Ada Vose Congdon - Arts Crafts - Signed Original - 1909 Etching

Description: This is a rare example of the work of the fine artist, Adairene Vose Congdon and a striking Arts & Crafts design. The proportions created by the tall, top-heavy trees remind me of Charles Rennie Mackintosh chairs. Vose-Congdon depicted here a quiet evening scene just outside a small village in France in 1909. The lanky trees are casting long shadows and the colors are strong. It's hard to tell what's going on with the group of three, but I'm charmed by their country clothes and big baskets. Vose-Congdon didn't title this, so I've done some research to find out where she was and I'm quite sure, judging by the dress and the architecture, that this is in the Burgundy region of France. (I've previously sold an etching by her that was done in Paris in 1911.) I'm going to guess that this is the town of Châteauneuf, which is one of the most beautiful villages in France, with red-roofed houses like the ones in this etching. This is printed in black ink on medium thick, moderately textured, beige paper and then hand colored with watercolor. It's signed in the plate, lower left: "A.V. Congdon, 1909" and pencil signed lower right in the margin: "Adairene-Vose Congdon." The impression is marked in the paper at the top and bottom by a wonderful deckle edge which was caused by the plate. The etching had been folded years ago, leaving a barely detectable bend in the heavy paper. There's a water stain along the right side of the paper in the margin, and an unidentified shadow-like tone in the top margin. But the work itself is in excellent condition and I've used a mat to hide the water stain and the top shadow. The narrow wooden frame is original to the etching. The wood has a split in its bottom section (shown), but the frame is still intact, held together by corner nails. You might choose to repair the crack with glue, but the frame is fine to hang up, as is. FRAME: 13 1/4" X 16 3/4" IMPRESSION: 9 3/8" X 12 5/8" ADA IRENE VOSE-CONGDON Adairene Vose Congdon (New York 1865-1918) studied in N.Y. Art Student’s League under Carroll Beckwith and at the Academy Delacluse in Paris, France where she was also a pupil of the French naturalist painter and etcher Léon Augustin Lhermitte. Her work has been exhibited in the Chicago Art Institute; The National Academy of Design; American Water Color Society, NY; New York Society of Etchers; Society of American Graphic Artists; Salon des Artistes Francais; Salon d’Autumne; and American Woman’s Art Association, Paris. In 1884, she married Thomas Richardson Congdon who was also a noted artist -- primarily a portrait painter. Together they spent three years in Paris, studying in the ateliers of Benjamin Constant and Jean Paul Laurens, and one year in Madrid, making a special study of Velasquez. They returned to New York and resided in their studio for two years until a fire consumed all of their belongings, paintings and etchings except for one painting which was saved by Thomas Congdon: "The Benediction" which was in the Paris Salon of 1896, and is a portrait of his wife, Adairene. Given a commission by the Rothchilds to paint scenes in Holland for a year, they returned to Europe where they traveled extensively and eventually established a studio in Venice. The etching offered here was made by Adairene Voss Congdon during this European period. After spending 16 years in the Old World, they returned to the U.S. in 1914 and four years later, Adairene Vose-Congdon died in the little village of Pelham Manor, New York.

Price: 450 USD

Location: Richmond, Virginia

End Time: 2025-01-02T11:31:28.000Z

Shipping Cost: N/A USD