Estimated Price:

   $   

Realized Price:

   $   

What is this symbol? This symbol indicates that this auction hose has verified this price result.

Log in or subscribe to view price data

signed "Francis A. Silva" and inscribed "N.Y.," l.l.- -signed "Silva" and inscribed with title on an old label attached to the stretcher- -oil on canvas 24 x 44 in. (61 x 112 cm.) PROVENANCE Kennedy Galleries, Inc., New York RELATED LITERATURE J. I. H. Baur, "Francis A. Silva: Beyond Luminism", "Antiques," Nov. 1980, pp. 1018-1031 W. H. Gerdts, "American Luminism," New York, 1978 For years, scholars of American painting have debated the concept of luminism. While it seems possible that there is still no consensus, it is safe to say that a luminist is a painter that is fascinated with nature; an artist that passionately depicts the wonder of air, water, light, and sky. Whatever the details are, there is no doubt that Silva's work is deeply rooted in the tradition of the luminist movement. In a 1980 "Antiques" article that remains one of the most complete surveys of Silva's work, John I. H. Baur accurately describes the artist: "While Fitz Hugh Lane and Martin J. Heade still loom as the leading figures of the movement, many others must now be joined to them, not as followers, but as artists who shared a common vision, a common subject matter (the preference for marine views and large skies), and a common technique of meticulous realism. Among them, Francis Augustus Silva was one of the most sensitive." Silva's family background was not the impetus for his career as an artist. His father, a barber, came to New York after his grandfather, a portrait painter and Colonel in the French Army, died in 1830. Francis Augustus Silva tried different occupations until he discovered his talent as an apprentice to a sign painter. He honed his craft for several years until the deep family tradition of the militia took over his thoughts. Silva joined the army in 1861 and quickly stepped up to the rank of Captain before the great tragedy of his career. In 1862, with a case of malaria and some extenuating circumstances, Silva was wrongly accused of deserting and was summarily dishonorably discharged. Fortunately, General McClellan heard his plea and offered to re-enlist him as a hospital assistant, a post which he filled until he was honorably discharged in 1865. It is then that his career as a serious artist began. His career, while only a short twenty years long, leaves us with a fair number of remarkable canvases and watercolors (he was elected to the American Watercolor Society in 1872) depicting marine views along the East Coast. Of these works, the finest and most ambitious are his views of the Hudson River from the 1870s. "October on the Hudson," likely executed "circa" 1875, is one of the largest, most beautiful, and most ambitious of these fine works. As usual, Silva depicts several crafts along the Hudson on a rather peaceful day. Interestingly, this example includes a steamship in the distance and an elegant couple at the end of a dock. However apparent the vessels and figures, the painting is clearly an exploration of the beauty of nature. The broad sweeping sky, depicted in hues of blue, yellow and pink, and the stagnant beauty of the river like a reflecting pool are quite obviously areas of great pleasure for the artist. These are the qualities that must cement Silva's place in the tradition of Luminism. Dr. William Gerdts deftly sums up Silva's achievement: "Francis Silva is one of an increasing number of engaging painters who are beginning to emerge as delightful mid-century landscape specialists who adopted luminist effects to good advantage... Silva seems to have lived a tranquil, uneventful life, producing marine and coastal views from Chesapeake Bay to New England, combining a clarity of form somewhat akin to Lane's with an intensity of light that is related to Gifford." The Property of AN EAST COAST COLLECTOR.