Lot 637: Bladen Tasker Snyder (American, 1864-1923), "Paris Street Scene", c.1899; oil/canvas, 30" x 38",

initialed. Washington D.C. painter. Snyder studied in Paris with Messer from 1884-85. He also studied at the Julian Academy with Boulanger and Lefebvre. He exhibited at the Paris Salon in the 1890s. He painted in North Africa and Europe. He then returned to Washington and lived in the Octagon House from 1907-09. Andrew Cosentino, in The Capital Image, Painters in Washington, 1800-1915, discusses Snyder's work, "...two small landscapes and several sketches confirm that he (Snyder) was an excellent painter in his early years. Indeed, Tree in a Meadow and its companion piece are among the finest Impressionist paintings done at the Capitol." Snyder was eccentric to begin with, but went totally derelict in his later years. He was said to have been seen roaming the streets and looked like "...Christ dressed in rags".