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Lot Essay
Renowned for his balanced and colorful compositions, Fairfield Porter drew from his extensive knowledge as an art critic throughout his career, transforming scenes of everyday life into modern masterworks. According to John Wilmerding, “Fairfield Porter’s figurative realism firmly takes its place within the larger currents of modernist representational art during the middle decades of the twentieth century. His art was singularly joyful and occasionally elegiac.” (Fairfield Porter, New York, 2016, p. 25) Indeed, the present work is a lyrical expression of Porter’s keen ability to beautifully capture the people and places that he loved.
Since he was a child, Porter’s family spent the warmer months at their house on Great Spruce Head Island in Penobscot Bay, off the coast of Maine. Fairfield’s father James built a large two-story shingle house on the small, mile-long and half-mile-wide island in 1912, and the artist and his brothers spent many summer days on its porch overlooking the bay. Porter grew to love the Maine atmosphere, once writing, “We go to Maine in the summer because I have since I was six. It is my home more than any other place, and I belong there.” (as quoted in J. Wilmerding, K. Wilkin, Fairfield Porter, New York, 2016, pp. 19-20)
The work that Porter painted in Maine emphasizes his evident affection for his family home, and the present work is no exception. The curving coastline delicately separates the sea from the serene island, mingled with animals and a lawn chair, ripe for relaxation. A scene of one of Porter's most favored views, Maine Coast lyrically demonstrates the artist's lifelong commitment to capturing his love for Maine in paint.
The present work was initially owned by Eleanor Lambert and her son, Bill Berkson. The pair began collecting together after the passing of Bill's father, Seymour Berkson, the publisher of The New York Journal-American. Lambert was an eminent fashion publicist, known for establishing the prominence of American fashion brands both at home and abroad. She founded the Council of Fashion Designers of America, originated the International Best-Dressed List, created New York Fashion Week and was a notable early supporter of the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Her son, Bill, was a poet and art critic associated with the prominent New York School of artists alongside figures such as Willem de Kooning and Jasper Johns. Berkson led a poetry workshop at the New School where students included art critic Peter Schjeldahl and rock star Patti Smith. Over twenty of his poetry collections were published by Tibor de Nagy Gallery, which also represented the work of Fairfield Porter.
Since he was a child, Porter’s family spent the warmer months at their house on Great Spruce Head Island in Penobscot Bay, off the coast of Maine. Fairfield’s father James built a large two-story shingle house on the small, mile-long and half-mile-wide island in 1912, and the artist and his brothers spent many summer days on its porch overlooking the bay. Porter grew to love the Maine atmosphere, once writing, “We go to Maine in the summer because I have since I was six. It is my home more than any other place, and I belong there.” (as quoted in J. Wilmerding, K. Wilkin, Fairfield Porter, New York, 2016, pp. 19-20)
The work that Porter painted in Maine emphasizes his evident affection for his family home, and the present work is no exception. The curving coastline delicately separates the sea from the serene island, mingled with animals and a lawn chair, ripe for relaxation. A scene of one of Porter's most favored views, Maine Coast lyrically demonstrates the artist's lifelong commitment to capturing his love for Maine in paint.
The present work was initially owned by Eleanor Lambert and her son, Bill Berkson. The pair began collecting together after the passing of Bill's father, Seymour Berkson, the publisher of The New York Journal-American. Lambert was an eminent fashion publicist, known for establishing the prominence of American fashion brands both at home and abroad. She founded the Council of Fashion Designers of America, originated the International Best-Dressed List, created New York Fashion Week and was a notable early supporter of the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Her son, Bill, was a poet and art critic associated with the prominent New York School of artists alongside figures such as Willem de Kooning and Jasper Johns. Berkson led a poetry workshop at the New School where students included art critic Peter Schjeldahl and rock star Patti Smith. Over twenty of his poetry collections were published by Tibor de Nagy Gallery, which also represented the work of Fairfield Porter.