A variety of media, from oils, pastels and watercolors to pencil on paper, will be on view during Hawthorne Fine Art’s yearly Summer Reading exhibition. This year the show, titled Images of Summer by American Women Artists, focuses solely on works by women artists whose estates the gallery represents, with several of the artists being highlighted in more in-depth retrospectives later in the year. 

“Hawthorne Fine Art has long championed the work of historic female artists who overcame such obstacles in their pursuit to become professional artists,” says Megan Bongiovanni, research associate with the gallery. “We believe the exceptional talent and skill of these lady artists demands a closer look. Sharing their work now in what is the centennial year of the ratification of the 19th Amendment is especially poignant.”Mary Lane McMillan (1883-1976), View from Entrance to Vacation School (Belgrade Lakes, Maine). Oil on canvas, 20 x 16 in., estate stamp verso.Collectors can dive into the works of such artists as Mary Lane McMillan, Alice Muth, Grace Cochrane Sanger, Mary Cummings Brown and Mary L. Haines. “It’s fascinating to bring together the work of these 20th-century women from different regions of the country and different educational backgrounds who devoted their lives to their art,” says Bongiovanni. 

She explains that while both McMillan and Sanger were successful book and magazine illustrators, having studied under William Merritt Chase, the work of each artist is entirely distinct. Grace Cochrane Sanger (1885-1966), Woodland Pool. Oil on canvas, 12 x 14 in., signed verso.

Alice Muth (1887-1952), Seascape. Gouache and watercolor on paper, 13 x 15 in., signed lower right.

A palette reminiscent of cotton candy, the blues, pinks and purples in Sanger’s Woodland Pool are spellbinding. “Woodland Pool glimmers with a thoughtfully chosen color palette and deliberate brushstrokes. The same technique can be found in Reading in which a leisurely summer afternoon is depicted in a radiant interior scene,” Bongiovanni comments. 

Contrasting this is Brown’s pencil on paper Woman with a Round Fan, a monochromatic depiction of a woman standing at a slight three-quarter turn, her face toward the viewer. Grace Cochrane Sanger (1885-1966), Reading. Oil on canvas, 18 x 16 in., signed verso.

Mary Cummings Brown (ca. 19th-20th century), Woman with a Round Fan, ca. 1870-80. Pencil on paper, 10 x 7 in. Estate of the artist.

Flowers, plants and trees come to life in the artwork of McMillan, who works in a range of mediums including pastels, oils and gouache. “Mary Lane McMillan brings such exuberance to her work, particularly evident in [View from Entrance to Vacation School (Belgrade Lakes, Maine)] where light and shadow appear to flicker across the canvas. Her technique of applying strokes of color, moving between foreground and background in what is almost like a dance can be seen in Summer Garden Sketch.”

Images of Summer by American Women Artists will be on view at Hawthorne Fine Art through August 31. —

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