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Frederick Ferdinand Schafer Painting Catalog

Painting record FFSd0072

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[photo] [Fisherman beneath Bridal Veil Fall]

Medium: oil on canvas, lined
Size: 51 x 30 in (130 x 76 cm)
Inscription: l/r "F. Schafer", in the artist's characteristic block-letter hand, underlined, with vertical mark (accent?) over the "a".
Provenance: Offered 25 May 1982 (not sold) by Butterfield & Butterfield, San Francisco, as lot 172 in sale 3205A. Sold 23 September 1982 for $800+10% by Butterfield & Butterfield, San Francisco, as lot 180 in sale 3220P. Sold 24 March 1983 for $850+10% by Butterfield & Butterfield, San Francisco, as lot 2617 in sale 3307P. Sold 13 July 1989 for $850+10% by Butterfield & Butterfield, San Francisco, as lot 2540 in sale 4096P/P48 to Christopher Queen Galleries, Duncans Mills, California, inventory record 479; sold July 1990 to private collection, San Francisco; sold 24 September 2023 for $4750+25% by Abell Auction Company, Los Angeles, as lot 493 in "Jewelry, Fine Art, and Antiques" sale.
Reproductions: Butterfield & Butterfield 25 May 1982 sale catalog; Early California and Western Art Research/Schafer slide #59 (color, 1982); Butterfield & Butterfield 13 July 1989 sale catalog; Abell Auction Company 24 September 2023 sale catalog.
Site: View from Bridalveil Meadow across the Merced River with Bridalveil Fall in the background, in Yosemite Valley, California.
Description: Water falls from a cliff between tall, reddish peaks (the Cathedral Rocks) in the background, landing behind a conifer forest. The river fills the foreground, with a fisherman standing in the water on the other side facing the viewer; the fisherman's line is just visible. Tall cedar trees stand on the right; a fallen tree crosses the lower right corner. The bright blue sky, falls, and far bank contrast with the central, dark, green and brown trees and the greenish stream. (From the painting, 10 January 1990.)
Note: Tree identification suggested by Arnold Wallen.
Identification: Descriptive title of unknown origin, from the 1982 sale catalog, with "Falls" changed to "Fall" to match Schafer's usual name for that site. The portrait orientation, the unique size, the identical signature description, and failure of the first attempt at sale suggest that the three closely-spaced sales are probably all of the same painting.
Other title(s): Yosemite (1989 and 2023 sale catalogs); Yosemite-Fisherman on the Merced river (Christopher Queen Galleries)
In index(es): Title list, fishing scenes, Yosemite Valley--Bridalveil Fall

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Mar 10, 2024, 11:47 MDT Accessibility