1990s Rhett Thurman Floral Still Life Watercolor, Charleston, S. C.

Details

Description

Original mid-1990s watercolor by noted South Carolina artist Rhett Thurman (b. 1939). This exuberant floral still life depicts a loosely … Read more Original mid-1990s watercolor by noted South Carolina artist Rhett Thurman (b. 1939). This exuberant floral still life depicts a loosely arranged bouquet of red, lavender, yellow and pale blue flowers set against an intensely saturated cobalt-blue ground and gathered in a transparent glass vessel.

Thurman’s distinctive approach to watercolor is evident in the fluid washes, expressive brushwork and passages of exposed paper that define the flowers, stems and reflections of the glass. The unusually strong blue field gives the composition a fresh, almost modernist quality and provides a dramatic counterpoint to the vivid floral palette.

About the Artist:
Born in Aiken, South Carolina in 1939, Rhett Thurman is a longtime Charleston artist recognized for her work in watercolor and oil. She earned a B.A. in studio art and continued her artistic education through study in Europe and workshops in the United States with nationally recognized painters. Thurman has exhibited with both the prestigious American Watercolor Society and National Watercolor Society, and her work has received national, regional and statewide awards.

Thurman also served as president of the South Carolina Watercolor Society and taught art in Charleston-area public schools as well as at the Gibbes Art Museum. Her paintings are particularly associated with Charleston and the Lowcountry, where her expressive use of color and light has made her work recognizable to collectors of Southern art.

The watercolor is signed by Rhett Thurman at lower right and is presented under glass with a wide neutral mat in a classic gilt frame detailed with beaded and rope-pattern molding. The reverse retains an original Rhett Thurman “Color & Light” exhibition brochure, an artist biography and a period framing label from Havens Picture Framing of Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina.

An especially vibrant and well-documented example of Thurman’s mid-1990s watercolor work, retaining excellent artist documentation and Charleston-area provenance.

Artist: Rhett Thurman (b. 1939)
Date: Mid-1990s
Medium: Original watercolor on paper
Signed: Lower right
Presentation: Matted and framed under glass
Documentation: Artist biography and “Color & Light” exhibition brochure retained on reverse. See less