Olive Parker Black

"Verdant Summer Landscape, " Olive Parker Black, Tonalism, Female Artist Stream

George Henry Smillie (1840 - 1921) Stone Wall, Autumn, 1879 Oil on canvas 9 1/2 x 15 inches Signed and dated lower right Provenance: Skinner, Boston, September 19, 2014, Lot 389 The career of George Smillie (1840-1921) followed the arc of nineteenth-century U.S. landscape painting. Trained in the Hudson River School tradition, Smillie successfully adapted to changing U.S. tastes and growing interest in European trends. In the late 1800s, he moved to tonalist paintings full of brushwork and influenced by French Barbizon painting. By the end of his career, he had lightened his palette to produce works similar to those of the U.S. impressionists. Yet in all styles, he was never less than competent, and his tonalist work is among the best produced in the United States. Like many nineteenth-century painters, George Smillie’s artistic training began with the study of printing. His father, James Smillie...

Bruce Crane (1857 - 1937) November Oil on canvas 25 x 30 inches Signed lower right Robert Bruce Crane was an American painter. He joined the Lyme Art Colony in the early 1900s. His ...

Bruce Crane (1857 - 1937) Autumn Landscape Oil on canvas 25 x 30 inches Signed lower right Robert Bruce Crane was an American painter. He joined the Lyme Art Colony in the early 190...

Bruce Crane Field at Dusk Signed lower right Oil on canvas 22 x 30 inches

William Keith (1838 - 1911) Last Light, Landscape at Sunset Oil on canvas 25 x 30 inches Signed lower right A native of Scotland, William Keith became in the late 19th and early 20th centuries a leading Northern-California landscape artist. In fact, he was so well known that he is referred to as the "Dean of California painters." His romanticized views of nature found much favor among the culturally aspiring citizens of San Francisco and hung in many foyers and dining rooms in their elegant homes. He completed thousands of paintings and drawings, and many of them were lost in his studio in the fire of 1906. His early works are dramatic mountainscapes in a realistic style adopted from the Dusseldorf School of Germany. The paintings of the last two decades of his life are looser and obviously influenced by his exposure in France to the Barbizon School of landscape painters, who were the first colony of painters to complete paintings "en plein air," or directly from nature rather than in studios. A forerunner of Impressionism, this style also included Tonalism espoused by Barbizon painter Camille Corot [1796-1875] and also apparent in Keith's later works, which are darker, smaller, and much more intimate with emphasis on mood. Born in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, Keith came to New York with his family and, apprenticed to a wood engraver. In 1859, he moved to San Francisco where he worked for an engraver and later set up his own engraving business. Studying with Samuel Marsden Brookes in 1863, he determined to become a painter. He married artist Elizabeth Emerson and did watercolor painting with her guidance. In 1868, he became a full-time painter, and that same year was commissioned to paint scenes along the Columbia River including Mount Hood. By August 1869 he had sold enough paintings to finance an extended journey to the East Coast and Europe including Dusseldorf, Germany throughout most of 1870, studying with Albert Flamm. After a visit to Paris, he expressed great admiration for "the modern school of French landscape painting including the Barbizon School. During the winter of 1871-1872, the Keiths lived in Boston where they shared a studio with William Hahn. Keith's work received critical acclaim there and in New York at the National Academy of Design. In 1872, he returned to San Francisco. A friendship with naturalist John Muir exposed Keith to many remote places and in-depth knowledge of nature. During the 1870s, he painted several "epic" eight by ten-foot High Sierra views. He also visited Alaska, and his paintings of Alaska were exhibited upon his return to San Francisco in a show at the Bohemian Club, titled 'Dreams of Alaska'. Keith's Alaska works are significant because they are not close transcriptions of actual scenery, but rather are fantasies inspired by Alaska. They are important as they represent a major break from the documentary tradition in landscape painting of Alaska, as they show an interest in capturing its spirit versus just the topography. The first wife of William Keith died in 1882, and in 1883, he married Mary McHenry, the first woman graduate of Hastings Law School. They soon went to Europe, and Keith studied portrait painting in Munich with consultations from J. Frank Currier and Carl Marr for two years. Keith then settled for the remainder of his life in Berkeley, California, at 2207 Atherton Street. His studio was in San Francisco where he commuted daily, painted prolifically, and taught many classes, mostly for aspiring female artists . In 1891, he shared his studio for several weeks with East Coast Tonalist George Inness, Sr. [1825-1894]. Both men painted in a similar style and were followers of the mystical teachings of Swedenborg. Among the locations where Inness and Keith painted together were Monterey and Yosemite, and it was reported they discussed art from every possible angle. Under Inness' influence, Keith painted more than ever in a Barbizon-influenced vein with many sunset and twilight scenes. By the early 1900s, Keith was likely one of the wealthiest artists in the United States and certainly earned the most money of any California-based artist. People from all over the world sought out his studio where it was said that he would specially select a painting for a client from behind a black velvet curtain...

Hugh Bolton Jones (1848 - 1927) Spring Landscape Along the Stream Oil on canvas 22 x 30 inches Signed lower right A Baltimore, Maryland native, Hugh...

Signed Lower Right Known for his Tonalist-style landscape paintings, John Francis Murphy was referred to as the "American Corot" because of his similarity to the painting style of ...

Oil on canvas of a Italian Rural scene by this well known and much exhibited artist. Cetaldo In The Rain catches the atmosphere of a gentle rain on a hot summers day. Anna Hornby (1914 - 1996) studied art in Florence with landscape and flower painter Aubrey Waterfield in 1934, and later that year enrolled at the Byam Shaw School of Art in London where she studied under Francis Ernest Jackson...

The technique of American Tonalism is evident in this oil painting on canvas from the early 20th century/late 19th century. Hues of muted greys cre...

An antique oil painting in its original ornate gold leaf frame. This tonalist painting depicts figures against a dramatic sunset. The work is signed illegibly lower left. It ap...

This is an original unique oil painting by the artist. A Twilight River Landscape by Karl Heffner (1849 – 1925), signed K Heffner (lower left). Oil on board, from an English estate. ...

Jim’s of Lambertville is proud to offer this artwork. Signed and Dated Lower Left John Francis Murphy (1853 - 1921) John Francis Murphy is increasingly recognized today as one o...