17
GEORGE INNESS (American, 1825-1894)
Estimate:
$10,000 - $15,000
Sold
$21,000
Live Auction
Spring Estates Auction | March 2024
Category
Description
The Wood Road, 1857
Oil on canvas
h. 10-1/4 w. 8-1/4 in. (canvas)
Signed and dated lower left, framed with title plaque bearing artist's name and dates
overall: 16-1/2 x 15 in. (frame)
UPDATE 3/21/2024: This painting has been reviewed by Michael Quick, who will be including it in a proposed supplement to his catalogue raisonne of the works of George Inness. In an email addressed to Butterscotch Auction dated 3/20/2024, Mr. Quick shared his thoughts on the painting:
"The painting that goes by the name of The Wood Road was painted on a canvas, which now measures 10-1/4 by 8-1/4 inches. It is signed in the lower left "G Inness 185{ }, with the final digit being either a 7 or a 1. The reasons for thinking that it is dated 1851 is that Inness around that time painted detailed vertical woods interiors, like this, with similarly knobby tree trunks. His paintings of 1857, in contrast, mostly are open landscapes, more freely painted than this.
On the other hand, if Inness wanted to produce a small painting, like this, in 1857, he easily could have chosen a denser composition from around 1850. What I see in the painting is the active light of Inness's work of around 1857, with that light raking across foliage, as in this painting. On balance, I believe that the reading of 1857 is the correct one.
It is my expert opinion that The Wood Road is an authentic work of George Inness. It is my intention to include that painting in the proposed supplement to my catalogue raisonne of the works of George Inness.
I should note, however, that there is only subject (sic) that ties this painting to the one of that title that Inness exhibited at the National Academy as number 379 in 1858. This also could be the painting known as Wood Scene and Drover, which also was in that exhibition."
Oil on canvas
h. 10-1/4 w. 8-1/4 in. (canvas)
Signed and dated lower left, framed with title plaque bearing artist's name and dates
overall: 16-1/2 x 15 in. (frame)
UPDATE 3/21/2024: This painting has been reviewed by Michael Quick, who will be including it in a proposed supplement to his catalogue raisonne of the works of George Inness. In an email addressed to Butterscotch Auction dated 3/20/2024, Mr. Quick shared his thoughts on the painting:
"The painting that goes by the name of The Wood Road was painted on a canvas, which now measures 10-1/4 by 8-1/4 inches. It is signed in the lower left "G Inness 185{ }, with the final digit being either a 7 or a 1. The reasons for thinking that it is dated 1851 is that Inness around that time painted detailed vertical woods interiors, like this, with similarly knobby tree trunks. His paintings of 1857, in contrast, mostly are open landscapes, more freely painted than this.
On the other hand, if Inness wanted to produce a small painting, like this, in 1857, he easily could have chosen a denser composition from around 1850. What I see in the painting is the active light of Inness's work of around 1857, with that light raking across foliage, as in this painting. On balance, I believe that the reading of 1857 is the correct one.
It is my expert opinion that The Wood Road is an authentic work of George Inness. It is my intention to include that painting in the proposed supplement to my catalogue raisonne of the works of George Inness.
I should note, however, that there is only subject (sic) that ties this painting to the one of that title that Inness exhibited at the National Academy as number 379 in 1858. This also could be the painting known as Wood Scene and Drover, which also was in that exhibition."
Condition
Retains original stretcher, no lining, small patch upper left, with corresponding in painting in tree bough, otherwise very good
Provenance
Thomas Coleville Fine Art, New York & CT (label on verso);
Purchased by the consignor's parent's in 1995 from the above
