This is an oil on canvas which measures 21 inches x 15 inches in a frame 26 inches by 20 inches.

There is no damage to the painting other than the varnish darkening which can be removed with a light cleaning.

Frederick McDuff
(from WWW.lakeshoredrive.com):.Born in Birmingham, Alabama, Frederick McDuffs interest in painting led him to New York City in the 1950s. He studied briefly at the Art Students League but found his greatest inspiration in museum masters as Corot and Pissarro. In the early 1960s he left New York for Washington, D.C. In the 1970s he encountered the abstract painters, for whom he had previously had little interest, and from there he learned to impart a greater clarity and purity to his work. McDuff is a contemporary Impressionist in the highest tradition. Nature, therefore, plays an important role in what he expresses. Beach scenes and landscapes bathed in a delicate light and stilled by an ethereal calmness are among the subjects that are winning this Washington, D.C. based painter recognition in American and European art circles. A romanticist, McDuff takes us to far away places in time and space. His is a world devoid of harsh realities, a serene place where gentility is the essence of gracious living. With astonishing lucidity, McDuff orchestrates charming tableaus which take us on excursions into a realm of remembrances of things past. One-artist exhibitions have led prestigious collectors to acquire works by Frederick McDuff. His works have gained attention in the United States and Europe.

(From the Washington Post):A VENABLE INSTITUTION CLOSES By Ferdin andProtzman January 8, 1998Jack Neslage bought the well-established Venable Gallery in 1963, primarily to see if he could sell the realistic oil paintings of his close friend and business partner, Fred McDuff. Shortly afterward, a woman from the Kennedy White House paid a visit and asked McDuff, who was minding the store, why no Washington gallery sold French impressionist paintings "like they do in New York.""Fred told her to come back in a week, when we might be getting a few in," Neslage recalls, chuckling at the memory. "Then he went home and painted a couple small, impressionist landscapes. That's how he got started as an American impressionist. He really is a very fine painter and that style just suited him. Public demand for Fred's work has never stopped." Unfortunately, that demand was not enough to keep the Venable Neslage Galleries going. Unable to find a buyer or successor to run the business at 1803 Connecticut Ave. NW, Neslage, a courtly 73-year-old, closed it in late December. That ended a 105-year run during which the gallery weathered a number of changes in the art scene by selling comfortable, conservative art to what Neslage describes as "Washington society, a cross-section of who's who in media, Congress, the executive branch and the embassies." The gallery, which also did framing and restoration work, was founded by Samuel J. Venable in 1892 in downtown Washington. At its height during Venable's tenure, the business employed 13 framers. It moved to 1615 Connecticut Ave. NW at the end of World War II and occupied various premises along that avenue ever since. Neslage said little is known about the gallery's history because most of the records disappeared after Venable died in 1959. "It was an interesting 35 years," Neslage says of his time in the gallery business. "I would have liked to turn the gallery over to someone. But it didn't happen. The art business, the neighborhood and the attitude of the people in this city toward art have changed. When we started, Dupont Circle used to have the limo trade. There were all sorts of smart clothing and retail shops which catered to a well-to-do clientele. People like Alice Longworth used to shop there. Now it's all food, novelties and bookstores." There are also a slew of art galleries that have opened in the neighborhood over past two decades. But Neslage says he doesn't believe competition from the newcomers affected his business. "When we started, there weren't more than nine or 10 gallery and frame shops in all of D.C. I've always believed the more galleries there were, the better it is for everyone," he says. "But there really weren't that many galleries like ours, aside from Veerhoff Galleries and Sidney Mickelson. We were never an avant-garde operation, or a one- or two-person gallery. The art we sold was impressionist, traditional and realistic, and we had five full-time framers and a four-person gallery staff. We tried selling abstract art, but it didn't work. Our clientele was too conservative." Over the years, that clientele included some well-known Washingtonians, including former secretary of state Dean Acheson, former House speaker Thomas S. Foley (D-Wash.) and New York Times columnist James Reston. One day in the 1980s, a White House staffer telephoned to say that Nancy Reagan, who owns three McDuff paintings, would like to meet the artist and invited Neslage and McDuff to tea. "We spent about 20 minutes with her," Neslage recalls. "She was a very gracious person and it was also a great photo opportunity for us." McDuff's paintings and prints also attracted some prominent buyers outside Washington. One afternoon a distinguished-looking gentleman pulled up in a limousine and purchased an oil painting using a credit card bearing the name "Pete Du Pont." When asked for his home address, the then-governor replied, "Delaware." A few days later, his wife came to the gallery and selected two more McDuffs to take home on approval. "She sent one back," says McDuff, a shy, unpretentious 66-year-old with an dry sense of humor. "A Delaware state trooper dressed in civvies dropped it off the next day." Venable Neslage flourished from the 1960s through the 1980s, selling work by McDuff and other artists that ranged in price from $700 to about $25,000. But business got much tougher when the bull art market of the 1980s collapsed around 1990. "The neighborhood changed over the years and so did the buying patterns," Neslage says. "Through the 1980s, people bought art pretty much as they always have. But when money got tight, that was one of the first things on which they cut back. There are so many other things that people use their discretionary funds for now, like computers and software and video stuff. Our sales were also hurt by the fact that our customer base was getting old and young buyers weren't emerging." Neslage blames the lack of young art buyers partly on curriculum changes at colleges and high schools. "I don't think they teach art appreciation with the vigor that they used to," he says. "When we were selling the inventory these last few months the lack of knowledge was really striking. A lot of people can't tell the difference between a painting and a print anymore." As for the future, Neslage and McDuff plan to sell the vast town house they own near Dupont Circle and move to Birmingham, Ala., where McDuff grew up and still has family. They also plan to travel to Europe, where McDuff finds inspiration for his landscapes. "We think it's time to slow down a little bit," Neslage says. "Running a small business takes twice as much energy these days as it did back in the 1960s. And at 73, I've still got quite a bit of energy, but not like I once did."

This painting could use a cleaning, see the photos where the paint varish has darkened with age compared to the canvas underneath the frame which is much lighter.Sold as is, as found.