Breton Boats

Primarily a self-taught artist, Edgar Payne earned critical acclaim in his lifetime for varied depictions of the harbors of France and Italy. Executing highly finished pencil drawings and working en plein air with oil, Payne often worked in series to better familiarize himself with his subjects in order to achieve the most dramatic final compositions. Payne discusses his process in his 1941 publication, The Composition of Outdoor Painting: "A painter needs to study, to meditate and experiment and practice interminably in order to produce a painting that would have nobility in its concept, variety, rhythm, repetition, unity, balance and harmony in its composition."

Breton Boats was likely painted after Payne visited Europe in 1922-24 where he became enamored with the many fishing boats he saw in the harbors of Concarneau. The artist executed a series of sketches and oil studies of this subject to familiarize himself with the vessels themselves and used these studies to complete larger, finished examples like the present work. Breton Boats demonstrates Payne's mastery of this subject and his ability to capture bold light and color within an expressive surface.