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George Henry Durrie 1820 - 1863
Estimate
400,000 - 600,000 USD
bidding is closed
Description
- George Henry Durrie
- On the Road to Boston
- signed G.H. Durrie, dated 1861, and inscribed N. Haven (lower right)
- oil on canvas
- 21 7/8 by 30 1/8 inches
- (55.6 by 76.5 cm)
Provenance
H.V. Weil
Mr. and Mrs. Amory L. Haskell, Red Bank, New Jersey, 1938
Private Collection (by descent from the above; sold: Sotheby's, New York, May 24, 2000, lot 103, illustrated)
Acquired by the present owner from the above sale
Mr. and Mrs. Amory L. Haskell, Red Bank, New Jersey, 1938
Private Collection (by descent from the above; sold: Sotheby's, New York, May 24, 2000, lot 103, illustrated)
Acquired by the present owner from the above sale
Condition
To see the condition report provided by Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc., please contact the American Art department at (212) 606-7280.
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.
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.
Catalogue Note
George Henry Durrie was born in New Haven, Connecticut, a small, bucolic community that would serve as a great source of inspiration for the artist for the entirety of his career. Durrie initially supported himself as a portrait painter, executing commissions with progressively greater sophistication until he became recognized as one of New Haven’s most skilled practitioners of the genre. Despite this success, Durrie gradually turned his attention away from portraiture as landscape painting became increasingly popular in 19th century American art. His work captured the particular qualities of the local landscape in addition to depicting the daily way of life of his friends and neighbors. As a result, Durrie’s body of work is unique within the context of 19th century American art, standing as a compelling synthesis of landscape and genre painting.
According to Martha Hutson, "The mainstream of Durrie's art is toward the intimate rather than the grand. [The present work] retains a quiet placidity characteristic of Durrie's scenes with a prominent genre element of people and animals plus the peaceful mood of a snow-covered New England countryside. As landscapes they are related to the human being and draw their charm partly from the human pleasures associated with the season. One early nineteenth-century writer summed up the attractions of winter which were so evocatively painted by Durrie. 'Then begin to dawn other delights. The bracing air, the clean snow-paths, the sled and sleigh, the revelation of forms that all summer were grass-hidden; the sharp-out-lined hills lying clear upon the sky; the exquisite tracery of trees; especially of all such trees that dendral child of God; the elm, whose branches are carried out into an endless complexity of fine lines of spray, and which stands up in winter showing its whole anatomy that all its summer shade was founded upon the most substantial reality'" (George Henry Durrie (1820-1863): American Winter Landscapist: Renowned Through Currier and Ives, Santa Barbara, California, 1977, pp. 96, 109).
According to Martha Hutson, "The mainstream of Durrie's art is toward the intimate rather than the grand. [The present work] retains a quiet placidity characteristic of Durrie's scenes with a prominent genre element of people and animals plus the peaceful mood of a snow-covered New England countryside. As landscapes they are related to the human being and draw their charm partly from the human pleasures associated with the season. One early nineteenth-century writer summed up the attractions of winter which were so evocatively painted by Durrie. 'Then begin to dawn other delights. The bracing air, the clean snow-paths, the sled and sleigh, the revelation of forms that all summer were grass-hidden; the sharp-out-lined hills lying clear upon the sky; the exquisite tracery of trees; especially of all such trees that dendral child of God; the elm, whose branches are carried out into an endless complexity of fine lines of spray, and which stands up in winter showing its whole anatomy that all its summer shade was founded upon the most substantial reality'" (George Henry Durrie (1820-1863): American Winter Landscapist: Renowned Through Currier and Ives, Santa Barbara, California, 1977, pp. 96, 109).