Sanford Robinson Gifford (American, 1823-1880) The Beach at Cohasset, 1864 Oil on canvas 9-1/2 x 19-1/4 inches (24.1 x 48.9 cm) Signed, dated, and inscribed lower right: S R Gifford Cohasset Mass Sept. 14th 1864 PROVENANCE: Mr. Payne, New York, 1867; Kennedy Galleries, Inc., New York; Hirschl & Adler Galleries, Inc., New York; Berry-Hill Galleries, New York; Babcock Galleries, New York; Acquired by the present owner from the above, 2012. EXHIBITED: Adams Davidson Galleries, Inc., Washington, D.C., "Masters of the American Landscape," December 1985-February 1986; Richard York Gallery, New York, "Paintings of Light: 19th Century Landscapes by Americans," October 1-November 9, 1991; Beacon Hill Fine Art, New York, "McEntee and Company," November 25, 1997-January 17, 1998. LITERATURE: A Memorial Catalogue of the Paintings of Sanford Robinson Gifford, New York, 1881, no. 435 (as Cohasset Beach); I. Weiss, Poetic Landscape: The Art and Experience of Sanford Robinson Gifford, Newark, New Jersey, December 1987, pp. 101, 249-50, illustrated. The Beach at Cohasset exemplifies Sanford Robinson Gifford's singular mastery of the Luminist landscape in the artist's portrayal of the soft, warm light on the beach and its effects on the broader atmosphere of the composition. A leader among second-generation Hudson River School painters, Gifford was specifically a proponent of Luminism, a painting style characterized by the concealment of visible brushstrokes, the emphasis on light and its impact on landscapes, and an overarching tone of tranquility. The Beach at Cohasset encompasses each of these key characteristics, masterfully executed. Gifford's Luminist contemporaries include Johnson Heade, Fitz Lane, Martin Heade, and, to a lesser extent, Albert Bierstadt, among others. Critical details of The Beach at Cohasset are the clean, horizontal separation of the composition into a sparkling sea and hazy sky and the mellow, refined curves of the wavefronts approaching the shore. HID12401132022 © 2024 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved
