Seascape, South of France
View Similar Items
1 of 3
Martha WalterSeascape, South of Francec. 1920
c. 1920
About the Item
- Creator:Martha Walter (1875-1976, American)
- Creation Year:c. 1920
- Dimensions:Height: 7.75 in (19.69 cm)Width: 9 in (22.86 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:Beautifully framed (see image).
- Gallery Location:East Hampton, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU18122964003
Martha Walter
Walter was born in Philadelphia in 1875. She enrolled at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, where she studied under William Merritt Chase, who became her primary mentor. At his insistence, she entered a number of Academy student competitions and eventually won a prestigious Cresson Traveling Scholarship in 1908. This award enabled her to travel throughout Europe, where she continued her art education at the Grande Julien in Paris. Soon disenchanted with the academicism of the Parisian schools, Walter set out on her own and began producing plein-air paintings in the manner of the French Impressionists. At the outbreak of World War I, she returned to the United States and took up painting at various East coast beach resorts such as Coney Island and Gloucester. In her beach scenes of this period, colorful bathing suits, gowns and umbrellas punctuate a tranquil, pastel surface. Her expertise in the treatment of light and shadow is evident in her depictions of these settings at various times of day.
In 1922, she spent some months painting the thousands of immigrants kept in the detention hall at Ellis Island. The dreadful, crowded conditions inspired a group of paintings that were exhibited that year in the Galerie Georges Petit in Paris. One was selected for the permanent collection of the Musée de Luxembourg. An exhibition at the Art Club of Chicago in 1941 featured a group of watercolor paintings inspired by the artist's travels through Spain and North Africa. These works were intensely colored visions of such subjects as Algerian street scenes, mosques and Spanish fishermen.
Walter worked well into her nineties, continuing to paint portraits of women and children, beach scenes, gardens and marketplaces. Before her death in 1976, she had exhibited widely, and her works are included in major national and international private and public collections. Hammer Galleries had several exhibitions of her work during her lifetime, the last taking place in 1975 when the artist was one hundred years old.
You May Also Like
- Early 20th Century British School watercolour of VeniceLocated in London, GBBRITISH SCHOOL (Circa 1900) Venice Indistinctly signed l.r.: Wm A M**** Watercolour Unframed 19.5 by 26.5 cm., 7 ¾ by 10 ½ in. (mount size 36.5 by 39.5 cm., 14 ½ by 15 ½ in.)Category
Early 20th Century Impressionist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsWatercolor
- Late 19th Century Swiss Farm Scene LandscapeLocated in Soquel, CAStunning late 19th century landscape watercolor painting of a farm scene by an unknown artist. Presented in a giltwood frame. Image size, 16"H x 20"L.Category
1880s Impressionist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsPaper, Watercolor
$2,000 Sale Price20% Off - Golden Fields -Turn of 19th Century North Wales LandscapeBy John VarleyLocated in Soquel, CAGolden fields, a turn of the 19th century watercolor landscape by John Varley (British, 1778-1842), c.1800. Indistinct signature lower center left. Artwork has been professionally restored. Presented in archival matting. Unframed. Image size, 5"H x 7.13"W. With a letter from Jacob (Jack) Isaacs (1896-1973) on verso notating a John Varley watercolor circa 1800. Jacob Isaacs was born in 1896. He was educated at the Grocers' Company's School, Hackney Downs. He began his career in the civil service from 1912-1916. During the First World War he was involved in active service in France and held the rank of lieutenant (Territorial Army) as part of the Royal Garrison Artillery from 1916-1918. In 1919 Isaacs began his academic career by studying at Exeter College, Oxford, where he achieved a 1st Class Honours degree in English. From 1921-1924 he was an assistant lecturer in English at the University College of North Wales, Bangor and was later an assistant lecturer in English at King's College, University of London, 1924-1928. He progressed up to the position of lecturer in English from 1928-1942 and the moved to a position in Palestine as first Montefiore Professor of English in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem from 1942-1945. Isaacs returned to England in 1945 and was Chair of English Language and Literature at Queen Mary College, University of London from 1952-1964. In 1964 Isaacs retired from his position as Chair of English Language and was appointed Professor Emeritus. John Varley (17 August 1778 - 17 November 1842) was an English watercolour painter and astrologer, and a close friend of William Blake. They collaborated in 1819-1820 on the book Visionary Heads, illustrated by Blake and written by Varley, who was the elder brother of Cornelius Varley. John Varley was born at the Old Blue Post Tavern, Hackney, on 17 August 1778. His father, Richard Varley, born at Epworth in Lincolnshire, had settled in London after the death of his first wife in Yorkshire. For a brief time John Varley was employed by a portrait painter in Holborn and then, at the age of 15 or 16, he became a pupil of Joseph Charles Barrow (fl. 1789-1802), who had an evening drawing school twice a week at 12 Furnival's Inn Court, Holborn. It was Barrow who took Varley on a sketching tour to Peterborough from which he emerged as a professional painter. In 1798 he exhibited a highly regarded sketch of Peterborough Cathedral...Category
19th Century Impressionist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsPaper, Watercolor
$1,000 Sale Price20% Off - Monterey Wharf - Figurative LandscapeBy Stephen John SkerceLocated in Soquel, CADetailed figurative watercolor landscape the Monterey Wharf with figures and boats by Stephen John Skerce (American, 1926-2010). Presented in a wooden frame. Signed "Skerce" lower le...Category
1980s American Impressionist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsPaper, Watercolor
$476 Sale Price20% Off - California Seascape, Botanical Study - Double Sided Mid Century WatercolorBy Doris WarnerLocated in Soquel, CADouble-sided mid century watercolor of Pleasure Point Cove, Monterey Bay by listed artist Doris Ann Warner (American, 1925-2010). On verso is a beautiful botanical watercolor study....Category
1960s American Impressionist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsWatercolor, Paper
- Island in the San Francisco Bay, Mid Century Landscape by Alexander NepoteBy Alexander NepoteLocated in Soquel, CAMid Century Island in the San Francisco Bay Landscape by Alexander Nepote Lovely late 1930's Impressionist watercolor of a Bay Area island b...Category
1930s American Impressionist Landscape Paintings
MaterialsPaper, Watercolor