Large Oil Attrib. To California Artist Thomas Hill 'Yosemite Valley”

Details

Description

Beautiful Oil Painting attributed to Thomas Hill- Yosemite Valley-in a beautiful period Carved wood gilt frame. Painting-30"x48"-framed-42.5 x 60.5 -- … Read more Beautiful Oil Painting attributed to Thomas Hill- Yosemite Valley-in a beautiful period Carved wood gilt frame. Painting-30"x48"-framed-42.5 x 60.5 -- About Thomas Hill-- immigrated to America from England in 1844 at the age of 15. He went on to become one of America's most famous 19th-century landscape painters, specializing in panoramic views of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and Yosemite. He also painted throughout the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone National Park. Hill studied art in Philadelphia at the Pennsylvania Academy, where he aspired to become a history painter, documenting great scenes of the past in oils. However, his time studying in Europe focused him on landscape painting instead. He was particularly influenced by the French Barbizon School and the time he spent in the studio of Paul Meyerheim. Hill hit his artistic stride in California during the 1870s, beginning with his first grandiose painting, The Yosemite Valley. This work explores the grandeur of Yosemite through parallels and contrast. The painting is centered on a small group of Piute Indians and their Tepees settled near a stream of water flowing down to the edge of the canvas. The artist uses a parallel with the torrent of water pouring over Bridal Veil Fall, the windblown water casting diagonally down. The awesome sheer walls of the valley with their immense scale, El Capitan on the left rising to 3,000 feet in the sky, is rendered accessible by Hill's use of the human scale in the foreground. Half Dome is in the distance directly above the figures and is delicately rendered with the peaks around it echoing the figural group left of center. The artists masterfully pulls the eyes upward by depicting clouds against the rocks while the blue sky is visible as an echo of the form of the valley itself. The trees creep to the edge of the blue gray granite walls on both sides of the painting. Yosemite Valley is an eloquent expression of consummate skill and love of this spectacular location. It is no wonder that Thomas Hill influenced generations of painters, photographers and enthusiasts to follow. Provenance-Assembled From the Maryland Edith Hale Harkness Estate- The Harkness Family was Among America's First Society Philanthropic Families as financiers to Rockefeller & Flagler for Standard Oil. Our Private Family World-Wide Holdings include thousands of unique furnishings, art, objects, and jewelry-Please consider us a trusted resource. See less