The American Art Fair was held November 26–29, 2012 at the BOHEMIAN NATIONAL HALL 321 East 73rd Street, New York City.
Thomas Colville Fine Art, (111 Old Quarry Road Guilford, CT 06437) exhibited the following works at the fair:
Frederick Arthur Bridgman (American 1847-1928)
The Mosque Fountain, Evening in a Desert Village, Algeria, 1882
Oil on canvas
34 x 53 1/2 inches
Signed and dated F.A. Bridgman 1882 lower left
After studying at the National Academy of Design in New York and later in Paris with Jean-Léon Gérôme, celebrated American expatriate painter Frederick Bridgman won early international acclaim for his richly detailed, exotic scenes based on his travels to North Africa.
The Mosque Fountain was painted at the height of Bridgman’s career and exhibited in 1882 to great acclaim at the National Academy of Design, the year after he was el
Winslow Homer (American 1836-1910)
Orange Tree, Nassau, 1885
Watercolor on paper
14 x 20 1/2 inches
Signed and dated Winslow Homer 1885 lower left
Created two years after settling in Prout’s Neck, on the first of Winslow Homer’s many trips to the Caribbean, this sunlit, intimate garden view stands in contrast to the dramatic scenes of man versus nature characteristic of the artist’s earlier works painted in England and Maine.
In this example of Homer’s mature watercolor style, a new freedom can be seen in the bold, richly colored calligraphic strokes with which he suggests the oranges and leaves, as well as in the broad areas of white paper he uses to describe the brilliant tropical sunlight shining on the garden gate.
Leon Kroll (American 1884-1974)
Eastern Point Lighthouse, Gloucester, 1912
Oil on panel
8 3/8 x 10 3/4 inches
Signed and dated Kroll ‘12 lower right
Leon Kroll created this view of the Gloucester lighthouse shortly after his return from Paris after having absorbed the vivid colors of Post-Impressionism.
Painted in broad strokes of high-key color, this sun-drenched New England summer vista, with its sparkling white tower and rippling flag, is a beacon of American optimism.
Joshua Shaw (American 1776-1861)
Sunset After a Storm, Domestic Affliction, 1838
Oil on canvas
19 x 27 1/4 inches
Signed and dated J. Shaw. 1838 lower right
Joshua Shaw was noted for the romantic allegorical vistas he exhibited at the Royal Academy, which were favorably compared to those of John Martin and J. M. W. Turner. After immigrating to America, the artist’s reputation was established here by the publication in 1820 of Picturesque Views of America, a portfolio of prints made from his landscape sketches.
Exhibited at the First Exhibition of Philadelphia Artists in 1838, this dramatic landscape, with its theatrical luminosity, windswept classically stylized foliage, and figures imperiled by the forces of nature, expresses the sublime character of the literary themes that inspired the artist’s best works.
Irving Ramsey Wiles (American 1861-1948)
Sterling Basin, Greenport, New York, circa 1925
Oil on canvas
20 1/8 x 29 1/4 inches
Signed Irving R. Wiles lower left
Irving Wiles, one of his generation’s finest figure painters, was equally famous for his Impressionist, plein-air marine views. This celebration of a late summer’s day was painted in a quiet, picturesque inlet off Sterling Harbor near the artist’s summer home on Peconic Bay, Long Island.
In this sparkling work, the interplay of light, shadow, transparency, and reflections dancing on the water are joyfully expressed in the artist’s boldly brushed, characteristically rich hues. Sterling Basin was a work cherished by the artist, who kept it for many years, only exhibiting it at the National Academy of Design the year before he died.
