92

WALTER LAUNT PALMER

American, 1854-1932

"Off the Public Gardens" (Venice), 1882

oil on canvas
signed lower right "W.L. Palmer"
24 1/2 x 34 1/2 in. (62.2 x 87.6 cm.), Frame: 35 1/4 x 45 x 2 in. (89.5 x 114.3 x 5.1 cm.)

  • Provenance: Collection of Dudley Olcott, New York, New York, 1882; Sotheby's, New York, New York, June 22, 1984, lot 186; Private Collection, New York
  • Exhibited: New York, New York, National Academy of Design, 1882, no. 519
  • Literature: Maybelle Mann, "Walter Launt Palmer: Poetic Reality", (E. Exton, Pennsylvania: Schiffer Publishing, Ltd.), 1984, pp. 29 and 109, cat. no. 57
  • Notes: Born in Albany, New York, Walter Launt Palmer was the son of the neoclassical sculptor Erastus Dow Palmer. Because of his father's friendship with Frederic Edwin Church, Palmer became one of the few students of the great landscape painter. In 1874 he studied with Carolus-Duran in Paris, and returned to his atelier in 1876. Palmer's 1878 submission to the National Academy of Design, an interior scene in the house of the artist and decorator Lockwood de Forest, was met with critical success, and for several years he continued to paint sumptuous interiors bathed in natural light, including the room he shared with Church in the famed Tenth Street Studio Building in New York. Following an 1881 trip to Europe, Palmer added Venetian seascapes to his repertoire of interior and landscape subjects.
    The present lot is a view of Venice's St. Marks Square from the public gardens. The impressive basilica dome stands high above the remaining cityscape. In the foreground, traditional Venetian sailboats and a small rowboat are docked ready to cross the lagoon. Palmer uses blues, yellows, greens, and pinks to create a Luminist view of the city with sparkling water and soft atmospheric light. As in his winter landscapes, where he uses a variety of colors to depict white snow, he employs a similar technique to depict this scene that is predominantly blue sky and blue water. Palmer began to investigate the effects of light on snow in the mid1880s, and after his January won the prestigious Hallgarten prize at the National Academy in 1887, he settled on winter landscapes as the primary subjects of his art. Long praised for his use of color, Palmer had finally found the subject matter in which this talent could be fully appreciated, and he enjoyed a successful career as a painter in oil, watercolor, gouache, and pastel through the 1920s.
    Palmer's works can be found in the collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D. C.; and Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, Ohio.
  • Condition: in very good to excellent overall condition; unlined canvas; a few very minor dots of restoration apparent under UV

    CONDITION REPORTS FOR THE AUCTION ARE AVAILABLE BY REQUEST. PLEASE CONTACT US FOR A CONDITION REPORT ON THIS LOT. THE ABSENCE OF A CONDITION REPORT OR THE ABSENCE OF A REFERENCE TO DAMAGE DOES NOT IMPLY THAT THE LOT IS IN GOOD CONDITION OR FREE FROM RESTORATION OR REPAIR.

    We are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Shannon’s is merely a subjective qualified opinion. Frames on all paintings are sold "As Is". Frames may need some conservation. 
    NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD “AS IS” IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE. 

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