Lot 4: Property of a Lady JAMES AUGUSTUS SUYDAM (1819-1865) At River~dq~s Bend signed with initials

"J.A.S" (lower left) oil on canvas laid down on artist~dq~s board 53/4 x 10 in. (14.6 x 25.4 cm) painted circa 1855 Provenance Estate of John Gordon, Palm Beach Sotheby~dq~s Park Bernet, New York, June 20-23, 1979, lot 284 Private Collection, New York Suydam~dq~s gem-like At River~dq~s Bend epitomizes his Luminist style in its expansive space, soft atmospheric illumination, and compelling serenity. A man of an extraordinary range of accomplishments, in his brief ten-year career as a painter, Suydam quickly won the respect of both critics and artistic colleagues for his modesty and intelligence. Following Suydam~dq~s early death in 1865, his friend Sanford Gifford wrote: Although [Suydam] was not lacking in full appreciation of what is splendid or imposing in nature, his peculiar sympathies led him to prefer the simpler and quieter phases, those phases which win our affection, rather than those which compel our admiration or wonder. We are grateful to Dr. Bruce Chambers for cataloguing this lot. Notes 1 Sanford R. Gifford, Manuscript Memoir of James A. Suydam, 1865, National Academy of Design, Biographical Files.