Lot 268: ED BEARDEN (1919-1980)

ED BEARDEN (1919-1980)
Untitled Panoramic Landscape, 1963
Oil on masonite
18in. x 49in.
Signed and dated lower right

Ed Bearden studied art under Jerry Bywaters and Elizabeth Walmsley at Southern Methodist University. He also took classes with Otis Dozier and Boardman Robinson at the Colorado Springs Fine Art Center. Benefitting from the legacy of the Texas pioneer artists, Bearden became the protégé of Bywaters and assisted him in the Trinity, Texas, Post Office Mural. Bearden later became Bywaters's assistant at the Dallas Museum of Fine Art.

This panoramic western landscape is built upon a tradition going back to Frank Reaugh, who favored compositions that were much wider than tall. In such compositions, Reaugh and his students (Bywaters, Dozier, et. al.) give the sky at least half the picture plane to communicate the vast wide open spaces of the West. Ed Bearden uses this compositional device in this dramatic and sweeping example of his finest work.

Provenance:
Acquired by descent from the artist by the present owner

Excellent condition. Period frame in excellent condition.