George Inness

Mrs. Helen Inness Hartley, New York (sold:  American Art Association, [Hartley Sale], New York, March 24, 1927, no. 58 (as The Roman Campagna)
Thomas Cochran, New York, 1927
Macbeth Gallery, New York, 1933 (probably)
R.I. Skofield, New York, 1933
Macbeth Gallery, New York, 1933 (sold:  Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York, February 1, 1940, no. 27, illustrated as The Roman Campagna)
Louis van Vorhees Keeler, Montclair, New Jersey (acquired at the above auction)
Harry H. Kuck, Jr., Jupiter, Florida, 1978 (by descent in the family)
By descent in the family to the present owner, 1991

New York, Richard Dudensing & Son, The Entire Works of George Inness, N.A., in Watercolor and Important Paintings, 1917, no. 44 (as Albano, Italy)

Royal Cortissoz, "The Late George Inness and American Landscape", New York Daily Tribune, January 21, 1917
Royal Cortissoz, "Field of Art", Scribner's Magazine 77, no. 4, April, 1925
LeRoy Ireland, The Works of George Inness, An Illustrated Catalogue Raisonné, Austin Texas, 1965, no. 648, p.159, illustrated
Timken Art Gallery:  European and American Works of Art in the Putnam Foundation Collection, San Diego, California, 1996, p. 190, illustrated p. 191 (as Ariccia)
Michael Quick, George Inness:  A Catalogue Raisonné, New Brunswick, New Jersey, 2007, vol. I, no. 414, pp. 392-393, illustrated

From Simon Parkes: This painting appears to be in very good condition. The canvas has an old, early 20th century glue lining. The stretcher may not be original, but is certainly old and is contemporary at least to the lining. The paint layer has been cleaned since the lining was applied and no further cleaning is necessarily encouraged. Inness paints in a very unique style and his thin application of paint in the sky, particularly in the upper left, is evident. The thinness in this area however is not the result of poor cleaning, it is purely an intentional thin application of the blue glaze over some whiter pigment, perhaps used to suggest clouds. The town and the landscape in almost every area are in very clear and excellent condition. In the lower left there is a very obvious pentiment, or at least a few marks of bright fall colored foliage which seem to have been subdued by the artist, yet not very successfully. This is technically a pentiment but it has become very prominent and although there are no retouches to diminish the visual effects of this, a few would be beneficial.
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.

Michael Quick writes, "The long, crossing diagonals and the energetic painting of the foreground brush and trees make this one of Inness' most dynamic Italian compositions, utterly unlike the stately repose of his other treatment of this view, L'Arricia, Italy, 1874 (Timken Museum of Art, San Diego, California).  The very oblong format, which Elihu Vedder often used for his forceful, serpentine compositions, argues for a date of 1873 or 1874, as do both Iness' massing of light passages into shapes and his searching for linear rhythms, as in the rounded, dark shapes of the trees in front of the town.  The feature that most strongly indicates a later date of about 1874 is the self-consciousness of the forceful brushstrokes, which contribute so much to the painting's considerable impact" (George Inness:  A Catalogue Raisonné, 2007, pp. 392-393)