Fern Isabel Coppedge

(American, 1883-1951)

Across the River, c. 1930s

oil on canvasboard

signed Fern I. Coppedge (lower left)

8 1/4 x 10 3/8 inches.

This lot is located in Philadelphia.

Provenance:

The Artist

Acquired directly from the above

Collection of Lynn C. Perry, Lafayette, Pennsylvania

Private Collection, Miami, Florida

Lot Note:

Fern Coppedge first visited Bucks County in 1917 while studying at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts under Daniel Garber. She was immediately captivated by the landscapes of the Delaware River valley. She settled there permanently in 1920, purchasing a house and studio in Lumberville, near Garber’s home and studio at Cuttalossa. From this point onward, the Bucks County scenery, namely its riverbanks, villages, winter fields and river flows, became a central and enduring subject of her work, as exemplified here.

This exemplary landscape reflects the artist’s 1930s style, characterized by a softer, pastel-toned palette and delicate atmospheric treatment. The composition’s frontal view of the Delaware River, arranged in three distinct planes, also reveals the influence of Garber, whose “tapestry-like” approach to river scenes can be felt here; the connection is natural, given that Garber was both Coppedge’s neighbor and close friend.

Across the River, c. 1930s