Paul Forster (American, 1925-2012). Oil on board. Signed on lower right. Paul Forster's "Cemetery" is a mesmerizing painting of a woman paying her respects at a cemetery, set in an attractive frame with a distressed finish that complements the work perfectly. The woman stands alone amidst crosses and tombstones that mark the golden earth, the cross before her tied with ribbons. Enrobed in a long, hooded garment of royal blue and jet black hues, with only her somber visage and one hand revealed, this mourner's presence seems beyond the corporeal, more like a haunting specter, and prompts us to ask: Is this spirit-like figure real or perhaps an illusion or apparition? Is she flesh and blood or a figment of our imagination? Has she come to honor the deceased and tie those ribbons on the cross, or is she simply a phantasm? The fact that Forster's painting leaves us with more questions than answers makes it even more entrancing, exuding an undeniable air of mystery. Size: 29.5" L x 39.375" W (74.9 cm x 100 cm) Size of frame: 34" L x 43.875" W (86.4 cm x 111.4 cm)

At the age eight, Paul Forster became the youngest member of the Albright Art Gallery Association and also started studying at the Museum School with watercolorist Robert Blair. During World War II, Forster served in the Army Air Corps, and in 1952, he graduated from Brigham Young University with a Fine Arts Degree. In the late 1950s, Forster had a studio in Nevada painted murals for the Mormon Church. In the early 1960s, he taught art and became Chairman of the Art Department of the L.D.S. Schools of the South Pacific in Tonga. In 1969 he left Brigham Young University to paint full time. For the greater part of the next decade, Forster traveled throughout the American Southwest in an Airstream trailer to paint. In time, he moved to Oregon followed by Kansas City, but eventually returned to Arizona.

Provenance: ex-private Bishop Family Trust collection, the Trust of the late Bill Bishop, a noted antiquarian with shops in Scottsdale, Arizona and Allenspark, Colorado, USA, acquired before 2010

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#173009

Signed by the artist on the lower right. Painting is in excellent condition. There are a few stray marks that likely occurred when the piece was painted but very minor. Frame has a few scuffs and a couple of white marks, but is otherwise very nice with a distressed finish that complements the painting nicely. Wired for suspension and ready to display.