Fine Art from The Estate of Angela Gross Folk

Charles Rosen painted landscapes for over fifteen years, during which time the artist worked in various and contrasting styles. The present work is a remarkable example of the Master’s early period, evidently influenced by the art of William L. Lathrop, a close friend of Rosen who taught him a softer, atmospheric approach to landscape painting. The two met in 1903 when Rosen and his wife had moved to New Hope following their honeymoon in the quaint Pennsylvania village. Haystack’s subject matter and slightly darker, monochromatic color scheme, a harmony of browns, pinks and golds, is reminiscent of Lathrop’s tonalist landscape paintings. (He, in fact, painted many scenes featuring haystacks). In contrast, however, Rosen does more than simply depict the physical characteristics of this local farm; instead, he imbues the scene with a deeper emotional, almost poetic, message, thereby echoing Bucks County’s slow-paced and highly picturesque lifestyle at the time.

When he executed this work in 1911, Rosen was one of the most successful and respected artists in New Hope. Not only had he won several national prizes, but he was also considered one of the leading members of the New Hope colony, alongside Lathrop, Edward Redfield and Daniel Garber, all of whom frequently applauded and defended Rosen’s talent, especially when the artist himself doubted it. On January 30, 1911, for example, Garber wrote to Rosen to share his admiration for the present work: “I want to congratulate you on the picture of a haystack with a couple of sheep coming through a fence. I think it is the best I have seen of yours and I like it very much as did most of the gentlemen on the jury.” Although Garber was undoubtedly being nice to his friend, his eye did not lie: the work would go on to be exhibited to much acclaim at three major national exhibition circuits in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Chicago.