Charles Culver

Charles Culver Landscape Winter Road Watercolor Signed & Dated

1943

The idyllic atmosphere of this Mexican scene is located in Mexico, west of Mexico City and south of Guadalajara. “Red Hills Near Patzcuaro” is set in a golden light. and was one of three paintings by the artist while the artist visited Patzcuaro, Mexico. The humans depicted lend an atmosphere to the painting and an indication of location - dressed in native Mexican peasant dress - without being obtrusive and causing the viewer to concentrate on them. The intense red hills of Patzcuaro are the feature in this painting along with the pinon and juniper trees and the Chamisa shrub. This piece has been professionally reframed with acid-free matting and museum glass. In a 1952 Detroit Free Press article, entitled “Artist Explains His Work,” Culver was asked why he painted the way he did. He stated: “I try to ‘see’ though not too exactly; I try to think though not too ponderously; I feel emotion yet I try not to become overwrought. I interpret rather than describe, and design rather than depict. I work with values, not light and shade; hence, when I am successful, I achieve substance rather than three-dimensional form, and this satisfies me as being wholly sufficient. In my work I wish to be serious without becoming a bore, exuberant without being frivolous, humorous without being silly. I believe that good paintings are conceived, not contrived; and I am interested in art much more than in pictures.” Charles Culver...

The idyllic atmosphere of this local dock scene falls within a couple of styles one being regionalism, an American realist modern art movement that included paintings, murals, lithographs, and illustrations depicting scenes of rural and small-town America primarily in the Midwest and frequently associated with Grant Wood and Thomas Hart Benton. The other style is romanticism wherein the scene depicted is a more desired or dramatic version of what actually is. “Untitled (Dock Scene)” is typical of a small town dock scene from Michigan where Culver lived or from places as far away as Maine, but what makes it important is its easy familiarity: water, gulls or terns, slanting wood shanties, scruffy dirt patches and course grasses. It is not idealized, but does set the tone of fresh air, the scream of birds and the sun on water. This piece has been professionally reframed with acid-free matting and museum glass. In a 1952 Detroit Free Press article, entitled “Artist Explains His Work,” Culver was asked why he painted the way he did. He stated: “I try to ‘see’ though not too exactly; I try to think though not too ponderously; I feel emotion yet I try not to become overwrought. I interpret rather than describe, and design rather than depict. I work with values, not light and shade; hence, when I am successful, I achieve substance rather than three-dimensional form, and this satisfies me as being wholly sufficient. In my work I wish to be serious without becoming a bore, exuberant without being frivolous, humorous without being silly. I believe that good paintings are conceived, not contrived; and I am interested in art much more than in pictures.” Charles Culver...

SALE ONE WEEK ONLY The untitled oil painting of a quiet country winter scene is a typical subject matter for T. M. Nicholas who is considered by many to be among the most prominent painter of his generation and specifically of the Rockport School of Art. Painting is signed in the lower right front corner. He grew up admiring the rugged beauty of the U.S. northeast coastline especially the landscapes of coastal New England. His father, esteemed painter, Tom Nicholas...

"Late Light" by Robert Burkert is a lithograph landscape by the master printmaker that depicts a clearing with autumn/winter trees in the subtle but vib...

The original work by established Rochester NY artist Carole Ann Battle features a winter landscape with a view of a river in calm, reserved palette. It was professionally framed wit...

An accomplished watercolour scene depicting a stream running through a country landscape. The artist has captured the scene in fine watercolour detail, highlighting the autumnal colo...

This artwork "Winter Landscape" c.1960 is a watercolor on paper by artist John E. Detore, 1902-1975. It is signed at the lower right corner by the artist. The image size is 13.5 x 19.5 inches, the framed size is 22.75 x 28.75 inches. Custom framed in original oak white wash frame, with off white matting. It is in excellent condition. About the artist: A native of Syracuse, John E. De Tore was born in 1902. DeTore enjoyed painting continuously since the age of 8. Although he became an engineer with the Niagara Mohawk Power corporation he carried on elective training in the required branches of art. He took seriously to the watercolor medium from 1940 and by 1955 he was well known for his decisively composed watercolor landscapes and their rich, deep chromatics - earning him acknowledgment in the American Artist Magazine November 1961 issue. Besides teaching art at Syracuse Museum John DeTore...

A rural scene in watercolour with gouache details by the well-listed British artist H. Andrew Freeth. Signed to the lower right-hand corner. Inscribed to the lower margin: 'For Felicity and John with good wishes from Roseen and Andrew, July 1955...