OLIVE PARKER BLACK OIL PAINTING EARLY SPRING, AMERICAN

OLIVE PARKER BLACK OIL PAINTING EARLY SPRING, AMERICAN (1868-1948); Infused with warmth and the optimism of a new season, this fine work in oil on canvas signed lower left Olive P Black of "Early Spring" captures several country cottages through a meandering dirt road running through a thinly wooded landscape overflowing with vibrant green fields and rock lined fences overshadowed by the hint of mountains in the distance. A work that is clearly influenced by the Tonalism movement, Black works with a limited palate to render an exceptionally well detailed scene. While certainly a work of realism, accurately capturing both scale and minute details of the scene before her, the result remains dreamy and slightly out of reach - an influence of the French Barbizon school evident in her complex handling of the pigment. This very fine example is an outstanding selection for serious collectors of investment grade works by accomplished and well listed artists.
DETAILS:
- SIZE: 14 x 20 In. (artwork) / 22-1/4 x 29 In. (framed).
CONDITION REPORT: Original stretchers and lining, light craquelure throughout, two small vintage repairs to the upper corners of the work, replacement gilt wood American frame.

Background:
Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts in July of 1868, Olive Parker Black moved to New York City in 1910. She was a student of Hugh Bolton Jones at the Art Students' League, William Merritt Chase, and Edwin Blashfield at the New York National Academy of Design in New York. Under the tutelage of these masters and the influence of the Barbizon School from Hugh Bolton Jones, she developed a distinctive style of blending impressionism and realism in her landscapes with warm tones and sharp textures. She exhibited at the National Academy of Design from 1897-1930, at the Art Club of Philadelphia, the Boston Art Club and at the Carnegie Institute. She was also a member of the New York Society of Painters, the National Academy of Women Painters and Sculptors, the American Artists Professional League and in 1887 became a member of the Copely Society. An exceptional landscape painter, she was particularly skilled at and enjoyed executing works featuring bodies of water: streams by roads, large ponds in pastures, cows grazing along the river, trickling brooks in summer and wooded river landscapes. Much of the body of her work focuses on the three seasons of Spring, Summer and Fall and captures scenes from West Virginia through Massachusetts, a large quantity of her landscapes focused in South Egremont, Massachusetts, where she maintained a summer home. She is incredibly well listed, being discussed in dozens of important books and studies. Her work has a very strong auction record, much of it in the five-figures and only coming to market infrequently.
Condition Report: Original stretchers and lining, light craquelure throughout, two small vintage repairs to the upper corners of the work, replacement gilt wood American frame.