Lot 1382: Helen M. Turner (American/Louisiana, 1858-1958)

Helen M. Turner (American/Louisiana, 1858-1958), "The Moth", oil on canvas,1918, signed and dated lower right, 27-1/2" x 19-1/2". Framed. Provenance: Family of Sitter, Montclair, New Jersey; Private Collection, New Orleans, Louisiana. Exhibited: National Academy of Design, 1918; Helen M. Turner: The Woman's Point of View, Morris Museum of Art, Augusta, Georgia and Huntsville Museum of Art, Huntsville, Alabama, illustrated on page 28 of the exhibition catalog. To be included in Kaycee Benton's forthcoming catalogue raisonne of Helen M. Turner. One of the most significant American Impressionist painters, Turner has long been admired for her evocative interior scenes of women and children. Employing a cool, rich color palette and an energetic, but controlled, brushstroke, her luminous paintings reveal a complex interplay of light and shadow. In the portrait presented here, the tonalist quality of the painting is enhanced by the thick application of paint, allowing the shadows to gently merge with the contours of the figure. Though inspired by the works of the great French impressionists, Turner was almost exclusively American trained. She studied at the Art Student's League in New York under Douglas Volk (1856-1935) and Kenyon Cox (1856-1919), continuing with Volk at the Women's Art School of Cooper Union. Turner spent several summers in Italy with William Merritt Chase (1849-1916), joining that artist's select study group. In 1906 Charles Curran (1862-1941) introduced Turner to the artist's colony in Cragsmoor, New York where she soon maintained a studio and home, becoming an active and influential member of the summer community. Turner was a member of the New Orleans Art Association, New York Watercolor Club, and the National Association of Portrait Painters, among numerous other associations. Her many awards include the Shaw Memorial Prize of the National Academy of Design in 1913, the Altman Prize of the National Academy of Design in 1921, and the gold medal at the National Art Club in 1927. She was elected an associate of the National Academy of Design in 1913 and was awarded full Academician status in 1921, the first Louisiana to receive that prestigious honor. Reference: Faquin. Helen M. Turner: The Woman's Point of View . 2010, Memphis: Dixon Galleries and Gardens.
Please Note: Start Price USD $60000