Washington Girard (Tennessee, 1873-1931), two (2) small oil on board landscapes, the first depicting a fence-lined country road leading to a house, with hills or mountains in the background, signed lower right; the second depicting a house set at the edge of a lake with flowering tree on the bank and sailboats in the distance, signed lower left. Both framed in carved wood frames and measuring 14 1/2" x 5 1/2" sight, 16" x 7" framed. Biography: William Washington "Wash" Girard was born on Sycamore Creek in Cheatham County, TN and after high school traveled to New York to study under marine painter Edward Moran. Following the death of his girlfriend, he returned to Nashville, where he continued painting and was a prolific writer. "His paintings of beech trees, his favorite theme, were often small and painted on Sycamore Creek or Brown's Creek in the Nashville area. Not overly sentimental, these paintings were praised for their romanticism while remaining realistic." (source: Weesner, "William Washington Girard", Tennessee Historical Quarterly, Spring, 1986). Provenance: a Middle Tennessee estate.

Both paintings with grime; panels have shrunk somewhat in frame, leaving gaps at side. 1st item has some scratching at right edge and scattered small flakes, most notably lower right on fence, lower left near tree, and upper left in tree limbs. Overpainted flake left center along tree limb. Stained discoloration in center sky area of the work, not easily removed. 2nd item has more minor, less widespread scattered tiny flakes, mostly at left and right edges. Neither painting has been examined out of frame.