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In 1885, Inness had not yet made the transition to the near-complete suppression of detail that would characterize the paintings of his final years. Thus, the leaves on the sapling tree are delineated quite distinctly. Overall, however, the painting has a hazy effect that seems to reference Inness’s Swedenborgian belief in the spiritual life of the physical world. The dramatic burst of sunlight reinforces the viewer’s sense of the power of nature. Michael Quick, author of the George Inness catalogue raisonné, called The Storm “clearly one of his most powerful and expressive works” (letter from Michael Quick to Reynolda House collections manager Ellen Kutcher, April 11, 1997).
ProvenanceAfter 1885 to 1893
George I. Seney (1826-1893), New York, purchased from George Inness. [1]
1894
American Art Galleries, New York, Seney Estate Sale, February 7-10, 1894, no. 271. [2]
S. F. Paul, New York. [3]
1963
Sotheby’s London, England. Sale January 10, 1963. [4]
1963
M. R. Schweitzer Galleries, New York. [5]
From 1963 to 1966
Barbara B. Millhouse, New York, purchased from M.R. Schweitzer Galleries on May 11, 1963. [6]
From 1966
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem NC, donated by Barbara B. Millhouse on December 30, 1966. [7]
Notes:
[1] Object file, Bill of Sale, 1963.
[2] See Note 1. Also, “Catalogue of Modern Paintings Belonging to the Estate of George I. Seney,” The American Art Galleries, New York: American Art Association, 1984.
[3] See Note 1.
[4] Object file, Joan Durana research, 1983.
[5] See Note 1.
[6] See Note 1.
[7] Object file, Deed of Gift, 1966.
Exhibition History1965-1966
The Paintings of George Inness
University Art Museum of the U of Texas, Austin TX (12/12/1965-1/30/1966)
Cat. No. 101
1966
Hirschl & Adler Galleries, New York NY (March 1966)
1971
Reynolda House American Paintings
Hirschl and Adler Galleries, Inc. New York, NY (1/13/1971-1/31/1971)
For the benefit of the Smith College Scholarship Fund
Cat. No. 20
1985-1986
George Inness Retrospective
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York NY (4/1/1985-6/9/1985)
Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland OH (8/7/1985-10/6/1985)
Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis MN (11/4/1985-1/12/1986)
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles CA (2/10/1986-5/11/1986)
National Gallery of Art, Washington DC (6/22/1986-9/7/1986)
1990-1992
American Originals, Selections from Reynolda House Museum of American Art
The American Federation of Arts
Center for the Fine Arts, Miami FL (9/22/1990-11/18/1990)
Palm Springs Desert Museum, Palm Springs CA (12/16/1990-2/10/1991)
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (3/6/1991-5/11/1991)
Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, Memphis TN (6/2/1991-7/28/1991)
Amon Carter Museum of Western Art, Fort Worth TX (8/17/1991-10/20/1991)
Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago IL (11/17/1991-1/12/1992)
The Gilcrease Museum, Tulsa, OK (3/1/1992-4/26/1992)
Cat. No. 25
2005
Vanguard Collecting: American Art at Reynolda House
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem NC (4/2005-8/2005)
2012
Mystical Visions, Divine Revelations: Religion and Spirituality in 19th Century Art
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC (3/31/2012 – 11/25/2012)
Published ReferencesLassiter, Barbara B. Reynolda House American Paintings. Winston-Salem, NC: Reynolda House, Inc., 1971: 42, illus. 43.
Millhouse, Barbara B. and Robert Workman. American Originals New York: Abbeville Press Publishers, 1990: 68-9.
Ireland, Leroy. The Works Of George Inness--An Illustrated Catalogue Raisonne 1965: 292, no. 1179.
Quick, Michael. George Inness: a catalogue raisonne´ New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 2007. ISBN: 9780813538327
Georgia O’Keeffe visions of the sublime. Ed. Joseph S. Czestochowski. Memphis: Torch Press and International Arts, 2004.
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Reynolda: Her Muses, Her Stories , with contributions by Martha R. Severens and David Park Curry (Winston-Salem, N.C.: Reynolda House Museum of American Art affiliated with Wake Forest University, 2017). pg. 100, 101
DepartmentAmerican Art
The Storm
Artist
George Inness
(1825 - 1894)
Date1885
Mediumoil on canvas
DimensionsFrame: 30 5/8 x 40 7/16 in. (77.8 x 102.7 cm)
Canvas: 20 1/2 x 31 in. (52.1 x 78.7 cm)
SignedG. Inness 1885
Credit LineGift of Barbara B. Millhouse
CopyrightPublic Domain
Object number1966.2.11
DescriptionGeorge Inness’s The Storm was a commission of George I. Seney, a wealthy financier who was a faithful supporter of Inness’s work (Quick, Michael. George Inness: A Catalogue Raisonné. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 2007, p. 171). Inness painted the work in 1885, the year he made Montclair, New Jersey his permanent residence, and presumably the rural areas near his home served as the inspiration for this scene. Typical of the artist in his later years, Inness eschews the bird’s eye perspective of his early work—here, the viewer is brought down to earth for a more intimate encounter with nature. The painting depicts a landscape in the midst of an approaching storm. The sky roils with dark grey clouds, parting just long enough for the sun to illuminate the withered branches of a sapling tree in the middle ground. A structure in the background has also been illuminated by the momentary burst of the sun’s rays. The brilliant emerald greens and mellow golds reveal Inness’s talents as a colorist. In the distance, a dark figure passes beneath a tree. His shadowy form lends the painting a mysterious and enigmatic quality. Is he approaching or retreating?In 1885, Inness had not yet made the transition to the near-complete suppression of detail that would characterize the paintings of his final years. Thus, the leaves on the sapling tree are delineated quite distinctly. Overall, however, the painting has a hazy effect that seems to reference Inness’s Swedenborgian belief in the spiritual life of the physical world. The dramatic burst of sunlight reinforces the viewer’s sense of the power of nature. Michael Quick, author of the George Inness catalogue raisonné, called The Storm “clearly one of his most powerful and expressive works” (letter from Michael Quick to Reynolda House collections manager Ellen Kutcher, April 11, 1997).
ProvenanceAfter 1885 to 1893
George I. Seney (1826-1893), New York, purchased from George Inness. [1]
1894
American Art Galleries, New York, Seney Estate Sale, February 7-10, 1894, no. 271. [2]
S. F. Paul, New York. [3]
1963
Sotheby’s London, England. Sale January 10, 1963. [4]
1963
M. R. Schweitzer Galleries, New York. [5]
From 1963 to 1966
Barbara B. Millhouse, New York, purchased from M.R. Schweitzer Galleries on May 11, 1963. [6]
From 1966
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem NC, donated by Barbara B. Millhouse on December 30, 1966. [7]
Notes:
[1] Object file, Bill of Sale, 1963.
[2] See Note 1. Also, “Catalogue of Modern Paintings Belonging to the Estate of George I. Seney,” The American Art Galleries, New York: American Art Association, 1984.
[3] See Note 1.
[4] Object file, Joan Durana research, 1983.
[5] See Note 1.
[6] See Note 1.
[7] Object file, Deed of Gift, 1966.
Exhibition History1965-1966
The Paintings of George Inness
University Art Museum of the U of Texas, Austin TX (12/12/1965-1/30/1966)
Cat. No. 101
1966
Hirschl & Adler Galleries, New York NY (March 1966)
1971
Reynolda House American Paintings
Hirschl and Adler Galleries, Inc. New York, NY (1/13/1971-1/31/1971)
For the benefit of the Smith College Scholarship Fund
Cat. No. 20
1985-1986
George Inness Retrospective
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York NY (4/1/1985-6/9/1985)
Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland OH (8/7/1985-10/6/1985)
Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis MN (11/4/1985-1/12/1986)
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles CA (2/10/1986-5/11/1986)
National Gallery of Art, Washington DC (6/22/1986-9/7/1986)
1990-1992
American Originals, Selections from Reynolda House Museum of American Art
The American Federation of Arts
Center for the Fine Arts, Miami FL (9/22/1990-11/18/1990)
Palm Springs Desert Museum, Palm Springs CA (12/16/1990-2/10/1991)
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (3/6/1991-5/11/1991)
Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, Memphis TN (6/2/1991-7/28/1991)
Amon Carter Museum of Western Art, Fort Worth TX (8/17/1991-10/20/1991)
Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago IL (11/17/1991-1/12/1992)
The Gilcrease Museum, Tulsa, OK (3/1/1992-4/26/1992)
Cat. No. 25
2005
Vanguard Collecting: American Art at Reynolda House
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem NC (4/2005-8/2005)
2012
Mystical Visions, Divine Revelations: Religion and Spirituality in 19th Century Art
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC (3/31/2012 – 11/25/2012)
Published ReferencesLassiter, Barbara B. Reynolda House American Paintings. Winston-Salem, NC: Reynolda House, Inc., 1971: 42, illus. 43.
Millhouse, Barbara B. and Robert Workman. American Originals New York: Abbeville Press Publishers, 1990: 68-9.
Ireland, Leroy. The Works Of George Inness--An Illustrated Catalogue Raisonne 1965: 292, no. 1179.
Quick, Michael. George Inness: a catalogue raisonne´ New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 2007. ISBN: 9780813538327
Georgia O’Keeffe visions of the sublime. Ed. Joseph S. Czestochowski. Memphis: Torch Press and International Arts, 2004.
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Reynolda: Her Muses, Her Stories , with contributions by Martha R. Severens and David Park Curry (Winston-Salem, N.C.: Reynolda House Museum of American Art affiliated with Wake Forest University, 2017). pg. 100, 101
Status
On view