Handsome Oientalist Portraits:Arab Men,1890s Rare Museum Qual Watercolurs Otto Pilny - Set of 2

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Otto F. Pilny 1866-1936 was a Swiss traveler who spent time living with the Bedouin as they moved from place … Read more Otto F. Pilny 1866-1936 was a Swiss traveler who spent time living with the Bedouin as they moved from place to place. Pliny may have done these watercolor portraits in the field while traveling.
He painted many oil paintings with Middle Eastern or Orientalist subjects, yet it is rare for one of his watercolors to come to market. These two were part of the same estate. One portrait is signed with Pilny's rarely used "initials only" signature, O P.* though he often signed oils with O. Pilny.
*(I make reference here to a piece signed in the same way in the Smithsonian Collection.)

These watercolors are in their original red frames. I bought them together in the early 1980s at the "estate sale" of a world traveler whose family donated his collection, 'anonymously' as per his instructions, to help feed and clothe those in need In Topeka, Kansas. I bought them from the non-profit shop that held the "estate sale". New backing. In very good condition! The previous paper coverings on the backs were worn, ancient, Christmas wrapping paper. The frames are scratched and bumped here and there .

Red wooden Frames with glass
15 inches wide
18 inches high
1/2 inch deep
Ready to hang
Visible part of watercolor
7 inches wide
9 12 inches high.

Bio: The Swiss Orientalist painter Otto Pilny was a court painter to the Viceroy of Egypt. He studied first in Prague and then lived for a time in Vienna before settling in Zurich. In 1875, he traveled for the first time to Egypt and remained there for two years. The Orient was henceforth to be the main source of his painting. He harbored a special interest for the customs of the Bedouins. From 1889 until 1892, he traveled a second time to Egypt. There the Egyptian King, Abbas II, was pleased with his paintings and commissioned him to decorate the Medjidije. See less