Alfred Maurer (American, 1868-1932) Plums and Pears

Description:

Alfred Maurer (American, 1868-1932)

Plums and Pears
Signed "A Maurer" u.r., identified on labels from the deCordova Museum, Lincoln, Massachusetts, and Buchholz Gallery, Curt Valentin, New York, affixed to the frame and reverse, respectively.
Oil on panel, 18 1/4 x 21 1/2 in. (46.3 x 54.6 cm),framed.
Condition: Varnish discoloration, surface grime, with an oil sketch, signed "A.H. Maurer" u.l., with multiple losses and abrasions, on the reverse.

Provenance: From the collection of Hudson Dean Walker, by gift to Mrs. Joshua Binion Cahn, by gift to the DeCordova Sculpture Garden and Museum, Lincoln, Massachusetts.

Exhibitions: Alfred H. Maurer 1868-1932, Buchholz Gallery, Curt Valentin, New York, with an essay by Elizabeth McCausland, 1943 (?),as no. 16.

N.B. Alfred Maurer was an American modernist painter based in New York. Trained as a lithographer, he began his career as a self-assured realist. He travelled to Paris early in 1897 and briefly attended the Académie Julian. He continued to work in the conservative, naturalistic style until 1904, when he abruptly changed his aesthetic completely. Upon meeting Leo and Gertrude Stein and being exposed to the work of Cézanne, Lautrec, Picasso, and Matisse, Maurer was converted to modern painting. He exhibited his new work at the revolutionary Salon d'Automne in 1905, displaying canvases that experimented with bold colors and simplified forms. Indeed, Maurer was one of the first American painters to take a significant interest in fauvist and cubist painting. He was forced to hastily return to America in 1914 due to the outbreak of World War I, unfortunately leaving behind a studio full of work, which appears to have been lost. Back in the States, Maurer's work became increasingly abstract, always remaining committed to modernism.
Estimate $40,000-60,000

Frame dimensions: 25 x 27 1/2 in.


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