American and European Art

Provenance: Private Collection, Louisiana Gifted to the present owner by the above, 2015 Lot note: Joseph Rusling Meeker, though trained in New York in the Hudson River School tradition under Asher B. Durand, settled in St. Louis and became the leading painter of the Southern United States landscape. During the Civil War, he served as a paymaster aboard a gunboat in the Lousiana swampland. Though it was a dangerous and tumultuous time, Meeker was able to find the serenity and beauty in the surrounding landscape. He made hundreds of sketches during this time, which he later developed into his famous atmospheric paintings of the bayou. He would continue to make journeys to the lower Mississippi after he settled in St. Louis that would serve as inspiration for his paintings. Lake Maurepas, located halfway between New Orleans and Baton Rouge, was a favorite spot for Meeker, and he painted it several times. In the present work, he catches a moment when the sun is behind a cloud, infusing the landscape with a pink and purple tone and the characteristic vegetation of the bayou (water lilies, cypress trees, and reeds) can be seen. The composition of Near Lake Maurepas evokes a feeling of serenity and stillness and showcases Meeker's skill of capturing the mysterious Louisiana bayou.