Description

Harry Leith-Ross (1886-1973) Untitled (Winter Landscape with Stream) Oil on Board circa 1930s to 1940s 10" x 16" Signed Lower Left Remnant of Label on Verso Frame Size: 14-1/4" x 20-1/4" ALL OUR EBAY LISTINGS WILL END ON DECEMBER 2 AS WE ARE LEAVING EBAY FOR THE WINTER MONTHS. An lovely snow-covered landscape with stream, most likely in Bucks County, by this important, well-listed Pennsylvania Impressionist known for his winter scenes. The painting, which exhibits bold brushwork and areas of light to moderate impasto, particularly in the snow, is in very good condition with no apparent defects. It is housed in a beautiful, vintage gilt wood frame that has a few abrasions but is in overall very good condition and may be original to the work. The painting has been in our private collection for many years. IMPORTANT NOTE : SHIPPING ONLY WITHIN THE 48 CONTINGUOUIS UNITED STATES. NO SHIPPING TO ALASKA OR HAWAII. NO INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING. BIOGRAPHY An accomplished artist noted for his snow-covered landscapes, Leith-Ross is considered one of the most exhibited and decorated artists of the New Hope art colony. He was an important member of the third and last generation of New Hope artists and an undisputed master of the landscape genre during its peak in American art. Born in 1886 in the British colony of Mauritius, Leith-Ross first immigrated to the United States at the age of 17and would make his mark in the art world relatively late in his career. Due to chronic allergies and asthma that plagued him in the tropical colony and throughout his life, Leith-Ross was sent to live with his paternal grandparents in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, where he spent his childhood, though he made frequent visits to visit his mother’s family in England and the Netherlands. Leith-Ross was noted to have been a precocious child with a genetic predisposition to art. His Dutch maternal relatives, Barbara van Houten and Hendrik Willem Mesdag, a well-known marine watercolorist, were both respected and established artists who fostered his early appreciation for art. Leith-Ross particularly recalled visiting his uncle’s studio and acknowledged that “the smell of paint and the love of it became a part of my life.” At his parent’s urging, Leith-Ross enrolled at the University of Birmingham to pursue engineering but failed to complete the degree as he was observed to have made “drawing after drawing rather than pay attention to his studies.” In 1903, his parents sent him to New Mexico to work under his uncle as a paymaster. Three years later, he finally abandoned his parent’s hopes of becoming a businessman and sought employment at the printing and engraving company Smith-Brooks in Denver. Through his early career in commercial art, Leith-Ross learned the basics of art, honed his technical skills and began to fully realize his innate artistic abilities. In1908, he moved to Paris where he studied at the Delecluse Academy and the Academie Julian under artist Jean-Paul Laurens and additionally studied landscape painting in England under Stanhope Forbes. Upon his return in the United States in 1910, Leith-Ross furthered his education by attending classes with C.Y. Turner at the National Academy of Design before enrolling at the Art Students League summer school in Woodstock, NY in 1913. Under the influence of Birge Harrison, John F. Carlson, and John Fulton Folinsbee, Leith-Ross aligned with the conservative faction of artists at Woodstock. Leith-Ross would forge a lifelong friendship and professional relationship with Folinsbee and Harrison. He shared a barn studio with Folinsbee during the summer and began spending winters at Harrison’s winter home in New Hope, PA beginning in 1914. In New Hope, he became well acquainted with the colony’s leading artists including Lathrop, Redfield, Garber, and Spencer. Between 1914 and 1935, Leith-Ross visited and painted in New Hope frequently and would divide his time both there and at Woodstock. In 1935, he permanently moved to New Hope where he remained until his death. Painting en plein air with the landscape as his primary subject, Leith-Ross would become a leader of this genre in the early to mid 20th century. As John Folinsbee noted, his works were “outstanding records of his favorite terrain, Bucks County in Pennsylvania –its moods, its quality, its roads, mills and farm lands – subjects lived with and known through years of understanding”. He typically depicted intimate ,humble genre scenes and found beauty in the “seemingly mundane”. He received particular acclaim for his snow-covered landscapes, a theme he cherished as a result of the time spent at Harrison’s winter home. Leith-Ross’s wife recalled that he “loved the curves of drifts and the sunlight on the snow. He also loved the gray days and moodiness of winter”. Leith-Ross, like many other members of the New Hope art colony, was not constrained under the tenets of a particular movement but committed to the development of his own unique individual style. It is clear; however, under the tutelage of Harrison and Carlson, that Leith-Ross’s works were steeped in a relatively conservative tradition. During the 1920s and 30s, Leith-Ross borrowed Harrison’s tonalist technique and his early works in particular were characterized by subdued, poetic effects and evocative, moody images. He also displayed Impressionistic qualities through a bright color palette, thick impasto brushwork, and a vivid attention to surface textures and patterning. In 1931, Leith-Ross also began experimenting with watercolor. Citing Winslow Homer as his inspiration, the watercolor suited his need for quick spontaneous expression. His ensuing works were much sought after and frequently featured in solo exhibitions. In a description of an exhibit of his watercolors at the Grand Central Art Galleries in 1948, fellow Bucks County Impressionist and art critic Walter Emerson Baum acknowledged the popularity and quality of his images. He wrote: “It is hard to imagine how the watercolor medium, as it was practiced several decades ago, could occupy a place in the field of modern art. Yet the watercolor has held its own. Thanks to those who are eternally engrossed in pushing its possibilities to the utmost the watercolor exhibition of today is quite as exciting as are the shows of other mediums. The career of Harry Leith-Ross is synonymous with what has gone on in the field. His strong, rich, colorful papers are attuned to the culminations of which everyone must be aware who is familiar with the painting process”. During the 1940s and 50s, Leith-Ross’s artistic style evolved slightly though not as stark in contrast as his other New Hope contemporaries. His works moved toward realism and demonstrated a thinner and more evenly applied application of paint and a more somber color palette. Though he never embraced abstraction and expressionism, Leith-Ross began to respond to the contemporary influences of modernism. He became particularly attuned to his compositions, incorporating light in angles and lines in an attempt to add structure and visual interest to his works. Though Leith-Ross’s landscapes were in accordance with the subject matter of the times, he garnered particular praise for their distinct charm, skillful rendering and universal appeal. In his 1930exhibit at the Macbeth Gallery, a critic acknowledged: “For several seasons the pictures by Leith-Ross have stood out among their companions on the walls of the big exhibitions. There has been something about them that set them apart from the general run even of those having more or less the same inspiration of subjects.” The Herald Tribune art critic Royal Cortissoz also wrote: “Anyone of ordinary ability can paint a recognizable picture of our typical woods and pastures, but arresting the imponderable spirit of these things is another story. Mr. Leith-Ross arrests it, especially when he is painting snow scenes. There he seems to get into his impression the very essence of the old-fashioned American country house, the worn barn and its more or less unkempt surroundings. He does this, too, through the exercise of a technique, which is not only sound, but also has elements of individuality in it.” In addition to his career as a painter, Leith-Ross was also an active teacher during his lifetime. He first became an instructor at the Art Students League summer school at Woodstock in1919. From 1919-1925 he became involved in the Rockport Art Association in Rockport, Massachusetts as a founder and teacher. He additionally taught students privately and as a visiting faculty member at universities, including the University of Buffalo (1941), the University of Utah (1955), and the College of Southern Utah (1955). In 1956, he wrote and published his famous book, The Landscape Painter’s Manual . Due in part to his own strong relationships with his instructors, Leith-Ross sought to impart his knowledge, technique and devotion to art to others. He encouraged his students to “be themselves”, advocating an artistic freedom and the development of an individual style. During the last years of his life, Leith-Ross continued to paint and teach in his beloved Pennsylvania terrain. He passed away on March 15, 1973 at the age of 87. During a prolific and well-respected career, Leith-Ross received numerous prizes and glowing reviews from art critics. He also left behind an important legacy as an esteemed art instructor and leading authority on landscape painting. His works are collected by many major museums including the James A. Michener Museum, Smithsonian Institution of American Art, and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Source : Margarita Karasoulas, Questroyal Fine Art, LLC, Website