Questroyal 2009

Samuel Colman ( 1832 – 1920 ) Plate 12 Morning , 1859 Oil on canvas 15 1 / 4 x 24 3 / 16 inches Signed and dated lower right: S.Colman ’ 59 provenance Kenneth Lux Gallery, NewYork Private collection, NewYork Private collection, Connecticut exhibited Kenneth Lux Gallery, NewYork, Nineteenth-century American Paintings , November 15 –December 10 , 1977 literature Nineteenth-century American Paintings , exh. cat. (NewYork: Kenneth Lux Gallery, 1977 ), n.p., no. 5 . [T]o the eye of refined taste, to the quiet lover of nature, there is a peculiar charm in Colman’s style which, sooner or later, will be widely appreciated. henry t. tuckerman , art critic and author of Book of the Artists, 1870 1 The variety within his art, the quality of his paintings and etchings, the wanderings to far, remote corners of the world, and his prominent role in major artistic activities in his day make him an interesting personality and an artist well worth reviving. wayne craven , art historian, 1976 2 Finding Religion and Order in Nature The beautiful simplicity of Colman’s works—evident in Morning — conceals the intense thought and philosophy behind his poetic landscapes. As detailed in his writings, Colman viewed landscape as more than just the representation of spaces; rather, he found spirituality, truth, and beauty in nature’s ordered variety and graceful unity. Eventually, Colman expressed his artistic ideas in a book titled Nature’s Harmonic Unity; a Treatise on its relation to proportional form ( 1912 ). In the first chapter, “Order is Heaven’s First Law,” the artist explained: “Unity is the highest element of beauty, and there can be no question but that the laws of growth in Nature are the fundamental ones which govern it.” 3 He later published a second book, Proportional form; further studies in the science of beauty, being supplemental to those set forth in “Nature’s harmonic unity” ( 1920 ), which espoused similar theories. Needless to say, Colman always strove to translate his philoso- phies of nature to the visual realm, creating painted masterpieces of serene harmony. — jlw Colman’s works are featured in the collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Brooklyn Museum, Fine Art Museums of San Francisco, National Academy Museum, and Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. 1 Henry T. Tuckerman, Book of the Artists (NewYork: James F. Carr, reprinted 1966 ), p. 560 . 2 Wayne Craven, “Samuel Colman ( 1832 – 1920 ): Rediscovered Painter of Far-Away Places,” American Art Journal 8 , no 1 (May 1976 ): 16 , 37 . 3 Samuel Colman, “Chapter One” in Nature’s Harmonic Unity; a Treatise on its relation to proportional form , ed. C. Arthur Coan (New York and London: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1912 ), p. 3 .