Lot 128: Edith Newton (American, 1878-1964)

Quaker Meeting House, 1932. Signed and dated "E W NEWTON-32" in pencil l.r., monogrammed in the matrix, identified on mat interior. Lithograph on paper, image size 14 1/4 x 11 7/8 in. (36.2 x 30.2 cm), matted. Condition: Margins over 1 inch, toning, hinge/residue to upper corners. Provenance: Descended within the artist's family. N.B. Edith Newton lived in her native town of Saginaw, Michigan until the age of 18. From there, she attended the Art Students League in New York and the Corcoran School of Art in Washington D.C. Upon completion, she moved to New Milford, Connecticut where she found inspiration for her artwork in the beautiful farmhouses and old Connecticut interiors. Artist and friend, Wanda Gag, encouraged Newton to create lithographs so that her artwork could reach the masses. The Boston Public Library and the Library of Congress both bought Newton prints to put on display. Her lithographs portray an honest, matter-of-fact view of antique New England interiors, rejecting the idea of embellishing or leaving out parts of the scene in order to make the image more aesthetic. Edith Newton died in 1964, a nationally recognized artist and listed in Who's Who in American Women. Her artwork can still be found in permanent exhibits in the New York Public Library, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.