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Autumn Tree is a small, fresh watercolor, probably done in Maine and outdoors. A centrally placed tree with mustard-colored and brown leaves dominates the composition. Horizontal bands of colors in shades of green, pink, and blue define the foreground and background. At the far right, partially cropped, is a second tree, probably a pine. The sky is minimally painted with a few light washes of a pale blue. The entire sheet was loosely rendered with brushes wet with water and pigment.
Whenever his schedule and finances allowed, Porter spent his summers in Maine. He was often frustrated because oil paintings took a long time to dry, and they were hard to ship to Long Island. In 1962, he began to experiment with Liquitex, a quick-drying water-soluble medium that has both intensity and luminosity. Late in his career, he frequently worked with watercolor, somewhat reluctantly, as he wrote a friend: “I find I like watercolor very much—it is roughly to oil what the harpsichord is to the piano. Except I like the harpsichord better than watercolor, and oil better than piano.” [2]
Compositionally, Autumn Tree relates to many of Porter’s paintings, where a single dominant element, such as a tree or a person, is the focal point. Here the radiant tree is silhouetted against a cooler background. Porter was a great admirer of the Impressionists, whom he believed made a complete break by emphasizing perceived reality and, of course, light. Anne Porter recalled how her husband would say to his students, “Look at it… the light will never be this way again.” [3] In Autumn Tree, he successfully captured the fleeting light and breeze of coastal Maine.
Notes:
[1] Porter, “Letters to Claire and Robert White,” Parenthèse4 (1975), 209, quoted in Kenworth Moffett and John Ashberry, et al. Fairfield Porter: Realist Painter in an Age of Abstraction (Boston, MA: Museum of Fine Arts, 1982), 11.
[2] Porter to Arthur Giardelli, May 5, 1973, quoted in John T. Spike and Joan Ludman, Fairfield Porter: An American Classic. With a Checklist of the Paintings by Fairfield Porter (New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1992), 265.
[3] Anne Porter, statement, in Ludman, Joan, et al. Fairfield Porter: A Catalogue Raisonné of the Paintings, Watercolors, and Pastels (New York: Hudson Hills Press, 2001), 8.
ProvenanceTibor de Nagy Gallery, New York, NY [1]
Felix Landau Gallery, Los Angeles, CA [2]
1980
Parke-Bernet 84, New York, NY. Sale 766A, June 5, 1980, lot 365 [3]
Private Collection [4]
To 1981
Betsy Main Babcock (1937-2001), Winston-Salem, NC [5]
From about 1981 to 2003
David Rice (born 1936), Winston-Salem, NC, purchased from Betsy Main Babcock in 1981. [6]
From 2003
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC, given by David Rice on December 12, 2003. [7]
Notes:
[1] Art Dealers Association of America letter to David Rice, August 13, 2003, copy in Object file.
[2] See note 1.
[3] See note 1. Also, Joan Ludman, Fairfield Porter: A Catalog Raisonne of the Paintings, Watercolors, and Pastels, 2001.
[4] See note 1.
[5] See note 1. Also, Art Dealers Association of America Appraisal Application, copy in Object file.
[6] See note 5.
[7] Deed of Gift, object file.
Exhibition History1965
Fairfield Porter
Tibor de Nagy Gallery, New York, NY (2/16/1965-3/6/1965)
2006 - 2007
American Watercolors: 1880-1965
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC (7/1/2006 - 1/15/2007)
2023
Coexistence: Nature vs. Nurture
Reynolda House Museum of Amerian Art (4/7/2023 - 9/24/2023)
Published References
DepartmentAmerican Art
Autumn Tree
Artist
Fairfield Porter
(1907 - 1975)
Datecirca 1964
Mediumcrayon, watercolor, ink, graphite on paper
DimensionsFrame: 16 x 20 in. (40.6 x 50.8 cm)
Image: 10 x 13 3/4 in. (25.4 x 34.9 cm)
Paper: 10 1/4 x 14 in. (26 x 35.6 cm)
SignedFairfield Porter
Credit LineGift from David Rice in honor of Betsy Main Babcock
CopyrightPublic Domain
Object number2003.3.1
DescriptionFor centuries, Maine, with its rugged coastlines and equally craggy people, has attracted artists, and it continues to do so today. The Wyeths, John Marin, Marsden Hartley, Fairfield Porter, Robert Indiana, and countless others have found their way to its shores. Porter’s affiliation with the state began as a child, when his father acquired Great Spruce Head Island, in Penobscot Bay, and built a twelve-bedroom house for family and friends. The artist explained, “the fact is, we go to Maine in the summer because I have since I was six. It is my home more than any other place, and I belong there.” [1]Autumn Tree is a small, fresh watercolor, probably done in Maine and outdoors. A centrally placed tree with mustard-colored and brown leaves dominates the composition. Horizontal bands of colors in shades of green, pink, and blue define the foreground and background. At the far right, partially cropped, is a second tree, probably a pine. The sky is minimally painted with a few light washes of a pale blue. The entire sheet was loosely rendered with brushes wet with water and pigment.
Whenever his schedule and finances allowed, Porter spent his summers in Maine. He was often frustrated because oil paintings took a long time to dry, and they were hard to ship to Long Island. In 1962, he began to experiment with Liquitex, a quick-drying water-soluble medium that has both intensity and luminosity. Late in his career, he frequently worked with watercolor, somewhat reluctantly, as he wrote a friend: “I find I like watercolor very much—it is roughly to oil what the harpsichord is to the piano. Except I like the harpsichord better than watercolor, and oil better than piano.” [2]
Compositionally, Autumn Tree relates to many of Porter’s paintings, where a single dominant element, such as a tree or a person, is the focal point. Here the radiant tree is silhouetted against a cooler background. Porter was a great admirer of the Impressionists, whom he believed made a complete break by emphasizing perceived reality and, of course, light. Anne Porter recalled how her husband would say to his students, “Look at it… the light will never be this way again.” [3] In Autumn Tree, he successfully captured the fleeting light and breeze of coastal Maine.
Notes:
[1] Porter, “Letters to Claire and Robert White,” Parenthèse4 (1975), 209, quoted in Kenworth Moffett and John Ashberry, et al. Fairfield Porter: Realist Painter in an Age of Abstraction (Boston, MA: Museum of Fine Arts, 1982), 11.
[2] Porter to Arthur Giardelli, May 5, 1973, quoted in John T. Spike and Joan Ludman, Fairfield Porter: An American Classic. With a Checklist of the Paintings by Fairfield Porter (New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1992), 265.
[3] Anne Porter, statement, in Ludman, Joan, et al. Fairfield Porter: A Catalogue Raisonné of the Paintings, Watercolors, and Pastels (New York: Hudson Hills Press, 2001), 8.
ProvenanceTibor de Nagy Gallery, New York, NY [1]
Felix Landau Gallery, Los Angeles, CA [2]
1980
Parke-Bernet 84, New York, NY. Sale 766A, June 5, 1980, lot 365 [3]
Private Collection [4]
To 1981
Betsy Main Babcock (1937-2001), Winston-Salem, NC [5]
From about 1981 to 2003
David Rice (born 1936), Winston-Salem, NC, purchased from Betsy Main Babcock in 1981. [6]
From 2003
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC, given by David Rice on December 12, 2003. [7]
Notes:
[1] Art Dealers Association of America letter to David Rice, August 13, 2003, copy in Object file.
[2] See note 1.
[3] See note 1. Also, Joan Ludman, Fairfield Porter: A Catalog Raisonne of the Paintings, Watercolors, and Pastels, 2001.
[4] See note 1.
[5] See note 1. Also, Art Dealers Association of America Appraisal Application, copy in Object file.
[6] See note 5.
[7] Deed of Gift, object file.
Exhibition History1965
Fairfield Porter
Tibor de Nagy Gallery, New York, NY (2/16/1965-3/6/1965)
2006 - 2007
American Watercolors: 1880-1965
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC (7/1/2006 - 1/15/2007)
2023
Coexistence: Nature vs. Nurture
Reynolda House Museum of Amerian Art (4/7/2023 - 9/24/2023)
Published References
Status
Not on view