MARTHA WALTER (AMERICAN 1875–1976) "CHILDREN IN THE GARDEN"

Provenance: David David Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Acquired directly from the above in 1998.

Collection of Dorrance H. Hamilton.

NOTE

Impressionist Martha Walter was born in Philadelphia in 1875. She was a student at the University of the Arts, as well as the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, where she studied under William Merritt Chase (1849-1916). While at the Academy, she received the prestigious Cresson Scholarship, which allowed her to travel to Europe to continue her education. She visited Spain, the Netherlands, and Italy, before enrolling at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière in France. Her intimate depictions of women (often mothers) and children earned her great critical acclaim beginning early on in her career, and was a theme which she returned to frequently.

"Children in the Garden" presents a common scene from the artist's oeuvre, two children ambling through a lush and verdant landscape. Each grasps a bouquet of wildflowers, the dappled sunlight landing on their bodies through the canopy of trees. The brushstrokes are quick dabs, leaves blending with sky and the soft flesh of each of the children, who appear almost as nymphs, gamboling in a glen. There is a gentle innocence and prevailing stillness to the scene, despite Walter's characteristic brisk application of paint to the canvas.