John Whorf (American, 1903-1959) Sea Swell

Description:

John Whorf (American, 1903-1959)

Sea Swell
Signed "John Whorf." u.r., identified on a period label from Grace Horne's
Galleries, Boston, affixed to the backing.
Watercolor on paper/board, sight size 16 x 20 1/2 in. (40.6 x 52.1 cm),framed.
Condition: Subtle rippling, subtle toning, not examined out of frame.

N.B. At the age of twenty-one, in 1924, John Whorf had his first one-man show at the Grace Horne Gallery in Boston, which was an astounding success.1 The press proclaimed Whorf to be "Boston's leading watercolorist."2 John Singer Sargent and Dodge MacKnight both purchased Whorf's work; in 1925 and 1926 he studied with Sargent whose influence is seen here. Grace Horne's Galleries, and later the Shore Gallery, both in Boston, gave Whorf annual one man shows. At least one of the Grace Horne exhibitions was devoted to Whorf's paintings and watercolors of the West Indies, and an undated catalogue from this show references a work titled Sea Swell.

1 Arvest Galleries, Inc. John Whorf, N.A. , Boston Ma. 1984., p.4
2 Spanierman Gallery, LLc. 110 Years of American art: 1830-1940. New York, 2001. p. 133.

Estimate $12,000-18,000

Out of the frame, the work is hinged to the front mat at the u.r. and u.l. corners. There is tape and residue on the reverse. Pinholes at corners. There is mat burn as well as some toning, fading, and subtle rippling.

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