Sunshine on Back Bay

Charles Woodward Hutson (American, New Orleans, 1840 - 1936)
Signed lower right "CH"
Oil on board
Circa: 1925
Size: 23 1/2" x 15 3/4" (sight); 28" x 19 1/2" (frame)
In Sidney Janis' groundbreaking book," They Taught Themselves," Janis writes of Hutson, "he seemed to see colors and forms that were not visible to other eyes - particularly a certain marvellous 'blue' which he tried in vain to put into his pictures."

In this seminal work, Hutson's use of color, texture and space come together and echo the sensibilities of the Arts & Crafts movement (think of a Grueby landscape tile). The bald cypress trees, heavy with Spanish moss create a rhythm with vertical struts and undulating beats. The light is warm and moves in and out of the trees, creating shadows from the evening sun.

Writing for The New York Times, art critic Roberta Smith wrote of this work, "His atmospheres hold light, creating a generous sense of depth that is corroborated by trees, for example, that recede convincingly, in palpable layers of space. The fullness of light and control of space are especially evident in oil paintings like "Untitled (Two Boats)" and "Sunshine on Back Bay."

Charles Hutson was a fascinating painter and a leader in the New Orleans art scene during the Roaring Twenties. For more information, please CLICK HERE.

Slide 6 above illustrates a watercolor entitled, "The Gulf Coast" that was exhibted at the Hutson Retropsective at the Isaac Delgado Museum (now the New Orleams Museum of Art) in 1965. Same location as the painting herein, possibly a preparatory sketch.

Collections: Charles Hutson's work is represented in numerous private and public collections, including the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, the New Orleans Museum of Art, the Phillips Collection, the Mint Museum of Art, and the Telfair Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Exhibited: Art Association of New Orleans; Mississippi State Fair 1927; Gulf Coast Art Association

Condition: Excellent. Original frame.

Price: SOLD

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