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Marguerite Pearson. (1898-1978). Solitude. browse these categories for related items... All Items: Fine Art:Paintings:Oil:N. America:American: Pre 1930: item # 867811 Please refer to our stock # 2464 when inquiring.
Raymond Agler Fine Arts 16 Pleasant Street Gloucester, Massachusetts 01930 978-281-5048 Guest Book $9,500 |
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| Oil on canvas, 17 x 21 inches, 25 x 29 framed, signed "M.S. Pearson '27" lower right. Physical handicap has been the starting point of many artistic careers. The itinerant portraitist Joseph Whiting Stock (1815-1855) and Gloucester's own painter of the sea, Fitz Henry Lane (1804-1865) come to mind. In Marguerite Pearson's case, misfortune came at the vulnerable age of sixteen when she lost the use of her legs to polio and was forced to abandon her ambition of becoming a concert pianist. Determined to make a life (and a living) for herself, she enrolled in art classes at the Boston Museum School, then under the direction of Edmund Tarbell (1862-1938). Pearson, along with the other artists of the so-called Boston School, was profoundly influenced by "Japonisme" and specifically, the spirit of "Binjin-ga", the family of woodblock prints devoted to the portrayal of women as goddesses of purity and beauty. This work features a tightly-coiffed lady posed in shadowed profile, bare neck and shoulders against a silk drapery of rich pattern and color reminiscent of a floral kimono. An engaging painting, it clearly demonstrates Pearson's skill at complex chiaroscuro effects and the creation of an intimate atmosphere. It is evident why Tarbell wrote, in a 1931 letter sent to her after viewing her exhibition at the Guild of Boston Artists: "We are glad that you still stick to the Boston tradition, and we look to you to uphold it..." (unpublished ms., Vose Galleries, Boston). She exhibited widely, garnering many awards, and her work was included in the groundbreaking 1987 exhibition "The Genius of the Fair Muse, Painting and Sculpture Celebrating American Women Artists 1875 to 1945" (Grand Central Art Galleries, New York). | ||
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