Will Hicok Low (1853-1932) American, Exhibition Oil on Canvas "The Spinet and the Harp" 1901

Lot description

Will Hicok Low (1853-1932) American, Oil on Canvas "The Spinet and the Harp" 1901. Stunning exhibition size artwork. Depicting Mary MacMonnies playing the harp and supposedly Berthe Low at the spinet. Signed and dated lower left "1901 Will Low Giverny". Overall condition: Good. Housed in the original exhibition frame. Appears to be museum relined from several decades ago. Only minor blemish appears 3 ½ inches up, a scratch in the lace of the black dress of Mary McMonnies, approximately knee-level. The scratch is roughly 1 inch long, horizontal angling downward, but not visible to the naked eye without inspection. Canvas shows very little signs of craquelure separation. Stretcher appears to be original to the frame, and the oxidation to both show a turn-of-the-century circa 1900 age, which is correct with the 1901 date. Picture is currently backed by foamcore with Spanierman Gallery label verso. Bid with confidence! This is a very unique and rare artwork. A painting depicting Berthe Low (Will's first wife) and Mary MacMonnies (Will's second wife). Having been done in 1901, Will was still married to Berthe, and Mary was still married to Frederick William MacMonnies. Mary and Frederick divorced in January 1909... Berthe died in April 1909... Then Mary and Will married in November 1909 (Frederick married former student Alice Jones in March 1910). See images of documentation from Spanierman Gallery letters about the exhibition and a press release, Abbeville Press on the Giverny book, a letter from William Gerdt's, as well as a copy of Monet's Giverny book where the image is pictured on page 155. Will Hicok Low's top selling painting was in 1988 of a woman (potentially Mary MacMonnies) that sold for $45,100. From Consignor: Provenance: MacMonnies Estate then 1. Exhibited at Avery Art Galleries in 1902 2. Exhibited at Detroit Museum of Art in December 1902 3. Pictured in color and described in Monet's Giverny An Impressionist Colony by William H Gerdts 1993 4. Exhibited Spanierman Gallery NYC October 15 - December 15, 1993 Overall Size: 33 x 20 3/4 in. Sight Size: 29 1/4 x 28 3/4 in. Will Hicok Low (1853–1933), born in Albany, New York, was a leading muralist and figurative painter known for both Barbizon landscapes and colorful Victorian style, who studied under Jean-Leon Gérôme in Paris and exhibited at the National Academy of Design for 60 years. He wrote art criticism for Scribner's, McClure's, and Century, and in 1901 defended American painters in International Quarterly, linking them to the traditions of European art. His works include a graphite, ink, and watercolor drawing of a Greek muse at the National Academy and figurative panels on a 19th-century cabinet at the High Museum of Art, Atlanta.