Lot 823: Reba Stewart (American, 1930-1971) Riverscape Signed "Reba Stewart" on the stretcher. ...

Reba Stewart (American, 1930-1971)

Riverscape
Signed "Reba Stewart" on the stretcher.
Oil on canvas, 36 x 24 in. (91.4 x 61.0 cm), framed.
Condition: Mild varnish inconsistencies.

Provenance: Through the collection of Genevieve McMillan to a private New England collection.

N.B. Characterized by her peers and mentors as "independent", "a very vivacious person, with a strong sense of humor" and having "an intuitive genius in creating beauty…" Reba Stewart had an energetic artistic output until her tragic death by malaria at the age of 41. (1)

At the age of 18, Stewart moved on her own to Boston, where she attended the New England School of Art and Design in the evenings. The following year she enrolled full time at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, attending from 1949 to 1955. It was while she was a student at the Museum School that she met Genevieve McMillan, then the wife of TAC architect Robert S. McMillan, who would become her lifelong friend and patron. (2) Upon receiving her diploma, Stewart received a scholarship to study printmaking in Japan for a year. Stewart received critical acclaim for her Japanese-inspired prints, which were exhibited at the Swetzoff Gallery and the DeCordova Museum. She received her B.F.A. and M.F.A. from Yale University, and held teaching positions at the Museum School and Maryland Institute College of Art until her passing in 1971.

(1) Pierce, Sally. Notes on Reba Stewart. "Reba Stewart: A Legacy." Massachusetts College of Art, October 9 to November 20, 2006 (exh. cat.), pg. 8-12.
(2) Ibid, 2.