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Lot 16: Helen Maria Turner (American, 1858–1958) The End of My Porch

Est: $20,000 USD - $30,000 USDSold:
Freeman'sPhiladelphia, PA, USJune 06, 2021

Item Overview

Description

Helen Maria Turner (American, 1858–1958) The End of My Porch

Signed and dated 'Helen M. Turner/1914' bottom right, oil on canvas laid down to board
16 x 14 in. (40.6 x 35.6cm)

In a period Newcomb-Macklin frame.



Provenance

Private Collection, Virginia.



Footnote:

Exhibited

"Fifth Exhibition of Painting by Contemporary American Artists," Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., December 15, 1914–January 24, 1915, no. 178.

"One Hundred and Tenth Annual Exhibition," Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, February 7-March 28, 1915, no. 418.

"Exhibition of Contemporary American Art," Brooklyn Museum of the Arts, Brooklyn, New York, April 5-May 3, 1915.

"Panama-Pacific International Exposition," San Francisco, California, December, 1915.

Literature

W. H de B. Nelson, "Contemporary Exhibitions of Modern Art" in The International Studio, Vol. LIV, no. 216, February 1915, P. CVIII (mentioned, not illustrated).
Maia Jalenak, Helen M. Turner, American Impressionist, Louisiana State University's Master Theses 2216, 2003, pp. 155, 156, 157 (listed, not illustrated).

Note

Although she was born in Kentucky in 1858, Helen Maria Turner spent most of her life in the state of Louisiana, and especially in New Orleans, where her family was well-connected. The great-granddaughter of John Pintard, founder of the New York Historical Society and the American Academy of Fine Arts, Turner did not start painting until she was twenty-two. Unlike most of her fellow women artists, she did not seek an education abroad. Instead, she focused on an intense, all-American curriculum, enrolling at Tulane University, the Artist's Association of New Orleans, the Art Students League in New York as well as the Women's Art School in Cooper Union, respectively.

Most of Turner's oeuvre is characterized by her broken, almost pointillist technique and her golden palette, as revealed by the present work, which depicts the young artist herself, sitting nonchalantly upon a porch-rail, and looking directly at the viewer. The work, which earned many celebratory comments when exhibited in 1914-1915, was painted at Cragsmoor, an artist's colony located in the Shawanguck Mountains of upstate New York that Charles C. Curran and his wife, Grace introduced to the artist. In an article entitled "Cragsmoor, an early American art colony," Barbara Buff describes the colony as a haven for artists seeking refuge from industrialization and a return to nature: "Farmers had been clearing the land so that by 1872, there were superb views of surrounding valleys and mountains in every direction. The light and the sky were wonderfully clear and changed often; the air was pure; and breezes blew almost constantly. These were the qualities that attracted artists to Cragsmoor. Throughout its history and even today, the place is also referred to simply as 'The Mountain.'" Turner spent almost all of her summers there from 1906 onwards, and after renting for some time, decided to build her own cottage, which she named Takusan.

At Crasgmoor, while many artists such as Curran, George Inness or William Beard painted open air vistas featuring the nearby forest or meadows, Turner did not venture further than the front of her cottage and rather than depicting the wilderness, she preferred to focus on her flowers and her garden, which the lush, grassy and textured background in the present painting hints at. The artist's front porch at Takusan specifically, was the setting for several of her most acclaimed paintings. Placing an elegant young woman on it, with a garden backdrop in fact became such a winning formula that Turner would go on to repeat in a number of her finest paintings from 1912 to 1923, starting with Summer, Tea Party (Tweed Museum of Art, University of Minnesota), and including Girl with Lantern (Greenville County Museum of Art, Greenville, South Carolina), Morning (Zigler Museum of Art, Jennings, Louisiana), The Flower Girl (The Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, Michigan), Lilies, Lanterns and Sunshine (The Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Virginia), as well as the present work, The End of my Porch.

In the painting, like John Singer Sargent, Curran and Frederick Carl Frieseke before her, Turner immortalizes the poetry of a solitary moment outdoors. She depicted herself in an elegant, light white dress, which perfectly captures the glittering effects of the summer light. The dress is marked by a dashing blue sash at the waist, the only bright color in the composition, which nicely echoes the horizontality of the sitter's hands as well as porch railing, and which subtly contrasts with the verticality of the backdrop, marked by the elegant branches of Turner's birch trees. The result is a perfectly harmonious arrangement of lines, captured in thick brushtrokes, which, when admired from afar, creates an immediate visual sensation of a dazzling summer day from the shade of a well-appreciated porch.

Turner's string of successes with her "woman on a porch" paintings directly led her to being elected a member of the National Academy of Design. Following her success, she shifted her focus to commissioned portrait paintings, and gradually abandoned her favored theme.



Condition report:

In overall very good to excellent original condition. With slight ripples in the canvas at upper left and center right (canvas evidently not completely adhered to the board). With some dust along the bottom, right outer edges and at upper right (gray powder dust, not losses). Examination under UV light does not reveal any sign of restoration.

Frame: 28 3/8 x 26 1/2 x 2 in.

Artist or Maker

Payment & Shipping

Payment

Accepted forms of payment: American Express, Discover, MasterCard, Money Order / Cashiers Check, Personal Check, Visa, Wire Transfer

Shipping

As a result of the current coronavirus situation, please be aware that delivery and shipments of property will be delayed. During the delays, we will store your property free of charge. Successful buyers are invited to contact Megan Latona at mlatona@freemansauction.com to discuss the best options for shipment and collection of property.

Please note that Freeman's requires written authorization to release property to anyone other than the buyer. Payment for shipping is handled directly with the shipping company.

Please note that all operations related to the processing of property--including drop-offs & pick-ups, billing & payment, cataloging & photography--will be managed through 1600 W. Girard Ave.

Auction Details

American Art and Pennsylvania Impressionists

by
Freeman's
June 06, 2021, 02:00 PM EST

2400 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA, 19103, US

Terms

Live bidding may start higher or lower

Buyer's Premium

$0 - 600,000:31.0%
$600,001 - 3,000,000:25.0%
$3,000,001+:17.0%

Bidding Increments

From:To:Increment:
$0$499$25
$500$999$50
$1,000$1,999$100
$2,000$2,999$200
$3,000$4,999$250
$5,000$9,999$500
$10,000$19,999$1,000
$20,000$29,999$2,000
$30,000$49,999$2,500
$50,000$99,999$5,000
$100,000+$10,000

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Shipping Information

As a result of the current coronavirus situation, please be aware that delivery and shipments of property will be delayed. During the delays, we will store your property free of charge. Successful buyers are invited to contact Megan Latona at mlatona@freemansauction.com to discuss the best options for shipment and collection of property.

Please note that Freeman's requires written authorization to release property to anyone other than the buyer. Payment for shipping is handled directly with the shipping company.

Please note that all operations related to the processing of property--including drop-offs & pick-ups, billing & payment, cataloging & photography--will be managed through 1600 W. Girard Ave.

Buyer's Premium

A Buyer's Premium will be added to the successful bid price and is payable by the buyer as part of the total purchase price. The Buyer's Premium shall be: 26% on the first $600,000 of the hammer price of each lot, 20% on the portion from $600,001 through $3,000,000, and 12% thereafter

Taxes on your purchase

Unless exempted by law, from the payment thereof, the purchaser will be required to pay any and all applicable state and/or local sales taxes. Deliveries to be made outside the state where a sale is conducted may therefore be subject to a corresponding or compensating tax in another state.
All purchases made at Freeman's, therefore, will be subject to the Pennsylvania State and Local sales tax--currently at a combined rate of 8%, which is applied to the hammer price plus buyer's premium--unless the successful buyer submits the required tax exemption documentation. Those seeking exemption from sales tax must provide a valid certificate to Freeman's prior to outgoing shipment.

In accordance with Pennsylvania State law, if Freeman's or the buyer arranges for a lot/s to be shipped outside of Pennsylvania through an independent, third-party shipping company, Freeman's must collect Pennsylvania sales tax on the lot/s irrespective of the property's final destination. If the item is first delivered to any hired service provider (e.g. restorer, storage facility, etc.) located in Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania sales tax will still be applicable and invoiced, even if the lot will ultimately be shipped out-of-state.

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