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Thomas (1849) Doughty Sold at Auction Prices

Genre Painter, Landscape painter

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Nov. 10, 2010
PROPERTY FROM A TENNESSEE PRIVATE COLLECTION THOMAS DO
Est: $12,000 - $18,000
PROPERTY FROM A TENNESSEE PRIVATE COLLECTION THOMAS DOUGHTY (American, 1793-1856) Catskills, circa 1848 Oil on canvas 17-1/4 x 14 inches (43.8 x 35.6 cm) PROVENANCE: John J. Cunningham, New York; Nicholas Wyeth, New York; Frank E. Fowler, Lookout Mountain, Tennessee (label verso); Mr. Harry Levin, Chattanooga. Fresh to the market after nearly thirty-five years in a private collection, Thomas Doughty's Catskills combines those trademark elements which had earned him the title "Painter of Nature": autumnal palette, towering elm tree, cascading falls, hazy mountain view, and solitary figure.¹ A forerunner of the Hudson River School, the native Philadelphian Doughty first received critical acclaim during the mid 1830s when, from his base in Boston, he translated onto canvas the sketches from his trips to New Hampshire, New York, and Massachusetts. His Catskills landscapes from 1836-37, such as the commanding In the Catskills (Addison Gallery of American Art, Massachusetts) accentuate expansive horizontal vistas anchored by bold foreground woodlands and distant bodies of water. Doughty frequented the Catskills for inspiration, and he may have painted this intimate composition, Catskills, around 1848, upon his return to America from Paris. Here, a stone escarpment and a massive elm tree both enhance the awesomeness of the setting, as well as enclose a private world for the meditative figure. Indeed, Doughty was the master of the lone figure seen from behind - a surrogate for the viewer - which he popularized in his famous 1835 In Nature's Wonderland. In Catskills, Doughty formally and metaphorically compares man and nature: man is poetic in his solitariness, much like the single fallen tree trunk and the feathery elm between which he stands. Doughty also unites the two sides of the composition with natural structures - the bridge-like log and the outstretched elm branch - thereby intimating the connective power of nature. This lot is accompanied by a letter from Frank E. Fowler, dated May 28, 1976, referencing a letter of authenticity. ¹ From an 1848 Knickerbocker Magazine, cited in F. Goodyear, Thomas Doughty, 1793-1856: An American Pioneer in Landscape Painting, Philadelphia, 1973, p. 11.
Heritage Auctions
Feb. 06, 2009
THOMAS DOUGHTY (American, 1753-1856) ALONG THE RIVER.
Est: $8,000 - $12,000
Large oil on canvas river scene shows a river boat steaming away from viewer toward hills under blue and white cloud sky. The right bank with two men seated and standing beside rocks. A dirt road is seen with two figures and colorful trees. Unsigned front but have "T Doughty" in heavy black old paint on stretcher. Housed in a gilt molded wood frame. The scene possibly could be along the Susquehanna River. SIZE: 33" x 48". CONDITION: Old relining with five canvas patches, inpainting with restoration. Very good. 9-95556
James D. Julia

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