Charles Rosen (American, 1878-1950) Haystack (The Farm, Frosty Morning)

Signed 'CHARLES ROSEN' bottom right; also pencil titled (in reverse) and signed on upper stretcher verso, oil on canvas
32 x 40 in. (81.3 x 101.6cm)
Executed circa 1911.

Provenance

The Artist.
The Estate of the Artist.
By descent to the Artist's daughter, Mrs. Percy Warner, Woodstock, New York.
Acquired directly from the above circa 1981.
[On long-term loan to the Solebury Bank, New Hope, Pennsylvania.]
Property from the Estate of Angela Gross Folk, New Jersey.

Exhibited

"One Hundred and Sixth Annual Exhibition," Pensylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, February 5-March 26, 1911, no. 478 (exhibited as The Farm: Frosty Morning).
"Fifteenth International Exhibition," Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, April 27-June 30, 1911 (exhibited as The Farm, Frosty Morning).
"The Twenty-FourthAnnual Exhibition in the Art Institute of Chicago," The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, November 14-December 27, 1911, no. 316 (exhibited as The Farm, frosty morning).
Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, New York, November 9-November 28, 1916 (as The Farm).
"An Exhibition of Paintings by Charles Rosen, ANA," Albright Art Gallery, The Buffalo Fine Arts Academy, Buffalo, New York, January 11-31, 1917 (exhibited as The Farm).
"Exhibition of Paintings by Charles Rosen," Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D. C., October 23-November 9, 1917 (as The Farm).
"Charles Rosen: The Pennsylvania Years (1903-1920)," The Westmoreland Museum of American Art, Greensburg, Pennsylvania, January 8-February 20, 1983; also The Morris Museum of Arts and Sciences, Morristown, New Jersey, April 16-July 5, 1983; and Woodmere Art Museum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, October 11-November 13, 1983 (as Haystack, traveling exhibition).
"The Pennsylvania School of Landscape Painting: An Original American Impressionism," Allentown Art Museum, Allentown, Pennsylvania, September 16-November 25, 1984; also The Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., December 14, 1984-Februrary 10, 1985; also The Westmoreland Museum of American Art, Greensburg, Pennsylvania, March 2-May 5, 1985; and The Brandywine Museum of Art, Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, June 1-September 2, 1985 (as Haystack, traveling exhibition).
"American Art Highlights," The Phillips Mill, New Hope, Pennsylvania, (an exhibition curated by Freeman's), May 22-24, 2021.

Literature

Dr. Thomas C. Folk, The Pennsylvania School of Landscape Painting: An Original American Impressionism, an exhibition catalogue, Allentown Art Museum, Allentown, Pennsylvania, 1984, pl. 8, p. 20 ('XX') (illustrated).
Dr. Thomas C. Folk, The Pennsylvania Impressionists, Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, Madison, New Jersey and Associated University Press, London, 1997, no p.n., plate 20, (illustrated).
Brian H. Peterson, Form Radiating Life: The Paintings of Charles Rosen, James A. Michener Art Museum, Doylestown; and University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, 2007, p. 80, pl. 6 (illustrated, as Haystack).

Note

Charles Rosen painted landscapes for over fifteen years, during which time the artist worked in various and contrasting styles. The present work is a remarkable example of the Master’s early period, evidently influenced by the art of William L. Lathrop, a close friend of Rosen who taught him a softer, atmospheric approach to landscape painting. The two met in 1903 when Rosen and his wife had moved to New Hope following their honeymoon in the quaint Pennsylvania village. Haystack’s subject matter and slightly darker, monochromatic color scheme, a harmony of browns, pinks and golds, is reminiscent of Lathrop’s tonalist landscape paintings. (He, in fact, painted many scenes featuring haystacks). In contrast, however, Rosen does more than simply depict the physical characteristics of this local farm; instead, he imbues the scene with a deeper emotional, almost poetic, message, thereby echoing Bucks County’s slow-paced and highly picturesque lifestyle at the time.

When he executed this work in 1911, Rosen was one of the most successful and respected artists in New Hope. Not only had he won several national prizes, but he was also considered one of the leading members of the New Hope colony, alongside Lathrop, Edward Redfield and Daniel Garber, all of whom frequently applauded and defended Rosen’s talent, especially when the artist himself doubted it. On January 30, 1911, for example, Garber wrote to Rosen to share his admiration for the present work: “I want to congratulate you on the picture of a haystack with a couple of sheep coming through a fence. I think it is the best I have seen of yours and I like it very much as did most of the gentlemen on the jury.” Although Garber was undoubtedly being nice to his friend, his eye did not lie: the work would go on to be exhibited to much acclaim at three major national exhibition circuits in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Chicago.

The seemingly unlined canvas in excellent original condition with no sign of inpainting as seen under UV light. With slight hairline craquelure, which appear stable. Remnants of varnish locally seen, which indicates a selective cleaning.

To request additional information or access to more images, please contact Specialist Raphael Chatroux at rchatroux@freemansauction.com

Frame: 38 x 45 1/2 x 2 1/2 in.