Emma Fordyce MacRae (American, 1887-1974) A Belgium Girl

Lot 140

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About Auction

American Works of Art by Bonhams Skinner

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American Works of Art

By Bonhams Skinner

Sep 30, 2021

Set Reminder 2021-09-30 10:00:00 2021-09-30 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : American Works of Art https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/skinner/american-works-of-art-7485 Early 19th century painters through early Modernists are represented, including works by Arthur Dove, Percival Rosseau, Granville Redmond, Elizabeth Nourse, Marguerite Zorach, and the under-documented Hudson River School painter Louisa Davis Minot. Bonhams Skinner bidsquare@bonhamsskinner.com

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Lot Description

Emma Fordyce MacRae (American, 1887-1974)

A Belgium Girl
Signed "Emma Fordyce MacRae" u.l., identified on a gummed label assumed to be in the artist's hand affixed to the reverse, with exhibition labels from the Oshkosh (Wisconsin) Public Museum and the Rockport (Massachusetts) Art Association also affixed to the reverse.
Oil on canvas, 30 x 25 in. (76.2 x 63.5 cm), in a Newcomb-Macklin frame (under glass).
Condition: Multiple small paint losses combined with the scumbling that is typical of the artist's technique, scattered small abrasions, natural pigment fluorescence, surface grime, frayed tacking edges.

Exhibitions: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Annual Exhibition, 1935, as cat. no. 312; Oshkosh Public Museum, Oshkosh, Wisconsin, Solo Exhibition, March 1946; Strokes of Genius, The Rockport Art Association, Rockport, Massachusetts, October 10-November 14, 2015.

N.B. This handsome figural work by Emma Fordyce MacRae is a fine example of the artist's technique in which she applied thin layers of paint over deliberately rough surfaces, so that the finished surfaces revealed not only the under layers but also bits of the white ground. This method created a chalky, almost aged appearance which some have compared with the surface of frescoes. The artist's technique and details of her life have been carefully documented in an essay by Karen Quinn in an exhibition catalogue published by the Cape Ann Museum, Gloucester, Massachusetts. (Emma Fordyce MacRae, N.A., March 1-July 20, 2008). The Cape Ann Museum holds a number of MacRae's works and papers in its collection.

We would like to thank Debra Daubert, Curator, Oshkosh Public Museum, for her kind assistance in confirming the exhibition history for this painting.

Condition

Condition: Framed dimensions are 30 x 25 x 3 1/2 inches.

The canvas was backed with particle board before being stretched onto a conventional stretcher. This seems original to the work.

There is a second small gummed label on the frame that has the address "12 W. 69th St." in the same hand as the larger ID label on the reverse. This is a known addres for the artist.

Any condition statement is given as a courtesy to a client, is only an opinion and should not be treated as a statement of fact. Skinner Inc. shall have no responsibility for any error or omission. The absence of a condition statement does not imply that the lot is in perfect condition or completely free from wear and tear, imperfections or the effects of aging.
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