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Lot Essay
Considered the leading Pennsylvania Impressionist, Edward Redfield provided a sense of nationalism that contemporary critics were searching for in American Art in the early twentieth century. As the last school of Impressionism to develop in America, the landscape painting of the Pennsylvania School stood distinctly apart from the New York Impressionists urban city views and the Boston Schools cosmopolitan interiors. The glorified views of the American landscape depicted by Redfield and other members of the school, were an antithesis to the French influence in much of the landscape painting of the time. In 1910 one critic wrote: "Among the men who have done the most to infuse an authentic note of nationalism into contemporary American Art, Edward Redfield occupies a prominent position. He is the standard bearer of that progressive group of painters who are glorifying American landscape painting with a veracity and force that is astonishing the eyes of the Old World, long accustomed to servile aping of their standards. He is a rejuvenating force in our art, the prominent personality of his circle, in whom is epitomized the emancipating struggle of the younger men." (as quoted in J.N. Lauvrik, Edward Redfield, p. 29)
Born in Delaware, Edward Redfield studied art both in the United States and abroad. After studying at the Pennsylvania Academy from 1887 to 1889, Redfield departed for Europe to receive further training at the Academie Julian. It was here that Redfield met Robert Henri, who would accompany him on his travels throughout the French countryside. It was on one such sojourn to the village of Bois-le-Roi in the forest of Fountainebleau, which sparked Redfield's fascination with snow scenes, painted en plein air in the cold of winter. This impressive experience provided the artist with a new interest in landscape painting as well as a new approach to painting which would last a lifetime.
In 1889, Redfield and his family moved to Center Bridge, Pennsylvania, where he began to concentrate on painting local snow scenes, emerging as the leading American painter of the winter landscape. Redfield painted under brutal weather conditions, painting directly from nature, with great rapidity and force. In an essay by C. Powell Minnigerode, a business associate of Redfield, he writes: "He paints with incredible rapidity and usually finished the picture in a few hours of uninterrupted and intensive work, or, as the artist's express it, 'in one shot.' At times his rule has been to paint a 'picture a day.' He has often completed a large canvas, of perhaps twenty square feet, in a single morning or afternoon. He contends that, as nature is undergoing constant change every hour of the day, he can not truthfully interpret a landscape without being able to record these fleeting changes as they occur. Therefore, when he once begins, he must paint with great rapidity and he has worked for many years in order to acquire this amazing facility." (J. M. W. Fletcher, Edward Willis Redfield: An American Impressionist, Lahaska, Pennsylvania, 1996, p.32) The title itself, Late Afternoon, reflects a particular time, the atmospheric effect realistically captured on the spot.
Late Afternoon is one of a series by Redfield of close-up views of winter brooks. The quick, light brushstrokes of the dried brush in the upper right portion of the canvas contrast with the heavy, dense brushstrokes of the overhanging branches, both of which are set-off by the patches of rich-whites and blue used to highlight the snow-laden banks. The golden streaks in the snow are suggestive of the late afternoon sunlight filtering through the trees. This variety of brushstroke creates an interchanging pattern of color and shape. He is not concerned with detail and exact reproduction, but the overall impression. Late Afternoon demonstrates Redfield's masterful handling of the brush giving the picture subtle impressions while simultaneously revealing a remarkable infiltration of color into a potentially monochromatic image.
This painting will be included in the forthcoming catalogue raisonn of Edward Redfield's works being compiled by Dr. Thomas Folk.
Born in Delaware, Edward Redfield studied art both in the United States and abroad. After studying at the Pennsylvania Academy from 1887 to 1889, Redfield departed for Europe to receive further training at the Academie Julian. It was here that Redfield met Robert Henri, who would accompany him on his travels throughout the French countryside. It was on one such sojourn to the village of Bois-le-Roi in the forest of Fountainebleau, which sparked Redfield's fascination with snow scenes, painted en plein air in the cold of winter. This impressive experience provided the artist with a new interest in landscape painting as well as a new approach to painting which would last a lifetime.
In 1889, Redfield and his family moved to Center Bridge, Pennsylvania, where he began to concentrate on painting local snow scenes, emerging as the leading American painter of the winter landscape. Redfield painted under brutal weather conditions, painting directly from nature, with great rapidity and force. In an essay by C. Powell Minnigerode, a business associate of Redfield, he writes: "He paints with incredible rapidity and usually finished the picture in a few hours of uninterrupted and intensive work, or, as the artist's express it, 'in one shot.' At times his rule has been to paint a 'picture a day.' He has often completed a large canvas, of perhaps twenty square feet, in a single morning or afternoon. He contends that, as nature is undergoing constant change every hour of the day, he can not truthfully interpret a landscape without being able to record these fleeting changes as they occur. Therefore, when he once begins, he must paint with great rapidity and he has worked for many years in order to acquire this amazing facility." (J. M. W. Fletcher, Edward Willis Redfield: An American Impressionist, Lahaska, Pennsylvania, 1996, p.32) The title itself, Late Afternoon, reflects a particular time, the atmospheric effect realistically captured on the spot.
Late Afternoon is one of a series by Redfield of close-up views of winter brooks. The quick, light brushstrokes of the dried brush in the upper right portion of the canvas contrast with the heavy, dense brushstrokes of the overhanging branches, both of which are set-off by the patches of rich-whites and blue used to highlight the snow-laden banks. The golden streaks in the snow are suggestive of the late afternoon sunlight filtering through the trees. This variety of brushstroke creates an interchanging pattern of color and shape. He is not concerned with detail and exact reproduction, but the overall impression. Late Afternoon demonstrates Redfield's masterful handling of the brush giving the picture subtle impressions while simultaneously revealing a remarkable infiltration of color into a potentially monochromatic image.
This painting will be included in the forthcoming catalogue raisonn of Edward Redfield's works being compiled by Dr. Thomas Folk.