June 9, 2019 14:00 EST

American Art & Pennsylvania Impressionists

 
Lot 144
 
Lot 144 - FERN ISABEL COPPEDGE  (AMERICAN 1883-1951)

144

FERN ISABEL COPPEDGE (AMERICAN 1883-1951)
THE OLD GRIST MILL, BUCKS COUNTY

Signed 'Fern I. Coppedge.' bottom right, oil on canvas
30 x 30 in. (76.2 x 76.2cm)

Provenance: Private Collection, Pennsylvania.

Sold for $112,500
Estimated at $50,000 - $80,000


 

Signed 'Fern I. Coppedge.' bottom right, oil on canvas
30 x 30 in. (76.2 x 76.2cm)

Provenance: Private Collection, Pennsylvania.

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Fern Isabel Coppedge

Although born in Decatur, Illinois in 1882, Fern Isabel Coppedgeis considered one of the most significant female artists of the Pennsylvania Impressionist movement. First enrolled at the Art Institute of Chicago and then the Art Students League of New York, Coppedge eventually moved to Philadelphia, where she attendedthe prestigious Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. The school and its notable alumniHenry Snell and Daniel Garber among themexposed Coppedge to Impressionist techniques and the burgeoning community of artists along the Delaware River in Bucks County, an hour north of Philadelphia.Freeman’s strength in presenting Pennsylvania Impressionist material is evident in our track record of Coppedge sales. Her quintessential Bucks County landscapes have regularly exceeded their pre-sale estimates; The Delaware Valleyachieved $329,000 in a 2006 sale, Creek Bridge Snow (Carversville)sold for $262,000 in 2018, and The Delaware Reflections achieved $221,000 in 2004.In 1920, Coppedge purchased her first studio in Lumberville. Nine years later, she built a new home and studio on Main Street in the center of New Hope. She retained ties to Philadelphia’s art scene through her involvement in such groups as the Philadelhpia Art Alliance and the Philadelphia Ten. Today, Fern Isabel Coppedge is best known for her bright, warm-hued wintry scenes, usually set in Bucks County, along the Delaware River. Like many of her Impressionist peers, she was committed to painting year-round en plein air, and frequently braved the elements in a bearskin coat to capture the subtle effects of changing light, a technique at which she particularly excelled.