John White Alexander

Friends of American Art Collection, Art Institute of Chicago

New York, National Academy of Design, Winter Exhibition, 1909 – 1910, no. 192
Berlin, Konigliche Akademie der Kunst; Munich, Kunstverein, Ausstellung Amerikanischer Kunst, March 17-April 17, 1910, no. 188
Art Institute of Chicago, Twenty Third Annual Exhibition of Oil Paintings and Sculpture by American Artists, 1910, no. 1
Washington, DC, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Third Annual Exhibition, Oil Paintings by Contemporary American Artists, 1910 - 1911
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 106th Annual Exhibition, 1911, no. 325 (as Sunlight; lent by Art Institute of Chicago)
New York, the showrooms of the Detroit Publishing Co., Exhibitions of Paintings and Studies by J. W. Alexander including coloured facsimiles and carbon photographs after his work, 1911 (color facsimile of Sunlight)
Pittsburgh, Fifteenth Annual Carnegie International, 1911 (First class medal)
Rochester, Albright Art Gallery, Eighth Annual Exhibition of Selected Paintings by American Artists, 1913, no. 1 (lent by the Art Institute of Chicago)
Pittsburgh, Carnegie Institute, Department of Fine Arts, John White Alexander, Memorial Exhibition, 1916, no. 3

American Art News, Dec. 11, 1909
Charles Henry Beltzer, New York American, Dec. 13, 1909, illus.   
New York Sun, Dec. 17, 1909 
“National Academy Pictures,” Evening Post, Dec. 18, 1909
“A Few Excellent Figure Subjects in the Academy Exposition—J.W. Alexander’s Fine ‘Sunlight’, “ New York Times, Dec. 19, 1909
“ ‘Sunlight’ by J. W. Alexander,” New York American, Dec. 30, 1909
“Ten Paintings at the Academy,” The Stylus, Jan. 1910, no. 2
John White Alexander, “The Need of a National Academy and its Value to the Growth of art in America,” The Craftsman, March, 1910, vol xvii, no. 6, illus. 606  
Konigliche Akademie der Kunste, Berlin: Ausstellung amerikanishcher Kunst, 2^nd rev. ed. Munchen/Berlin: F. Bruckmann, 1910, no. 188.
Masterpieces of American painting: a selection of photogravures after paintings exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts, Berlin, introduction by Christian Brinton (New York: Berlin Photographic Co., 1910) 
Die Kunst fuer Alle, 25.16 (15 Mai 1910), illus. p. 367
Inter-Ocean, Oct. 15, 1910
Maude I. G. Oliver, Record-Herald, Oct. 23, 1910
Chicago Tribune, Nov. 13, 1910, illus. 
“Alexander’s ‘Sunlight’ Sold,” Evening World, Nov. 30, 1910
“Third Corcoran Exhibit,” American Art News, Jan. 14, 1911
Town & Country, Feb 1, 1911    
 International Studio, Feb. 1911, illus. * with Detroit Publishing Co. copyright
Arts and Decoration, March, 1911
“The Prize Winner,” Public Ledger, April 20, 1911
“International Art Awards Announced,” Philadelphia Press, April 28, 1911, illus.
“New York Artist is First Prize Winner,” New York World, April 28, 1911
“Awards at Carnegie Exhibit,” New York Times, April 28, 1911  
“Honors for Pittsburgher,” Cincinnati Enquirer, April 28, 1911  
“Sunlight – by John W. Alexander,” New York Sun, April 30, 1911, illus.
Arthur Hoeber, “The Carnegie Art Institute Thirteenth Annual Exhibition,” International Studio, June 1911 (actually the fifteenth annual)
The Art Institute of Chicago Thirty-Second Annual Report, June 1, 1910 – June 1, 1911, 62 
“Alexander’s Painting Sets the Old to Dreaming,” Chicago Tribune, Jan. 10, 191
“Work of John W. Alexander,” Chicago Record-Herald, June 2, 1915, illus.*
American Art Collections by the Detroit Publishing Co. , XL the Development of American Paintings, 1918
Catalogue of Paintings, John White Alexander, Memorial Exhibition, Pittsburgh: Department of Fine Arts, Carnegie Institute, Mar. 1916, 29, no. 3.
Homer Saint-Gaudens,” John W. Alexander in the Theatre,” The American Magazine of Art, vol. VII, July 1916, no. 9, illus. 370
Friends of American Art, Sixth Year Book, Chicago, 1916-1918, 9
Sarah J. Moore, John White Alexander (1856-1915) In Search of the Decorative, Ph.d., City University of New York, 1992, fig. 110
International Encounters: the Carnegie International and Contemporary Art, 1896-1998, Vicky A. Clark (et.al.), (Pittsburgh, Pa.: Carnegie Museum of Art, 1996) 155
Sarah J. Moore, John White Alexander and the Construction of National Identity: Cosmopolitan American Art, 1880-1915, Newark, 2003, illus. between 64 and 65 

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes, Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's: This work is still on its original stretcher. The canvas has a light lining. The reason for the lining is a restoration above and slightly to the left of the figure's head in the upper background. There seems to be a thin break to the canvas here, running about 6 by 4 inches. Elsewhere throughout the entire picture there is no damage at all. The work may be very lightly varnished and it seems that it has never been cleaned. Quite frequently, one sees acidification of the burlap that Alexander favored as a support for his paintings. None of that is visible here. The paint layer is in lovely condition and although it may be dirty, the work could easily be hung in its current condition.
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.