Lot 49: E. Charlton Fortune (1885-1969) The Pool, Palace of Fine Arts, San Francisco (Court of the Four Seasons), circa 1915 16 1/4 x 20in

The Pool, Palace of Fine Arts, San Francisco (Court of the Four Seasons), circa 1915
signed 'E. Charlton Fortune' (lower left)
oil on canvas
16 1/4 x 20in
overall: 24 1/4 x 28 1/4in

PROVENANCE:
Private collection, Northern California

EXHIBITED:
Monterey, Monterey Peninsula Museum of Art, Colors and Impressions: The Early Work of E. Charlton Fortune, September 23, 1989 - October 15, 1990.
Oakland, The Oakland Museum, The Early Work of E. Charlton Fortune, August 18 - October 14, 1990.


E. Charlton Fortune, one of California's leading impressionistic
painters, was born in Sausalito, California to an American mother and
Scottish father. Fortune lived and worked in Europe intermittently from
1897 to 1927. In 1898, she attended St. Margaret's Convent, a Roman
Catholic girl's school in Scotland. It was during this period that
Fortune traveled to France, where she encountered the works of the
European masters. The work of the Impressionists would become
particularly influential on Fortune's painting style.

Prior to the 1906 earthquake, Fortune studied with Arthur Mathews in San
Francisco, from whom she learned that line, color, form and composition
were the basic components of painting. She later studied at the Art
Student's League in New York, where she worked with Frank Vincent
Dumond, Francis Luis Mora and William Merritt Chase.

By 1913, Fortune began spending her summers on the Monterey Peninsula,
at which point her paintings were distinctly impressionist with a high
key palette and a striking plein air feeling. During the summer of 1914
in Monterey, William Merritt Chase made a seminal visit to the local
arts community, possibly influenced by Fortune.

In 1915 San Francisco celebrated its rebirth following the 1906
earthquake and the completion of the Panama Canal by hosting the Panama
Pacific Exhibition. Designed by Architect Bernard Maybeck, the Palace
of Fine Arts was conceived as an overgrown Roman ruin inspired by
Piranesi's famous etchings. The Palace of Fine Arts was an instant
success and featured prominently on the San Francisco Day ticket to the
exhibition. The exhibition hall housed the works of living artists, and
Fortune was handsomely represented by seven of her paintings. As
evidenced by the number of depictions of the Palace of Fine Arts in all
media, the building was an inspiring subject in and of itself.

The Pool reveals Fortune at her most impressionistic with her use of
bold colors and broad brush strokes. A multitude of contrasting colors
define the surfaces. The stark teal blue reflections in the pool bring
into focus the small bits of sky piercing through the columns. The
green-garbed woman on the right with the matching parasol creates a
bright green reflection in the pool contrasting with the blues. The
palace itself is composed of tan colors highlighted with vibrant pink
tones. The Pool is a significant picture in Fortune's early work in
quality of execution and resonates today due to its beautiful subject.