Lot 386: John Leslie Breck (American, 1860-1899), The River Epte, Giverny, c. 1887, Signed "Breck" l.r., identified on a label from Vose Galleri

John Leslie Breck (American, 1860-1899)

The River Epte, Giverny, c. 1887
Signed "Breck" l.r., identified on a label from Vose Galleries of Boston on the fra
backing.
Oil on canvas, 18 1/8 x 22 in. (46.2 x 55.9 cm), framed.
Condition: Craquelure, mild surface grime.

N.B. In the late 1880s, John Leslie Breck was drawn to Giverny and the Impressionism of Claude Monet. Along with Theodore Robinson, Theodore Wendel, and Blair Bruce, Breck was among the earliest American artists to settle in the picturesque village along the Seine. Breck entered Monet's inner circle, and became an exponent of the "new painting." His close association with Monet can be seen in pictures Breck completed of Monet's houseboat and garden, which were shown in Breck's first one-man show in Boston at the St. Botolph Club in 1890. (1) Breck returned permanently to Boston in 1890 and continued to paint in this avant-garde style. His Impressionist canvases provoked lively response in Boston and New York. Breck's premature death in 1899 elicited a memorial exhibition at the St. Botolph Club, at which time the leadership and direction of the Boston school had been assumed by Edmund Tarbell.

The quiet River Epte with its tree-lined banks was a favorite Giverny locale for painters. It was recorded many times by Monet; one well-known version, Bend in the River Epte, 1888, is in the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

1. Biography, AskArt,