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signed Th. Robinson, l.l.

oil on canvas

Painted circa 1890.

A native of Wisconsin, Theodore Robinson originally traveled to France to study under the renowned artist Carolus-Duran, but it was his friendship with master of French Impressionism, Claude Monet, that permanently influenced Robinson's subsequent career. Although he would only live to the age of 43, Robinson, a gentle, physically frail young painter, would become one of the pioneers in the evolution of American Impressionism.

Robinson lived in Giverny between 1888-1892, and developed during those years a distinctive Impressionist technique. Though Robinson's understanding and assimilation of these techniques undoubtedly resulted from his friendship with Monet, the young American artist was not simply an imitator of the older artist's style. Sona Johnston writes, "He did not abstract the image before him as Monet had advised. With few exceptions, his forms remain solid, firmly-defined, and the subject matter is always clearly identifiable. Although the degree of his initial devotion to Monet's Impressionism is obvious, his art demonstrates a selection and subsequent interpretation of those elements most sympathetic to his manner of expression" (Theodore Robinson, Baltimore, Maryland, 1973, p. xiv).

During the summer of 1890, Robinson executed a number of canvases depicting Josephine Trognon, a Giverny peasant woman whom the artist had previously photographed. The Watering Pots in the Collection of The Brooklyn Museum, New York, and At the Fountain (Josephine in the Garden) belonging to the Canajoharie Library and Art Gallery, Canajoharie, New York both depict Trognon in poses based on Robinson's photographs. The present work appears to display traces of a grid pattern, indicating that the preliminary study for Girl Raking Hay may also have been a photograph. These paintings of the early 1890's successfully merge Robinson's figurative painting with his sophisticated Impressionist style. In Girl Raking Hay, spontaneous strokes of white and pale blue in Josephine's dress echo the thin straws of hay surrounding her, while short, precise dabs of green pigment depict the landscape beyond. Suffused with light and color, the present painting vividly evokes the peace and beauty of the French countryside.
This painting will be included in the forthcoming catalogue raisonné of the artist's work being compiled by Ira Spanierman and Sona Johnston.
PROVENANCE

Vose Galleries, Boston, Massachusetts
George D. Pratt (sold: American Art Association-Anderson Galleries, New York, Property of the Estate of the late George D. Pratt, January 16, 1937, lot 358)
Babcock Galleries, New York (acquired at the above sale)
William T. Cresmer, Glencoe, Illinois (sold: Nanzel Gallery, Chicago, Illinois, William T. Cresmer Collection, September 17, 1967, lot 132, illustrated)
Hirschl & Adler Galleries, New York
Meredith Long & Company, Houston, Texas
Private Collection, Houston, Texas (sold: Christie's, New York, May 29, 1987, lot 162, illustrated in color)
Acquired by the present owner at the above sale

EXHIBITED

New York, Hirschl & Adler Galleries, Important Recent Acquisitions, February 1972, no. 63, illustrated
LITERATURE AND REFERENCES

John I.H. Baur, Theodore Robinson 1852-1956, Brooklyn, New York, 1946, no. 79, p. 63