F O L I N S B E EC O N S I D E R E D

54

for eword Brian Peterson

acknowledgments

I . Introduction

II. The Early Years

III. New Hope Impressionist

IV. An Artist in Transition

V. A New Hope Modernist

VI. New Deal Murals

VII. The Expressionist

VIII. Maine

IX. A Final Note

plates

Catalogue of Selected Landscape and Genre Paintings

Chronology

Exhibition History 1912-2012

Literature

Index

6

12

16

24

44

62

76

92

101

120

128

136

215

274

280

306

308

C o n T e n T s

54

for eword Brian Peterson

acknowledgments

I . Introduction

II. The Early Years

III. New Hope Impressionist

IV. An Artist in Transition

V. A New Hope Modernist

VI. New Deal Murals

VII. The Expressionist

VIII. Maine

IX. A Final Note

plates

Catalogue of Selected Landscape and Genre Paintings

Chronology

Exhibition History 1912-2012

Literature

Index

6

12

16

24

44

62

76

92

101

120

128

136

215

274

280

306

308

C o n T e n T s

1716

20 years have passed sInce we phoTographed The works of John folInsbee

for a book by his son-in-law, Peter Cook. Working with film, we simply

saw the paintings in their entirety. Since then, the technological advances in

photography have been profound. The digital-capture we now use allows us to

look much more deeply into paintings.

We now zoom into the painting at 100% of the resolution to check focus.

Because of the high-resolution of our camera we look with extreme closeness at

the work - not possible before digital imaging (without holding a magnifying

glass to the canvas or a loupe on the final transparency) and certainly not while

actually photographing. As we travel through the painting, each close-up framed

by the screen of the monitor presents a new image, isolated from its actual location.

Discoveries at this level of magnification have been startling. Not only do

the brushwork and the mix of the paints become readily apparent, but small

vignettes appear. For instance, the streetlight from Night and the water tower

from Paper Mill filled our screen with the presence of the impasto’s three-

dimensionality. Surely, as the artist works on a painting he sees it much the

same way – zeroing in on a figure, concentrating on a sky or, in the case of a

portrait, working on a sitter’s lips or eyes. With the current technology, a portal

opens into the technique and possibly even the thinking of the artist.

We do not mean to usurp the artist’s authority - the totality of his image is

exactly what was intended. Abstract images (such as the detail from The Harbor

and the rocks from The Quarry) were certainly far from Folinsbee’s intent.

We are merely celebrating discoveries technology has allowed us to make and

enjoy elements of the work heretofore not accessible. Just the same, these newly

revealed details easily stand alone and a different appreciation for the painting

develops. This is exemplified by both the detail of the buildings from Belvedere

Branch and the figures from Canal in Winter. Revealed by magnification and

isolation, these details present a new understanding of the virtuosity of the artist.

To paraphrase Mies van der Rohe, the “wow” is in the details.

As the photography for this book progressed, many familiar with the

works expressed surprise at discovering elements they had never noticed in

paintings they had lived with for years. Art critic John Berger would call this,

albeit artificially induced, a more mindful ‘seeing.’

F o l i n s b e e r e V e A l e d

John Bigelow Taylor and Dianne DublerPhotographers

a. Canal in Winterb. Belvedere Branch c. Night

d. Quarrye. Harborf. Paper Mill

b

a

c

d

e

f

1716

20 years have passed sInce we phoTographed The works of John folInsbee

for a book by his son-in-law, Peter Cook. Working with film, we simply

saw the paintings in their entirety. Since then, the technological advances in

photography have been profound. The digital-capture we now use allows us to

look much more deeply into paintings.

We now zoom into the painting at 100% of the resolution to check focus.

Because of the high-resolution of our camera we look with extreme closeness at

the work - not possible before digital imaging (without holding a magnifying

glass to the canvas or a loupe on the final transparency) and certainly not while

actually photographing. As we travel through the painting, each close-up framed

by the screen of the monitor presents a new image, isolated from its actual location.

Discoveries at this level of magnification have been startling. Not only do

the brushwork and the mix of the paints become readily apparent, but small

vignettes appear. For instance, the streetlight from Night and the water tower

from Paper Mill filled our screen with the presence of the impasto’s three-

dimensionality. Surely, as the artist works on a painting he sees it much the

same way – zeroing in on a figure, concentrating on a sky or, in the case of a

portrait, working on a sitter’s lips or eyes. With the current technology, a portal

opens into the technique and possibly even the thinking of the artist.

We do not mean to usurp the artist’s authority - the totality of his image is

exactly what was intended. Abstract images (such as the detail from The Harbor

and the rocks from The Quarry) were certainly far from Folinsbee’s intent.

We are merely celebrating discoveries technology has allowed us to make and

enjoy elements of the work heretofore not accessible. Just the same, these newly

revealed details easily stand alone and a different appreciation for the painting

develops. This is exemplified by both the detail of the buildings from Belvedere

Branch and the figures from Canal in Winter. Revealed by magnification and

isolation, these details present a new understanding of the virtuosity of the artist.

To paraphrase Mies van der Rohe, the “wow” is in the details.

As the photography for this book progressed, many familiar with the

works expressed surprise at discovering elements they had never noticed in

paintings they had lived with for years. Art critic John Berger would call this,

albeit artificially induced, a more mindful ‘seeing.’

F o l i n s b e e r e V e A l e d

John Bigelow Taylor and Dianne DublerPhotographers

a. Canal in Winterb. Belvedere Branch c. Night

d. Quarrye. Harborf. Paper Mill

b

a

c

d

e

f

125124

Among their favorite spots were region’s

abandoned quarries, particularly Long Cove Quarry

in Tenants Harbor. They were captivated by the

dramatic verticals and faceted surfaces of the

rocks, and the rich tonal variations in the stone

and quarry pools. The ways the friends portrayed

these elements in their final paintings, however,

reveal distinct artistic visions and personal means

of expression. Thon produced ethereal renderings

of the quarry primarily in ink and watercolor,

creating dense, built-up surfaces with successive

layers of wash to convey the sculptural forms

of the rocks and trees lining the site. (fig. 8.4)

Flattened pictorial space and a sense

of timelessness and universality

emphasize the planar structure of the

quarries in these works. Folinsbee also

focused on the architectural qualities

of the rock face as it rose from the still

surface of the quarry pool, which he

painted in rich jewel tones of emerald

and aquamarine. But his depictions

of the stone have more solidity and

depth than Thon’s, enhanced by the

stark contrasts between light and

shade created by dramatic, raking

illumination. (fig. 8.5) The lighting

and intimacy of the space, captured

at a particular moment in time, give

his work a mysterious quality and deep emotional resonance that is reinforced

by the human presence subtly suggested in the draglines that stretch from the

upper corners of the canvas. In other renderings of the quarries and coastlines

of Maine, such as Shore Study, Folinsbee approaches Thon’s near-abstraction and

dissolution of form, but he never completely sheds his solid sense of place. (see

fig. 8.1)

The time spent painting with Thon in Maine during the summer affected

Folinsbee’s Pennsylvania landscapes, as well, for a brief period in the early

1950s. In works as such as River Wall, Hazelton Brickyard, and Riverbank, Bucks County

(fig. 8.6), Folinsbee used thin, staccato brushstrokes reminiscent of Thon’s swift

slashes of charcoal, and emulated the other artist’s use of heavy black outlines

to further flatten the pictorial space. But as usual in his interactions with other

artists, Folinsbee did not mimic Thon’s style—he studied aspects of it that he

fig. 8.4

fig. 8.5

fig. 8.6

Figure 8.4 William Thon, Quarry, ca. 1952, watercolor and perhaps India ink on paper, 27 1/2 x 41 inches (69.9 x 104.1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, New York: Dick S. Ramsay Fund, 53.144. © Portland Museum of Art, Maine. All rights reserved.Figure 8.5 Quarry, ca. 1950s. John F. Folinsbee Art Trust.Figure 8.6 Riverbank, Bucks County, 1956. Private collection.

F o l i n s b e e C o n s i d e r e d

admired, and then gradually integrated them into his own approach without

losing his unique, individual vision.

In addition to Maine’s quarries and wharves, what particularly interested

Folinsbee during this period was the state’s rugged coastline, particularly as

seen from the shore, looking out over the wind-tossed waves of the bay. These

were subjects that other artists before him had painted—most famously George

Bellows, Robert Henri, Edward Willis Redfield, and Winslow Homer—and

Folinsbee certainly had them in mind when he began to investigate the pictorial

potential of Maine’s craggy shores in his own work. In some of these canvases,

such as Indian Point (fig. 8.7), named for a feature of the coastal terrain near

Georgetown, he takes a traditional approach, using the

land formations to frame a panoramic view of the water

and shoreline. Although the waves and rocks are rough,

this work has a generally picturesque effect.

More interesting are Folinsbee’s studies of

the coastline that take washed-up rocks and other

marine detritus as their primary focus. These tend to

be smaller works whose more intimate viewpoints

enhance their overall emotional force. Jagged rocks

and bleached driftwood acquire a unique sculptural

solidity in canvases like Indian Head, and Off the Rocks

(fig. 8.8), and the emphasis on the formal properties

and rhythmic shapes of the landmasses recall the

artist’s powerful quarry paintings from the mid-1930s.

These smaller paintings recall Marsden Hartley’s

renderings of the Maine shoreline from the 1930s, as well as B.J.O. Nordfeldt’s

explorations of form in the 1950s.36 However, Folinsbee shied away from the

level of abstraction and symbolism characteristic of their work. His studies of

stacked and twisted branches on the beach at Indian Point are similar in effect

to Nordfeldt’s renderings, but he maintains a greater sense of pictorial space

and objectivity than that evoked by the Nordic artist’s flattened shapes and

decorative patterning.

More powerful still are the paintings Folinsbee made following his

purchase in 1952 of an old lobster boat, which he appropriately named Sketch.

(fig. 8.9) That year he had won the Palmer Marine Prize at the National

Academy’s 127th Annual Exhibition—one of the last major awards from a

national venue that he would ever receive—for Off Seguin (Ellingwood Rock) (plate

57). The canvas depicts a grouping of rocks off Seguin Island, a small body of

land with a Coast Guard station and lighthouse that stands at the mouth of the

Kennebec River, five miles off shore. Seguin was a popular family summer boat

trip destination, and is featured in many of Folinsbee’s paintings from the mid-

1950s on. After receiving the award, Folinsbee remarked, “Now that I’ve won

Figure 8.7 Indian Point, 1950. John F. Folinsbee Art Trust.Figure 8.8 Off the Rocks, 1950s. John F. Folinsbee Art Trust.

fig. 8.7

fig. 8.8

M A i n e

125124

Among their favorite spots were region’s

abandoned quarries, particularly Long Cove Quarry

in Tenants Harbor. They were captivated by the

dramatic verticals and faceted surfaces of the

rocks, and the rich tonal variations in the stone

and quarry pools. The ways the friends portrayed

these elements in their final paintings, however,

reveal distinct artistic visions and personal means

of expression. Thon produced ethereal renderings

of the quarry primarily in ink and watercolor,

creating dense, built-up surfaces with successive

layers of wash to convey the sculptural forms

of the rocks and trees lining the site. (fig. 8.4)

Flattened pictorial space and a sense

of timelessness and universality

emphasize the planar structure of the

quarries in these works. Folinsbee also

focused on the architectural qualities

of the rock face as it rose from the still

surface of the quarry pool, which he

painted in rich jewel tones of emerald

and aquamarine. But his depictions

of the stone have more solidity and

depth than Thon’s, enhanced by the

stark contrasts between light and

shade created by dramatic, raking

illumination. (fig. 8.5) The lighting

and intimacy of the space, captured

at a particular moment in time, give

his work a mysterious quality and deep emotional resonance that is reinforced

by the human presence subtly suggested in the draglines that stretch from the

upper corners of the canvas. In other renderings of the quarries and coastlines

of Maine, such as Shore Study, Folinsbee approaches Thon’s near-abstraction and

dissolution of form, but he never completely sheds his solid sense of place. (see

fig. 8.1)

The time spent painting with Thon in Maine during the summer affected

Folinsbee’s Pennsylvania landscapes, as well, for a brief period in the early

1950s. In works as such as River Wall, Hazelton Brickyard, and Riverbank, Bucks County

(fig. 8.6), Folinsbee used thin, staccato brushstrokes reminiscent of Thon’s swift

slashes of charcoal, and emulated the other artist’s use of heavy black outlines

to further flatten the pictorial space. But as usual in his interactions with other

artists, Folinsbee did not mimic Thon’s style—he studied aspects of it that he

fig. 8.4

fig. 8.5

fig. 8.6

Figure 8.4 William Thon, Quarry, ca. 1952, watercolor and perhaps India ink on paper, 27 1/2 x 41 inches (69.9 x 104.1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, New York: Dick S. Ramsay Fund, 53.144. © Portland Museum of Art, Maine. All rights reserved.Figure 8.5 Quarry, ca. 1950s. John F. Folinsbee Art Trust.Figure 8.6 Riverbank, Bucks County, 1956. Private collection.

F o l i n s b e e C o n s i d e r e d

admired, and then gradually integrated them into his own approach without

losing his unique, individual vision.

In addition to Maine’s quarries and wharves, what particularly interested

Folinsbee during this period was the state’s rugged coastline, particularly as

seen from the shore, looking out over the wind-tossed waves of the bay. These

were subjects that other artists before him had painted—most famously George

Bellows, Robert Henri, Edward Willis Redfield, and Winslow Homer—and

Folinsbee certainly had them in mind when he began to investigate the pictorial

potential of Maine’s craggy shores in his own work. In some of these canvases,

such as Indian Point (fig. 8.7), named for a feature of the coastal terrain near

Georgetown, he takes a traditional approach, using the

land formations to frame a panoramic view of the water

and shoreline. Although the waves and rocks are rough,

this work has a generally picturesque effect.

More interesting are Folinsbee’s studies of

the coastline that take washed-up rocks and other

marine detritus as their primary focus. These tend to

be smaller works whose more intimate viewpoints

enhance their overall emotional force. Jagged rocks

and bleached driftwood acquire a unique sculptural

solidity in canvases like Indian Head, and Off the Rocks

(fig. 8.8), and the emphasis on the formal properties

and rhythmic shapes of the landmasses recall the

artist’s powerful quarry paintings from the mid-1930s.

These smaller paintings recall Marsden Hartley’s

renderings of the Maine shoreline from the 1930s, as well as B.J.O. Nordfeldt’s

explorations of form in the 1950s.36 However, Folinsbee shied away from the

level of abstraction and symbolism characteristic of their work. His studies of

stacked and twisted branches on the beach at Indian Point are similar in effect

to Nordfeldt’s renderings, but he maintains a greater sense of pictorial space

and objectivity than that evoked by the Nordic artist’s flattened shapes and

decorative patterning.

More powerful still are the paintings Folinsbee made following his

purchase in 1952 of an old lobster boat, which he appropriately named Sketch.

(fig. 8.9) That year he had won the Palmer Marine Prize at the National

Academy’s 127th Annual Exhibition—one of the last major awards from a

national venue that he would ever receive—for Off Seguin (Ellingwood Rock) (plate

57). The canvas depicts a grouping of rocks off Seguin Island, a small body of

land with a Coast Guard station and lighthouse that stands at the mouth of the

Kennebec River, five miles off shore. Seguin was a popular family summer boat

trip destination, and is featured in many of Folinsbee’s paintings from the mid-

1950s on. After receiving the award, Folinsbee remarked, “Now that I’ve won

Figure 8.7 Indian Point, 1950. John F. Folinsbee Art Trust.Figure 8.8 Off the Rocks, 1950s. John F. Folinsbee Art Trust.

fig. 8.7

fig. 8.8

M A i n e

179178

179178

239238 239238

1922Oil on canvas16 x 20 in. (40.64 x 50.8 cm)Folinsbee 1912–20s stockbook: pp. 43, 180Current location unknownprovenance/ownership history

Sold January 1923 from the Art Alliance Association exhibitionexhibition history

1922 Ferargil: Paintings by John Folinsbee, no. 141923 Philadelphiapublished references

NY Times 1922: “John Folinsbee” 1921–22Oil on canvas31 x 39 in. (78.74 x 99.06 cm)Signed lower right: John F. Folinsbee; inscribed in ink on stretcher, “In Shad Season”Grand Central Art Gallery (Painters & Sculptors Gallery Association) label affixed to stretcherFolinsbee 1912–20s stockbook: pp. 139, 141; p. [163] sketchPlymouth Meeting Galleryprovenance/ownership history

Sold by Grand Central Art Galleries, January 1929Collection of Herman and Carrie Wiener, Toledo, Ohio (c. 1940)DuMouchelles Auction House (Detroit), 9/18/2011, lot 2010Plymouth Meeting Gallery, 2010exhibition history

1922 Corcoran: Summer Exhibition of Pennsylvania Painters1922 NAD Winter: 97th Annual Exhibition (Winter),

1922Oil on canvas

Alternate title(s): Mid-Winter1921–22Oil on canvas32 x 40 in. (81.28 x 101.6 cm)Signed lower right: John F. Folinsbee; labels affixed to middle stretcher: Brooklyn Museum of Art, Exhibition of Oil Paintings by American

1212Golden Morning

337In Shad Season

585Coal Yard

977Midwinter

1921Oil on canvas24 x 30 in. (60.96 x 76.2 cm)Signed lower right: John F. FolinsbeeCurrent location unknownprovenance/ownership history

Sold from the Philadelphia Arts Club exhibition to Judge Alex Simpsonexhibition history

1922 Concord Art Assn1922 Ferargil: Paintings by John Folinsbee, no. 61922 Newport: Annual Exhibition of American Painting1922–23 PAC: Annual Exhibition1923 PAC: Annual Exhibitionpublished references

Bowdoin 1922: “John Folinsbee Shows New Oils at the Ferargil” NY Evening Post 1922: “Characteristics of Folinsbee’s Art” Price 1923: “Folinsbee of Golden Song,” p. 426, b/w ill.Folk 1984: The Pennsylvania Impressionists, color plate 40

24 x 30 in. (60.96 x 76.2 cm)Signed lower right: John F. FolinsbeePrivate collectionCatalogue image: Copyright 2005 John Bigelow Taylorexhibition history

1925 Ferargil: Paintings by John Folinsbee2008 Ogunquit: Pennsylvania Impressionists2010–11 Woodmere: John Folinsbee and American Modernismpublished references

Clipping 1925: “John Folinsbee”

commentary

In the early 1920s, Folinsbee began to broaden his chromatic range and explore the possibilities of bright, unfiltered light on the landscape. Critics noticed the change. The New York Tribune remarked upon the “new gust of energy” evident in his winter scenes, and the New York Times noted his use of higher-keyed color.1 Though Folinsbee does not appear to have exhibited Coal Yard—perhaps having viewed it primarily as an experiment in using color as an element of design—its brilliant light and sparkling palette would have made it a successful addition to his exhibitions at Ferargil Galleries in the early 1920s.

1. New York Tribune, March 5, 1922; New York American,

January 27, 1924; untitled clippings Folinsbee clipping album,

John F. Folinsbee Art Trust.

182Frozen Canal

Artists November 1925-January 1926, John Folinsbee, Midwinter, $1500; Corcoran Gallery of Art, 9th Exhibition of Contemporary American Paintings, John Folinsbee, Midwinter; Budworth label; Concord Art Association, 7th Annual Exhibition, 1923, Midwinter, John FolinsbeeFolinsbee 1912–20s stockbook: pp. [41], 180Private collectionprovenance/ownership history

Ruth Baldwin FolinsbeePrivate collectionexhibition history

1922 Carnegie: 21st International Exhibition of Paintings1923 Concord Art Assn: Seventh Annual Exhibition1923 PAFA: 118th Annual Exhibition, no. 279, ill.1923–24 Corcoran: 9th Biennial Exhibition of Contemporary American Oil Paintings, no. 239, as Mid-Winter1924 Albright-Knox Buffalo: 18th Annual Exhibition of Selected Paintings by American Artists, no. 841924 Rochester: Annual Exhibition of Contemporary American Paintings1925–26 Brooklyn Museum: Exhibition of Paintings in Oil by American and European Artists

F o l i n s b e e C o n s i d e r e d

ultimate objective remained grounded in the formal properties of painting. The intersection of the bridge and river in the left middle ground provides a central axis for the image that is galvanized by the fluid, vortex-like swoop of the funeral procession.

1922Oil on canvas32 x 40 in. (81.28 x 101.6 cm)Folinsbee 1912–20s stockbook: p. 43Current location unknownprovenance/ownership history

[Mr.] Sellers, purchase from the Newport Art Association, August 1923 ($1000)Current location unknownexhibition history

1923 Newport: Annual Exhibition of American Painting1923 Wadsworth: Loan Exhibition of Modern Paintings, no. 17, lent by Ferargil Galleries

c. 1922–23Oil on canvas16 x 20 in. (40.64 x 50.8 cm)Signed lower right: John F. FolinsbeeOriginal Badura frameFolinsbee 1912–20s stockbookPrivate collectionexhibition history

1923 Ferargil: Paintings by John Folinsbee, no. 16

1922–23Oil on canvas16 x 20 in. (40.64 x 50.8 cm)Signed lower right: John F. FolinsbeeFolinsbee 1912–20s stockbook: p. 46Folinsbee 1920s–40s stockbook: p. [135] sketchPlymouth Meeting Galleryprovenance/ownership history

Arthur Vicary (Mrs), Erie, Pennsylvania, May 1924 (purchased from the Erie Women’s Club), and by descent in the familyAspire Auctions, Cleveland, 5/20/2011, lot 60Plymouth Meeting Galleryexhibition history

1924 Erie1924 Ferargil: Paintings by John Folinsbee 1922–23

Oil on canvas24 x 30 in. (60.96 x 76.2 cm)Folinsbee 1912–20s stockbook: p. 141Folinsbee 1920s–40s stockbook: n.p.Private collectionprovenance/ownership history

Private collection, Newport, Rhode Island; by descent in the familyRichard King Fine Art, Newport, Rhode Island

1125Northport Docks (The Dock, Northport)

970Ice Covered Canal

440Corn Shocks in Winter

no. 921923 AIC: 34th Annual Exhibition of American Paintings, no. 731923 Carnegie: 22nd International Exhibition of Paintings1923 Ferargil: Paintings by John Folinsbee, no. 11923 National Arts: 25th Exhibition, no. 121924 Albright-Knox Buffalo: 18th Annual Exhibition of Selected Paintings by American Artists, no. 861924 JHAI: 39th Annual Exhibition of Paintings by Contemporary American Artists1924 Rochester: Annual Exhibition of Contemporary American Paintings1925 Vanderbilt Musical Foundation1927 Wadsworth Atheneum: Loan Exhibition of American Paintings and Sculpturepublished references

Clipping 1923: “Folinsbee and Newell” Hartford Courant 1927: “From an Exhibition of American Paintings and Sculpture,” b/w ill.Maine Antiques 2011: “In Shad Season on the Banks of the Detroit River”

commentary

The “heavy texture” and “grey tonality” that Folinsbee’s logbook attributes to In Shad Season create a spring scene with atmospheric effects similar to those more common in his winter canvases. Still, his interest in brighter colors is evident in the vibrant greens that balance the overall tonality. The view is from the Lambertville side of the river, with the New Hope Mills (later the Bucks County Playhouse) in the distance. In Shad Season is Folinsbee’s first known painting of the annual shad harvest along the Delaware, and because he painted the event regularly throughout his career, it is possible to trace the entire arc of his stylistic transformation by looking only at his renderings of the subject.

1361Peach Trees in Winter

Private collectionexhibition history

1923 Ferargil: Paintings by John Folinsbee, no. 81923 NAD Winter: 98th Annual Exhibition (Winter), no. 3641923 Portland: Summer Show1923 Springfield Art League MA1924 Albright-Knox Buffalo: 18th Annual Exhibition of Selected Paintings by American Artists, no. 851924 Rochester: Annual Exhibition of Contemporary American Paintings1924 Salmagundi: Annual Exhibition of Oil Paintings, no. 1031926 Philadelphia1976 Gunnery School: Paintings, Drawings, and Lithographs by John Folinsbee, no. 3published references

Clipping 1923: “Folinsbee and Newell”

commentary

Corn Shocks in Winter was painted at approximately the same time as Coal Yard, and although it is more reserved in color, it similarly reflects the shift Folinsbee’s palette was undergoing during that period. Close inspection of the snow reveals a broad spectrum of purples, blues, oranges, pinks, and yellows glistening in the bright afternoon sun. Folinsbee returned to the site frequently to capture the seasonal changes in the landscape; here he explores the quality of reflected light and shadow in a manner reminiscent of Monet’s grainstack series.

published references

Clipping 1923: “Folinsbee and Newell”

commentary

Before he became so closely associated with New Hope, Folinsbee was one of many artists who regularly traveled up the coast from metropolitan New York to Gloucester, Massachusetts, and Maine. This painting is believed to be Northport Docks (The Dock, Northport), which was included in a loan exhibition at the Wadsworth Atheneum, and later in the annual Exhibition of American Painting of the Association of Newport, from which it was sold. Like most of Folinsbee’s early, large-scale paintings with Gloucester or Maine subjects, Northport Docks has not been located, but his sketches of similar wharf scenes suggest that this landscape likely placed less emphasis on atmospheric effects, and more on bright light and high-keyed color.

C A T A l o G U e o F M A J o r l A n d s C A P e A n d G e n r e P A i n T i n G s

239238 239238

1922Oil on canvas16 x 20 in. (40.64 x 50.8 cm)Folinsbee 1912–20s stockbook: pp. 43, 180Current location unknownprovenance/ownership history

Sold January 1923 from the Art Alliance Association exhibitionexhibition history

1922 Ferargil: Paintings by John Folinsbee, no. 141923 Philadelphiapublished references

NY Times 1922: “John Folinsbee” 1921–22Oil on canvas31 x 39 in. (78.74 x 99.06 cm)Signed lower right: John F. Folinsbee; inscribed in ink on stretcher, “In Shad Season”Grand Central Art Gallery (Painters & Sculptors Gallery Association) label affixed to stretcherFolinsbee 1912–20s stockbook: pp. 139, 141; p. [163] sketchPlymouth Meeting Galleryprovenance/ownership history

Sold by Grand Central Art Galleries, January 1929Collection of Herman and Carrie Wiener, Toledo, Ohio (c. 1940)DuMouchelles Auction House (Detroit), 9/18/2011, lot 2010Plymouth Meeting Gallery, 2010exhibition history

1922 Corcoran: Summer Exhibition of Pennsylvania Painters1922 NAD Winter: 97th Annual Exhibition (Winter),

1922Oil on canvas

Alternate title(s): Mid-Winter1921–22Oil on canvas32 x 40 in. (81.28 x 101.6 cm)Signed lower right: John F. Folinsbee; labels affixed to middle stretcher: Brooklyn Museum of Art, Exhibition of Oil Paintings by American

1212Golden Morning

337In Shad Season

585Coal Yard

977Midwinter

1921Oil on canvas24 x 30 in. (60.96 x 76.2 cm)Signed lower right: John F. FolinsbeeCurrent location unknownprovenance/ownership history

Sold from the Philadelphia Arts Club exhibition to Judge Alex Simpsonexhibition history

1922 Concord Art Assn1922 Ferargil: Paintings by John Folinsbee, no. 61922 Newport: Annual Exhibition of American Painting1922–23 PAC: Annual Exhibition1923 PAC: Annual Exhibitionpublished references

Bowdoin 1922: “John Folinsbee Shows New Oils at the Ferargil” NY Evening Post 1922: “Characteristics of Folinsbee’s Art” Price 1923: “Folinsbee of Golden Song,” p. 426, b/w ill.Folk 1984: The Pennsylvania Impressionists, color plate 40

24 x 30 in. (60.96 x 76.2 cm)Signed lower right: John F. FolinsbeePrivate collectionCatalogue image: Copyright 2005 John Bigelow Taylorexhibition history

1925 Ferargil: Paintings by John Folinsbee2008 Ogunquit: Pennsylvania Impressionists2010–11 Woodmere: John Folinsbee and American Modernismpublished references

Clipping 1925: “John Folinsbee”

commentary

In the early 1920s, Folinsbee began to broaden his chromatic range and explore the possibilities of bright, unfiltered light on the landscape. Critics noticed the change. The New York Tribune remarked upon the “new gust of energy” evident in his winter scenes, and the New York Times noted his use of higher-keyed color.1 Though Folinsbee does not appear to have exhibited Coal Yard—perhaps having viewed it primarily as an experiment in using color as an element of design—its brilliant light and sparkling palette would have made it a successful addition to his exhibitions at Ferargil Galleries in the early 1920s.

1. New York Tribune, March 5, 1922; New York American,

January 27, 1924; untitled clippings Folinsbee clipping album,

John F. Folinsbee Art Trust.

182Frozen Canal

Artists November 1925-January 1926, John Folinsbee, Midwinter, $1500; Corcoran Gallery of Art, 9th Exhibition of Contemporary American Paintings, John Folinsbee, Midwinter; Budworth label; Concord Art Association, 7th Annual Exhibition, 1923, Midwinter, John FolinsbeeFolinsbee 1912–20s stockbook: pp. [41], 180Private collectionprovenance/ownership history

Ruth Baldwin FolinsbeePrivate collectionexhibition history

1922 Carnegie: 21st International Exhibition of Paintings1923 Concord Art Assn: Seventh Annual Exhibition1923 PAFA: 118th Annual Exhibition, no. 279, ill.1923–24 Corcoran: 9th Biennial Exhibition of Contemporary American Oil Paintings, no. 239, as Mid-Winter1924 Albright-Knox Buffalo: 18th Annual Exhibition of Selected Paintings by American Artists, no. 841924 Rochester: Annual Exhibition of Contemporary American Paintings1925–26 Brooklyn Museum: Exhibition of Paintings in Oil by American and European Artists

F o l i n s b e e C o n s i d e r e d

ultimate objective remained grounded in the formal properties of painting. The intersection of the bridge and river in the left middle ground provides a central axis for the image that is galvanized by the fluid, vortex-like swoop of the funeral procession.

1922Oil on canvas32 x 40 in. (81.28 x 101.6 cm)Folinsbee 1912–20s stockbook: p. 43Current location unknownprovenance/ownership history

[Mr.] Sellers, purchase from the Newport Art Association, August 1923 ($1000)Current location unknownexhibition history

1923 Newport: Annual Exhibition of American Painting1923 Wadsworth: Loan Exhibition of Modern Paintings, no. 17, lent by Ferargil Galleries

c. 1922–23Oil on canvas16 x 20 in. (40.64 x 50.8 cm)Signed lower right: John F. FolinsbeeOriginal Badura frameFolinsbee 1912–20s stockbookPrivate collectionexhibition history

1923 Ferargil: Paintings by John Folinsbee, no. 16

1922–23Oil on canvas16 x 20 in. (40.64 x 50.8 cm)Signed lower right: John F. FolinsbeeFolinsbee 1912–20s stockbook: p. 46Folinsbee 1920s–40s stockbook: p. [135] sketchPlymouth Meeting Galleryprovenance/ownership history

Arthur Vicary (Mrs), Erie, Pennsylvania, May 1924 (purchased from the Erie Women’s Club), and by descent in the familyAspire Auctions, Cleveland, 5/20/2011, lot 60Plymouth Meeting Galleryexhibition history

1924 Erie1924 Ferargil: Paintings by John Folinsbee 1922–23

Oil on canvas24 x 30 in. (60.96 x 76.2 cm)Folinsbee 1912–20s stockbook: p. 141Folinsbee 1920s–40s stockbook: n.p.Private collectionprovenance/ownership history

Private collection, Newport, Rhode Island; by descent in the familyRichard King Fine Art, Newport, Rhode Island

1125Northport Docks (The Dock, Northport)

970Ice Covered Canal

440Corn Shocks in Winter

no. 921923 AIC: 34th Annual Exhibition of American Paintings, no. 731923 Carnegie: 22nd International Exhibition of Paintings1923 Ferargil: Paintings by John Folinsbee, no. 11923 National Arts: 25th Exhibition, no. 121924 Albright-Knox Buffalo: 18th Annual Exhibition of Selected Paintings by American Artists, no. 861924 JHAI: 39th Annual Exhibition of Paintings by Contemporary American Artists1924 Rochester: Annual Exhibition of Contemporary American Paintings1925 Vanderbilt Musical Foundation1927 Wadsworth Atheneum: Loan Exhibition of American Paintings and Sculpturepublished references

Clipping 1923: “Folinsbee and Newell” Hartford Courant 1927: “From an Exhibition of American Paintings and Sculpture,” b/w ill.Maine Antiques 2011: “In Shad Season on the Banks of the Detroit River”

commentary

The “heavy texture” and “grey tonality” that Folinsbee’s logbook attributes to In Shad Season create a spring scene with atmospheric effects similar to those more common in his winter canvases. Still, his interest in brighter colors is evident in the vibrant greens that balance the overall tonality. The view is from the Lambertville side of the river, with the New Hope Mills (later the Bucks County Playhouse) in the distance. In Shad Season is Folinsbee’s first known painting of the annual shad harvest along the Delaware, and because he painted the event regularly throughout his career, it is possible to trace the entire arc of his stylistic transformation by looking only at his renderings of the subject.

1361Peach Trees in Winter

Private collectionexhibition history

1923 Ferargil: Paintings by John Folinsbee, no. 81923 NAD Winter: 98th Annual Exhibition (Winter), no. 3641923 Portland: Summer Show1923 Springfield Art League MA1924 Albright-Knox Buffalo: 18th Annual Exhibition of Selected Paintings by American Artists, no. 851924 Rochester: Annual Exhibition of Contemporary American Paintings1924 Salmagundi: Annual Exhibition of Oil Paintings, no. 1031926 Philadelphia1976 Gunnery School: Paintings, Drawings, and Lithographs by John Folinsbee, no. 3published references

Clipping 1923: “Folinsbee and Newell”

commentary

Corn Shocks in Winter was painted at approximately the same time as Coal Yard, and although it is more reserved in color, it similarly reflects the shift Folinsbee’s palette was undergoing during that period. Close inspection of the snow reveals a broad spectrum of purples, blues, oranges, pinks, and yellows glistening in the bright afternoon sun. Folinsbee returned to the site frequently to capture the seasonal changes in the landscape; here he explores the quality of reflected light and shadow in a manner reminiscent of Monet’s grainstack series.

published references

Clipping 1923: “Folinsbee and Newell”

commentary

Before he became so closely associated with New Hope, Folinsbee was one of many artists who regularly traveled up the coast from metropolitan New York to Gloucester, Massachusetts, and Maine. This painting is believed to be Northport Docks (The Dock, Northport), which was included in a loan exhibition at the Wadsworth Atheneum, and later in the annual Exhibition of American Painting of the Association of Newport, from which it was sold. Like most of Folinsbee’s early, large-scale paintings with Gloucester or Maine subjects, Northport Docks has not been located, but his sketches of similar wharf scenes suggest that this landscape likely placed less emphasis on atmospheric effects, and more on bright light and high-keyed color.

C A T A l o G U e o F M A J o r l A n d s C A P e A n d G e n r e P A i n T i n G s