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Provenance: The artist.
Estate of the above.
Kraushaar Galleries, New York.
Private collection.
Hirschl & Adler Galleries, New York.
Acquired by the present owner from the above.
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Exhibited: New York, Owen Gallery, William Glackens, February-March 1995.
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Notes: At the turn of the century a group of pioneering artists, commonly referred to as members of the Ashcan School, poignantly recorded the everyday scenes of New York. This group, led primarily by Robert Henri, George Bellows, George Luks, Everett Shinn and William Glackens, portrayed their subject matter with a fresh and uncompromising manner that was unparalleled at the time. Contrary to prevalent aesthetic theories that touted style and execution, the Ashcan School believed that subject and meaning represented the elements most important to a work. Glackens stood apart from other members of the Ashcan School in his preference depict his figures and landscapes in a high-keyed palette that was influenced by the French Impressionists, primarily Auguste Renoir and Claude Monet. Glackens' images, especially those executed after 1908, have stronger affiliations with the Impressionists than with the hardened images of his Realist companions.
In addition to Glackens' New York scenes, he also produced images of seaside landscapes as early as 1908 in Cape Cod and created an impressive series of works in Bellport, Long Island during the summers of 1911 through 1916. This small coastal community on the southern shore was an ideal place for an artist to experiment artistically as it had an extensive array of dynamic imagery. Far away from outside pressures and distractions, Bellport was also a place where Glackens could work unencumbered. The series of paintings that he executed during these summers, including the present work, Long Island Garden, are among his finest as he imaginatively explored new painting techniques and developed his own style of Impressionism. In the present work, Glackens ornaments the surface with thick strokes of bright enamel-like pigments of green, yellow, white and pink. The artist further enhances the freshness and gaiety of the scene by infusing it with rejuvenating sunlight.
William Glackens' work underwent a stylistic change beginning in 1906, during the artist's second trip to Europe. Unlike his earlier canvases which were influenced by Edouard Manet's techniques, seen especially in his use of broad brushstrokes and strong tonal contrasts consisting mainly of dark hues and stark whites, Glackens expanded the range of his palette and began to work more freely in the handling of color. In 1912 Glackens returned once again to Paris, traveling with his friend and fellow painter Alfred Maurer. Glackens visited the prominent galleries of the day such as Durand-Ruel and Bernheim-Jeune, where he was mesmerized by the masterworks of Claude Monet and Pierre-Auguste Renoir.
Glackens' affinity for Renoir was heightened by his friendship with Dr. Albert Barnes of Philadelphia who was an avid collector of both artists' work and for whom Glackens served as an art advisor. According to Forbes Watson in his monograph on the artist, although Glackens' work was clearly influenced by Renoir, it has a more straightforward and genuine American approach than his French counterpart. "His painting tradition is French, but his point of view is American...The whole attitude is American. The subject is seen through American eyes...[Glackens is] a painter whose color flows and sings and plays." (William Glackens, New York, 1923, pp. 21-22) The present work, Long Island Garden, illustrates Glackens' venture into this new approach to painting with his lively palette and wispy brushwork incorporating lighter hues.
Glackens' unique Impressionistic technique was recognized and praised by his contemporaries. The art critic Albert E. Gallatin wrote: "It is interesting to follow Mr. Glackens' artistic growth, to see how his art has developed. Like all genuine artists, he has never been satisfied with his work, but has ever been an investigator, a seeker after new knowledge, hoping to increase his accomplishments...which disclose his genius at its best." ("William Glackens," Magazine of Art, vol. 2, May 1916, p. 263) Long Island Garden is a fine example of Glackens oeuvre with its jewel-like colors and dashing brushwork that captures the artist's imaginative exploration of his own style of Impressionism.
