash and I liked this one – the geometric shape to the “square” pieces, the whimsies, the border …. Artifact says: Here is a […]
