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Lot Essay
Granville Redmond's depictions of blooming poppy fields are among the artist's most sought after subjects. Glorious hillsides dotted with bold orange and deep yellow blooming poppies, and often purple lupines as well, are at once realistic views of California springtime and confident, personal expressions from a leader in the state's plein-air movement.
In Poppies and Eucalyptus, Redmond creates a many layered composition of rolling hills strewn with flower blooms, oak and sycamore trees that opens out to an extensive landscape of hills and mountains in the distance. The strength of composition, confident brushwork and varied color palette create a stunning vista.
"Redmond, who had a distinctive style, at times somewhat akin to the pointillism produced by certain of the French Impressionists, followed the imperative of a deep personal philosophy. He felt that the artist should approach painting with a positive, untroubled state of mind, knowing clearly what he wished to express and striving to put his soul into each work." (R.L. Westphal et al, Plein Air Painters of California: The Southland, Irvine, California, 1988, p. 93) This purity of approach is readily apparent in Poppies and Eucalyptus.
In Poppies and Eucalyptus, Redmond creates a many layered composition of rolling hills strewn with flower blooms, oak and sycamore trees that opens out to an extensive landscape of hills and mountains in the distance. The strength of composition, confident brushwork and varied color palette create a stunning vista.
"Redmond, who had a distinctive style, at times somewhat akin to the pointillism produced by certain of the French Impressionists, followed the imperative of a deep personal philosophy. He felt that the artist should approach painting with a positive, untroubled state of mind, knowing clearly what he wished to express and striving to put his soul into each work." (R.L. Westphal et al, Plein Air Painters of California: The Southland, Irvine, California, 1988, p. 93) This purity of approach is readily apparent in Poppies and Eucalyptus.