Charles Sprague Pearce

La Casa Weil, Santiago & Valparaiso, Chile
Private Collection (acquired from the above, by 1922)
Thence by descent to the present owner

Recently cleaned. Unlined. Stretcher bar mark faintly visible at upper edge. Very faint and stable craquelure visible in sky. In the current frame, tacking holes and rubbing to lower left corner visible at the extreme lower edges. Under UV: Thin lines and pin dots of inpainting through the sky. A few small dots of inpainting in the woman's costume. Some of the surface fluoresces in landscape at 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.

In August, 1884, the American artist Charles Sprague Pearce purchased a farm in Auvers-sur-Oise, a town some twenty miles northwest of Paris on the banks of the Oise river. While many other artists have worked in the area, including Daubigny, Corot, Cezanne, Daumier, and Pissaro (in nearby Pontoise), this relocation more closely aligned Pearce with his French naturalist contemporaries. As Mary Lublin writes, “the northeastern area of France was especially fertile for naturalists, with each artist devoted to his own coin de terre. Jules Breton was identified with Courrières… Bastien Lepage with Damvilliers… Dagnan-Bouveret worked in the Franche-Comté…  (and) in Auvers, Pearce began his examination of the ways of nature in earnest” (A Rare Elegance: The Paintings of Charles Sprague Pearce, New York, 1993, p. 33). This can be seen in the careful study of these two shepherds and the yellow grasses of the field, all rendered in a harmonious and soft palette that is immediately recognizable as Pearce’s.