Newman, Robert Loftin (New York/France, 1827 - 1912). The Witch of Endor. Oil on canvas. Signed l.l. verson R.L. Newman. 22" x 27". Gilded frame: 31 1/2" x 36 1/4".
Seen as a unique American artist who painted in the style of Albert Pinkham Ryder, Robert Loftin Newman was known for his unusual process of revealing and manipulation of the paint’s surface and color. Newman was born in Richmond, Virginia, and studied classic technique in Paris with Millet and William Morris Hunt, before returning to America. He settled then in Clarksville, Tennesse making a living as a portait painter, before moving to New York in wake of the Civil War. He is noted for using shadow to create an air of mystery in his works and often depicted biblical scenes.
The Witch of Endor, in keeping with Newman’s favorite theme, depicts the meeting between King Saul and the Witch of Endor found in Samuel I 28:3-25. On the eve of battle with the Philistines, fearful Saul seeks assurance from the Lord that he will be victorious. After receiving no answer in his dreams or through prophets, Saul, disguised and cloaked by the dark of night, visits the Witch of Endor so she may call upon Samuel’s spirit. Angered at being disturbed, Samuel tells Saul that God has turned his back on him in favor of David and prophesizes that he will lose the battle and that he and his sons will die. The Witch of Endor is often portrayed as a sympathetic figure who comforts Saul and feeds him before sending him on his way. Newman’s portrayal uses shadow and careful color manipulation to heighten the mystery and drama of the scene.
Exhibition History:
The work was displayed in the Whitney Museum of American Art’s “Paintings by Robert Loftin Newman” in 1935, in the Knoedler Gallery’s “Two American Romantics of the Nineteenth Century, Robert Loftin Newman and Albert Pinkham Ryder” in 1939, in the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts’ “A Memorial Exhibition of the Work of Robert Loftin Newman” in 1942, in the Graham Gallery’s “Robert Loftin Newman: 1827-1912” in 1961, the Smithsonian Insitution National Collection of Fine Art’s “Robert Loftin Newman 1827-1912” in 1974, and in the American Embassy in London as part of the Arts in Embassies Program in the 1990s. The work has also been published in London Studio, 7 (May 1934); Marchal E. Landgren’s Robert Loftin Newman: 1827-1912, exhibition catalog (1974), and Art News Annual, XXXIII, edited by Thomas B. Hess (1966).
Provenance: Property from the Virginia Estate of a Distinguished Private Collector and Art Historian, Red Gate, formerly Greenville, Millwood, VA.
Current owner acquired the work in 1987. Before that date, the ownership history is as follows: Thomas Guiness Philadelphia (1902); McGuinness sale, J. F. O’Brien, New York (1902); sale, American paintings, Fifth Avenue Galleries, New York to Louis Katz, New York (1903); C. F. Street Collection; with E. C. Babcock, New York (1935); Joseph Katz, Baltimore (1943); Graham Gallery, New York (1961-1974); and Babcock Galleries, New York (1974-1987).
Condition: two patches on verso.