Exhibited

"Martha Walter: American Impressionist (1875-1976)", David David Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, November 2-December 3, 1977.

Literature

Antiques Magazine, November, 1977, (illustrated).

Note

This exceptional double-sided painting provides two excellent examples of Martha Walter's quintessential beach scenes, both rendered in her impressionistic style and vivid palette. The vertical orientation of "Under the Boardwalk" is particularly rare, as Walter executed the majority of her landscape compositions in horizontal format. Both images feature the artist's characteristic figures at leisure, as mothers and rosy-cheeked children relax on blankets, their parasols blocking the bright sun. The figures in the foregrounds of both paintings wear recognizable fashions of the period; the compositions convey movement and life. Walter painted the background figures, particularly in the horizontal work, in a swift, gestural manner that adds vitality.
A student of William Merritt Chase at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia, Walter went on to study at the renowned Académie Julian in Paris, established her own Paris studio and continued to travel and paint passionately for many decades. She received many awards throughout her career and lived to more than 100. Her work has hung in the permanent collections of the Musée d'Orsay in Paris, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Pennsylvania Academy, the Detroit Institute of Arts, and the Cincinnati Art Museum. At the time of her death, Walter was internationally acclaimed and respected, and her work continues to increase in popularity and value in today's art market.

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Lot 86

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