Francis Augustus Silva 1835 - 1886

(Sale:  Christie, Manson & Woods Inc., New York, May 23, 1979, lot 69)
H.V. Allison Galleries, New York, 1989
R.H. Love Galleries, Chicago, 2000

John I.H. Baur, Francis A. Silva, Beyond Luminism, 'The Magazine Antiques', November 1980, p. 1028, fig. 18, illustrated

Canvas is lined. Inscription on the back of lining reads '1880 Seabright from Galilee Francis a Silva' along with the artist's device: star anchor star (most likely transcribed from reverse of original canvas). Pressed cracquelure from lining particularly in sky on left. Some scattered spots of discoloration to in-paint. Area around figure scrubbed from previous cleanings. Under UV: scattered lines of in paint mostly in sky but also a few in background. Also in paint along left and right edge and in two dime-sized spots in sky along upper edge most likely resulting from a previous fold and the canvas re-stretched. Older area of inpaint in lower branch of tree and spot of re-paint in branch upper left.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Born in New York City in 1835, Silva's career as an artist began after the Civil War ended.  He had enlisted into the Seventh Regiment of the New York State Militia in 1861.  His first landscape and marine paintings depicted the scenery and shipping along the Hudson River in the prevailing Luminist style.  The Luminists, who had inherited the mantle of the Hudson River School, paid special attention to the effects of bright sunlight, particularly the way forms dissolve when the viewer is directly facing the sun.  Silva's excellent treatment of this effect earned him much distinction throughout the 1870s.

In 1880, he settled in Long Branch, New Jersey, with his family. He started to explore the environment there with its complex marine topography defined by the barrier islands which separate the Atlantic Ocean from the river estuaries and mainland along the northern shore of the state.

The present work, created the same year the Silvas moved to Long Branch, depicts a view from the small town of Galilee perched on the edge of a peninsula along the Shrewsbury River towards the small community of Sea Bright, situated on the barrier island just a few miles north of Long Branch.  The composition signifies a shift in the artist's choice of subject, away from the rigorous concentration on lighting effects and pure nature, in favor of an anecdotal, detail-filled documentation of human life on the margin between the countryside and the encroaching urban settlements.  The little child, with her brood of chicks, perhaps symbolizes optimism for the future and the emergence of a new generation of Americans born, like his own children, beyond the traumatic grasp of the Civil War.