The tradition of landscape painting has stood the test of time. The natural world changes but the desire to depict it has endured, ever since it ceased being only a backdrop for figurative works, first in the Netherlands in the early 17th century, and emerged as a genre in its own right. It took roughly two more centuries for the landscape to earn respect as a central subject of paintings in Europe and America, but by the early 19th century the tradition had taken root, and those roots have only grown deeper and stronger with time. The landscape continues to be a favorite subject of contemporary artists, and one of the most popular genres among collectors.
Frederic Edwin Church (1826-1900), Niagara, 1857. Oil on canvas, 40 x 90½ in. Corcoran Collection (Museum Purchase, Gallery Fund).
Grant Wood (1891-1942), Young Corn, 1931. Oil on Masonite, 23¾ x 29¾ in. Cedar Rapids Community School District on loan to the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art. L1.70.3.177.
Looking at the evolution of American landscape painting over time, as the Hudson River School painters’ highly dramatic and romanticized renderings gave way to scenes of urban industrialization, and the backlash that resulted in idealized visions of agrarian life, we can trace humanity’s shifting perception of the world around them. Through the constancy of the landscape, we can also track the unfolding of specific movements—from the painterliness of impressionism to the blocky forms of modernism—and how artists filtered their way of seeing their surroundings through their principles.
Historic or contemporary, landscape paintings invite us to step inside a particular place, to look through the artist’s eyes, to feel what they felt, while leaving room for the viewer to project their own emotions and memories upon the scene. While specific, landscapes have universal appeal, a testament to the healing properties of the natural world and our desire to preserve it.
Matilda Browne (1869-1947), Blossoming Flowers on River’s Edge, ca. 1907. Oil on wood. FloGris Museum, Purchase, 2023.1 Courtesy Florence Griswald Museum, Old Lyme, CT.
Stuart Davis (1892-1964), Early American Landscape, 1925. Oil on canvas, 193/16 x 223/16 in. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; gift of Juliana Force. © Estate of Stuart Davis / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.
John Marin (1870-1953), Untitled (Landscape), 1914. Oil on canvas, 22 x 25 in., signed and dated at lower right: MARIN 14. Courtesy Schoelkopf Gallery, New York, NY.
In the remainder of this special section dedicated to historic landscape paintings, galleries, dealers and auction houses showcase significant works in the genre that are currently on the market. It is our hope that we connect you with the next landscape to add to your collection.
Based in Los Angeles, CW American Modernism is a private gallery specializing in 20th-century American art with a particular focus on the period between 1910 and 1960. Gallery owner Chris Walther says, “We believe in the importance and relevance of this art and the people who created it to today’s world and take pride in the process of rediscovering artists who were significant in their time, but who have too often been pushed to the margins of art history. We offer works that are attainable by beginning collectors and works that appeal to seasoned veterans as well.
CW American Modernism, Impending Shadow, 1941. Oil on canvas board, signed and dated lower right, 24 x 30 in., by Ethel Dean (1900-1976).
CW American Modernism, Goldmine, Central City, Colorado, ca. 1936-38. Oil on canvas, signed lower right, 28 x 36 in., by Joseph Meert (1905-1989).
Debra Force Fine Art, Mount Mansfield, Vermont, 1859. Oil on canvas, 105/8 x 203/8 in., by Sanford Robinson Gifford (1823-1880).
Currently available through New York City gallery Debra Force Fine Art is a painting by important Hudson River luminist Sanford Robinson Gifford (1923-1880). Gifford spent about two weeks on Vermont’s Mount Mansfield in August of 1858. Working from sketches he produced during this trip, the artist returned to his studio in New York and created three closely related compositions showing a view from a central rocky ledge looking towards Lake Champlain in the distance. Mt. Mansfield, Vermont, is one of these works. It was included in the artist’s Memorial Exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1881 and has been in the same family’s collection since the 1960s. The gallery also highlights a landscape by Peter Blume (1906-1992), one of the first American artists to paint in a surrealist style. Flowering Stump relates to one of the artist’s largest and most well-known paintings, The Rock (the Art Institute of Chicago), which was commissioned for Fallingwater, designed by Frank Lloyd Wirght. Flowering Stump focuses on a single motif from the larger painting with variations in texture as well as the themes of decay and growth.
Debra Force Fine Art, Flowering Stump, 1945-1968. Oil on canvas, 20¼ x 24 in., by Peter Blume (1906-1992).
Hawthorne Fine Art, Autumn Lake. Oil on canvas mounted on board, 77/8 x 161/8 in., signed lower left, by Emma Lampert Cooper (1855-1920).
Hawthorne Fine Art, A Path Through the Woods. Oil on canvas, 36 x 24½ in., signed lower right, by Anna E. Klumpke (1856-1942).
Hawthorne Fine Art is a Manhattan-based fine art gallery specializing in 19th and early-20th century American art, especially Hudson River School and impressionist paintings. Hawthorne Fine Art has championed the work of historic women artists through regular exhibitions and scholarly research, including the recently published monograph Nature Revered: The Estates of Julie Hart Beers (1834-1913) and Marion Robertson Beers Brush (1853-1945).
“As a premier art dealer in New York City, we select our works for their quality, beauty and rarity and price them competitively for the market,” notes the gallery. “We curate our paintings with strong academic scholarship and provide all of our clients with insight into the value of the work by elucidating its place within the artist’s larger body of work as well as the artist’s position in the market and more broadly, within the history of American art. We welcome visits to our American art gallery by appointment.”
Grogan & Company, Mt. Desert, Maine, 1866. Oil on canvas, 13¾ x 24 in., by William Trost Richards (1833-1905). Estimate: $30/50,000 SOLD: $37,500
Grogan & Company, Stonington Harbor, Deer Isle, Maine, 1924. Watercolor, 17 x 21 in., by John Marin (1870-1953). Estimate: $20/40,000 SOLD: $97,600
J. Kenneth Fine Art, Italian Coast, ca.1955. Oil on panel, 14 x 18 in., by Marion Huse (1896-1967).
For generations, the rugged coast of Maine has captivated artists with its raw beauty, dramatic light and timeless sense of place. Boston auction house Grogan & Company is proud to champion this enduring subject, having placed significant Maine coastal landscapes into important private and institutional collections nationwide. From the luminous realism of William Trost Richards to the bold abstraction of John Marin, and from Wolf Kahn’s atmospheric color harmonies to Richard Estes’ meticulous coastal scenes, Maine has long served as a muse for some of America’s most celebrated painters. “Grogan & Company’s strong relationships with collectors in Maine and throughout the Northeast have made us a trusted source for exceptional works in this collecting category,” says an auction house representative. “Grogan & Company’s auctions regularly feature coastal Maine landscapes that reflect both the region’s powerful natural presence and its rich artistic legacy. Whether historic or contemporary, these works continue to resonate with collectors drawn to the coast’s enduring allure and artistic heritage.” Since moving from California to historic Shelburne, Vermont, in May of 2024, J. Kenneth Fine Art has expanded its selections of post-war and mid-century art to include paintings that reflect the unique qualities of the New England landscape, especially Maine and Vermont. Included in this endeavor is JKFA’s summer exhibition The Vermont Landscape, Late 19th Century, Depression Era & Mid-century Paintings. As a representative of the Estate of Frances Kornbluth (1920-2014), the gallery has expanded its inventory to showcase Kornbluth’s unique series of expressive landscapes and seascapes of Maine’s Monhegan Island. The work of Vermont’s Marion Huse (1896-1967) also figures extensively into the gallery’s oeuvre and its ongoing commitment to highlight the accomplishments of underrepresented female artists of the post-war era.
J. Kenneth Fine Art, February Landscape, 1958. Oil on canvas, 24 x 20 in., by Frances Kornbluth (1920-2014).
Jost Fine Art, Untitled, 1924. Oil on canvas, 20 x 24 in., by Grant Wood (1891-1942).
Jost Fine Art, Catalina Island. Oil on canvas, 18 x 34 in., by Granville Redmond (1871-1935).
Jost Fine Art specializes in European and American art from the 19th century to the present. The gallery’s inventory represents different periods, movements and artistic styles with available works ranging from French impressionism to West Coast minimalism.
A strong emphasis on California artists of the 20th century can be found on the gallery’s website with a notable grouping of early landscape painters who sought to capture the region’s varied topography in plein air. Women artists are similarly represented beginning with seminal Central Coast painter Mary DeNeale Morgan, while a cache of works by Bay Area post-war painters reflects the state’s history as a hub for experimentation and counter-cultures.
Roberto Freitas American Antiques & Decorative Arts, Untitled, 1923. Watercolor on paper. 141/8 x 181/8 in., signed and dated lower right: ‘Marin 23’, by John Marin (1870-1953).
William Karges Fine Art, Arboreal Fraternity. Oil on canvas, 24 x 30 in., by Hanson Puthuff (1875-1972).
William Karges Fine Art, Landscape with Oaks. Watercolor, 24 x 30 in., by Francis McComas (1875-1938).
The gallery of Roberto Freitas American Antiques & Decorative Arts is located in the coastal village of Stonington in Connecticut’s southeastern corner. Staged inside the historic James Merrill House, the gallery’s holdings are a balanced array of striking American antiques, exemplary fine art, folk art and decorative arts. One piece currently on offer is a paintings by prominent painter John Marin (1870-1953). Marin quit his architectural practice shortly after opening his office in 1893 to pursue painting with watercolor as his chosen medium. His original bold and fluid style earned him a place as one of America’s greatest early modernists. The present example, an untitled piece from 1923, depicts a landscape in Stonington, Maine, where he spent his summers from 1920 to 1924. Soft boundaries between landscape forms reveal the paper support. The calligraphic marks that define the trees in the foreground are representative of an approach to mark making that Marin would turn to throughout his career. An irregular black border, his so-called “frame within a frame” as a plane through which we view a scene, was Marin’s invention developed from cubism, meant to create interest and impose structure on his pictures. Marin gifted this work to his friend, American novelist Waldo Frank.
Since 1987, William A. Karges Fine Art has been the preeminent art dealer specializing in original early California and American paintings created between 1880 and 1940, as well as American Southwest and early Philippine paintings. “Our gallery in Carmel, California, carries one of the most varied, high-quality, historically significant inventories of paintings available on the West Coast,” shares a gallery representative. William A. Karges Fine Art also represents contemporary artists Dennis Doheny and Cindy Baron. —
Featured Galleries
CW American Modernism
Los Angeles, CA
t: (310) 383-0463
cwamericanmodernism@gmail.com
www.cwamericanmodernism.com
@cwamericanmodernism
Debra Force Fine Art
13 E. 69th Street, Suite 4F, New York, NY 10021
t: (212) 734-3636
info@debraforce.com
www.debraforce.com
Grogan & Company
20 Charles Street, Boston, MA 02114
t: (617) 720-2020
info@groganco.com
www.groganco.com
Hawthorne Fine Art
Manhattan Showroom
By Appointment
t: (212) 731-0550
info@hawthornefineart.com
www.hawthornefineart.com
J. Kenneth Fine Art
145 Pine Haven Shores, Shelburne, VT 05482
t: (802) 540-0267
jkennethfineart@gmail.com
www.jkennethfineart.com
Jost Fine Art
t: (559) 419-0221
info@jostfineart.com
www.jostfineart.com
Roberto Freitas American Antiques & Decorative Arts
107 Water Street, Stonington, CT 06378
t: (860) 535-1797
info@robertofreitas.com
www.robertofreitas.com
William A. Karges Fine Art
6th Avenue between San Carlos & Dolores streets
Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA 93921 t: (831) 625-4266
gallery@kargesfineart.com
www.kargesfineart.com
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