Saturday, March 5, 2011

No Hope for New Hope?

unnamed, unknown, 22" x 28", oil

    I don't often buy unsigned paintings because it is usually very hard to find out anything about them and it thwarts my enjoyment in doing research. I am a sucker for winter paintings though, especially colorful ones, so here we are. This one was purchased by the previous owner at an estate sale in Hopewell, NJ in early 2009 and described as in the New Hope School style and guesstimated to be 1930s vintage. I tend to agree on the age, judging by the board it is painted on and the frame it is in. The board is canvas board that has a built in paper backing that is darkened and quite brittle. The scene could certainly be 1930s-1950s. It is a mixture of naive and fairly sophisticated painting, obviously done by a painter of some experience, though perhaps not formally trained. I don't have any hope that I will be able to find out more about it. Just planning to enjoy it on those hot, Midwestern July afternoons. I have a slim hope that someone may be living who actually saw this painting hanging in someone's home or may recognize the artist's style.

2 comments:

  1. Thank you for putting your collection online. I really enjoyed looking through it. This painting in particular is a favorite, along with all the Gerald Spencer's you own.

    (Came across your site, while doing my own research on a painting I just purchased at an auction!)

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  2. You are welcome! Thanks for viewing my sites! I really like this one, too. Spencer was a really good artist. It is a shame that he is not better known.

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