"Fishing and Wishing" by Ralph Cahoon

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"Fishing and Wishing" by Ralph Cahoon

About the Item

An Early Ralph Cahoon Mermaid Painting, Fishing & Wishing, is signed R. Cahoon. The rectangular format painting depicts a whimsical seascape scene of a mermaid upon the back of a whale. The mermaid lay upon her stomach, holding a book under a sun tent with a bottle of wine and a wine glass set beside her. She wears white pearls around her arm, wrist and head. The mermaid looks up, smiling, at the approaching sailors, dressed in uniforms and holding a harpoon. There is a look of surprise on their faces. The whale is blowing water through its blow hole, which drips from the sun tent. Small fish jump out of the water. In the background there is a port side view of a three-masted ship flying an American jack while behind is an anchored ship with its sails furled. Above can be seen a hot air balloon. In the distance is a spit of land where a white lighthouse and trees are visible. In an article on line by Cindy Nickerson called Chasing Mermaids: The Paintings of Ralph Cahoon- a Centennial Retrospective, a very similar painting, dated 1960-1962, is illustrated called Mermaid's Washday which is on long term loan to the Cahoon Museum of American Art. (http://www.afanews.com/articles/articles/chasing-mermaids-the-paintings-of-ralph-cahoon-a-centennial-retrospective#.UFSSOI2PXHQ) The Cahoon Museum of Art on their web site write-In 1953, one of the Cahoon’s customers, art patroness Joan Whitney Payson, convinced the couple to frame some of their scenes for her to exhibit at the Country Art Gallery, a new business she was opening on Long Island. The paintings sold at once, and the Cahoons had their first two-person show at the gallery in 1954 (plus many more in the years that followed). By 1960, Ralph and Martha were also showing regularly at the Lobster Pot Gallery on Nantucket and Palm Beach Galleries in Palm Beach, Florida, and were being invited to show at other galleries around the country. In particular, an exhibition at Vose Galleries of Boston toward the end of 1960 did much to enhance their reputation. By this time, Ralph's polished style was all but synonymous with mermaids. Typically, his scenes had New England seaside settings, often with a lighthouse on a spit on the horizon, a clipper ship out on the water and a hot-air balloon or two in the sky. (http://www.cahoonmuseum.org/ralph-martha-cahoon.php) Dimensions: 17 inches x 26 inches; 13 inches x 22 inches (sight) Reference: Peter Falk: Who Was Who in American Art Michael David Zellman: Three Hundred Years of American Art Early life Cahoon was born in Chatham, Massachusetts in 1910 to a family directly descended from the first Dutch Settlers of Cape Cod. Growing up close to the Atlantic Ocean, young Ralph spent many of his days sailing, fishing, digging clams, and sketching the coast. As he grew older, clamming and fishing slowly became secondary to his burgeoning interest in art. By the time he attended high school, he had started to apply his artistic interest and talent by taking a correspondence course in cartoon drawing and even submitted works to his school paper. Upon graduation Ralph attended Boston’s School of Practical Art where he focused primarily on commercial art, rather than his preference of decorative art. Frustrated with the ideological differences he encountered in art school, he returned to his native Cape Cod after his graduation. Cahoon's young career took a dramatic turn in 1930 when he met and subsequently married (in 1932) a young Harwich woman named Martha Farham. The daughter of a well-respected and successful furniture decorator, Axel Farham, Martha introduced Ralph to the art of furniture decoration. Under her father’s tutelage Martha had become adept at free-hand decoration and introduced Ralph to the technique. After their marriage, the Cahoons moved to Osterville, and later to Cotuit where they would start a successful business decorating and selling antique furniture. In 1953 their careers took another twist when one of their customers, the wealthy New York socialite, art dealer, and future co-owner of the New York Mets, Joan Whitney Payson convinced them to frame some of their designs. Furthermore, Payson offered to show their works in her Long Island Gallery. Their foray from furniture decoration into “wall art” proved successful and both Cahoons went onto to produce numerous works over the ensuing decades. While much of their earlier furniture decoration shared the same Pennsylvania Dutch inspired motifs, their easel paintings marked the first significant diversion in Ralph and Martha’s palettes and styles. While Martha continued to work in muted tones, Ralph experimented with brighter and more contrasting colors. More importantly, Ralph developed the subject matter and style that made his paintings must haves for any distinguished family that summered on the Cape. Although he did not entirely abandon his Pennsylvania folk art roots, Ralph started painting whimsical scenes of sailors and mermaids frolicking on the backs of whales, in hot air balloons, on majestic ships, and countless other fantastic settings. As his commissions grew, Ralph would often incorporate his patron’s businesses, homes, or professions into the finished work along with the standard mermaids and sailors. In the end, Ralph Cahoon’s paintings were successful because they attracted a client base of wealthy, old money families that frequented vacationed or owned estates on the Cape or the Islands. The carefree, lighthearted antics portrayed in Ralph’s paintings appealed to patrons’ romantic associations with the Cape and were neither pretentious nor controversial. Ralph continued painting up until his death in 1982. Martha continued painting after Ralph’s death and even in her waning years continued to produce small crayon drawings up until her death in 1999. Today Ralph Cahoon’s paintings are highly sought after by collectors with his more important paintings exceeding $100,000 at public auction. The Cahoon Museum of American Art in Cotuit, Massachusetts features many of Cahoon's works.

Dimensions:
Height: 17 in (43.18 cm)Width: 26 in (66.04 cm)
Materials and Techniques:
Masonite
Place of Origin:
United States
Period:
20th Century
Date of Manufacture:
1960-1962
Condition:
Excellent Condition.
Seller Location:
Downingtown, PA
Reference Number:
Seller: NY75641stDibs: U1211128610302