Lucie (Lucille) Hartrath
(American, 1868-1962)
Brown County Homestead in Early Autumn
oil on canvas
signed lower right
23 1/2" x 27 1/2"

Provenance:
The Ira Simon Collection, Chicago, Illinois

Catalog Note:
The Brown County Art Colony was formed in the early 1900s south of Indianapolis. Adolph Schulz is considered to be the founder, who along with T.C. Steele, influenced other artists to build cabins and move to the area. Will Vawter and Gustave Baumann were among the first to make Brown County their home. Lucie Hartrath, Charles Dahlgreen and L.O. Griffith joined from Chicago. By the early 1930s, there were at least 18 artists with permanent homes in Brown County.

Lucie Hartrath was considered by many to be one of the most talented artists in the Chicago area in the early 20th century. She was known for her impressionist landscapes, finding beauty in local countrysides. Hartrath studied at the Art Institute of Chicago under John Vanderpoel and attended the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia in 1901. The same year, she exhibited at the Paris Salon, and in the cities of Berlin, Dusseldorf and Munich. After studying at Rockford College and subsequently in Munich, she established a studio in Chicago’s Tree Studios. Hartrath exhibited widely in Chicago with many shows at the Art Institute.

Frame (with glass): 34 7/8"h x 38 1/2"w x 2 3/8"d
Surface dirt. Large craquelure overall. Stretcher bar marks with splits in paint following bars. Undulation of canvas following large craquelure.