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Lot Essay
In his most successful Impressionist works such as Prelude to Spring, Edward Willis Redfield portrays the beauty of the Pennsylvania landscape with a skillful and subtle treatment of light and color that is the hallmark of his celebrated style.
Like many of his contemporaries in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Redfield studied extensively at some of the finest art schools in the world. After his early training at The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts under Thomas Anschutz, Redfield went to Paris to receive further training at the Académie Julian in the late 1880s or early 1890s. Accompanied by Robert Henri, an old friend from his days at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Redfield traveled from Paris to the French countryside and the forest of Fountainbleau where he painted en plein air in the cold of winter.
Redfield's impressive experiences in the French country provided him with a new interest in landscape painting, as well as a new approach to painting that would last a lifetime. It was during these early years that he established his niche as a "one go" artist, saying, "I go into the field with my 50 pounds of equipment and a 50 x 56 canvas, and do not leave until I have completed my work." (as quoted in J.M.W. Fletcher, Edward Willis Redfield 1869-1965: An American Impressionist, His Paintings and the Man Behind the Palette, Lahaska, Pennsylvania, 1996, p. 1)
This freshness of palette and spontaneity of paint surface that Redfield developed abroad is clearly evident in Prelude to Spring. Thick strokes of paint have been quickly yet adeptly applied to the canvas. Viscous dashes of verdant green buds enliven the composition with the coming of spring. Contrasting horizontal and vertical touches of paint emphasize the vitality of the scene and reinforce the subject of the renewal of seasons. Redfield has subtly imbued the present work with a soft light that is clearly indicative of a late winter's day. The cool tones of blue, gray and purple are beginning to give way to the airy atmosphere of spring and its rich green hues.
Underscoring this essence of a spontaneous landscape is a thoughtfully rendered composition. A stream in the foreground leads the viewer into the scene while a series of diagonal lines established by the rooftops in the middleground and the riverbed in the background contribute to an overall depth and dynamism to the composition. Redfield then introduces the presence of strong vertical lines with a group of trees running across the width of the hillside, which result in pushing the vertical expanse of the canvas. The extension of the vertical space created by the trees, contrasted with the diagonal and horizontal lines of the hill and river, culminate in an expansive valley scene that is a hallmark of Redfield's most powerful imagery.
So adept was Redfield at applying Impressionist techniques, one critic remarked: "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." (as quoted in J.N. Lauvrik, Edward Redfield, p. 29)
This painting will be included in the forthcoming catalogue raisonné of Edward Redfield's work being compiled by Dr. Thomas Folk.
Like many of his contemporaries in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Redfield studied extensively at some of the finest art schools in the world. After his early training at The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts under Thomas Anschutz, Redfield went to Paris to receive further training at the Académie Julian in the late 1880s or early 1890s. Accompanied by Robert Henri, an old friend from his days at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Redfield traveled from Paris to the French countryside and the forest of Fountainbleau where he painted en plein air in the cold of winter.
Redfield's impressive experiences in the French country provided him with a new interest in landscape painting, as well as a new approach to painting that would last a lifetime. It was during these early years that he established his niche as a "one go" artist, saying, "I go into the field with my 50 pounds of equipment and a 50 x 56 canvas, and do not leave until I have completed my work." (as quoted in J.M.W. Fletcher, Edward Willis Redfield 1869-1965: An American Impressionist, His Paintings and the Man Behind the Palette, Lahaska, Pennsylvania, 1996, p. 1)
This freshness of palette and spontaneity of paint surface that Redfield developed abroad is clearly evident in Prelude to Spring. Thick strokes of paint have been quickly yet adeptly applied to the canvas. Viscous dashes of verdant green buds enliven the composition with the coming of spring. Contrasting horizontal and vertical touches of paint emphasize the vitality of the scene and reinforce the subject of the renewal of seasons. Redfield has subtly imbued the present work with a soft light that is clearly indicative of a late winter's day. The cool tones of blue, gray and purple are beginning to give way to the airy atmosphere of spring and its rich green hues.
Underscoring this essence of a spontaneous landscape is a thoughtfully rendered composition. A stream in the foreground leads the viewer into the scene while a series of diagonal lines established by the rooftops in the middleground and the riverbed in the background contribute to an overall depth and dynamism to the composition. Redfield then introduces the presence of strong vertical lines with a group of trees running across the width of the hillside, which result in pushing the vertical expanse of the canvas. The extension of the vertical space created by the trees, contrasted with the diagonal and horizontal lines of the hill and river, culminate in an expansive valley scene that is a hallmark of Redfield's most powerful imagery.
So adept was Redfield at applying Impressionist techniques, one critic remarked: "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." (as quoted in J.N. Lauvrik, Edward Redfield, p. 29)
This painting will be included in the forthcoming catalogue raisonné of Edward Redfield's work being compiled by Dr. Thomas Folk.