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Lot Essay
Alfred Thompson Bricher spent part of the summer of 1883 in the Narragansett area of Rhode Island, where he found inspiration in the wonderful landscape, quaint homes and seaside villages. Rare works such as In My Neighbor's Garden are remarkable snapshots of America in the Victorian era, capturing with wonderful honesty the details of daily life.
The human form did not appear in any of Bricher's finished works until 1878, and he continued to paint figures only for about six years. Jeffrey R. Brown noted that while figures appear in the artist's sketchbook from the start, executing them in his finished compositions must have presented difficulties. In fact, Bircher prevailed upon an unidentified artist to add them to his Rest in the Woods, shown at the annual exhibition of the American Society of Painters in Water Colors in February of 1876.
Of Bricher's incorporation of the figure into his paintings from 1878 to 1884, Brown suggests, "Perhaps the popularity of paintings picturesquely enlivened by human interest suggested that he consider the figure more carefully... A flurry of exquisite drawings, sketches, finished watercolors and oil paintings devoted entirely to charming young ladies all testify to Bricher's love of this subject... Sometimes these paintings are landscapes with a simple figure or a pair of Victorian belles, and others like The Return of the Yacht, Scituate Glades 1879 and Baby is King, 1880 are multi-figure genre scenes almost surrealistically imposed upon incidental marine backgrounds." (J.R. Brown, Alfred Thompson Bricher 1837-1908, Indianapolis, Indiana, 1973, p. 24)
In My Neighbor's Garden is perhaps the most successful of Bricher's figural genre-scenes. Here, he recreates the house, yard and garden with wonderful detail: the young woman sits at her leisure in front of her home, gardening tools and a book carelessly left on the front steps and potted geraniums decorating the porch; the young boy plays with his kitten from his seat in the wagon, while his sister busies herself among the garden lush with pink and blue hydrangea and black-eyed Susan; in the background, the family's beehives stand along the fence, the blue of the sea and white sails visible in the distance. Bricher goes so far as to painstakinly paint each clam shell that borders the edge of the yard, and the stick that serves to prop up the window just to the right of the front door.
The work also reflects Bricher's lifelong interest in painting the effects of light and color. The bright summer sunlight filters through leaves of tall trees, casting abstract shadows on the house and yard. Jeffrey Brown notes: "Painting effects of light and weather at different times of day developed naturally within the landscape tradition of American realism. That it parallels the Impressionists' activities is indicative of this era of scientific inquiry." (Alfred Thompson Bricher 1837-1908, p. 27)
The human form did not appear in any of Bricher's finished works until 1878, and he continued to paint figures only for about six years. Jeffrey R. Brown noted that while figures appear in the artist's sketchbook from the start, executing them in his finished compositions must have presented difficulties. In fact, Bircher prevailed upon an unidentified artist to add them to his Rest in the Woods, shown at the annual exhibition of the American Society of Painters in Water Colors in February of 1876.
Of Bricher's incorporation of the figure into his paintings from 1878 to 1884, Brown suggests, "Perhaps the popularity of paintings picturesquely enlivened by human interest suggested that he consider the figure more carefully... A flurry of exquisite drawings, sketches, finished watercolors and oil paintings devoted entirely to charming young ladies all testify to Bricher's love of this subject... Sometimes these paintings are landscapes with a simple figure or a pair of Victorian belles, and others like The Return of the Yacht, Scituate Glades 1879 and Baby is King, 1880 are multi-figure genre scenes almost surrealistically imposed upon incidental marine backgrounds." (J.R. Brown, Alfred Thompson Bricher 1837-1908, Indianapolis, Indiana, 1973, p. 24)
In My Neighbor's Garden is perhaps the most successful of Bricher's figural genre-scenes. Here, he recreates the house, yard and garden with wonderful detail: the young woman sits at her leisure in front of her home, gardening tools and a book carelessly left on the front steps and potted geraniums decorating the porch; the young boy plays with his kitten from his seat in the wagon, while his sister busies herself among the garden lush with pink and blue hydrangea and black-eyed Susan; in the background, the family's beehives stand along the fence, the blue of the sea and white sails visible in the distance. Bricher goes so far as to painstakinly paint each clam shell that borders the edge of the yard, and the stick that serves to prop up the window just to the right of the front door.
The work also reflects Bricher's lifelong interest in painting the effects of light and color. The bright summer sunlight filters through leaves of tall trees, casting abstract shadows on the house and yard. Jeffrey Brown notes: "Painting effects of light and weather at different times of day developed naturally within the landscape tradition of American realism. That it parallels the Impressionists' activities is indicative of this era of scientific inquiry." (Alfred Thompson Bricher 1837-1908, p. 27)