Edgar Alwin Payne

Private Collection, California

Butterfields, San Francisco, 13 June 2001, lot 5279 (consigned by the above)

George Stern Fine Arts, Los Angeles

Acquired from the above by the present owner

Capturing a scene of provincial tranquility, Edgar Alwin Payne’s French Fishing Boats is a poignant example of the artist's plein-air approach to painting. Most likely painted during his first trip to Concarneau, France in 1924 or his second trip between 1928-1929, this boat scene is indicative of Payne’s attraction to such fishing ports. The broad brushstrokes and loose compositional structure of the piece emphasize the shimmering reflections of the boats in the water, with Payne’s more subdued palette supporting a deep engagement with the subject matter of the work. 

Boats, like the ones depicted here, were a large focus of Payne’s while he was traveling throughout France at the time. His wife Elsie, who was an artist as well, touches on Payne’s immense fascination with these boats, recalling that while she “painted the villages and the quaint houses, … [she] left the boats to Edgar” (Scott A Shields and Patricia Trenton, Edgar Payne: The Scenic Journey, “Payne’s European Art and Travels (1922-1924, 1928)”, p. 149). Like the slow rocking of the boats in this scene, Payne emphasizes the tensions between the tradition and history felt in these French towns and the ever-present drift towards the future. The two figures at the center of the piece guide viewers into Payne’s scenic journey through France and ultimately exhibit his poetic and picturesque approach to painting.