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THBWilliam M. Davis, Young Girl Reading by a Tree Oil Painting
Lot 100
About Seller
Arader Galleries
1308 Walnut Street
King of Prussia, PA 19406
United States
Arader Galleries proudly celebrates over 40 years in the business of important, antique works on paper, paintings and rare books. W. Graham Arader III began his collection of rare maps, atlases and Americana while an undergraduate at Yale University, and today that passion has grown into one of the ...Read more
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Live Auction in Progress ... Currently on Lot Estimate:
$10,000 - $15,000
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Bid Increments
| Price | Bid Increment |
|---|---|
| $0 | $25 |
| $500 | $50 |
| $1,000 | $100 |
| $2,000 | $250 |
| $5,000 | $500 |
| $10,000 | $1,000 |
| $20,000 | $2,000 |
| $50,000 | $5,000 |
| $100,000 | $10,000 |
| $200,000 | $25,000 |
About Auction
Live
By Arader Galleries
Jan 28, 2017 - Jan 29, 2017
Set Reminder
2017-01-28 13:00:00
2017-01-29 13:00:00
America/New_York
Bidsquare
Bidsquare : Arader Galleries Winter 2017 Auction
https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/arader/arader-galleries-winter-2017-auction-2063
Arader Galleries loricohen@aradergalleries.com
Arader Galleries loricohen@aradergalleries.com
View Full Catalog (284)
- Lot Description
Young Girl Reading by a Tree. William M. Davis (1829-1920). Oil on canvas on board, c. 1875. Signed bottom center: W.M. Davis. 9 1/4 x 8 3/4 inches. I doubt that there are as many city artists who enjoy as I do the exquisite happiness of taking one’s traps, a sandwich, a well-filled flask, and pipe, and going forth alone by the calm and tumultuous sea, the wild woods, or other unfrequented places… —William M. Davis, 1913 William M. Davis spent most of his life painting and living in the area he loved best, Port Jefferson, Long Island. There he befriended renowned genre painter William Sidney Mount, who lived nearby in Stony Brook. Apparently self-taught, Davis was profoundly influenced by Mount, who was one of the most respected painters in America at that time. Although Davis was never a pupil of Mount’s, surviving letters between the two artists show that Mount often gave the younger painter artistic advice and guidance. Davis opened a studio in New York City in 1868, but in 1872, he returned permanently to the Port Jefferson area, where he was affectionately known as “Painter Davis.” Mount had died four years earlier, and to a degree, Davis continued in his mentor’s footsteps, providing locals with paintings of villagers pursuing their daily tasks, the area’s quiet bays and coves, as well as boats anchored or at sea. Young Girl Reading by a Tree presents a tranquil scene of learning and contemplation. A young girl has sat down in the shade at the base of a tree, leaning back against its trunk. Having set aside her bonnet, she loses herself in a book. Behind her, soft, grassy hills roll down to the distant sea, and a long, twisting branch of the tree also leads the viewer’s eye back to the white sails of boats on the water. Afternoon sunlight warms the foreground of the picture, where Davis used a rich array of colors to model the rock and the tree trunk. He paid special attention to the girl’s yellow and lavender bonnet, which is set off by a red flower, ribbons, and a feather. Young Girl Reading by a Tree likely depicts Adiona Davis, William M. Davis’ youngest child. Davis made at least three drawings of Adiona, who had a high forehead, small nose, and thin lips similar to the girl in our painting. One of the drawings of Adiona (collection of Mr. and Mrs. Warner Gorenzel) depicts her wearing her hair in a band, as the girl in our painting does, and wearing a similar dress and apron. The girl in our painting appears to be around eight years old; if she were Adiona, who was born in 1867, that would mean our picture was painted around 1875. The pillbox hat lying beside her, which was fashionable in the late 1860s and early 1870s, supports a date around 1875, and the Long Island landscape background strengthens the case for this date, since Davis gave up his studio in New York City in 1872 and returned to Port Jefferson for good. Davis exhibited at the National Academy of Design and the Brooklyn Art Association while living in New York City. Once he returned to Long Island, he exhibited exclusively in Port Jefferson, with the exception of a one-man show in Bridgeport, Connecticut, in 1894. According to the Bridgeport Daily Standard, Davis showed 135 of his works and had over 700 people in attendance. A major retrospective titled Port Jefferson’s Foremost Painter: W. M. Davis was held at the Historical Society Museum of Greater Port Jefferson in 1973. Davis’ works are housed in prestigious private collections and institutions, including the Long Island Museum of American Art, History, and Carriages, Stony Brook, New York; the Society for the Preservation of Long Island Antiquities, and the New York State Historical Society, Cooperstown.
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