- 60
E. Ambrose Webster 1869 - 1935
Estimate
80,000 - 120,000 USD
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Description
- E. Ambrose Webster
- Greenwich Village in Geometry
- signed E. AMBROSE WEBSTER and dated '29 (lower left)
- oil on canvas
- 45 3/4 by 32 inches
- (116.2 by 81.3 cm)
Provenance
Estate of the artist, 1935
Georgianna Webster (the artist's wife)
Karl Rodgers (her nephew), 1942
Allegra H. Rodgers (his wife)
Delorma Rodgers Morton
Private Collection, New York
Georgianna Webster (the artist's wife)
Karl Rodgers (her nephew), 1942
Allegra H. Rodgers (his wife)
Delorma Rodgers Morton
Private Collection, New York
Exhibited
New York, Linda Hyman Fine Arts, Primary Structures: The American Modernsists' World, October-December 1996
New York, Babcock Galleries, E. Ambrose Webster, May 2003
Greenville, South Carolina, Greenville County Museum of Arts, E. Ambrose Webster: Pioneer Modernist, November 2008-February 2009
New York, Babcock Galleries, E. Ambrose Webster, May 2003
Greenville, South Carolina, Greenville County Museum of Arts, E. Ambrose Webster: Pioneer Modernist, November 2008-February 2009
Literature
Grace Glueck, "Art in Review—E. Ambrose Webster," The New York Times, May 23, 2003
Gail R. Scott, E. Ambrose Webster: Chasing the Sun, Manchester, Vermont and New York, 2009, p. 172, illustrated in color p. 169; also illustrated in color on the back cover
Gail R. Scott, E. Ambrose Webster: Chasing the Sun, Manchester, Vermont and New York, 2009, p. 172, illustrated in color p. 169; also illustrated in color on the back cover
Condition
This work is in very good condition. The canvas is unlined. Under UV: There is one spot and one dot of inpainting in the blue area at the center right edge, and one small spot beneath the checkered area in the lower left corner.
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
Born in 1869 in Chelsea, Massachusetts, E. Ambrose Webster is best known today for the Fauvist-inspired landscapes he produced of exotic locations such as Jamaica, Bermuda and the Azores, as well asof his home of Provincetown, Massachusetts, where he moved in 1900. Webster gravitated towards the seaside town for the distinctive quality of light created by the water. There he opened the Summer School of Art where he promoted the idea of utilizing the effects of light and shadow on the landscape to create brilliant color harmonies.
The late 1920s, however, marks a distinct shift in Webster’s style as he moved away from the expressive landscapes of his earlier work to embrace an aesthetic characterized by a remarkable integration of Cubist and figural elements. “Always analytical by nature," explains Gail R. Scott, Webster’s "work had long evidenced a predilection for linear structure, though often functioning more as a compositional backbone in his paintings that are otherwise dominated by spectacular color effects. His move toward abstraction had been emerging for some time. From this point onward, composition and line assume paramount importance in the artist’s figural work and in his teaching. In his figurative work, along with an emphasis on linear, abstracted composition, came a new working method in the form of extensive preparatory drawings and small studies leading up to one or more finished versions in oil, as in Greenwich Village in Geometry” (E. Ambrose Webster: Chasing the Sun, Manchester, Vermont, 2009, pp. 168, 172).
Painted in 1929, Greenwich Village in Geometry demonstrates Webster’s interest in and unique interpretation of the theory of Dynamic Symmetry. As promoted by Jay Hambidge, an illustrator and mathematician who previously studied under William Merritt Chase, Dynamic Symmetry emerged as Hambidge’s reaction to the Cubist paintings he first encountered at the Armory Show of 1913. Based on the ancient Greek ideals of proportion and symmetry, the concept attracted a number of American painters in the early 20th century including Robert Henri, George Bellows and Maxfield Parrish. Hambidge purported that utilizing the ratios of the diagonals of a square created the impression of movement in a composition, mimicking the same “dynamic beauty” present in the natural world.
“As we look back on the art of the 20th century,” Scott continues, “Webster’s late paintings make a significant statement that has yet to be appreciated for its vigor and integrity. Seen in the context of a figurative artist like Edward Hopper, a Cubist innovator like Stuart Davis, a Precisionist like Charles Sheeler, or an individualist like Georgia O’Keeffe, Webster’s work stands out for its chromatic power, strength of design, monumental scale and symbolic import. He was a precursor, developing new approaches to color and compositional structure long before other artists began to experiment in similar ways and helping to shape and define American Modernism” (Scott, p. 185).
The late 1920s, however, marks a distinct shift in Webster’s style as he moved away from the expressive landscapes of his earlier work to embrace an aesthetic characterized by a remarkable integration of Cubist and figural elements. “Always analytical by nature," explains Gail R. Scott, Webster’s "work had long evidenced a predilection for linear structure, though often functioning more as a compositional backbone in his paintings that are otherwise dominated by spectacular color effects. His move toward abstraction had been emerging for some time. From this point onward, composition and line assume paramount importance in the artist’s figural work and in his teaching. In his figurative work, along with an emphasis on linear, abstracted composition, came a new working method in the form of extensive preparatory drawings and small studies leading up to one or more finished versions in oil, as in Greenwich Village in Geometry” (E. Ambrose Webster: Chasing the Sun, Manchester, Vermont, 2009, pp. 168, 172).
Painted in 1929, Greenwich Village in Geometry demonstrates Webster’s interest in and unique interpretation of the theory of Dynamic Symmetry. As promoted by Jay Hambidge, an illustrator and mathematician who previously studied under William Merritt Chase, Dynamic Symmetry emerged as Hambidge’s reaction to the Cubist paintings he first encountered at the Armory Show of 1913. Based on the ancient Greek ideals of proportion and symmetry, the concept attracted a number of American painters in the early 20th century including Robert Henri, George Bellows and Maxfield Parrish. Hambidge purported that utilizing the ratios of the diagonals of a square created the impression of movement in a composition, mimicking the same “dynamic beauty” present in the natural world.
“As we look back on the art of the 20th century,” Scott continues, “Webster’s late paintings make a significant statement that has yet to be appreciated for its vigor and integrity. Seen in the context of a figurative artist like Edward Hopper, a Cubist innovator like Stuart Davis, a Precisionist like Charles Sheeler, or an individualist like Georgia O’Keeffe, Webster’s work stands out for its chromatic power, strength of design, monumental scale and symbolic import. He was a precursor, developing new approaches to color and compositional structure long before other artists began to experiment in similar ways and helping to shape and define American Modernism” (Scott, p. 185).