GERTRUDE FISKE Boston Waterfront.

GERTRUDE FISKE

Boston Waterfront.

Oil on canvas board, circa 1919-22. 254x355 mm; 10x14 inches. Signed in oil, lower right recto, and signed, titled and inscribed in pencil, verso. Ex-collection Robert Schoelkopf Gallery, New York; private collection, New York; thence by descent to the current owner, private collection, New York.Fiske (1878-1961) is known for her vibrant paintings of still lifes and landscapes. Born in Boston, she was first a successful golfer before studying art at the Boston Museum School around 1904 with Edmund C. Tarbell (1862-1938) and Frank W. Benson (1862-1951). However, it was her summers spent studying with Charles Woodbury (1864-1940) in Ogunquit, Maine that influenced her style the most. She painted New England scenes with bold, vibrant colors and gestural, dynamic strokes. By the 1920s, she had established her artistic practice, already having co-founded the Guild of Boston Artists in 1914 and Boston Society of Etchers in 1917. In 1929, she was the first woman appointed to the Massachusetts State Art Commission.