290

George Inness

American, 1825-1894

George Inness
(American, 1825-1894)

"Along Jersey Shore", 1891

oil on canvas
signed lower right, verso stretcher with a label, hand-inscribed with artist name, title, inventory #10209 and date of work, and two gallery labels, including "Meredith Long & Company, Houston, Texas" and "Adelson Galleries, New York, New York".
Framed.
20" x 30", framed 30" x 39"

Provenance: Mrs. Jonathan Scott Hartley, the daughter of the artist, New York, New York; George H. Ainslie Galleries, New York, New York; Mrs. Henry K. Wick, Youngstown, Ohio; Pascal M. Gatterdan, New York, New York; Babcock Galleries, New York, New York; Mr. and Mrs. Roger S. Phillips, Butler, Pennsylvania; Spanierman Galleries, New York, New York; Hammer Galleries, New York, New York; Janet Wiley, New Canaan, Connecticut; Adelson Galleries, New York, New York; Meredith Long & Company, Houston, Texas; Private collection, Houston, Texas.

Exhibited: Inness Exhibition, John Levy Galleries, New York, New York, 1947, n. 20 (as Along the Jersey Shore); Alumni Treasures, Phillips Academy, Andover, Massachusetts, 1967, no. 283 (as Jersey Coast); A Delicate Balance: American Art and the Allure of Europe, Meredith Long & Company, Houston, Texas, 2002, no. 15.

Literature: Michael Quick, George Innes A Catalogue Raisonne, Volume Two, New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 2007, p. 340, illus. 1032.

Notes: "The Jersey Shore" by George Inness is an unusual depiction of a beach scene, neither sunny nor imbued with the usual merriment of a crowded seaside holiday as seen in the works of other 19th-century American and European artists such as Edward Potthast and Eugene Boudin.
This is instead a meditative painting, an embodiment of Inness's philosophical and spiritual beliefs, based on the writings of Emmanuel Swedenborg, the 18th-century Swedish mystic, philosopher and theologian who believed that natural and spiritual worlds are two distinct realms, although a correlation exists between the two and one can dwell in both depending on one's spiritual feelings, qualities and influx of divine love.
In this painting, the sky and earth merge and the human figures that huddle on the beach beneath a gloomy sky are insignificant. They gaze out to sea and we can easily imagine they are contemplating the vastness of the ocean. I, and many others, have experienced the beauty and fear of an approaching storm on the beach, when the clouds sweep over, plunging the once vibrant and bright blues and whites into murky greens, greys and muted siennas. The sea foams angrily, the horizon meets the sky, and for a moment, the two are one. The thoughts of mortality creep in and the answers to the ages-old human questions of what lies beyond our physical world are urgently needed. As soon as the clouds recede and shafts of sunlight dapple the sand and dance on the calmed surface of the once again blue sea, we are projected back to our careless selves, indulging in the welcome sunshine, and bathed in sounds of joyful chatter, giggles and splashing of the swimmers.
Here is a scene either at the onset or at the end of the storm; essentially this is irrelevant. It is a contemplative painting reflecting Inness' admiration of the natural and spiritual worlds. There is a sense of loneliness to the human figures, sitting distant from each other in the "landscape" devoid of shelter.
This is a visionary work that could be compared to the vast color field canvases of the mid-20th-century artist Mark Rothko. Having recently visited the Rothko Chapel in Houston, I was at first struck by the lack of variation of color in what appeared to be uniformly dark, purplish imposing paintings lining the walls of the sanctuary.
Suna Umari, a Rothko Chapel historian, explains it best: "They're sort of a window to beyond," she explains. "He said the bright colors sort of stop your vision at the canvas, where dark colors go beyond. And definitely you're looking at the beyond. You're looking at the infinite."
(Meditation And Modern Art Meet In Rothko Chapel, Pat Dowel for NPR.)
The same can be said of "The Jersey Shore". The vast dark sky and the earthy beach, accented sparsely by whites and reds, can at first sight appear monochromatic and flat, yet the longer we look, the layers of various colors reveal themselves and we are lost in the "otherworldly" landscape Inness has created for our contemplation.

oil on canvas
signed lower right, verso stretcher with a label, hand-inscribed with artist name, title, inventory #10209 and date of work, and two gallery labels, including "Meredith Long & Company, Houston, Texas" and "Adelson Galleries, New York, New York".
Framed.
20" x 30", framed 30" x 39"

  • Provenance: Mrs. Jonathan Scott Hartley, the daughter of the artist, New York, New York; George H. Ainslie Galleries, New York, New York; Mrs. Henry K. Wick, Youngstown, Ohio; Pascal M. Gatterdan, New York, New York; Babcock Galleries, New York, New York; Mr. and Mrs. Roger S. Phillips, Butler, Pennsylvania; Spanierman Galleries, New York, New York; Hammer Galleries, New York, New York; Janet Wiley, New Canaan, Connecticut; Adelson Galleries, New York, New York; Meredith Long & Company, Houston, Texas; Private collection, Houston, Texas.
  • Exhibited: Inness Exhibition, John Levy Galleries, New York, New York, 1947, n. 20 (as Along the Jersey Shore); Alumni Treasures, Phillips Academy, Andover, Massachusetts, 1967, no. 283 (as Jersey Coast); A Delicate Balance: American Art and the Allure of Europe, Meredith Long & Company, Houston, Texas, 2002, no. 15.
  • Literature: Michael Quick, George Innes A Catalogue Raisonne, Volume Two, New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 2007, p. 340, illus. 1032.
  • Notes: "The Jersey Shore" by George Inness is an unusual depiction of a beach scene, neither sunny nor imbued with the usual merriment of a crowded seaside holiday as seen in the works of other 19th-century American and European artists such as Edward Potthast and Eugene Boudin.
    This is instead a meditative painting, an embodiment of Inness's philosophical and spiritual beliefs, based on the writings of Emmanuel Swedenborg, the 18th-century Swedish mystic, philosopher and theologian who believed that natural and spiritual worlds are two distinct realms, although a correlation exists between the two and one can dwell in both depending on one's spiritual feelings, qualities and influx of divine love.
    In this painting, the sky and earth merge and the human figures that huddle on the beach beneath a gloomy sky are insignificant. They gaze out to sea and we can easily imagine they are contemplating the vastness of the ocean. I, and many others, have experienced the beauty and fear of an approaching storm on the beach, when the clouds sweep over, plunging the once vibrant and bright blues and whites into murky greens, greys and muted siennas. The sea foams angrily, the horizon meets the sky, and for a moment, the two are one. The thoughts of mortality creep in and the answers to the ages-old human questions of what lies beyond our physical world are urgently needed. As soon as the clouds recede and shafts of sunlight dapple the sand and dance on the calmed surface of the once again blue sea, we are projected back to our careless selves, indulging in the welcome sunshine, and bathed in sounds of joyful chatter, giggles and splashing of the swimmers.
    Here is a scene either at the onset or at the end of the storm; essentially this is irrelevant. It is a contemplative painting reflecting Inness' admiration of the natural and spiritual worlds. There is a sense of loneliness to the human figures, sitting distant from each other in the "landscape" devoid of shelter.
    This is a visionary work that could be compared to the vast color field canvases of the mid-20th-century artist Mark Rothko. Having recently visited the Rothko Chapel in Houston, I was at first struck by the lack of variation of color in what appeared to be uniformly dark, purplish imposing paintings lining the walls of the sanctuary.
    Suna Umari, a Rothko Chapel historian, explains it best: "They're sort of a window to beyond," she explains. "He said the bright colors sort of stop your vision at the canvas, where dark colors go beyond. And definitely you're looking at the beyond. You're looking at the infinite."
    (Meditation And Modern Art Meet In Rothko Chapel, Pat Dowel for NPR.)
    The same can be said of "The Jersey Shore". The vast dark sky and the earthy beach, accented sparsely by whites and reds, can at first sight appear monochromatic and flat, yet the longer we look, the layers of various colors reveal themselves and we are lost in the "otherworldly" landscape Inness has created for our contemplation.
  • Condition: **Previously restored, relined and retained original panel auxiliary support and stretcher bars. Very difficult to penetrate varnish layer with UV light, but probably small areas of inpainting in the sky. Small areas around the first name initial fluoresce dark.
    Frame with surface marks and abrasions and small losses along edges and corners.

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