December 5, 2021 14:00 EST

American Art and Pennsylvania Impressionists Featuring the Collection of Virginia and Stuart Peltz

 
Lot 58
 


Lot 58 - Fern Isabel Coppedge (American, 1883–1951)

58

Fern Isabel Coppedge (American, 1883–1951)
December Afternoon (Carversville)

Signed 'Fern I. Coppedge' bottom right; also signed, inscribed with Artist's address (4011 Baltimore Ave/Philadelphia, PA) and titled on upper stretcher verso, oil on canvas
30 x 30 in. (76.2 x 76.2cm)
Executed circa 1924-1925.
In a Phillip N. Yates frame.

Provenance

Hirschl & Adler, New York, New York.
Acquired directly from the above in January 1998.
Collection of Stuart and Virginia Peltz, Massachusetts.

Sold for $226,800
Estimated at $80,000 - $120,000


 

Signed 'Fern I. Coppedge' bottom right; also signed, inscribed with Artist's address (4011 Baltimore Ave/Philadelphia, PA) and titled on upper stretcher verso, oil on canvas
30 x 30 in. (76.2 x 76.2cm)
Executed circa 1924-1925.
In a Phillip N. Yates frame.

Provenance

Hirschl & Adler, New York, New York.
Acquired directly from the above in January 1998.
Collection of Stuart and Virginia Peltz, Massachusetts.

Exhibited

National Association of Women Painters and Sculptors, New York, New York, n.d.

Literature

Revue du Vrai et du Beau, Paris, January 25, 1927.

Page Talbott and Patricia Tanis Sydney, The Philadelphia Ten: A Woman's Artist Group 1917-1945, Galleries at Moore and American Art Review Press, 1998, p. 74, pl. 37 (illustrated).

Brian H. Peterson, Pennsylvania Impressionism, James A. Michener Art Museum, Doylestown and University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, 2002, p. 113, no. 22 (illustrated).

Note

The present work depicts the small village of Carversville, named after its first postmaster, and situated about forty-five miles north of Philadelphia, in Bucks County. A quaint hamlet, Carversville is currently protected by a Historic District Ordinance which prevents its population from growing much larger or being developed with new homes or businesses. Recognizable by the confluence of two streams, the Cuttalossa Creek and the Paunacussing Creek, the Carversville island was one of the artist's favorite painting locations, not far from Lumberville (where she lived). Several other oils by the artist depict the same locale, with only the vantage point differing. See for example, Freeman's sale of December 5, 2019, lot 119 (Snow Bridge Creek).

Here, the artist once again demonstrates her mastery at capturing the so-distinct winter light, giving the impression of a cold, grey December day. To do so, Coppedge uses a very restricted color palette, which reminds us of the muted harmonies Redfield himself displays in his winter scenes. She depicts the gentle muddied-turquoise flow of the Paunacussing Creek, which borders bright houses on the riverbanks, all subtly covered with blotches of green-yellows, brown-oranges and opalescent blues. In the background, one can spot the Bridge in Solebury Township, a historic double-arched stone bridge erected in 1854, which Coppedge here treats as a mosaic, outlining each squared stone with various shades of yellow, mauve and blue.

The present work is to be included in the forthcoming Catalogue Raisonné of the artist's work compiled by Les and Sue Fox (2021). It will be given the reference number CWF-20.

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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 alumni—Henry Snell and Daniel Garber among them—exposed 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.