JEAN MANNHEIM (1861-1945) The Water Nymph (Children Bathing) 39 x...

JEAN MANNHEIM (1861-1945) The Water Nymph (Children Bathing) signed 'J. Mannheim' (lower left) oil on canvas 39 x 34 in. Painted in 1911. Provenance Private collection, Rancho Mirage, California. Exhibited Los Angeles, The Blanchard Gallery, February 1911. Los Angeles, The Blanchard Gallery, Second Annual Exhibition of the California Arts Club, November 22-December 6, 1911. San Francisco, San Francisco Institute of Art, December 22, 1911-January 6, 1912. Tulsa, Oklahoma, The Gilcrease Museum, A California Collage, September 14, 1991-September 14, 1992 (as Children Bathing). Literature Everett C. Maxwell, Fine Art Journal, February 1911. Hester P. Cattell, Pasadena Daily News, September 2, 1911. Alma May Cook, 'Big and Broad in Art Seen in Paintings By Mannheim,' Los Angeles Evening Express, 11 November 1911, p. 24. Antony Anderson, 'Art and Artists,' The Los Angeles Times, November 12, 1911, p. 48. 'On the Street,' Oxnard Courier, December 1, 1911, p. 4. 'Southern Artists Exhibit Canvases,' The San Francisco Examiner, December 22, 1911, p.6. 'California Art Club Pictures,' San Francisco Chronicle, December 22, 1911, p.9. 'Jean Mannheim Artists' Dean of Pasadena,' Pasadena Star-News, December 26, 1919, p.10. W. Gerdts, W. South, California Impressionism, New York, 1998, p. 86, illustrated. R.W. Reitzell, From A Versatile Brush: The Life and Art of Jean Mannheim, Moorpark, 2011, p.144, illustrated. Out of all of Jean Mannheim's works, those depicting the joy and innocence of childhood remain his most deeply personal and The Water Nymph (Children Bathing) is no exception. Mannheim often used his two daughters, Eunie and Jeanne, as models to capture the carefree whims of childhood. Works like The Fairy Tale (which sold for a world auction record at Bonhams in 2024), show the two playful girls sharing a tender moment in the garden. Similarly, the present lot takes place outdoors on the banks of a creek during a warm summer's day. In each instance, dappled light filters through the trees. Throughout his career Mannheim successfully documented his daughters' progression from infancy to young adulthood while simultaneously preserving their eternal youth on the canvas. Before Mannheim reached the height of his career, he trained at the Académie Julian under William Bouguereau, an artist whose influence can clearly be seen in the present work. Like Bouguereau's A Young Girl Defending Herself Against Love (Getty Museum 70.PA.3) both figures are positioned on the left side of the composition with a subtle curvature of the spine and outstretched arms creating a strong diagonal. While the Getty version handles a more mature subject, The Water Nymph is an ode to childhood innocence with the subject sheltered both literally and figuratively by the shade. The Water Nymph is one of Mannheim's most celebrated works with exhibition history at The Blanchard Gallery, The San Francisco Institute of Art and most recently at The Gilcrease Museum. In reviews of the work, critics praised the composition noting 'with long curls tucked up, the face is half serious and half in fun, and fully in childish meditation.' 1 Mannheim's legacy remains not only in the works he produced but the women he raised. 1as quoted in R.W. Reitzell, From A Versatile Brush: The Life and Art of Jean Mannheim, Moorpark, 2011, p.145. For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing