American Impressionism
by Everette James, M.D.
Photos courtesy of the author except where noted

The Village Church, 32” x 36”, Oil on canvas by Everett I. Warner (1877-1963). Florence Griswold Museum; gift of Mrs. Wilson F. Smith.

Impressionism is probably the most widely appreciated painting style. The elements of pleasant subject matter, light bright pigments applied in such a manner as to represent vibrancy and movement, and the summary treatment of form to stimulate the imagination have given impressionism widespread public acclaim for over a century.

While Monet, Pissaro, Degas and their equals have been beyond the resources of most collectors for many decades, Childe Hassam, William Merritt Chase, John Henry Twachtman, Frank Benson, Willard Metcalf, and Edmund Tarbell have only been “unaffordable” since the mid-1970s.

The interesting and well-illustrated texts on the subject have increased our awareness and appreciation of American impressionism. Along with this knowledge has been a general increase in the desire to buy as well as a significant increase in the price of the impressionist works.

The paintings of artists who would be characterized as “second line” impressionists, such as Frederick Frieseke, Lawton Parker, Richard E. Miller and Louis Ritman, have fetched hundreds of thousands of dollars, making their acquisition by the majority of us problematical. However, this does not mean art lovers should feel they cannot collect subsets of this genre. I will share with you my experiences in collecting Southern impressionism.

Lady in Repose, 24” x 20”, Pastel on paper by Anita Ashley. Exhibited PA Academy of Fine Arts, c. 1898.

Conventional wisdom has been that all American impressionism is based upon the stylistic legacy of the Europeans. Some feel that the value of works by even the more important artists of American impressionism should not approach that of Monet and his colleagues. Despite their incredible increases in value, American impressionists generally can still be acquired for less than the cost of their European counterparts, and the Griswold Mansion at Old Lyme not only embellished the image of notables such as Childe Hassam, John Henry Twachtman, and J. Alden Weir but greatly increased collector (and investor) interest in the lesser-known figures of this group such as Edmund Greacen, Walter Clark, Elmer Livingston McCrae, William Chadwick, Will Howe Foote, Henry Rankin Poor, Charles H. Davis, William S. Robinson, and Clark Vorhees. Additionally, the value of the works by Bruce Crane, another of the Old Lyme artists, was further increased by Charles Teaze Clark’s article on the Barbizon artists in Antiques magazine. The paintings I owned by many of these lesser artists increased greatly in value without any effort on my part.

There is a certain amount of “fashion” in any type of investment. Junk bonds are a poignant example of this phenomenon. With the numerous exhibitions featuring impressionism as an aesthetic, the relationship to Claude Monet and the environment at Giverny have been greatly emphasized. Those American artists who lived in the village and painted in close proximity to the “father of impressionism” are now very much in vogue, and the value of their paintings has escalated markedly as a response to this mind set. The works of Frederick Frieseke, Lawton Parker, Theodore Earl Butler, and Richard E. Miller are well into the six figure range, with major examples over $500,000.

A little-known member of that group, Louis Ritman, achieved $418,000 at auction when collectors suddenly realized the magnitude of prices commanded for the others and that the best works of Ritman had the characteristics which made them so desirable such as a light palette, dappled sunlight, with ladies in flower-filled gardens. We had an interesting experience with a cache of Ritman’s retained by a family member. When he returned to the United States, Ritman embraced modernism and 90% of these holdings were from that school. We found a wonderful impressionist painting hidden in the cache which has increased about 30 fold in value over the last decade.

Many collector/investors believe that the publication of Bill Gerdts’ text on regional schools of American art will continue to increase the demand for paintings from such impressionist colonies as Brown County; Old Lyme; Rockport, Massachusetts; Carmel, California; the Broadmoor in Colorado; Burnsville, North Carolina; and Provincetown, Massachusetts. There is simply no question that a text of this type can enhance, if not create, a demand. I will discuss several of these colonies.

The Blue Kimono, 211Ð2” x 233Ð4”, by Marguerite Pearson of Rockport, Mass. Student of Tarbell and Benson. Following her death, her paintings increased greatly in value. Pierce Gallery, James Collection.

Although the impressionists had their first collective exhibition in 1874, it was several decades later that this technique of painting became dominant in America. A number of American artists traveled to Paris to receive training in the 1880s and 1890s where they studied in the salons of the Academie Julian or the École des Beaux Arts. Upon their return to the United States, these artists wanted to duplicate the experience they had in Europe and did so by founding and changing the format of training in various American art schools, such as the Boston Museum of Fine Arts School and the Arts Students’ League in New York. They also formed art colonies, such as Shinnecock on Long Island and Old Lyme in Connecticut in direct response to this legacy. Other colonies followed.

The Boston Museum of Fine Arts School had a rigorous and lengthy schedule in which draftsmanship was emphasized. This school flourished under the leadership of Edmund Tarbell and Frank Weston Benson and later under William McGregor Paxton and Joseph R. DeCamp. Some of their students went on to become famous artists in their own right, while others who were quite accomplished have not, to date, received the recognition they deserve. Tarbell, the acknowledged primary force, specialized in interior genre scenes and modified portraiture as did many of his students, especially the women who were referred to as “Tarbellites”. A major example by Tarbell will now be priced well over one hundred thousand dollars, yet a good quality painting reflecting the same technical competence by one of his students may be acquired for several thousand and certainly under $25,000. Certain of the major works by these students remain with the descendants and in estates in the Boston area offering a good acquisition opportunity. You can certainly find them on Newbury Street with a bit of effort and time. They appear from time to time up on the North Shore and at the ubiquitous country auctions.

Ladies Walking (Wellesley Hills, MA), 28” x 32” by Marion P. Howard. Howard studied with Tarbell Benson Hale at BMFA and W.M. Chase. This impressionist work reflects both influences. Illustrated in “The Ten” by Pat Pierce. Provenance R.H. Love, James Collection.

The artistic legacy of Boston and its immediate environs is a very important one for the collector. From the early portraitists to the landscape artists of the mid-19th century, the luminists and marine painters as well as the more recent impressionists, artists receiving their training, artistic experience or having a residence in the Boston area have been among the leaders in American art. A majority of “The Ten” American painters had some connection with the Boston area even if it was a summer spent painting at Rockport, Gloucester, Ogunquit or at Provincetown.

The contributions of the early Boston sea and landscape painters such as Fitzhugh Lane or Martin Johnson Heade are universally recognized and expensive. Later, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts School flourished under first, the leadership of Frank Weston Benson and Edmund Tarbell, and subsequently that of William McGregor Paxton and Joseph Rodefer De Camp. Travel to Newbury Street to see examples and visit the collection at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. This will orient you to both quality and price.

Boston’s artistic statement was enhanced by the fact that many of these artists were friends with the other male intellectuals of Boston society. As a group, they became “arbiters of taste” with national and international influence, and among their closest friends were Henry and William James and Lilla Cabot Perry. The poets and philosophers were also a part of this circle of great influence. In this scholarly and sophisticated milieu were very few women, and these were included by circumstances of birth or marriage such as Ellen Day Hale of that distinguished family. However, Boston was one of America’s cities where women could study painting in a formal setting during that period. Housing or proper housing was not available for those aspiring female artists. This meant that many of the students were local, and this is where their works have remained.

Basket of Grapes, 22” x 28” by Catherine Wiley. Wiley from Knoxville, TN trained at the PAFA and ASL. She was noted for her impressionist landscapes with figures and still life works. Provenance Robert Coggins Collection, James Collection “Southern Women Artists 1840-1940.”

Women artists in Boston could, indeed, receive adequate formal training in several recognized schools of the city. The most well known, however, was the Boston Museum of Fine Arts School (BMFA). As I have noted, following their experience in Paris, Tarbell and Benson returned to Boston and carefully organized a curriculum at the BMFA School that would duplicate their experience in France. They were particularly interested in their students receiving adequate fundamental training in draftsmanship and composition to enable them to produce interior genre works, which they favored, with competence in still lifes and the landscapes of their native New England as well.

Certainly, students of the BMFA like Lee Lufkin Kaula, Mary Brewster Hazelton, Marguerite Steuber Pearson and others created works that not only reflect the training at the BMFA School and impressionism but also demonstrate remarkable individual artistic skill. Much of the portraiture by these women became the modified portraiture characteristic of the works of Paxton and De Camp who wee the leaders of the BMFA School after Tarbell and Benson. These artists have been regarded as followers; in fact, a number were wives of other artists in the BMFA school. As I previously noted, they have even been given the dubious title “Tarbellites.” Their work has been traditionally judged as reflective of their mentors or derivative only of their experience.

More recently, with the increased awareness of regionalism and public exposure of these students through exhibitions, monographs, and texts, the more unique quality of the artistic statement of these artists of the BMFA School has been appreciated. This has resulted in their inclusion in museum exhibitions and a rather marked escalation of the price of their works at auction as well as in the private sector. They still remain good values if they reflect the quality in the context I have already discussed. I have seen and acquired works by Lee Lufkin Kaula, Ellen Day Hale, Gretchen Rogers, and Marguerite Pearson that would rival a Tarbell, Benson or De Camp.

Grace, 301Ð4” x 25”, by John J. Enneking. Enneking of Boston was described by Potece as “the first impressionist” Enneking (1841-1961) and went to Paris 1872-76. The background exhibits broken color and the shimmering effect of the Impressionist technique.

Probably the most influential Boston female impressionist was Lilla Cabot Perry. She was a remarkable and resolute woman in every regard, managing to be a very supportive wife, mother of three girls, and an artist of great influence. In fact, this artist’s contributions in popularizing impressionism for a conservative and skeptical American public have been widely appreciated, almost obscuring the fact that she was an accomplished painter in her own right. While you will probably not be able to easily or inexpensively acquire a major work by her, some are private and there is always the rare opportunity.

I did acquire two from Perry’s descendants but only after a great deal of “leg work.” Sometimes her small intimate landscapes turn up at auction and represent very good value. They are or can be as appealing as her modified portraiture. Hischl and Adler handled at least some of her estate and published a monograph. Mongerson Gallery in Chicago has a number of her works. She was treated to a retrospective by the National Museum of Women in the Arts. I had two examples in that exhibit, and they were published in the text.

William Merritt Chase was not only one of America’s great impressionists, but as a teacher and leader, inspired a large number of artists to achieve success. Chase’s paintings have simply reached acquisition costs far beyond the means of most collectors as have the examples of certain of his students. Other pupils, however, can still be obtained at a rather modest outlay of funds. These pupils from the Art Students’ League in New York and Chase’s Summer School at Shinnecock created works of art that have many of the desirable qualities and aesthetic appeal of their mentor. With some diligence you can still acquire good examples for only a few thousand dollars.

Chase was a figure of such importance that his students have been reasonably well-documented by the art historian Ron Pisano and others so that they can be easily identified with very little effort on your part. Thus, if a painting you are considering appears to reflect the qualities, style, and subject matter of one by Chase, then matching the signature with a student list will often permit documentation of the relationship. For example, the Nashville artist Edith Flisher studied with Chase. Being from that city I had seen a number of works by her that were competent but not exciting. A St. Louis dealer, however, showed me a still life that was magnificent and so Chase-like he must have been holding her hand. Needless to say, I bought the painting at once.

Springtime in Western Maryland, 27” x 32”, by S.E. Whiteman. Whiteman was chair of the art department of Johns Hopkins for over two decades. Provenance: Susquehanna Antiques, James Southern Collection.

Besides the formal schools such as the Pennsylvania Academy, the Art Students’ League, the Chicago Art Institute, and the Boston Museum of Fine Arts School, there were art colonies active in the last decade of the 19th and first several decades of the 20th century. Certain of these colonies were under the leadership of a single famous artist like Chase’s School at Shinnecock, while others represented a gathering of kindred spirits. Even in the colonies of the latter type, certain artists were dominant, influencing the lesser-known members. The close interaction between the artists in these colonies elevated the general quality of paintings that were created in this environment. These colonies are very important to collectors, and I will treat this subject in some depth later.

American impressionism actually embraced a rather wide spectrum of styles and is not just a derivative adaptation of the sunlit fields or flower-filled gardens of Giverny. In the 1910-1920 era, the color contrast employed by these artists became a bit more pronounced and the brushstrokes more delineated to construct the images of realism. This has also been given the rather all-inclusive term of “post-impressionism”. Examples of this variation of American impressionism have been traditionally less expensive than the more painterly works. This difference is not as great at present as it was just several years ago especially since the European post-impressionists have achieved such high auction prices.

A phenomenon that often causes fluctuations or rather escalation of the price of paintings is the public’s fickle desire for a certain “look”. As noted previously, among the most highly sought after paintings have been the ones that reflect the “Giverny look”, often described as “a female in a garden surrounded by flowers”. The scene is often illuminated by dappled sunlight. Artists such as Frederick Freiseke, Lawton Parker, and Richard E. Miller have become very expensive because their body of work has this appearance.

Almost any painting of this subject matter, executed with broken color, and employing a high key “blonde” palette should increase in value. Many lesser-known American artists created paintings with the characteristics demonstrated by those in Monet’s circle. These paintings can often be acquired in the $10,000 to $15,000 range but should increase in value over time. As long as these works were executed in a painterly fashion and the perspective is good, the universal appeal of the subject matter makes these paintings desirable and a very good acquisition both aesthetically and financially.

An example of how a specific subject can be “in vogue” and affect collecting tastes and value is the price achieved by many of the “kimono” paintings. The use in paintings of “things Oriental,” stimulated by a growing appreciation for Japanese woodblock prints, became popular from the last decade of the 19th century through the early 1920s. Especially popular was the Japanese female dress. In the 1980s, several articles appeared describing the virtues of these images. The La Femme exhibit arranged by Grand Central Gallery heightened public awareness of these works just at a time when Japanese buyers became interested in impressionism. This subject matter had obvious appeal to them. Thus, the stage was set for a sharp break in the slope of the acquisition price curve.

In the early 1980s, I acquired a major work (70’’x40’’) by J. Alden Weir entitled “Girl in a Kimono.” It needed enough restoration and refurbishing of the frame to require a small risk on my part and some patience. The painting was shown publicly in the La Femme exhibit and placed on loan to the U.S. Embassy in Dublin as part of the Art in Embassies program of the U.S. State Department. The subject matter is quite appealing, and the painting received very positive reviews. Public exposure has greatly enhanced its value. I have been called by dealers expressing great interest also in “Kimono” examples in my collection, my Marguerite Pearson, Howard Hildebrant, Clifton Wheeler, William Chadwick, Lee Kaula, or Katherine Dreier (all of these works follow the same visual theme).

You can sometimes anticipate trends in art and employ intuitive knowledge of their development to acquire capital for what you believe to be prudent acquisitions. I have used American impressionist paintings to acquire other genres. Upgrading your collection is a journey with no ending, and “in vogue” styles can be used as resource. For example, I have recently acquired good examples of portraiture by Gilbert Stuart, Rembrandt Peale, and Eastman Johnson which were essentially substituted in my collection in exchange for the funds from de-accession of a Lawton Parker “post-Giverny” impressionist piece. In another instance, I traded a large figural painting to a major New York gallery for a very expensive snow scene from the Woodstock School. They later priced the painting I traded that depicted two female figures for over $50,000 (my cost was $1,100), and if it sells for this, the dealer will have realized a substantial project. However, I acquired a painting (the snow scene) that I could not have easily afforded except by trade. Thus, you may be able to collect American impressionism even at inflated prices, but not necessarily in the traditional manner, i.e., in cash from an established dealer.

American impressionism is an excellent investment if you appreciate this art form, have an interest in learning about it and the “art world”, guard against hysteria and fads, and are patient in your acquisitions. In the past two decades I have been fortunate in that I have not acquired many, if any, paintings that decreased in value over the long haul. Some have increased in value dramatically without the anticipation on my part. In the late 1980s, I acquired a painting that is now probably worth over twenty times my acquisition cost because the artist was “discovered,” but I bought it because of its technical quality and lthe subject matter.

Some of the art I knew would increase in value because of an antiticipated development such as a book about the genre or subject or an upcoming retrospective of the artist. After the Gerdts’ regionalist Ameican impressionism text and his book on Indiana painting, I had to reinsure my “Hoosier collection,” which, by that time, was being exhibited. After a tour of some 10 sites, I sold the collection intact to the oldest insurance company in Indiana because they respected my wishes regarding the preservation of the collection. I used the funds to complete my collection “The South 1840-1940.”

Can you still acquire examples of American impressionism that are aesthetically pleasing, representatives of the qualities of the famous practitioners of this aesthetic, and represent works that may someday greatly enhance in value? With some understanding of the American impressionist movement as well as alternative methods of acquisition such as those that I have suggested, and a small token of courage, this can certainly be accomplished. I will enlarge upon this statement with a few methods of acquisition I think are presently valid. Some of this will be a restatement or possibly a reaffirmation of pronoucements and revelations in this text.

In a business sense, prior knowledge that these events such as exhibitions, catalogues and retrospectives are about to occur will allow you to essentially have the marketing of your acquisition be done by someone else at no expense to you. You could also arrange an exhibition and publish a catalogue yourself, but you must appreciate the implications in time and other resources to do so. This activity is very time-consuming, can be expensive, and incurs the risk of being viewed as self-serving; but then, is not marketing and advertising inherently so? I enjoy the research and authorship so the demands of the task do not dissuade me. I see it as a scholarly process but recognize the commercial implications.

There is no absolute success formula in acquiring American impressionist paintings inexpensively. Auctions as I have noted can be hazardous and require adequate preparation. Dealers sell for retail unless the work is not attractive for their particular clientele. So a “bargain” does not often come from these sources, but good value can. Private acquisitions from heirs are inherently time-consuming and a great assumption of risk by you. In addition, it should always be remembered that the commercial aspect of the American art world has its own measure of deceit, fraud, and litigation. In a true business sense, paintings are not liquid assets. Price determinations, authenticity, and condition are remarkably subjective, and you should be prepared to deal with these challenges and violations.

Having enumerated the many downsides, should one invest in paintings of this genre? The answer is a modified affirmative if you enjoy the process, are willing to engage in some independent scholarship, derive pleasure frojm the possession for aesthetic reasons, and accept the illi-quidity of othis particular commodity. The media always features revelations of dishonesty, double dealing, and lack of ethical standards in the art world – alongside vignettes of investors with sudden windfalls of millions of dollars.

Visions of finding a William Merritt Chase or a Frank Weston Benson at a country auction or in the bowels of an antique shop will assure that those chasing the dream of American impressionist painting will always be there. Some investors in American impressionism will experience an incredible financial return on their investment, while, for others, the pleasure may be largely emotional. The aesthetic appreciation of impressionism is almost guaranteed. The rather substantial prices are also. Your challenge is to acquire these examples at a price you can afford. I have discussed several techniques by which you might well achieve your goal.

Most of my collections have had the majority of paintings embracing impressionism. I think this is a reflection of the great universal appeal of the elements of this aesthetic.