621

Daniel Ridgeway Knight (American/Paris, 1839-1924), "Lavandiere," c. 1880s,

oil on canvas, signed and localized "Paris" lower right, presented in a giltwood frame,
H.- 22 in., W.- 18 1/4 in., Framed- H.- 28 1/4 in., W.- 25 in.

  • Provenance: The Estate of Laura Simon Nelson, formerly married to Dr. James W. Nelson, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

    Note: Daniel Ridgway Knight, a native of Philadelphia, spent the majority of his career in France, exhibiting regularly at the Paris Salon. Ridgway Knight studied at the Pennsylvania Academy, before enrolling at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in the early 1860s, where he was a pupil of Charles Gleyre and Ernest Meissonier. Through his studies, Ridgway Knight was exposed to Barbizon painting, which privileged outdoor plein air studies of the sacred forest of Fontainebleau and the peasantry who tended the nearby fields. Particularly influential were the works of Jean-Francois Millet, who greatly influenced younger artists to emulate his studies of the peasantry from a more idealized perspective that aggrandized "salt of the earth" daily labor into pastorals of rural France. Jules Breton and Bastien-Lepage created numerous depictions of sowers, gleaners, and harvesters resting.  Americans, on the eve of celebrating their centennial and looking to heal post-Civil War unrest, found inspiration in France's agrarian images of democracy. Winslow Homer, William Morris Hunt, and Daniel Ridgway Knight were among the American artists most influenced by Barbizon painting. So influential was the Franco-American movement that Ridgway Knight devoted the remained of his career to depictions of peasantry, captured in labor or in a quick respite, daydream or interlude from rigorous travail as a shepherdess, gleaner, harvester or washerwoman- as seen here. Ridgway Knight debuted at the Paris Salon of 1875 to widespread acclaim with a large composition of Washerwomen at the Seine River ("Les Laveuses"- au bord de la Seine). Smaller compositions followed and were exhibited both in Paris and at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts under the titles "Lavandiere(s)/Washerwoman/women," "Wash Day," and "Women Washing Clothes by a Stream." Ridgway Knight's home on the Seine in Poissy (a western suburb of Paris) gave the artist direct exposure to village washerwomen- the setting for which this painting was likely executed, given the medieval architecture of the buildings in the distance. 
  • Condition: In overall very good condition. The painting has been relined on newer stretchers. The surface is free of craquelure or losses. Under UV light, there are small areas of inpainting to the top edge, to the tree top and building facade in the upper left center. No tears/repairs were detected. There are also small inpainted "touch-ups" scattered throughout the grass (most are to the mid-center right of the brook). Inpainting is professionally well done, and not readily visible unless under UV light. Please see additional UV light photographs. Inpainting is to be expected with age, material and use. Frame has a few minor nicks.
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    ALL PROPERTY IS SOLD "AS IS." NO STATEMENT REGARDING CONDITION OF ANY ITEM, WHETHER IT IS MADE ORALLY AT THE AUCTION OR ANY OTHER TIME, OR IN WRITING IN THE CATALOGUE OR ELSEWHERE, SHALL BE DEEMED TO BE A WARRANTY, REPRESENTATION, OR ASSUMPTION OF LIABILITY.


    Condition is not stated in the description of the item. The absence of a condition report does not mean that the item is free of damage or condition issues. Some items do show signs of age or wear. CCAG strongly suggests that you do not bid without requesting a condition report. Requests for condition reports will not be honored after 5 p.m. CST on the Tuesday prior to the auction.

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November 9, 2024 10:00 AM CST
New Orleans, LA, US

Crescent City Auction Gallery

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