Morley Hicks (Ontario/Wisconsin, 1877-1959) impressionist oil on board harbor scene depicting a schooner moored at a dock with figures standing nearby, and a cloudy sky overhead. Signed lower right with painted number 806 lower left. Titled en verso THEBAUD, GLOUCESTER FISH BOAT, with additional signature en verso and notes, "No. 806 1936 From sketch no. 635 Painted 1934 / Raced Blue Nose 1932". Molded giltwood frame with ivory linen liner. Board: 20" H x 24" W. Framed: 26" H x 31" W. Provenance: Estate of Carl Klein, Brentwood, TN. Note: the Gertrude L. Thebaud was a celebrated American fishing and racing schooner built and launched in Essex, Massachusetts in 1930 with Gloucester as its port of registry. It was designed by Frank Paine and built by Arthur D. Story for Louis A. Thebaud, and named for his wife. The schooner was a frequent competitor of the Canadian schooner Bluenose. During World War II, the Gertrude L. Thebaud saw service with the United States Coast Guard. It sank in 1948 off the coast of Venezuela. Artist biography: "Morley Hicks came to the U.S. in 1900. He began his professional career as a paint chemist at Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company but gradually gave it up in favor of painting. He studied art at Milwaukee Normal School under Gustave Moeller and George Oberteuffer and at Wisconsin State Normal School under Alexander Mueller from 1921 to 1923. His understanding of oil paints led to his interest in easel painting. Being very methodical, he numbered and kept meticulous records of his 1,381 paintings. At first he copied others' works, but then began doing his own compositions. He was a member of the Walrus Club in Milwaukee, and a member of the Wisconsin Painters & Sculptors. Hicks was very fond of painting Wisconsin landscapes. They are quite literal renderings of nature, but he also played with special effects of lighting. He particularly liked to capture shoreline atmospheres on canvas."(Source: The Museum of Wisconsin Art).

Overall good condition. Cracquelure and some scattered tiny flaking/ exfoliation along lower quarter of painting. 1" overpainted flake in sky area, upper left near top edge.