Fine Art from The Estate of Angela Gross Folk

In 1928, Bredin was commissioned to create a five-part mural series for the New Jersey State Museum in Trenton. A monumental undertaking, four of the five works—seasonal depictions of the state’s distinct geographical regions and resident bird and animal life—measure 6 x 12 feet. The fifth, a panorama of the Delaware Water Gap, measures an expansive 12 x 25 feet. All but one of the murals—a view of southern New Jersey in summer—remain on exhibition at the New Jersey State House Annex.

At 12 x 24 inches, the present lot is a preparatory study for the mural depicting springtime in central New Jersey. A pair of blue heron amble through tall grass, while a third alights on the placid stream that winds through the composition's lower right quadrant. Flanked by mulberry, birch and eastern red cedar, and framed by rolling hills, the scene is one of peace and tranquility–a rural idyll unfolding under clear, cornflower skies.

Bredin was a natural choice for the project. Among the most technically proficient of the New Hope group, he earned a reputation–and both critical and commercial success–for his relaxed portrayals of outdoor leisure. Often staged on the picturesque grounds of Lawn Shadows, his home on the Delaware River, and comprised of close friends and family members, these scenes boast a delicate palette, a keen sense of design, and an appreciation for the lushness of nature. This work, a celebration of central New Jersey's beauty and diversity–and the mural series' only extant preliminary study–shares many of these same qualities.