One last piece by Adelaide Lawson Gaylor today. I'm not entirely sure whether this oil on canvas painting was a fragment of a larger work or, I think much more likely, a complete work on a scrap of canvas, likely painted en plein air--and looks like a view of an Italian hill town to me. It certainly feels complete as is, and full of energy, marvelous sky over those distinctive red terra cotta roofs with church steeply rising highest against the blue hills. Lovely.
I purchased this and a number of other works by American artists Adelaide Lawson Gaylor (1889-1986) and Wood Gaylor (1883-1957) from a dealer at Brimfield, who had acquired them from a one time neighbor of the couple on Long Island. Unsigned, I am cetain this is by her, c. 1920s-30s I believe.
From Wikipedia: "When Lawson was 93 a critic [Phyllis Braff writing for the NY Times; "An Adventurous Landscapist at 93"] summarized her life's work by describing the particular "vivacity, energy and dynamism" of her modernist style which set her apart from other artists and showed her uniquely American outlook. The critic described Lawson's method as "abstracting rhythms, simplifying descriptions, flattening, generalizing color, eliminating shadow and building an emphatic surface harmony between forms." Four years later Lawson's obituary added to this overview that she and her husband had "spearheaded the American modernist movement in the early years of this century." [NYTimes obit, 1986].
10" x 6 1/2". Slightly uneven edges as evident, very good condition.
You might also like
