John Henry Twachtman 1853-1902
Beach at Squam, c. 1900
Oil on canvas
25 x 30 1/8 inches
63.5 x 76.5 cm
63.5 x 76.5 cm
Signed lower left: JH Twachtman
“In Gloucester, Twachtman derived inspiration from nature’s colors, subtle or obvious, and designs configured from the collaboration of the artist’s eye and the happy accidents of landscapes or seascapes that...
“In Gloucester, Twachtman derived inspiration from nature’s colors, subtle or obvious, and designs configured from the collaboration of the artist’s eye and the happy accidents of landscapes or seascapes that he loved.”
- JOHN DOUGLAS HALE, 1987
In the last several years of John Henry Twachtman’s life, his work took a sharp turn away from the snowy scenes of Greenwich, Connecticut which had dominated his output of the 1890’s, and moved wholly toward the seascapes of Gloucester with a flourish of color. Reflecting the culmination of his long and successful career, works from this period, such as Beach at Squam, see the artist’s mature virtuosity fully realized with impressive gusto.
Beach at Squam encapsulates the subtle tones and delicate rendering of light of the artist’s late period. A dynamic scene, the blustery cove is captured through an array of thin, energetic swaths of paint. Between sea, sand and sky, the blue, green and mauve hues abound within the various formations, creating a visual harmony within the work. Using long, dramatic white strokes in the sky, Twachtman creates a remarkable depth beyond the intimate, protected inlet. Further testifying to its significance, the present work was exhibited at Twachtman’s solo exhibition at Durand-Ruel Galleries in 1901, where it was a highly appreciated highlight of the exhibition. As a New York Times reporter at the show described, “Beach at Squam is a bit of water and a sand dune rising to a knoll, and a sky streaked with clouds that arrest the attention as in nature they so often do. Here the relations of the greens and sand on the dunes with the forewater and the sky are preserved: there is none of the oversensitiveness that occasionally weakens a landscape” ("A Trio of Painters: Pictures by Three Americans in Three Fifth Avenue Galleries," The New York Times, 7 March 1901, p. 8).
- JOHN DOUGLAS HALE, 1987
In the last several years of John Henry Twachtman’s life, his work took a sharp turn away from the snowy scenes of Greenwich, Connecticut which had dominated his output of the 1890’s, and moved wholly toward the seascapes of Gloucester with a flourish of color. Reflecting the culmination of his long and successful career, works from this period, such as Beach at Squam, see the artist’s mature virtuosity fully realized with impressive gusto.
Beach at Squam encapsulates the subtle tones and delicate rendering of light of the artist’s late period. A dynamic scene, the blustery cove is captured through an array of thin, energetic swaths of paint. Between sea, sand and sky, the blue, green and mauve hues abound within the various formations, creating a visual harmony within the work. Using long, dramatic white strokes in the sky, Twachtman creates a remarkable depth beyond the intimate, protected inlet. Further testifying to its significance, the present work was exhibited at Twachtman’s solo exhibition at Durand-Ruel Galleries in 1901, where it was a highly appreciated highlight of the exhibition. As a New York Times reporter at the show described, “Beach at Squam is a bit of water and a sand dune rising to a knoll, and a sky streaked with clouds that arrest the attention as in nature they so often do. Here the relations of the greens and sand on the dunes with the forewater and the sky are preserved: there is none of the oversensitiveness that occasionally weakens a landscape” ("A Trio of Painters: Pictures by Three Americans in Three Fifth Avenue Galleries," The New York Times, 7 March 1901, p. 8).
Provenance
Martha Twachtman, Greenwich (acquired by descent from the artist);Mr. and Mrs. John E. Cowdin, New York (acquired from the above in 1908);
American Art Association, New York, May 19, 1916, lot 73 (consigned by the estate of the above);
Macbeth Gallery, New York (acquired from the above);
Burton Mansfield, New Haven (acquired from the above in 1916);
Anderson Galleries, New York, April 7, 1933, lot 72 (consigned by the estate of the above);
Macbeth Gallery, New York (acquired from the above);
Edward Reiss (acquired from the above in 1933);
Charles F. Williams, Cincinnati (acquired from the above by 1937);
Mr. and Mrs. James R. Williams, Cincinnati (acquired from the above by 1957);
Mr. and Mrs. David Workman (acquired by 1965);
Kraushaar Galleries, New York (acquired by 1966);
Mr. and Mrs. Chris Huntington, Waterville, Maine (acquired from the above in 1968);
Christie's, New York, December 3, 1982, lot 154;
Borghi & Co., New York (acquired from the above);
Private collection, New York;
Ira and Nancy Koger, Jacksonville (acquired from the above in 1983);
Private collection, Jacksonville;
Sotheby's, New York, November 29, 1995, lot 33 (consigned by the above);
Spanierman Gallery, New York (acquired from the above);
Acquired from the above, until 2024
Exhibitions
Art Institute of Chicago, Exhibition of the Works of John H. Twachtman, January 1901, no. 3New York, Durand-Ruel, Paintings and Pastels by John H. Twachtman, March 1901
New York, School of Applied Design for Women, Fifty Paintings by the Late John H. Twachtman, January–February 1913, no. 31 (titled Sand Dunes, Annisquam)
New York, Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences, 1920
Hartford, Wadsworth Atheneum, Exhibition of Paintings, Pottery, and Glass Loaned by the Honorable Burton Mansfield, April–November 1920, no. 31
New York, Brooklyn Museum, Exhibition of Paintings by American Impressionists and Other Artists of the Period, 1880 - 1900, January–February 1932, no. 107
Cincinnati Art Museum, Paintings from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Finn Williams, January–March 1937, no. 23, p. 17
New York, Brooklyn Museum, The Coast and the Sea: A Survey of American Marine Painting, November 1948–January 1949, no. 118
Pittsburgh, Carnegie Museum of Art, The Seashore in Paintings of the 19th and 20th Centuries, October–December 1965, no. 51, n.p., illustrated
Cincinnati Art Museum, A Retrospective Exhibition: John Henry Twachtman, October–November 1966, no. 85, p. 19, illustrated
New York, Spanierman Gallery, John Henry Twachtman: An Exhibition of Paintings & Pastels, February 1968, no. 21, n.p., illustrated
Maine, Portland Museum of Art, The Ellen and Chris Huntington Collection, April–May 1976, no. 48
Winter Park, Rollins College, George D. and Harriet W. Cornell Fine Arts Center, The Genteel Tradition: Impressionist and Realist Art from the Ira and Nancy Koger Collection in Celebration of the Centennial of Rollins College, November 1985–January 1986, pp. 82-83 and 93, illustrated in color
New York, Spanierman Gallery, Twachtman in Gloucester: His Last Years, 1900 - 1902, May–June 1987, no. 14, pp. 76-77, illustrated
Nashville, The Fine Arts Center at Cheekwood and Jacksonville, Cummer Gallery of Art, Selections from the Ira and Nancy Koger Collection of American Paintings, June–September 1989, p. 35, illustrated in color
Tampa Museum of Art; Vero Beach, Center for the Arts and Little Rock, The Arkansas Arts Center, At the Water's Edge: 19th and 20th Century American Beach Scenes, December 1989–January 1991, pp. 10, 31-32, 44 and 74, illustrated in color
New York, Spanierman Gallery, The Intimate Landscapes of John H. Twachtman (1853 - 1902), May–July 1993
New York, Berry-Hill Galleries, American Paintings VII, 1994, pp. 190-91, illustrated in color
New York, Spanierman Gallery, Painters of Cape Ann, 1840 - 1940: One Hundred Years in Gloucester and Rockport, April–June 1996, pp. 7-8 and 15, illustrated in color
Greenwich Historical Society, The New Spirit and the Cos Cob Art Colony: Before and After the Armory Show, October 2013–January 2014, pp. 6, 9 and 37, pl. 2, illustrated in color
Literature
"A Trio of Painters: Pictures by Three Americans in Three Fifth Avenue Galleries," The New York Times, March 7, 1901, p. 8."Twachtman Art Gets Highest Bid," The New York Times, May 10, 1916, p. 13.
Eliot Clark, John Twachtman, New York, 1924, pp. 58 and 61, illustrated.
Beaux-Arts, no. 6, May 5, 1933, p. 6, illustrated.
Mary L. Alexander, "The Week in Art Circles," Cincinnati Enquirer, January 17, 1937.
John Douglas Hale, "The Life and Creative Development of John H. Twachtman," Ph.D. dissertation, vol. II., Ohio State University, Columbus, 1957, no. 48, p. 541.
Sarah B. Sherrill, "Current and coming," Antiques, vol. 123, June 1983, p. 1138, illustrated in color.
Lisa N. Peters, "John Twachtman (1853–1902) and the American Scene in the Late Nineteenth Century: The Frontier within the Terrain of the Familiar," Ph.D. dissertation, City University of New York, New York, 1995, vol. I, p. 477; vol. II, p. 997, fig. 497, illustrated.
Lisa N. Peters, John Henry Twachtman Catalogue Raisonné, Greenwich, 2021 (jhtwachtman.org), no. OP.1417, illustrated in color.
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