pluffmud

I inherited a painting from my grandfather who was a collector of art, both good and bad! The one in question is signed "Girard", and on the back there is a barely legible card that says "Aken Girard Seascape" and "Aken Girard Gallery". I have had NO luck finding anything about this artist. Even after my eyeballs are bloody poring over Google search, I can't make any headway. Can anybody help with any info about this artist?...Thanks so much

Bunnymom9

Girard was a locally well know seascape painter in the Carmel-Monterey Bay area. I see the Clars Auction Gallery in Oakland has brokered some of his work, but I don't belong to a service that lets me see what prices were garnered.

My parents and aunts also bought paintings from him; I can remember visiting his studio as a child. He was a plein air painter, and waxed poetic about the peace of painting where two or three minutes would pass between repeats of the wave action he was painting.

For someone who worked only seascapes in a pretty small area, there was a remarkable variety to his work. He framed a lot of his paintings himself. Hope this helps.