Neal Auction Louisiana Purchase 2015

38 172. George Louis Viavant (American/Louisiana, 1872‑1925) , “Mallard Ducks in the Louisiana Bayou”, watercolor on paper, signed lower right, 6 1/2 in. x 4 1/2 in., framed. $3000/5000 Provenance: D. Benjamin Kleinpeter, Sr. Collection, Baton Rouge. 173. Joseph Rusling Meeker (American/Louisiana, 1827‑1887) , “Near Bayou Lafourche”, 1877, oil on canvas, monogrammed and dated lower left, monogrammed, titled and dated en verso, 20 in. x 9 in., original gilt acorn and oak leaf motif frame with brass artist plaque. $12000/18000 Provenance: William Albert Swasey, FAIA, (1863‑1940), St. Louis, MO; his son, Albert Swasey; Massachusetts Family, c. 1962. 174. William Henry Buck (Norwegian/New Orleans, 1840‑1888) , “Cattle Grazing beside a Cabin among Live Oak Trees”, oil on canvas, signed and inscribed “Wm. H. Buck, N.O.” lower right, 18 in. x 30 in., framed. $125000/175000 Note: William Henry Buck created the most expansive known body of work depicting the Louisiana landscape in the 19th century. There is a masterful quality to the best paintings: the subtle luminosity, exquisite brushwork, and keen attention to detail of place and landscape. The work offered here is one such example. An accomplished depiction of a rural Louisiana landscape, the composition is unusual for Buck with its use of a diagonal perspective where the road leads to a building barely perceptible on the horizon line. A dense and fulsome tree line of moss- laden live oaks dominates the composition. An Acadian cabin sits in the center of the painting with an African-American figure seated in the doorway, overseeing the cows grazing in the idyllic pasture.