The Brook Hill Dog by Alexander Pope II

Because we love animals so much, particularly dogs, one of our most treasured pieces from Moran Place is a lithograph on tin of a dog from 1911. The artist is Alexander Pope II.  

The lithographs were given to bars in pre-prohibition days to promote a line of Whiskey. The picture is quite large.  The tin itself measures 39 1/2 by 29 1/2 inches and is rather large.  

The picture to the left is when we first unwrapped a few years ago.  

Since that time we have given it a place of honor on our mantel next to Kent's deer head trophy.

Here is a closeup of the name of the artwork:

And here is the artist's signature.

The Moran's actually had two copies of this treasure.  One of them which was in very poor condition hung in the workshop behind the house, unframed, nailed to the wall.  At some point the eyes had been shot out!

The one we have had been stored in Uncle Brud's room and was still in the Mayflower packing box.   It was one of many items that came back when Nathan H. Moran and his family returned to Dresden to take up residence at Moran Place after the death of his parents, James H. and Virginia Moran.  So many of the items the family brought back were never removed from the packing boxes. 

Painting by J.C. Capella, ca late 19th/early 20th Century

Artist Self Portrait
From WikiGallery

Most  artwork in the Moran home were simple pieces but there were a few large oil paintings. 

One painting we have is signed J.C. Capella and is a beautiful pastoral seen with thatch roof homes and cows at the stream. The painting hung in Moran Place for at least a hundred years and most likely in the same spot, the upstairs sitting area above the sofa. 

We don't know when or where the painting was acquired but we speculate that it may have been on a trip to New York, Cincinnati or St. Louis.  It's also possible that Uncle Brud purchased the painting when he took a cruise to see the new Panama Canal.  During that trip he made stops in Cuba and other ports of call.

Pastoral Scene by J.C. Capella.  With frame approximately 31" H x 45" W.

Artists signature: J.C. Capella

The picture has darkened quite a bit but with flash and some photoshop manipulation we get a better sense of its beauty. I've included a closeup of the artists signature.

John the Baptist and Herod
J.C. Capella

It has been suggested that J.C. Capella wasGiulia (Julia) Cheli Capella, born about 1874 in Florence Italy.   Like many artists, Giulia painted Biblical scenes such as this one of John the Baptist and Herod. 

Not much is known about J.C. Capella except that she was living at 28 via Venti Settembre in Florence Italy in 1915 and that she died in 1919.

La Gardienne de Moutons by Henry Lerolle, 1897

This image was in a wood frame and measures 8" x 6".  After doing some research I discovered it was the work of French artist Henry Lerolle.  Lerolle was born in Paris in 1848 and died there in 1929.  In addition to painting, he was an artist, musician and collector.  He painted La Gardienne de Moutons in 1897.

I think the copy we have was probably cut out of The Saturday Evening Post and framed.  It is not a reprint of the original.  The only markings on the picture are the number "380" and "Evening".

Here is the original by Lerolle:

Geisha Wall Art from Japan, ca 1950's

This is an interesting piece brought back from Japan by Nathan and Ria Moran when they returned to the states in the early part of the 1960's.  As an officer in the Air Force, Nathan had been stationed there for several years. In addition they traveled to Thailand during their stay in the Orient.  This particular piece had been tucked away in the attic.  Though it had a modern feel it would've gone well with the Victorian decor since the Victorians were very interested in Asia and there were other items in the home with an Asian theme dating back to the mid-late 1890's.