Lot Essay
For the summer of 1898, Alexander and his family took a house in Val de la Haye, a village outside of Rouen. He wrote of this decision to his childhood guardian, Colonel Edward Jay Allen on June 26, 1898, "We have a few mills about outside of Rouen on the Seine and can go into town by boat, train, or bicycle... It belongs to a French friend who is going elsewhere this summer... "This year I have brought with me from Paris my model and I find it is a great help. The usual country models are impossible."
The beauty of the place and his decision to bring his Paris model, Juliette Very, contributed to a solid and inspired body of work not seen since the summer of 1894 at Etretat. Very was truly Alexander's muse having been the subject of his successes at the Salon such as Isabella and Alethaea. Her pronounced profile can be recognized in paintings such as The Cafe, The Toilette, Peonies, and A Ray of Sunlight--all produced while at Val de la Haye.
Over a six year period beginning in January 1899, the painting was repeatedly seen on both sides of the Atlantic in exhibitions at commercial establishments as well as museums and art academies. In February 1905 it was purchased by the Minneapolis Society of Fine Arts. This schedule of exhibitions was a brilliant marketing strategy on the part of the artist.
The tour began in Philadelphia at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. A critic for the Philadelphia Enquirer of January 13, 1899 observed "Ray of Sunlight", one of five paintings, "is the best technically... Her face and figure are in shadow, and from some obscure niche above her there streams in a streak of mellow sunlight, touching only her shoulder and bare arm. It is no mean workman who can set himself a task like that and accomplish it without faltering". The painting was such a success that it was awarded the Walter Lippincott prize. Alexander then sent it back to Paris for the Salon of 1899. It was his only submission that year. The Petite Republique of May 1, 1899 best summarizes the prevailing opinion among critics, "une figure charmante et une tres fraiche exposition".
By 1901, the Alexanders returned to New York where John was busy reestablishing himself. A Ray of Sunlight (The Cellist) was made available for exhibit in the Society of American Artists annual of 1901. At the same time, the Society of American Fakirs, comprised of students enrolled in the Art Students League, held their annual exhibition. The purpose was to burlesque important works by contemporary masters. A Ray of Sunlight was lampooned twice, the more brilliant of the two was the work of a "Miss Le Bourgeois" who titled her version An X Ray of Sunshine.
A full exhibition schedule continued with the Pan-Exposition in Buffallo in 1901. Alexander then included A Ray of Sunlight (The Cellist) in his one-man exhibition at Durand-Ruel Galleries in 1902 in New York. In February 1903 it took a prize at the Corcoran Gallery of Art, and was later sent to Boston for an exhibit at the St. Botolph Club in March of 1903. Later the Minneapolis Society of Fine Arts exhibited the painting it its annual exhibition in late 1904. The society decided to raise funds to purchase the painting priced at $2,500. In the meantime, it was sent to Detroit in January of 1905. The painting was then returned to Minneapolis, and on February 4, 1905 the new acquisition was finally exhibited in a private viewing.
We are grateful to Mary Anne Goley for providing the essay and catalogue entry for this painting.
The beauty of the place and his decision to bring his Paris model, Juliette Very, contributed to a solid and inspired body of work not seen since the summer of 1894 at Etretat. Very was truly Alexander's muse having been the subject of his successes at the Salon such as Isabella and Alethaea. Her pronounced profile can be recognized in paintings such as The Cafe, The Toilette, Peonies, and A Ray of Sunlight--all produced while at Val de la Haye.
Over a six year period beginning in January 1899, the painting was repeatedly seen on both sides of the Atlantic in exhibitions at commercial establishments as well as museums and art academies. In February 1905 it was purchased by the Minneapolis Society of Fine Arts. This schedule of exhibitions was a brilliant marketing strategy on the part of the artist.
The tour began in Philadelphia at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. A critic for the Philadelphia Enquirer of January 13, 1899 observed "Ray of Sunlight", one of five paintings, "is the best technically... Her face and figure are in shadow, and from some obscure niche above her there streams in a streak of mellow sunlight, touching only her shoulder and bare arm. It is no mean workman who can set himself a task like that and accomplish it without faltering". The painting was such a success that it was awarded the Walter Lippincott prize. Alexander then sent it back to Paris for the Salon of 1899. It was his only submission that year. The Petite Republique of May 1, 1899 best summarizes the prevailing opinion among critics, "une figure charmante et une tres fraiche exposition".
By 1901, the Alexanders returned to New York where John was busy reestablishing himself. A Ray of Sunlight (The Cellist) was made available for exhibit in the Society of American Artists annual of 1901. At the same time, the Society of American Fakirs, comprised of students enrolled in the Art Students League, held their annual exhibition. The purpose was to burlesque important works by contemporary masters. A Ray of Sunlight was lampooned twice, the more brilliant of the two was the work of a "Miss Le Bourgeois" who titled her version An X Ray of Sunshine.
A full exhibition schedule continued with the Pan-Exposition in Buffallo in 1901. Alexander then included A Ray of Sunlight (The Cellist) in his one-man exhibition at Durand-Ruel Galleries in 1902 in New York. In February 1903 it took a prize at the Corcoran Gallery of Art, and was later sent to Boston for an exhibit at the St. Botolph Club in March of 1903. Later the Minneapolis Society of Fine Arts exhibited the painting it its annual exhibition in late 1904. The society decided to raise funds to purchase the painting priced at $2,500. In the meantime, it was sent to Detroit in January of 1905. The painting was then returned to Minneapolis, and on February 4, 1905 the new acquisition was finally exhibited in a private viewing.
We are grateful to Mary Anne Goley for providing the essay and catalogue entry for this painting.