Inspiration from France, Italy, and New Mexico combine in the unique impressionistic vision of Joseph Breza during Santa Fe’s Summer of Color.

The gripping effects of vibrant color come to the fore in the ongoing exhibition of Joseph Breza’s latest paintings at Greenberg Fine Art. Titled “Euphorie de Couleur,” the exhibition has been scheduled as part of Santa Fe’s Summer of Color event, which features one-of-a-kind exhibitions, events, programs, and lectures at over 75 museums, galleries, hotels, and restaurants.
 

Joseph Breza, “Inlet Reflections,” oil on canvas, 24 x 48 in. Greenberg Fine Art

 
Breza’s work has a distinct mixture of styles and inspiration, built upon experiences abroad in France and Italy, as well as influences from Claude Monet and Pierre-Auguste Renoir. His exhibition will feature 21 new canvases, with subjects ranging from clouds and lily pads to lovely documentations of the range of colors and forms that winter has to offer.
 

 
“Summer Evening” is a representative work, complete with broad, thick applications of primary color. Overall, the piece seems both completely abstracted and naturalistically legible, a fascinating dichotomy. Others, such as “Inlet Reflections” and “Fields of Lavender and Gold,” are easier to read, but also display a complete control over the quick application, patterning, and layering of color.
 

Joseph Breza, “Out of the Blue,” oil on canvas, 30 x 24 in. Greenberg Fine Art

 
“Euphorie de Couleur” opened on July 10 and will continue through July 23.
 
To learn more, visit Greenberg Fine Art.
 
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.

On rare occasions, the public is given opportunities to experience the diligent pursuits of a visionary art collector. The results are typically outstanding.

Private collections are often just that, but the Portland Museum of Art has been granted access to an excellent collection of American 19th-century painting. “Magnificent Stillness: American Art from a Private Collection” showcases 15 paintings assembled by PMA Trustee and patron Dr. Walter Goldfarb and his late wife, Marcia. The Goldfarbs began collecting several decades ago, and the exhibition is representative of their excellent aesthetic eye. Their collection focuses on three primary categories of painting: ship portraits by Robert Salmon and others, landscapes in the tradition of the Hudson River School, and trompe l’oeil still life.
 

Fitz Henry Lane, “Christmas Cove,” 1863, oil on canvas, 15 1/2 x 24 in. Collection of Walter B. and Marcia F. Goldfarb

In addition to Robert Salmon, featured artists include Martin Johnson Heade, John Frederick Kensett, Fitz Henry Lane, John Haberle, William Michael Harnett, and John Frederick Peto. Of particular note is Kensett’s “A Quiet Day on the Beverly Shore, Magnolia, Mass.” of 1871. Its pictorial illusionism and naturalistic detail are emotionally moving. A powerful zigzag composition provides our pathway through the scene from bottom right to middle left. Sailboats slip across a gleaming bay underneath a sparsely populated sky. Although dominated by the blue hues of the sky and water, Kensett offers respite for the eye in the warming pinks, oranges, and browns of the beach and rocky projection. There is a calming resonance within this piece that additionally flows throughout the entire exhibition, which will surely leave a delightful impression on museumgoers.
 

 William Michael Harnett, “Latakia II,” circa 1880, oil on canvas, 11 x 15 in. Gift of Walter B. and Marcia F. Goldfarb

“Magnificent Stillness: American Art from a Private Collection” opened on June 26 and will hang until November 8.
 
To learn more, visit Portland Museum of Art.
 
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.

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: Gideon Jacques Denny’s “Coastal Cliffs.”

Gideon Jacques Denny (1830-1886) cultivated a love for the sea and the beauty it offered at an early age. Born in Delaware, Denny frequently sailed the Chesapeake Bay as a young man before heading to San Francisco during the Gold Rush of 1849. His passion for art and drive to create eventually led to an apprenticeship in Milwaukee with Samuel Marsden Brookes, a still life painter with whom Denny would have a lifelong friendship. Denny and Brookes moved together to San Francisco six years later and set up a small studio on Bush Street. By the end of his life, Denny had become the most coveted maritime and seascape painter in San Francisco. Collectors had come to admire the artist’s penchant for displaying ships in distress and his talent for capturing nature. In addition to his fame as an artist, Denny served as the first director of the San Francisco Art Association and was active in the Bohemian Club, Pacific Union Club, and Society of Californian Pioneers. 

The work featured here, titled “Coastal Cliffs” and dated 1879, is a magnificent example of his mature manner. A subtle golden hue falls over the canvas, providing balance and leaving the viewer with the sense that we’ve just emerged from a violent storm. Flashes of white from breaking waves and a retreating dark cloud at upper left offer visual interest and a sense of dramatic kinetic energy. This movement is reinforced through Denny’s masterful composition. A low horizon line provides a stable reference for the diagonal lines of the surf and beach. Our eyes are brought back into the scene via imposing cliffs to the right, which recede into the distance and leave us at the center of the canvas. Flocks of seagulls dart and scatter over the cliffs while a distant steamboat cruises along the horizon to the left. Denny has splendidly captured the beauty of the shore while reminding his viewers of their smallness and fragility.

“Coastal Cliffs” will feature in the July 20 Art + Décor sale at Bonhams, San Francisco. Auction estimates are $3,000-$5,000.
 
To view the full catalogue, visit Bonhams.
 
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.

Collectors will have their chance to own one of Rembrandt’s entertaining self-portraits in an upcoming sale at Bonhams. 

Rembrandt’s curious investigation of his own visage is a well-documented phenomena.  Featuring in Bonham’s July 14 sale of “Prints and Multiples” are several self-portraits of Rembrandt and studies of his beloved wife, Saskia.

To view the full catalog, visit Bonhams.

Quidley & Company Fine Art showcases the newest acrylics by Forrest Rodts beginning July 10.  The exhibition will be on view through July 15.  

For more information, visit Quidley & Company Fine Art.
 

Paintings by – among others – Sir Alfred James Munnings, Stanhope Alexander Forbes, John William Godward feature in an upcoming auction.

Sotheby’s presents the “Victorian, Pre-Raphaelite & British Impressionist Art” sale July 15th, beginning at 9 a.m. eastern. 

To view the full catalogue, visit Sotheby’s.

A successful exhibition continues at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.  “Sultans of Deccan India, 1500-1700 Opulence and Fantasy” shows until July 26th and brings together one of the largest collections of Deccani poetic lyricism in painting, metalwork, and textile production.

Visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art for more information.