LOS ANGELES, CA.- Bonhams & Butterfields, California's oldest and largest auctioneers, is pleased to announce the December 10, 2007 sale of California and American Paintings and Sculpture. Barbizon and other 19th century landscapes, Western scenes, Impressionist and Modernist compositions including plein air paintings, genre scenes, and cityscapes by established California and American artists; including those by Thomas Moran, Guy Rose, E. Charlton Fortune, Maynard Dixon, William Keith, Granville Redmond, Joseph Raphael, Frank Tenney Johnson, John Marshall Gamble, Selden Connor Gile and Maurice Braun, among others; will be on offer.

"The demand for fresh-to-market California and American works is high," said Scot Levitt, Director of California & American Paintings and Sculpture sales for Bonhams & Butterfields. "We continue to see buyer interest, particularly for better known artists and A-plus examples," continued Levitt.

The marquee lot from the sale is a rare impressionist work entitled Late Afternoon, Monterey (est. $300/500,000) by E. Charlton Fortune. Working in obscurity for most of her career, Fortune utilized the 'E.' to disguise the name Euphemia and her gender.

Although she is best known for her later work in the genres of landscape, portrait and religious compositions, Late Afternoon, Monterey is an earlier impressionistic style painting with emphasis on color and light. The fresh-to-market work captures the natural beauty of the rugged Monterey Coast captivating the viewer.

"Fortune's works, although rare to public auction, are becoming highly collectible. Buyers are looking for her early works, such as Late Afternoon, Monterey on offer this December and Mending Nets which sold at Bonhams & Butterfields in August 2007 for $480,000 - a new world auction record for the artist," said Vice President and Fine Arts Department Director Scot Levitt.

Additional works by female artists in the winter sale include Customs House by Monterey artist M. Evelyn McCormick (est. $20/30,000) and Catherine Carter Critcher's Artist's Studio in Taos, New Mexico (est. $60/80,000).

Also in the December offing is Guy Rose's Yellow Trees, Giverny (est. $300/500,000). Rose is considered one of the most important California Impressionist painters. A native Californian, Rose studied at the California School of Design before traveling to France to study in 1888. After a time in New York, he returned to France in 1899 settling in Giverny and working closely with master painter Claude Monet. It is from this period that the oil on canvas Yellow Trees, Giverny comes. According to Levitt, "Good examples of Rose's work from that period, such as Yellow Trees, Giverny, are not seen on the market often. The work is fresh-to-market, coming from a Southern California private collection, where it has been held for some time."

A lovely western watercolor by American master, Thomas Moran, is being offered at an estimate of $250,000 to $350,000. Best known for his watercolors of the American West, most notably the works from his 1871 and 1873 expeditions to Yellowstone, Moran painted this work shortly after his first visit to the Acoma Pueblo in New Mexico's northwestern desert. "Good quality, early American western scenes are becoming harder and harder to come by in this market." says Levitt. "This work should do well considering the scarcity of high-end works of this sort."

Joseph Raphael's monumental work Spring Morning (est. $80/120,000) is also on offer. Measuring 26 x 37 inches, the painting is large in stature and impressionist in style, featuring interesting brushwork and use of light with pastel tones highlighting the overall movement across the canvas. "The market for paintings with modernist overtones and themes is strong," said Levitt. "We continue to see strong prices for impressionist works such as Spring Morning," continued Levitt.

A work entitled Study for 'Destination Unknown', a 1938 Social Realist work by Maynard Dixon, will also highlight the upcoming sale. The rare oil on board study is typical of Dixon's Depression Era work and a drawing for the final painting, which was titled Going Nowhere. Considered highly desirable by collectors, the work depicts a homeless man with a bedroll on his back walking along railroad tracks. "The call for American master Maynard Dixon remains lively," said Levitt. "We expect the work bring $60,000 to $80,000 on December 10," continues Levitt.

Additional highlights from the winter sale include Land's End, San Francisco, 1873, by William Keith (est. $80/120,000); a colorful oil entitled Under the Open Sky, 1936, by Frank Tenney Johnson (est. $100/150,000); John Marshall Gamble's Prickly Phlox (est. $60/80,000), Sunset through the Trees by Granville Redmond ($100/150,000); an endearing portrait entitled Mother and Child, Marin County by Selden Connor Gile (est. $40/60,000) and two works by Maurice Braun - A Field of Bluebonnets (est. $80/120,000) and Lower Gale Lake, High Sierras (est. $40/60,000).