Bidspirit auction | Ernest Lawson ”High Bridge, New

Ernest Lawson ”High Bridge, New York” Painting - Ernest Lawson (Canadian/American, 1873-1939). Oil on canvas impressionist landscape painting titled ”High Bridge, New York, ” circa 1920. Depicting the historical High Bridge spanning the Harlem River in New York. The river cuts diagonally across the midground and foreground as the moon reflects along the water's surface. Along the far bank stretches a dense, shimmering city rendered in thick, impasto brushstrokes of green, teal, and blue against the peach colored sky. Signed along the lower right. Provenance: Flanders Contemporary Art, Minneapolis, MN, December 15, 1987; The Distinguished Collection of Leo & Doris Hodroff. Lot Essay: Influenced by French Impressionism as well as the work of American Impressionist painters John Henry Twachtman and Julian Alden Weir, Lawson became celebrated for his evocative landscapes of the Hudson and Harlem Rivers, particularly winter scenes. His paintings are distinguished by richly textured impasto and what critics have described as a ”palette of crushed jewels.” Born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1873, Lawson immigrated with his family to the United States in 1888, settling in Kansas City before moving to New York in 1891 to study at the Art Students League. A formative trip to France in 1893 led him to the Academie Julian, where he studied with Jean-Joseph Benjamin-Constant and Jean-Paul Laurens. Returning to the United States in 1896, Lawson developed a highly personal interpretation of Impressionism while living and painting in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Upper Manhattan between 1898 and about 1908. There he became closely associated with the artists who would form ”The Eight, ” a group that challenged the conservative exhibition policies of the National Academy of Design. Their landmark 1908 exhibition at Macbeth Galleries in New York introduced audiences to a bold range of modern representational art, provoking widespread discussion as it later traveled to Chicago and Boston. Lawson's participation in this influential circle helped establish him as a leading figure in the evolution of early twentieth-century American art. Unframed; height: 16 1/4 in x width: 20 1/2 in. Framed; height: 26 1/2 in x width: 30 1/2 in x depth: 5 in. Condition: The painting is in good condition overall. The canvas has been relined with a wax lining and the stretcher is modern. There are scatterd areas of retouching throughout the painting (10%), most notably along the lower left edge. Craquelure visible upon close inspection and critical angles. The surface appears to be stable. The frame has wear.