Lot 42
  • 42

Attributed to Edwin Howland Blashfield

Estimate
50,000 - 70,000 USD
Log in to view results
bidding is closed

Description

  • Edwin Howland Blashfield
  • The Mirror
  • oil on canvas
  • diameter: 61 1/4 in.
  • 155.6 cm

Provenance

Private Collection, Florida
Acquired from the above

Condition

Lined. On a circular canvas. This work is in restored condition. The surface presents well. Faintly visible craquelure is apparent on the seated figure's knee. Under UV: isolated areas of restoration fluoresce at upper center and in the lower half of the composition, the largest of which is an approximately 13 inches long horizontal area that extends from the seated figure's proper left wrist to her proper left shoulder. Other isolated areas of reinforcement fluoresce throughout the figure group.
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 Brooklyn, Edwin Howland Blashfield studied briefly in Boston before leaving for Paris in 1867 to study under Léon Bonnat’s and Jean-Léon Gérôme, alongside fellow American artist, Frederick Arthur Bridgman (see lots 41, 50). Blashfield returned to New York in 1881, where he took a studio at the popular Sherwood Studio Building. He began making regular trips to England, and in 1886 he stayed at the artist’s colony in Broadway, England, where he befriended John Singer Sargent. Contemporary English painting proved immensely influential on Blashfield and, as is clear in the present work, he owes a great deal to the artists who sought to recreate classical scenes of Antiquity. This large round format canvas, showing languid female figures in colorful flowing gowns, recalls paintings by the artist’s contemporary, John William Godward (see lots 7, 39 and 40), as both artists were inspired by the works of Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema (see lot 38). Blashfield was well recognized for his depictions of Antiquity and embrace of Victorian Classicism, earning him critical acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic.

Blashfield rose to prominence in the 1890s as a muralist, noted particularly for the dome in the Manufacturer’s Building in the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893, and the fame that he achieved in this monumental format has almost completely overshadowed his career as an easel painter. Throughout his career he earned many prestigious commissions at numerous clubs, libraries, courthouses and hotels, including the Waldorf-Astoria in New York, as well as the capitol buildings in Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota, and the central dome in the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. He was the author of the authoritative book Mural Painting in America, published in 1913, and was active in numerous artist’s organizations, serving as the president of the National Academy of Design in New York from 1920-26.

We would like to thank William H. Gerdts for his contribution to this catalogue entry.