Wallace Bassford- Nude Girl Trying a Flowery Hat in the Mirror- Oil Painting

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Description

Wallace Bassford- Nude Girl trying a Flowery Hat in the Mirror- Oil painting
American Post impressionist - Oil painting on … Read more Wallace Bassford- Nude Girl trying a Flowery Hat in the Mirror- Oil painting
American Post impressionist - Oil painting on canvas - signed - circa 1960s
Canvas size 16x12" - Frame size 22x18"

Visual Description
The artwork depicts a serene, feminine scene characteristic of Bassford's style.
Subject: A young woman is shown from the back, partially nude with a white cloth draped around her waist. She is reaching up with both hands to adjust a large, wide-brimmed straw hat adorned with vibrant pink, orange, and purple flowers.
Composition: Beside her sits a vase filled with white flowers, adding to the delicate, spring-like atmosphere.
Style: The piece uses a bright, airy color palette dominated by soft pastels, blues, and warm skin tones. The brushwork is loose and gestural, typical of American Impressionism, focusing on the play of light and color rather than fine detail.
About the Artist
Wallace Bassford was a Missouri-born painter and illustrator known for his "feminine floral aesthetic". He studied at the Saint Louis School of Fine Art and frequently captured pensive or serene moments featuring women and botanical elements. His works often appear in ornate, vintage-style frames, similar to the one shown in your image.

Artist Biography
1900 St Louis, Missouri - 1998 Lake Worth, Florida. Known for: Landscape, marine, portrait paintings, illustrations. Bassford was the son of a prominent St. Louis newspaperman, Homer Bassford. He attended Wyman School, then McKinley High School in St. Louis. In 1918 he enrolled at Hall's West Point School in Columbia, MO in preparation for entering the Naval Academy at Annapolis, but the end of World War I ended his military aspirations.He attended classes at the School of Fine Arts of Washington University in St. Louis in 1919-20, where he credited Edmund Wuerpel and Fred Green Carpenter for their inspirational guidance. He was influenced by some of his father's artist friends, including Joseph Pennell and George McManus. For a time he drew political cartoons for his father's newspaper, the St. Louis Times. He met his wife Helen at the Dayton Art Institute in the 1930s. His early work included impressionist landscapes, seascapes of the Cape Cod area, and portraits of Missouri politicians.He won awards at the Midwestern Artists Exhibition in Kansas City in 1933, the City Art Museum of St. Louis, and the Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts. He exhibited at the National Academy of Design, the Metropolitan Museum, and the Carnegie Institute, among others. In 1947 the Bassfords left St. Louis and bought a home in Provincetown, MA. He also maintained a New York studio, and became a fashionable celebrity and society portrait painter.He taught at the North Truro School of Art on Cape Cod in the summers. In the 1960s he began spending the winter months in Palm Beach, FL, where he continued to paint portraits of high society sitters, usually women. His book, Painting the Female Figure, was published by Reinhold in 1967.Syracuse University holds a Wallace Bassford Papers collection in its Special Collections Research Center. Measuring .25 linear ft., it includes correspondence, art reproductions, statements, and memorabilia from 1939-1968. The St. Louis Public Library has a clipping file on him in the Fine Arts Dept. See less