Charles E. Burchfield Art

Max Kuehne (1880 - 1968) Train Station, circa 1910 Watercolor on paper 8 1/4 x 10 1/4 inches Signed lower right Provenance: Private Collection, Illinois Max Kuehne was born in Halle, Germany on November 7, 1880. During his adolescence the family immigrated to America and settled in Flushing, New York. As a young man, Max was active in rowing events, bicycle racing, swimming and sailing. After experimenting with various occupations, Kuehne decided to study art, which led him to William Merritt Chase's famous school in New York; he was trained by Chase himself, then by Kenneth Hayes Miller. Chase was at the peak of his career, and his portraits were especially in demand. Kuehne would have profited from Chase's invaluable lessons in technique, as well as his inspirational personality. Miller, only four years older than Kuehne, was another of the many artists to benefit from Chase's teachings. Even though Miller still would have been under the spell of Chase upon Kuehne's arrival, he was already experimenting with an aestheticism that went beyond Chase's realism and virtuosity of the brush. Later Miller developed a style dependent upon volumetric figures that recall Italian Renaissance prototypes. Kuehne moved from Miller to Robert Henri in 1909. Rockwell Kent, who also studied under Chase, Miller, and Henri, expressed what he felt were their respective contributions: "As Chase had taught us to use our eyes, and Henri to enlist our hearts, Miller called on us to use our heads." (Rockwell Kent, It's Me O Lord: The Autobiography of Rockwell Kent. New York: Dodd, Mead and Co., 1955, p. 83). Henri prompted Kuehne to search out the unvarnished realities of urban living; a notable portion of Henri's stylistic formula was incorporated into his work. Having received such a thorough foundation in art, Kuehne spent a year in Europe's major art museums to study techniques of the old masters. His son Richard named Ernest Lawson as one of Max Kuehne's European traveling companions. In 1911 Kuehne moved to New York where he maintained a studio and painted everyday scenes around him, using the rather Manet-like, dark palette of Henri. A trip to Gloucester during the following summer engendered a brighter palette. In the words of Gallatin (1924, p. 60), during that summer Kuehne "executed some of his most successful pictures, paintings full of sunlight . . . revealing the fact that he was becoming a colorist of considerable distinction." Kuehne was away in England the year of the Armory Show (1913), where he worked on powerful, painterly seascapes on the rocky shores of Cornwall. Possibly inspired by Henri - who had discovered Madrid in 1900 then took classes there in 1906, 1908 and 1912 - Kuehne visited Spain in 1914; in all, he would spend three years there, maintaining a studio in Granada. He developed his own impressionism and a greater simplicity while in Spain, under the influence of the brilliant Mediterranean light. George Bellows convinced Kuehne to spend the summer of 1919 in Rockport, Maine (near Camden). The influence of Bellows was more than casual; he would have intensified Kuehne's commitment to paint life "in the raw" around him. After another brief trip to Spain in 1920, Kuehne went to the other Rockport (Cape Ann, Massachusetts) where he was accepted as a member of the vigorous art colony, spearheaded by Aldro T. Hibbard. Rockport's picturesque ambiance fulfilled the needs of an artist-sailor: as a writer in the Gloucester Daily Times explained, "Max Kuehne came to Rockport to paint, but he stayed to sail." The 1920s was a boom decade for Cape Ann, as it was for the rest of the nation. Kuehne's studio in Rockport was formerly occupied by Jonas Lie. Kuehne spent the summer of 1923 in Paris, where in July, André Breton started a brawl as the curtain went up on a play by his rival Tristan Tzara; the event signified the demise of the Dada movement. Kuehne could not relate to this avant-garde art but was apparently influenced by more traditional painters — the Fauves, Nabis, and painters such as Bonnard. Gallatin perceived a looser handling and more brilliant color in the pictures Kuehne brought back to the States in the fall. In 1926, Kuehne won the First Honorable Mention at the Carnegie Institute, and he re-exhibited there, for example, in 1937 (Before the Wind). Besides painting, Kuehne did sculpture, decorative screens, and furniture work with carved and gilded molding. In addition, he designed and carved his own frames, and John Taylor Adams encouraged Kuehne to execute etchings. Through his talents in all these media he was able to survive the Depression, and during the 1940s and 1950s these activities almost eclipsed his easel painting. In later years, Kuehne's landscapes and still-lifes show the influence of Cézanne and Bonnard, and his style changed radically. Max Kuehne died in 1968. He exhibited his work at the National Academy of Design, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Carnegie Institute in Pittsburgh, the Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester, and in various New York City galleries. Kuehne's works are in the following public collections: the Detroit Institute of Arts (Marine Headland), the Whitney Museum (Diamond Hill...

Renowned American impressionist painter John Singer Sargent paints a view overlooking water with the rocky shoreline in the fore in his work entitled, “Loch Moidart, Inverness-Shire ...

Edward Dufner (1872 - 1957) Monhegan Island, Maine Watercolor on paper Sight 16 x 20 inches Signed lower right With a long-time career as an art teacher and painter of both 'light' and 'dark', Edward Dufner was one of the first students of the Buffalo Fine Arts Academy to earn an Albright Scholarship to study painting in New York. In Buffalo, he had exchanged odd job work for drawing lessons from architect Charles Sumner. He also earned money as an illustrator of a German-language newspaper, and in 1890 took lessons from George Bridgman at the Buffalo Fine Arts Academy. In 1893, using his scholarship, Dufner moved to Manhattan and enrolled at the Art Students League where he studied with Henry Siddons Mowbray, figure painter and muralist. He also did illustration work for Life, Harper's and Scribner's magazines. Five years later, in 1898, Dufner went to Paris where he studied at the Academy Julian with Jean-Paul Laurens and privately with James McNeill Whistler. Verification of this relationship, which has been debated by art scholars, comes from researcher Nancy Turk who located at the Smithsonian Institution two 1927 interviews given by Dufner. Turk wrote that Dufner "talks in detail about Whistler, about how he prepared his canvasas and about numerous pieces he painted. . . A great read, the interview puts to bed" the ongoing confusion about whether or not he studied with Whistler. During his time in France, Dufner summered in the south at Le Pouleu with artists Richard Emil Miller...

Watercolour on paper of a Cornish beach scene by Oliver Bedford. Signed bottom right. Titled and located on a trade label for The Rowley Gallery, Kensington, London. Presented in cus...

Wonderful western figurative landscape watercolor depicting highly detailed figures at working in front of a blacksmith shop, set in a small town landscape with beautiful dappled light in the foreground, by exemplary contemporary watercolor artist Patricia Hansen (American, 20th Century), c.2000. Signed lower right corner "P.P. Hansen". Presented in oak frame under glass with off-white mat. Image size: 23"H x 31"W. Formerly of the San Francisco Bay Area and Saratoga Springs, New York, watercolorist, Patricia Hansen currently lives and maintains her studio at the mouth of Little Cottonwood Canyon in Sandy, Utah. She was born in Chicago, Illinois and received her bachelor degree in art from Brigham Young University. After graduation, Patricia continued to study both drawing and watercolor painting from noted artists Jade Fon...

Late 20th century gouache landscape of "Les Baux de Provence" on paper by French artist Désiré Villain, signed bottom left and to the reverse and dated 199...

Beautiful mid century landscape of a historic California mission, highlighting its iconic architectural details such as a columned arches, white was...

John Hare Gloucester Harbor at Sunset, Massachusetts Signed lower right Watercolor on paper 16 x 12 inches John Cuthbert Hare, 1908-1978, was a watercolorist who painted boats, seascapes and harbor scenes. He was primarily associated New England, especially Cape Cod, Massachusetts where he spent his summers from 1938 to 1965. However, he was in Florida where he was a member of the St. Augustine Art Association, and other locations on the East Coast. It is likely Hare was born in New York City. He first studied commercial art in Brooklyn at the Pratt Institute and also studied at the Art Students League in Manhattan. He worked for Hearst newspapers corporation, and in 1933 married. In the next few years, he and his wife traveled extensively, camping and painting and exhibiting his work in galleries. In 1935, they visited St. Augustine and an exhibition of his watercolors was held there in the old bank...

Serene seascape by Jack Garver (American, b. 1925). Boats are tied up just off shore, along a sweeping, sandy coastline. Trees and structures can be seen a...

Serene nocturnal seascape by George Fotherly Hargitt (American/Scottish, 1837-1926). The San Diego harbor stretches out in front of the viewer, depicted from a vantage point above th...

Beyond The Waterline by Mari Elsa Giddings (American, b. 1959) Gorgeous vintage monotype original watercolor painting of a serene lake surrounded by vibrant trees of green. The lake sits quiet, with shadows from the trees glistening over it. There are patches of golden grass along the lakeside, and skies of blue sparkling against the water. Signed lower right "Mari Elsa Giddings" and "Giddings" on verso. Presented in a white mat. Matted: 40"H x 32"W Image: 26"H x 24"W. Mari Elsa Giddings is a contemporary artist who was born in Washington, D.C. in 1959. She grew up in Maryland, New York, and then studied art at Phoenix College in Arizona with Meryl Mahaffey and Allen Dutton. She earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at Arizona State University in 1984, where she worked under master printers, such as Dan Britten and Wayne Kimball. In 1986 she became chief assistant to master printer Robert A. Devoe at the Phoenix Art Press. Shortly after, Mari opened her own studio in the Verde Valley in northern Arizona where she happily painted landscapes for several years. In 1991 Mari moved back to Phoenix to become the Art Director of Phoenix Art Press. n 1995 Mari co-founded the Planet Art...

"Challenge at Dawn" - Landscape with Elk in Watercolor on Paper Serene landscape with an elk by Greg McHuron (American, 1945-2012). An elk stand to the right side of the composition, looking back over it's shoulder towards the viewer. To the left of the elk, a calm river winds away from the viewer in to the distance, where mist and clouds partially obscure a rocky mountain. The sky is bright blue with streaks of yellow sunlight illuminating the clouds. Signed in the lower right corner. Artist's tag (with signature, date and title) and gallery tag on verso, Presented in a wood frame with a double mat. Frame size: 20.75"H x 17"W Image size: 14"H x 10"W Gregory Ivan McHuron (American, 1945-2012) was a plein-air painter working in oil and watercolor/gouache. He was born in Syracuse NY but was raised in Colorado, Wyoming, Alaska and California. His education included 4 years of extensive high school training by a teacher who graduated from the Berlin Art Academy. He also attended Oregon State University where he took classes in forestry, fisheries and wildlife and graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Art from Oregon State University. Introduced to plein-air painting in oil in 1973 by Conrad "Connie" Schwiering, he quickly found that he enjoyed painting the rapidly changing scenes. It allowed him to put in his paintings the feelings and excitement that he felt while watching the scene unfold which created more drama and excitement than he would have been able to do in a studio environment. He has traveled widely including much of Alaska; in wilderness areas in WY and CO; down the Colorado River through Grand Canyon NP; to British Columbia and Alberta, Canada; and on extended boat trips along the west coast from Port Ludlow, Washington to Glacier Bay, AK going in and out of the fjords. He honed his understanding and knowledge of animals not only from college classes he took but also from the everyday study and observation of the wildlife in the Jackson, Grand Teton NP and Yellowstone NP areas. In addition for many years, he drew and studied wild animals at the Okanagan Game Farm in Penticton, British Columbia, Canada. Every summer and fall a group of artists would go to the Game Farm kibitzing, painting and drawing the wildlife. He taught workshops, gave demonstrations and participated in quick-draws for a variety of organizations including Wyoming Artists Association, Wind River Artist Association, Scottsdale School of the Arts, The Lodge at Palisades, National Museum of Wildlife Art, CM Russell Show, Grand Teton National Park and Isle Royale...