Bidspirit auction | Guy Wiggins ”Down the Avenue

Guy Wiggins ”Down the Avenue Winter 1927” Painting - Guy Wiggins (American, 1883-1962). Oil on canvas impressionist painting titled ”Down the Avenue, Winter 1927,” 1927. Depicting Fifth Avenue at 27th Street looking south with Brentano's iconic bookstore on the extreme left in New York City. The view is composed from an elevated vantage point, as though looking down from a mid-level window of a building. A heavy curtain of falling snow is rendered through energetic, varied impasto and flickering white specks cutting across the entire canvas, masterfully capturing the brutal winter wind. Featuring vivid American flags fluttering from the gusts of wind along the top of a building; below, the street level is dotted with brightly colored vintage automobiles attempting to navigate the treacherous icy roads. Signed along the lower right. Further signed, dated, and titled along the verso. Provenance: Christie's, New York, NY, ”American Watercolors, Drawings, Paintings and Sculpture of the 19th and 20th Centuries, ” September 30, 1988, Lot 361; The Distinguished Collection of Leo & Doris Hodroff. Lot Essay: Best known for his luminous winter cityscapes, Guy Carleton Wiggins brought American Impressionism to the heart of New York City. Born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1883, he studied under his father, landscape painter Carleton Wiggins, before attending the National Academy of Design, where he absorbed the teachings of Robert Henri and William Merritt Chase. Wiggins gained national acclaim for his evocative depictions of New York's bustling streets, particularly his atmospheric snow scenes of Fifth Avenue and Washington Square. ”Down the Avenue” is a quintessential example of these celebrated works, capturing the shimmering light, swirling snowfall, and vibrant energy of the city through his signature Impressionist brushwork. His remarkable talent was recognized early in his career, and he became one of the youngest artists to have a painting acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In 1937, Wiggins established the Guy Wiggins Art School in Essex, Connecticut, fostering a community of artists devoted to plein air painting and the Impressionist tradition. In a notable commission, Wiggins received presidential permission to paint the White House during the Eisenhower administration. He completed two paintings of the Executive Mansion from the White House lawn, one of which later hung in President Eisenhower's office before being placed in the Eisenhower Museum in Abilene, Kansas. Today, Wiggins's work is represented in major public collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Unframed; height: 16 1/4 in x width: 12 in. Framed; height: 25 1/2 in x width: 21 1/2 in x depth: 2 in. Condition: The painting is in good condition overall. The canvas is slightly loose and has dirt and dust along the surface. There are several cracks in the paint layer along the upper quadrant. There is a 1/2' tear along the windows in the upper right quadrant. A few small scattered areas of inpainting visible under UV to some of the windows. A horizontal hairline crack to the paint layer is vislbe along the lower quandrant. The has has several areas of losses. There is soiling along the verso of the canvas.