Louis Oscar Griffith
Spring Landscape with house and figure
1920's

Name: Spring Landscape with house and figure
Brand: Louis Oscar Griffith
Price: 2000 USD
Availability: InStock

About the Item

Spring Landscape with house and figure A preliminary watercolor for a color aquatint, illustrated on line, title unknown Signed lower left in block letters (see photo) Watercolor and graphite on artist's board Provenance: Estate of the Artist By descent Condition: Excellent fresh colors Tape residue in top and bottom margins Image size: 10 x 8 inches Louis Oscar Griffith (1875-1956) Born in Greencastle, Indiana, Griffith grew up in Dallas, Texas where Texas artist and teacher Charles Franklin Reaugh recognized young “Griff’s” artistic talent. At age 18, Griffith moved to St. Louis where he attended the St. Louis School of Fine Arts. In 1895, he moved to Chicago where he worked making color prints for the firm Barnes and Crosby. He attended the Art Institute of Chicago and during a brief stay in New York, the National Academy of Design. A successful commercial artist with a studio in the Chicago Loop, Griffith was a member and president of the Chicago Palette and Chisel Club. He made his first trip to Brown County, Indiana in 1908, intrigued by reports of beautiful scenery by other Chicago-area artists such as Adolph Shultz and woodblock print-maker Gustave Baumann. Griffith’s first exhibition was in 1903 at the Art Institute of Chicago, which by 1824 exhibited more than 60 of his works. He showed almost 70 works at the annual Hossier Salon Exhibition. He won a bronze medal at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco in 1915; in 1921, he was a gold medalist at the Palette and Chisel Club; he won the Daughters of Indiana prize in 1925. The Chicago Society of Etchers recognized his works in 1949 and 1953; an oil, A Tranquil Afternoon, was awarded the Davis Wild Flower and Landscape prize in San Antonio, Texas. The Smithsonian Institution in Washington mounted a special exhibit of Griffith’s prints in 1945. He also exhibited at the 1921 show of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts; the 1926 Sesquicentennial Exposition in Philadelphia; the 1927 second International Exhibition of Modern Engravings in Florence, Italy; the Canadian National Exposition; National Academy of Design in 1943; and the Library of Congress, also in 1943. "Louis Oscar Griffith studied at the St. Louis School of Fine Arts and the Art Institute of Chicago. In addition to his visits to Brown County (Indiana), he sketched his way to France, England, New York, New Orleans, Mexico, and back to Texas. Unlike many other artists, who turned to etching late in their careers, Griffith became interested in copper etching early, probably around 1900. He had worked for an engraving firm in Chicago and had done color prints. He was nationally known for his work with aquatints and won a bronze medal at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco in 1915. The move to Brown County (1920) gave him more time for etching, and by the end of his career he had completed more than three hundred plates in black and white or in color. Brown County also brought improvements in Griffith's oil painting technique, and he became a regular exhibitor at the Hoosier Salon, where he received several awards. He won the Palette and Chisel Club gold medal in 1921, the Daughters of Indiana prize in 1925, and Chicago Society of Etchers prizes in 1949 and 1953. Ten of his etchings were shown at the Sesquicentennial International Exposition in Philadelphia in 1926, and the Smithsonian Institution in Washington held a special exhibit of his prints in 1945. He was a charter member of both the Brown County Art Gallery Association, in which he was active between 1926 and 1954, and the Brown County Art Guild." Courtesy: THE ARTISTS OF BROWN COUNTY, Lyn Letsinger-Miller, Indiana Press 1994.

Creator:

Louis Oscar Griffith (1875-1956, American)

Creation Year:

1920's

Dimensions:

Height: 10 in (25.4 cm)Width: 8 in (20.32 cm)

Medium:

Watercolor

Movement & Style:

American Impressionist

Period:

1920-1929