Lot 278: Richard Clague (French/New Orleans, 1821-1873,

Richard Clague (French/New Orleans, 1821-1873, active New Orleans 1850-73), "Spring Hill, Alabama, in Autumn", c. 1871-72, oil on canvas, signed "R. Clague" lower right, 16 1/4 in. x 24 1/4 in., in a period stenciled and giltwood frame. Provenance: Eastern Shore of Maryland Estate, the family with ties to Louisiana and Mississippi; descended in the families of reknowned surgeon Arthur Washington De Roaldes and Associate Justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court, Henry Carleton Miller, New Orleans. Note: The father of Louisiana landscape painting, Richard Clague depicted the rustic landscapes of south Louisiana, coastal Mississippi and lower Alabama from 1858 until 1873 In November 1871, Clague traveled to Spring Hill, Alabama, and created pencil drawings and paintings of this distinctive landscape. The painting offered here relates closely to a work in the collection of the New Orleans Museum of Art. Of the same size, both depict the same country road, fences, trees and architecture. Painted in the autumn, the leaves have begun to change color and fall. Clague evokes the clarity of the fall season with the rich blue sky and luminous intensity indicative of that time of year. Part of a small group of works created in Spring Hill in 1871-72, this rare painting displays Clague's skill and mastery as the best of the 19th century Louisiana landscape painters. Reference: Toledano, Roulhac, Richard Clague, NOMA, 1974, p. 52.