In this ongoing series for Fine Art Today, we take a longer look at the history and features of a soon-to-be-available artwork of note. This week we highlight a New York State landscape that’ll have you looking forward to fall.
There’s something to love about every season, but for me autumn has a special charm. Perhaps it’s the crisping of the air, the delights of a harvest, or the cacophony of vibrant colors that sweeps across the landscape. Whether or not fall is your favorite, Thomas Worthington Whittredge’s “Scene on the Upper Delaware” will certainly have you looking forward to it as the season begins September 22.
Whittredge’s painting headlines an upcoming American Art sale at Sotheby’s in New York. In it, the viewer is placed in upstate New York within rolling mountains along the Delaware River. Sweeping from the lower left of the canvas toward the right is an old farm road, bracketed by a fence and rugged stone wall. A carriage pulled by four horses comes our way. The day is crisp and clear, and several maple trees have turned a brilliant neon red. The composition has an enchanting layering to create a sense of space. A large diagonal created from a nearby mountain cascades from the upper left of the canvas, balancing the strong diagonal lines from the Delaware and its adjacent road. Also noteworthy is Whittredge’s expressive brushwork, found prominently in the prairie grasses and flowers toward the painting’s bottom right.
The oil painting is available via Sotheby’s on October 6 in New York with an estimate of $50,000 to $70,000. To learn more, visit Sotheby’s.
This article was featured in Fine Art Today, a weekly e-newsletter from Fine Art Connoisseur magazine. To start receiving Fine Art Today for free, click here.
