| Date: | 1900-1909 |
| Medium: | oil on canvas |
| Size: | 38 x 60 in (97 x 152 cm) |
| Inscription: | "F.S.1904" on a foreground rock, last digit a conjecture |
| Verso: | said to be "F.W. & Co. E No 1180 Plain" stencilled on the canvas |
| Provenance: | Collection of Hugh Baird, Mercer Island, Washington; to collection of J. Gould, West Seattle, Washington c. 1929; to collection of Mrs. Grace Anderson, 1959; by gift to Seattle Art Museum 1968 (public), inventory #68.182. |
| Reproductions: | IAP S2.96 LC10/8; William K. Dick photo #170 (undated) |
| Citations: | IAP #56490025; Seattle Art Museum accession file. |
| Attribution: | The apparently crisp style of this painting is unusual for Frederick Schafer, and the inscription "F.S." has never turned up on a painting clearly in his style. The painting is accompanied with questionable legends about a Seattle studio from 1900 to 1906 and that Schafer signed paintings "F.S." when drunk. It seems more likely that this painting is by another artist who shares the initials, possibly Fred Swanwell. Other paintings, similarly signed, can be found in the discussion of Signatures with initials only. |
| Site: | Mount Rainier, in Washington state southeast of Seattle. An appraiser has suggested that the lake is Lake Mowich. |
| Description: | A massive snow-covered mountain stands in the center against a cloudy sky, above a small lake; a smaller peak (presumably Little Tahoma) stands well to the left. At the left edge is a grove of trees; the nearest tree is leafless, apparently dead; In the left foreground is a fallen tree and a stump and boulder are silhouetted against the bright lake. In the right foreground are several small bushes. Across the lake, the low hillsides between the lake and the mountain are forested; the various forests are of different brightnesses. There may be a sailboat on the far side of the lake. (From a monochrome photograph.) |
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