Provenance
The artist [1869-1965]; purchased by George M. Oyster, Jr. [1849-1921], Washington;[1] his estate; bequest 21 January 1924 to the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington; acquired 2015 by the National Gallery of Art.
[1] According to Dorothy W. Phillips, _A Catalogue of the Collection of American Paintings in the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Vol. 2: Painters born from 1850 to 1910_. Washington, 1973: 80, Redfield painted at least three landscapes titled _Overlooking the Valley_, exhibited, respectively, in the Corcoran's Fourth (17 December 1912 - 26 January 1913, no. 174, reproduced), Seventh (21 December 1919 - 25 January 1920, no. 96, reproduced), and Eighth (18 December 1921 - 22 January 1922, no. 52, not illustrated) biennial exhibitions. The first version is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the current location of the second is unknown; NGA 2015.19.16, bequeathed to the Corcoran Gallery of Art by the Oyster estate in 1924, is the third version.
Oyster first purchased the version of the painting shown in the Seventh Biennial Exhibition; see copy of the receipts dated 13 January and 12 February 1920, signed by the artist, acknowledging the two payments by Oyster, in NGA curatorial files. As part of the purchase agreement, Oyster returned to the artist his painting titled _Pennsylvania Landscape_, which the collector had purchased "several years ago" from an exhibition at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.
However, NGA 2015.19.16 does not match the work reproduced in the catalogue of the Seventh Biennial, so presumably the Corcoran/NGA painting (the third version) was also purchased by Oyster, perhaps in exchange for the second version, sometime before his death on 24 April 1921, and it was lent to the Eighth Exhibition by his estate.
Accession Number
2015.19.16
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
overall: 96.52 × 127.64 cm (38 × 50 1/4 in.) | framed: 106.86 × 138.75 × 5.08 cm (42 1/16 × 54 5/8 × 2 in.)
Classification
Painting
Credit Line
Corcoran Collection (Bequest of George M. Oyster, Jr.)
Tags
Painting Early Modern (1901–1950) Oil Painting Canvas American
Background & Context
Background Story
Edward Willis Redfield (1869-1965) was an American painter known as the leading figure of the Pennsylvania Impressionist tradition, whose bravura landscapes painted outdoors in all weather conditions make him one of the most important American Impressionists. Overlooking the Valley from c. 1919 depicts a valley view in the bold, bravura manner that distinguishes Redfield's best landscapes from the more gentle Impressionism of his contemporaries. The c. 1919 date places this in Redfield's mature period, when he was producing the bravura landscapes that are his most accomplished works, and the valley subject shows his ability to handle large-scale landscapes with the same bravura as his more intimate snow scenes.
Cultural Impact
Overlooking the Valley is important in the history of American Impressionism because it demonstrates the bold, bravura manner that Redfield brought to large-scale landscape painting as the leading figure of the Pennsylvania Impressionist tradition. Redfield's bravura landscapes—painted outdoors in all weather conditions with bold Impressionist brushwork—represent one of the most accomplished traditions of American Impressionism, and the c. 1919 painting shows this tradition applied to the large-scale valley landscape.
Why It Matters
Overlooking the Valley is Redfield's bravura American Impressionism: a valley view painted outdoors with bold, confident brushwork by the leading figure of the Pennsylvania Impressionist tradition. The c. 1919 painting shows the accomplished outdoor tradition applied to a large-scale landscape.
