Edward Mitchell Bannister (American, 1828-1901) Woman Reading Under a Tree

Description:

Edward Mitchell Bannister (American, 1828-1901)

Woman Reading Under a Tree
Signed or inscribed "EM Bannister" l.r.
Oil on canvas, 8 x 12 in. (20.5 x 31.0 cm),framed.
Condition: Composition continues along the top edge of the canvas which is irregularly trimmed and perhaps cut down, fine craquelure.

N.B. The painting at hand was reviewed via digital photographs by Anne Louise Avery, and the work will be included in her forthcoming catalogue raisonné of the works of Edward Mitchell Bannister. She groups the painting with Bannister's mature works of the 1880s. The lot is accompanied by a detailed analysis by Dr. Avery, the first paragraph of which is reproduced below.

"Untitled (Woman Reading Under a Tree) is an intimate sous-bois oil painting depicting a woman peacefully reading, or perhaps sketching, in the shade under a tree in an autumnal Rhode Island landscape, possibly on the Goddard estate in Warwick. Sunlight illuminates the pasture before her, where a gaggle of geese trails through the long grass by an old oak. The subject and composition are typical of Bannister's mature period, influenced heavily by the French Barbizon School and by the tides of Transcendentalism and Swedenborgianism flowing through 19th-century American landscape aesthetics. The painting would probably have been executed en plein air and may have acted as a preparatory study for a larger work."
Estimate $3,000-5,000

Frame dimensions are 14 1/2 x 18 1/2 inches.

Fine stable craquelure.

Under UV examination, there were no obvious signs of retouch.

No additional condition issues to report.


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. Condition requests can be obtained via email (lot inquiry button) or by telephone to the appropriate gallery location (Boston/617.350.5400 or Marlborough/508.970.3000). Any condition statement 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.

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