'Eucalyptus Tree' by Frederic Soldwedel, Antique Watercolor Landscape Study, Circa 1925

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Signed lower right, 'F. Soldwedel' for Frederic Soldwedel (American, 1886-1957) and painted circa 1925.
Stamped verso, with partial art supplier's … Read more Signed lower right, 'F. Soldwedel' for Frederic Soldwedel (American, 1886-1957) and painted circa 1925.
Stamped verso, with partial art supplier's label '... Distributors: E. H. & A. C. Friedrichs Co., New York; The Hirshberg Co., Baltimore, MD.; Henry M. Taws, Philadelphia, PA.'.

A delicately realized study of a eucalyptus tree overlooking gently rolling hills.

A New York City native, this architect and watercolorist studied in France, Italy, Greece, and England. He lived and worked in New York, Florida and the Bahamas before, in 1941, settling permanently in Nassau. An avid traveler, Soldwedel took art trips to California, Hawaii and Virginia. On his California trip, the artist lived and painted in the Monterey Peninsula for one year (1921-1922).

One review stated of this visit:
"Mr. Soldwedel's training and practice as an architect (he was with McKim, Mead & White for five years), has had much to do with his ability as a draughtsman but better than that he is not afraid of color, a most desirable qualification when sitting down to paint the alternatingly flamboyant and delicate tones of the California landscape.
...
That gentler phases of the California landscape appeal to him is to be seen in the lovely scheme of white, violet and blue called "The White Tree, Banfield", and the delicate combination of forms in gray, green and violet entitled, "Eucalyptus Tree." There are both artistic pleasure and stimulation of spirit in seeing water colors like these of Mr. Soldwedel's." (The Art News, Vol. 11, No. 27, New York 1923).

Soldwedel exhibited with success at Kipps Gallery (1923), the Art Institute of Chicago (1930), Ferargil Galleries (1929), Ackermann Galleries (1928), in the Hamptons (1931) and in West Palm Beach (1936). His work can be found in the permanent collection of the National Art Gallery of the Bahamas. We are pleased to offer this atmospheric landscape dating to the artist's California period.

Reference:
Who Was Who in American Art 1564-1975: 400 Years of Artists in America, Peter Hastings Falk, Sound View Press 1999, Vol. 3, page 3103; Samuels’ Encyclopedia of Artists of the American West, Peggy and Harold Samuels, Castle, Book Sales, Inc. 1985 Edition, page 455; Mantle Fielding’s Dictionary of American Painters, Sculptors and Engravers, Glen B. Opitz, Apollo Press 1983, page 876; Mallett’s Index of Artists, Daniel Trowbridge Mallett, Peter Smith: New York 1948 Edition, R.R. Bowker Company 1935, page 412; 'Decorative Work Now On View In The Galleries; Frederic Soldwedel, Arthur Crisp, Florence Waterbury and Charles Chapman Exhibit', New York Times, April 15, 1928, Section Arts & Leisure, Page 127; 'Soldwedel And Some Prints', New York Times, Dec. 1, 1929, Section Special Features, Page 167; Obituary, New York Times, Sept. 20, 1958, page 19; The Art News, An International Newspaper of Art, Apr. 14, 1923, Vol. 21, No. 27, page 1; et al. See less