American Art and Pennsylvania Impressionists

Provenance:

Maurice Ritman, the Artist's son.

Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, Arizona, a gift from the above.

Sotheby's, New York, Sale of May 23, 1991, Lot 46.

Private Collection.

Sotheby's, New York, Sale of December 3, 1998, Lot 53.

Acquired directly from the above sale.

Private Collection, Pennsylvania.

Exhibited:

Chicago, Ontario East Gallery, Louis Ritman, April 9-May 10, 1964, no. 22, illus. (as Summer Afternoon)

Literature:

Richard H. Love, Louis Ritman: From Chicago to Giverny, Chicago, 1989, pp. 216-217, pl. 18-1, illus.

Lot Note:

Part of the second generation of American artists to work in Giverny, Louis Ritman first visited in 1911 and returned every summer for many years. Known for his warm depictions of women at leisure, Ritman is recognized as a prominent member of the American Impressionist movement. Quiet Afternoon, painted at Giverny in 1915, is a stunning example of his distinct manner and encapsulates the rich array of aesthetic devices used by the artist throughout his career.

The painting focuses on the two women seated at the table, favoring integrity of form over its dissolution into fast and loose brushwork. In contrast, the vibrant blur of the garden in the background imbues the scene with a palpable languor, which, in an immersive gesture, also absorbs the viewer. The gaze is irresistibly drawn to the sitter, whose engrossed expression and gracefully tilted face invite the beholder to take a seat at the table too.

Ritman’s canvas is thus filled with varyingly broad brushstrokes of warm color, yielding a motley of textures and visual patterns. Filled with a sense of deep serenity, the work takes on the appearance of a luminous tapestry of calming forms and tints, woven together to capture an exquisite moment of tranquility. And as it permeates the experience of the viewer, it turns an ordinary moment into an atmosphere.