Note

The present painting will be accompanied by a copy of a letter signed by Edward Redfield, dated December 1, 1957. It will aslo be included in the forthcoming Catalogue Raisonné of Edward Redfield's work, compiled by Dr. Thomas C. Folk.

In 1903, Edward Redfield was advised by one of his leading patrons, Dr. Samuel Woodward, to travel to Maine for the summer. While the first trip was generously financed by his friend, Redfield and his wife would repeatedly return to the charming village of Boothbay Harbor, where they eventually bought a house for their family. Many artists had visited Maine since the mid-1800s, some even establishing an artist colony on the picturesque, and remote, Monhegan Island. For Redfield, Maine represented a drastic change of scenery as he would paint most of his work within a mile of his home in Centre Bridge, Pennsylvania.
With its rugged hills, shallow beaches, and picturesque fishing villages, Maine's landscape provided Redfield with the liberating opportunity to explore and capture untouched, raw forms of life unique to the northern seacoast. The seascapes and landscapes Redfield painted in Maine in the early teens are considered among his best works. They showcase his ferocious painterly method and his rapid, spontaneous brushstrokes, which echo Nature’s power and overall vitality. Robert Henri, who often joined the Redfields in Maine, noted the impression the artist had on the local inhabitants: "slinging the paint over big canvases, astounding the natives and astounding the local artists with his rapidity as well as his results..."
Harbor Scene exudes the simple, and peaceful way of life along Maine’s rugged shoreline. Executed in Redfield's characteristic energized brushwork and replete with jewel-toned hues, it is reminiscent of the French Impressionist scenes Redfield often admired during his various stays in France. The painting was executed in the early hours of a warm summer morning of 1915, and depicts, in rich impasto, two fishermen at sea in a modest dory, as seen from the pier. The golden, empty shore in the foreground (where one notices an abandoned, half-cut log) contrasts with the sparkling, vibrant colors of the sea and the sky – an idyllic vision of the sunny New England coast as seen through the veil of a breezy atmosphere. This seems to echo Charles Wheeler’s comments as noted in his 1925 monograph on Redfield: “Reddy’s [sic] rendition of hazy effects of atmosphere is free from doubtful or muddled passages and is filled with clearly seen poetic feeling.” The work must have been dear to the artist, who gifted it to the wife of his most fervent supporter, John E.D. Trask, then Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts’ Managing Director.

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Lot 103

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