Martha Walter
"Portrait of Young Boy and His Toy Train"

Name: "Portrait of Young Boy and His Toy Train"
Brand: Martha Walter
Price: 170000 USD
Availability: InStock

About the Item

This particular piece is one of Walter's signature images of children, among the subjects for which she is known. Clearly a formal portrait, it was likely commissioned for the home of an affluent client, given the child's elegant costume and the portrait;s grand size. In this arresting portrait, she captures the delight of a young blond boy who has just been presented with a new toy train. Though she did not paint a large number of portraits she was observed to "have a very distinct gift for portraiture" Born in Philadelphia, Martha Walter was a well-known Philadelphia Impressionist who specialized in light hearted, colorful beach scenes, especially of Gloucester, Coney Island, Atlantic City and from along the French Coast. Martha Walter studied at the Pennsylvania Academy under the admiring instructor William Merritt Chase who took Martha under his wing giving her both inspiration and direction. She enrolled with Chase at his summer school in Shinnecock, Long Island, and in 1903, was awarded the Cresson Traveling Scholarship by the Pennsylvania Academy. On a two-year traveling Cresson Scholarship, she visited France, Spain, Italy and Holland and attended the Academie Grande Chaumiere and the Academie Julian in Paris. Finding the academy structure too confining, she established a studio in the Rue De Bagneaus. Her painting captured the animation of the city and the light and color of seashore scenes. With the onset of World War I, she returned to the United States and set up a studio in Gloucester, Massachusetts, where she began painting plein-air subjects such as Ellis Island whilst becoming intrigued with the people as they arrived in ethnic costume from other countries, the fishing village of Gloucester, scenes of cheerful children, and the quintessential American beach scenes which have brought her national acclaim. Throughout her life, Walter continued to travel with great regularity capturing in oil & watercolor a wealth of landscapes and cultures across the globe. Martha lived a charmed life, keeping addresses in New York City, suburban Philadelphia and Gloucester while frequently traveling abroad. In her later years however she became reclusive not wanting to be disturbed by galleries and museums. Never married she lived to be 101 and was widely exhibited both nationally as well as internationally and was the recipient of many prestigious awards.

Creator:

Martha Walter (1875-1976, American)

Dimensions:

Height: 80 in (203.2 cm)Width: 34 in (86.36 cm)Depth: 3 in (7.62 cm)

Medium:

Canvas,Oil

Period:

20th Century

Condition:

Gallery Location:

Lambertville, NJ

Reference Number: