Barbizon School, Landscape, Tonalism

Dennis Sheehan (1950-) Contemporary, American

Medium: Oil on Canvas
Image Size: 24” x 24”
Frame Size: 30” x 30”
Signature: Signed Lower Left
Price: $3200

Biography/Statement

Dennis Sheehan, born in Boston in 1950, is a member of the Guild of Boston Artists. His work is in major public and private collections., including the White House. Sheehan paints in the Barbizon mode with remarkable authority and faithful adherence to his 19th century precursors. In the tradition of the Tonalist painters, Sheehan creates landscapes of mood, affected by nature’s changing seasons.

“Today, in a cultural firmament that has been defined as Postmodern, a new generation of American painters is returning to the old landscape seeking a renewed vision.  The cultural strategies that they employ are as diverse as any from the past; in most cases, these painters consciously strive to enter into a dialogue with the history of the White Mountains art.  Their work, grounded in a sophisticated appreciation of what has come before, is in many cases deliberately discursive with a tradition that has been all but erased twice by historical and cultural forces.” 

The contemporary work of Dennis Sheehan, for example, affords a great nineteenth-century-predecessor George Inness.  Like Inness, whose influence is consciously acknowledged, Sheehan employs the dark palette and thickly pigmented surfaces of the French Barbizon School*. Maintaining a muted tonalist chromatic scheme, Sheehan, like Inness before him, has temerity to eschew picturesque scenery-his Conway Meadows avoids any reference to the traditional climax view of Mount Washington—in the interest of evoking atmospherics* and the appearance of the natural world as it is observed.

Optical truth combined with poetic resonance—the search for some ineffable quality of nature beyond words -constitutes the probity of his art. Yet, also like Inness, Sheehan’s paintings are produced in the studio. His work is the product of the conscious distillation of prior imagery ranging from the American Barbizon to the abstractions of Franz Kline. For all of the references to history—and there are multiple—there is no mistaking the artist’s debt to the more recent past. Without the legacy of action painting, Sheehan’s art would be less forceful and evocative than it is.”

Source: Guild of Boston Artists

 “My goal is to have the painting emanate light, rather than be just a surface that records the reflections of light. This is why the shadow areas are important, for it is from them that this emanation proceeds. The light areas are focal points of this effort, but the power comes from the shadows.” – Dennis Sheehan

Artist Profile Page: Sheehan, Dennis / Categories: Barbizon School, Landscape, Tonalism

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Barbizon School, Landscape, Tonalism

Dennis Sheehan (1950-) Contemporary, American

Medium: Oil on Canvas
Image Size: 25” x 30”
Frame Size: 35” x 40”
Signature: Signed Lower Right
Price: $5500

Biography/Statement

Dennis Sheehan, born in Boston in 1950, is a member of the Guild of Boston Artists. His work is in major public and private collections., including the White House. Sheehan paints in the Barbizon mode with remarkable authority and faithful adherence to his 19th century precursors. In the tradition of the Tonalist painters, Sheehan creates landscapes of mood, affected by nature’s changing seasons.

“Today, in a cultural firmament that has been defined as Postmodern, a new generation of American painters is returning to the old landscape seeking a renewed vision.  The cultural strategies that they employ are as diverse as any from the past; in most cases, these painters consciously strive to enter into a dialogue with the history of the White Mountains art.  Their work, grounded in a sophisticated appreciation of what has come before, is in many cases deliberately discursive with a tradition that has been all but erased twice by historical and cultural forces.” 

The contemporary work of Dennis Sheehan, for example, affords a great nineteenth-century-predecessor George Inness.  Like Inness, whose influence is consciously acknowledged, Sheehan employs the dark palette and thickly pigmented surfaces of the French Barbizon School*. Maintaining a muted tonalist chromatic scheme, Sheehan, like Inness before him, has temerity to eschew picturesque scenery-his Conway Meadows avoids any reference to the traditional climax view of Mount Washington—in the interest of evoking atmospherics* and the appearance of the natural world as it is observed.

Optical truth combined with poetic resonance—the search for some ineffable quality of nature beyond words -constitutes the probity of his art. Yet, also like Inness, Sheehan’s paintings are produced in the studio. His work is the product of the conscious distillation of prior imagery ranging from the American Barbizon to the abstractions of Franz Kline. For all of the references to history—and there are multiple—there is no mistaking the artist’s debt to the more recent past. Without the legacy of action painting, Sheehan’s art would be less forceful and evocative than it is.”

Source: Guild of Boston Artists

 “My goal is to have the painting emanate light, rather than be just a surface that records the reflections of light. This is why the shadow areas are important, for it is from them that this emanation proceeds. The light areas are focal points of this effort, but the power comes from the shadows.” – Dennis Sheehan

Artist Profile Page: Sheehan, Dennis / Categories: Barbizon School, Landscape, Tonalism

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Barbizon School, Landscape, Tonalism

Dennis Sheehan (1950-) Contemporary, American

Medium: Oil on Canvas
Image Size: 24” x 36”
Frame Size: 32” x 44”
Signature: Signed Lower Right
Price: $4800

Biography/Statement

Dennis Sheehan, born in Boston in 1950, is a member of the Guild of Boston Artists. His work is in major public and private collections., including the White House. Sheehan paints in the Barbizon mode with remarkable authority and faithful adherence to his 19th century precursors. In the tradition of the Tonalist painters, Sheehan creates landscapes of mood, affected by nature’s changing seasons.

“Today, in a cultural firmament that has been defined as Postmodern, a new generation of American painters is returning to the old landscape seeking a renewed vision.  The cultural strategies that they employ are as diverse as any from the past; in most cases, these painters consciously strive to enter into a dialogue with the history of the White Mountains art.  Their work, grounded in a sophisticated appreciation of what has come before, is in many cases deliberately discursive with a tradition that has been all but erased twice by historical and cultural forces.” 

The contemporary work of Dennis Sheehan, for example, affords a great nineteenth-century-predecessor George Inness.  Like Inness, whose influence is consciously acknowledged, Sheehan employs the dark palette and thickly pigmented surfaces of the French Barbizon School*. Maintaining a muted tonalist chromatic scheme, Sheehan, like Inness before him, has temerity to eschew picturesque scenery-his Conway Meadows avoids any reference to the traditional climax view of Mount Washington—in the interest of evoking atmospherics* and the appearance of the natural world as it is observed.

Optical truth combined with poetic resonance—the search for some ineffable quality of nature beyond words -constitutes the probity of his art. Yet, also like Inness, Sheehan’s paintings are produced in the studio. His work is the product of the conscious distillation of prior imagery ranging from the American Barbizon to the abstractions of Franz Kline. For all of the references to history—and there are multiple—there is no mistaking the artist’s debt to the more recent past. Without the legacy of action painting, Sheehan’s art would be less forceful and evocative than it is.”

Source: Guild of Boston Artists

 “My goal is to have the painting emanate light, rather than be just a surface that records the reflections of light. This is why the shadow areas are important, for it is from them that this emanation proceeds. The light areas are focal points of this effort, but the power comes from the shadows.” – Dennis Sheehan

Artist Profile Page: Sheehan, Dennis / Categories: Barbizon School, Landscape, Tonalism

Other Available Works by this Artist:

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Barbizon School, Landscape, Tonalism

Dennis Sheehan (1950-) Contemporary, American

Medium: Oil on Canvas
Image Size: 30” x 40”
Frame Size: 40” x 50”
Signature: Signed Lower Right
Price: $6500

Biography/Statement

Dennis Sheehan, born in Boston in 1950, is a member of the Guild of Boston Artists. His work is in major public and private collections., including the White House. Sheehan paints in the Barbizon mode with remarkable authority and faithful adherence to his 19th century precursors. In the tradition of the Tonalist painters, Sheehan creates landscapes of mood, affected by nature’s changing seasons.

“Today, in a cultural firmament that has been defined as Postmodern, a new generation of American painters is returning to the old landscape seeking a renewed vision.  The cultural strategies that they employ are as diverse as any from the past; in most cases, these painters consciously strive to enter into a dialogue with the history of the White Mountains art.  Their work, grounded in a sophisticated appreciation of what has come before, is in many cases deliberately discursive with a tradition that has been all but erased twice by historical and cultural forces.” 

The contemporary work of Dennis Sheehan, for example, affords a great nineteenth-century-predecessor George Inness.  Like Inness, whose influence is consciously acknowledged, Sheehan employs the dark palette and thickly pigmented surfaces of the French Barbizon School*. Maintaining a muted tonalist chromatic scheme, Sheehan, like Inness before him, has temerity to eschew picturesque scenery-his Conway Meadows avoids any reference to the traditional climax view of Mount Washington—in the interest of evoking atmospherics* and the appearance of the natural world as it is observed.

Optical truth combined with poetic resonance—the search for some ineffable quality of nature beyond words -constitutes the probity of his art. Yet, also like Inness, Sheehan’s paintings are produced in the studio. His work is the product of the conscious distillation of prior imagery ranging from the American Barbizon to the abstractions of Franz Kline. For all of the references to history—and there are multiple—there is no mistaking the artist’s debt to the more recent past. Without the legacy of action painting, Sheehan’s art would be less forceful and evocative than it is.”

Source: Guild of Boston Artists

 “My goal is to have the painting emanate light, rather than be just a surface that records the reflections of light. This is why the shadow areas are important, for it is from them that this emanation proceeds. The light areas are focal points of this effort, but the power comes from the shadows.” – Dennis Sheehan

Artist Profile Page: Sheehan, Dennis / Categories: Barbizon School, Landscape, Tonalism

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Landscape, Luminist, Marine / Seascape, Moonlight

William R. Davis (1952-) Contemporary, American

"The Cottage"

Medium: Oil on Board
Image Size: 6” x 8”
Frame Size: 9” x 11”
Signature: Signed Lower Left
Price: $1250

Biography/Statement

Bill Davis is a noted marine painter. He grew up in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts.  He is a self-taught artist whose oil paintings typically capture the serene light of sunrise or sunset on the water.   He employs many of the techniques traditionally used by American luminist painters to realize his personal vision, showing a marked preference for 19th century subjects.

In 1987, Davis had the first one artist show ever mounted at the Mystic Maritime Gallery in Mystic, Connecticut.  All twenty of the works featured in that show were sold at the opening reception. In 1990, he received the Mystic Maritime Gallery Award of Excellence, and his painting entitled Calm Day Off Latimer’s Reef appeared on the cover of Mystic’s The Art of the Sea Calendar in 1993.  Three of his paintings were also used in the book ‘Shipwrecks Around Boston’ by Cape Cod author, William P. Quinn.   Rockport Publishers has included Boston Harbor at Sunset in a new book entitled, ‘A Gallery of Marine Art.’

Much of Davis’ early works pays homage to 19th century artists such as James Bard, Martin Johnson Heade, Antonio Jacobsen and Fitz Hugh Lane.  He limits himself to about 30 colors in the palette of that period.  He describes his style as a “conglomerate of a number of ideas I saw in other artists with my own refinements.” Over the years, he has incorporated his fascinations for the different techniques of these artists.

In a tribute to Martin Johnson Heade, which appeared in the July 1991 issue of American Artist magazine, Davis refers to sunset as “the hour when night usurps day.”  He observes that this is the “best time of day for painters to capture the ‘inner state’ of a landscape,” and represents “an unequaled opportunity to sensitize the eye to the delicate mysteries of light and shadow.”

Although best known for his marine subjects, Davis strives to make his work accessible to those with a variety of tastes while expanding his own horizons as an artist.  Following the painting of Davis’ Lilacs and Basket, featured on the poster for The Cahoon Museum of American Art 1992 exhibition entitled, “The Flowers of New England.”

Davis has shifted in the last few years to painting more landscapes on location. In the process, he has converted to plein air painting, partly influenced by his friendship with artists Joseph McGurl and Donald Demers.

Artist Profile Page: Davis, William R. / Categories: Landscape, Luminist, Marine / Seascape, Moonlight

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Landscape

Carl Wuermer (1900-1981) American

Medium: Oil on Canvas
Image Size: 32” x 36”
Frame Size: 36” x 40”
Signature: Signed Lower Left
Price: $12500

Biography/Statement

Known for serene, realistic landscapes, he was a widely exhibited painter who won numerous awards including the J. Francis Murphy Memorial Prize from the National Academy of Design in 1928. Many of his paintings convey a sense of panorama and lead the eye into deep vistas. For much of his career Wuermer painted near Woodstock, NY.

Wuermer was born in Munich, Germany, and in 1915, emigrated to Chicago where from 1920 to 1924, he studied at the Art Institute with Wellington Reynolds. He then went to New York City for study at the Art Students League. In 1929, he was accepted for artist membership by the Grand Central Art Galleries in New York City. His technique was similar to that of the Pointillists although the final effect was much more exact and realistic. He slowly built up the paint on his canvas by using dots of color.

Artist Profile Page: Wuermer, Carl / Categories: Landscape

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Landscape

Casey Krawczyk (N/A) Contemporary, American

Medium: Oil on Board
Image Size: 9” x 12”
Frame Size: 17” x 20”
Signature: Signed Lower Right
Price: $1500

Biography/Statement

I was raised in rural northern Minnesota in a place called the Iron Range, a place best known for it’s sub-zero temps, Fargo-like accents, Finnish culture and saunas, and it was home to the young Bobby Zimmerman, more commonly known as Bob Dylan. In my mind, MN is best known for it’s quiet, contemplative beauty, it’s still waters mirror-like and mystical in the morning mist and salmon sunrises, the haunting call of the loon over the splash of a beavers tail…all in harmony with the constant buzz of mosquitoes and the chirping of frogs. Aurora Borealis. Skinny dipping by moonlight, followed by a steaming-hot sauna. Flaxen-haired Scandinavians, the roll of an R off my grandmothers Finnish-speaking tongue and Ole and Lena jokes. Snow sparkling diamond-like in the morning light, breath visible in the frigid air, frosty eyelashes and frostbitten toes, lake waters frozen thick and the exhilarating resonance of its cracking beneath bladed skates. Nature. Beauty. Home.

Artist Profile Page: Krawczyk, Casey / Categories: Landscape

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Landscape, Marine / Seascape

Edward R. Kingsbury (1855-1940) American

Medium: Oil on Canvas
Image Size: 30” x 36”
Frame Size: 38” x 44”
Signature: Signed Lower Right
Price: $9500

Biography/Statement

Born in Boston, MA in 1855. Kingsbury studied at the Massachusetts Normal Art School, Boston Museum School, and Académie Julian in Paris. A resident of Carmel, CA in the 1920s, his last years were spent in Ogunquit, ME and Cambridge, MA, He died in the latter on May 1, 1940.

Member: Salmagundi Club; Ogunquit AA.  Exhibitions:  Springville (UT) High School, 1927. In: Charlestown (MA) High School (mural). Carmel At Work and Play, p. 58; WWAA 1936-41; NY Times, 5-2-1940 (obit).

Artist Profile Page: Kingsbury, Edward R. / Categories: Landscape, Marine / Seascape

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Landscape, Moonlight

Erik Koeppel (1980-) Contemporary, American

Medium: Oil on Board
Image Size: 10” x 8”
Frame Size: 14” x 12”
Signature: Signed Lower Right
Price: $3200

Biography/Statement

STATEMENT:

In the act of painting, I have sought to discover that highest knowledge of Beauty, poetic and philosophical, that has been the common thread between all of the Great Masters of Art. I have spent hours staring at the finest masterpieces in museums worldwide in an effort to decipher that meditative effect that distinguishes greatness from proficiency, and have made the creation of that sentiment my central goal as an artist. Following this path has led me to study deeply the sciences of philosophy, design, linear perspective, anatomy, color, optics, architecture, botany, light and atmosphere with respect to their purposes in art, and I have built a foundation of consistent formal principles that work in harmony to illuminate meaning in painting. As my subject, I have chosen the universal human condition in this world, and have sought wherever possible to discard the sociopolitical fashions of contemporary culture in favor of those enduring sentiments that we all encounter in life. It is my belief that to experience the Beauty of our existence here in this magnificent landscape is the only way to happiness. My intention as an artist is to share that Beauty. 

Artist Profile Page: Koeppel, Erik / Categories: Landscape, Moonlight

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Expressionist, Landscape

Edward Haworth (1917-1993) American

"Carmel, CA, 1941"

Medium: Oil on Board
Image Size: 12” x 16”
Frame Size: 18” x 22”
Signature: Signed and dated "Carmel, CA, 1941"
Price: $2200

Biography/Statement

Born on September 26, 1917.  Haworth was a resident of Hollywood by the 1930s.  He died there on February 18, 1993.

Exhibited:  Assistance League (Los Angeles), 1938.

Source: Edan Hughes, author of the book “Artists in California, 1786-1940”

Artist Profile Page: Haworth, Edward / Categories: Expressionist, Landscape

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