Abbott Fuller Graves Art

Abbott Fuller Graves Colonial Doorway Signed lower right Oil on panel 15 1/2 x 11 1/2 inches Provenance: Christie's New York, American Paintings,...

Colonel Bates Leads the 30th Colored Infantry at the Battle of the Crater Watercolor on Paper Circa 1903 15 ½ x 21 ½ Inches 25 ½ x 33 ½ Inches Framed LR: Graves This rare portrait of African American troops serving in battle during the Civil War depicts the 30th United States Colored Infantry at the Battle of the Crater, at Petersburg, Virginia. The regiment was composed of African American enlisted men commanded by white officers and was authorized by the Bureau of Colored Troops which was created by the United States War Department on May 22, 1863. The Battle of the Crater, July 30th, 1864, was part of the Siege of Petersburg, fought between the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, commanded by General Robert E. Lee and the Union Army of the Potomac, commanded by Maj. Gen. George G. Meade (under the direct supervision of the general-in-chief, Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant). At the top of the painting, Colonel Delevan Bates raises his saber to lead the charge of the 30th United States Colored Infantry. Bates was promoted to this command just prior to this battle, having served with distinction in the 121st New York Infantry at the Battles of Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. Though the Battle of the Crater would eventually be won by the Confederacy, it was here that Bates and 23 other troops would be award the United States highest award for bravery during combat, the Medal of Honor. After weeks of preparation, on July 30, Union forces exploded a mine in Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside's IX Corps sector, blowing a gap in the Confederate defenses of Petersburg, Virginia. From this propitious beginning, everything deteriorated rapidly for the Union attackers. Unit after unit charged into and around the crater, where soldiers milled in confusion. Grant considered the assault "the saddest affair I have witnessed in this war." The Confederates quickly recovered and launched several counterattacks led by Brig. Gen. William Mahone. The breach was sealed off, and Union forces were repulsed with severe casualties. Brig. Gen. Edward Ferrero's division of black soldiers...

Abbott Fuller Graves (1859 - 1936) Sunny Doorway, New England Oil on board 16 x 12 inches Signed lower left Housed in a period Newcomb-Macklin frame Provenance: The artist Mildred Moses, New Orleans, Louisiana (acquired from the above) Private Collection, by descent Abbott Fuller Graves was an American painter and illustrator who specialized in decorative open air garden paintings and floral still lifes. His use of thick brushstrokes, bright colors, and natural light shows the influence of European impressionism. Graves was born in Weymouth, Massachusetts, on April 15, 1859, the son of James Griswold Graves and Eliza Nicholls (Fuller). Hoping to become an architect, Graves attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology but did not graduate. Graves went to Paris and Italy in 1884 to refine his skills as a flower painter. In Europe, he roomed with Edmund C. Tarbell. After returning to Boston in 1885, Graves became a teacher at the Cowles Art School, where his friend Childe Hassam was also on the faculty. The two painters undoubtedly influenced one another. In 1887, Graves returned to Paris to study figure painting at the Academie Julien. Graves returned to Boston in 1891, and lived in the coastal town of Kennebunkport, Maine, where he taught painting classes in oil and watercolor. He continued to visit there in later years, painting genre scenes featuring farmers, fishermen, firemen and old sea captains of Kennebunkport. Many of his portrayals of small-town life were reproduced on calendars and postcards. After 1891, the majority of Graves's works depict gardens and floral landscapes, some including female figures. Some portray exotic gardens of Spain and South America. In 1891, he opened his own art school in Boston. The school later moved to Kennebunk, Maine. From 1902 to 1905, Graves was employed as a commercial illustrator for magazines and studied at the Académie Vitti in Paris. After 1922, Graves spent his winters in New York...

Abbott Fuller Graves (1859 - 1936) Maine Dorie Fisherman Oil on canvas 14 x 20 inches Signed lower right: Abbott Graves Provenance: Vose Galleries, Boston Everett Thomas Kilbride Jr., Madison, Connecticut Abbott Fuller Graves was an American painter and illustrator who specialized in decorative open air garden paintings and floral still lifes. His use of thick brushstrokes, bright colors, and natural light shows the influence of European impressionism. Graves was born in Weymouth, Massachusetts, on April 15, 1859, the son of James Griswold Graves and Eliza Nicholls (Fuller). Hoping to become an architect, Graves attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology but did not graduate. Graves went to Paris and Italy in 1884 to refine his skills as a flower painter. In Europe, he roomed with Edmund C. Tarbell. After returning to Boston in 1885, Graves became a teacher at the Cowles Art School, where his friend Childe Hassam was also on the faculty. The two painters undoubtedly influenced one another. In 1887, Graves returned to Paris to study figure painting at the Academie Julien. Graves returned to Boston in 1891, and lived in the coastal town of Kennebunkport, Maine, where he taught painting classes in oil and watercolor. He continued to visit there in later years, painting genre scenes featuring farmers, fishermen, firemen and old sea captains...