Sanford Robinson Gifford (1823-1880)

Mount Whiteface from Lake Placid

Details

Sanford Robinson Gifford (1823-1880)
Mount Whiteface from Lake Placid
signed with initials 'SRG' (lower center)--bears estate stamp (on the reverse)
oil on canvas
6¼ x 12¼ in. (15.9 x 31.1 cm.)

Provenance

Estate of the artist.
Acquired by the present owner, 1966.

Literature

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, A Memorial Catalogue of the Paintings of Sanford Robinson Gifford, N.A., New York, 1881, no. 331 (as Mt. Whiteface, Lake Placid, a Study).
Catalogue of Valuable Oil Paintings, Works of the Famous Artist Sanford R. Gifford, N.A., Deceased, to be Sold Without Reserve, April 11 and 12, vol. I, New York, 1881, no. 23 (as Mt. Whiteface from Lake Placid in the Adirondacks).

Exhibited

New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Loan Collection of Paintings in the West and East Galleries, October 1880-March 1881, no. 71.

Sale room notice

Please note that the work vertically measures 6¾ inches.

Lot Essay

According to Dr. Ila Weiss, the present work was painted in 1863 and was based on the artist's sketchbooks from the last week of September of that year while on a trip to the Adirondacks with fellow artists Richard Hubbard and Jervis McEntee.

Dr. Weiss notes that "In Paris in 1855 Gifford had fondly recalled the Adirondacks as 'that glorious forest primeval' with 'lakes that reflect in their crystal depths their dense fringes of pine, hemlock, maple and birch.' [European Letters I:135, AAA D21] He would call Mt. Whiteface, which dominates the north end of Lake Placid, the 'finest mountain in the Adirondacks.' [SRG to Candace Wheeler, 28 July 1866]"

A letter from Dr. Ila Weiss dated September 29, 2004 accompanies this lot.

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