An American Summer

An American Summer

View full screen - View 1 of Lot 14. Dawn in the Desert Southwest.

William Keith

Dawn in the Desert Southwest

Lot Closed

July 20, 04:13 PM GMT

Estimate

15,000 - 25,000 USD

Lot Details

Description

William Keith

1839 - 1911

Dawn in the Desert Southwest


signed W. Keith (lower left)

oil on board laid down on board 

canvas: 23 by 27 inches (58.4 by 68.6 cm)

framed: 33 ½ by 37 ¼ inches (85.1 by 94.6 cm)

Painted circa 1880.

Property of a Massachusetts Educational Institution (sold: Skinner, Boston, Massachusetts, May 13, 2016, lot 259)
Acquired by the present owner at the above sale

According to Alfred C. Harrison, the present work, Dawn in the Desert Southwest, depicts a view in Marin County, California, with Mount Tamalpais outlined in the distance. The work likely dates to the late 1870s or early 1880s, although it is quite possibly dated later, as the artist sometimes reverted to his earlier style late in his career. Harrison continues, “This shows Keith applying elements of Barbizon composition to a California subject. The open foreground, the path going into the picture plane, the oak tree in the middle ground, and the looser technique are all Barbizon features.”