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Frederick Ferdinand Schafer Painting Catalog

Painting record FFSd0946

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[photo] Evening on Mount Shasta, California [2] (attributed)
Date: by 1890 (see note)
Medium: oil on canvas, back covered with transparent mylar
Size: 28 x 40 inches (71 x 102 cm)
Inscription: l/r "Evening on Mt Shasta Cal." in an unknown block-letter hand, not that of the artist, incised in the wet paint.
Verso: In an unknown hand, centered, from top down:
"Mt Shasta, California" (partially obscured by upper stretcher bar)
"Presented to the Srs of the Novitiate of" [Srs = sisters]
"Oakland, Cal"
"Original by Schafer"
"Presented to Rev. Mother J. Baptist Supr Gen" [Supr Gen = superior general]
"Hochelaga"
"Montreal"
"PQ" [PQ = Province of Quebec]
l/l "June 24, 1890"
Provenance: Sold 12 June 2012 for $2400 + 23% by Waddington's Auctioneers and Appraisers, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Offered 22 Aug 2012 through late 2013 via eBay by "arts_sports", Ontario, Canada. Offered 8 February 2014 (not sold) as lot 141 in sale 316, Winter feature auction, by Thomaston Place Auction Galleries, Thomaston, Maine. Sold 2 June 2018 for $1500 +20% as lot 2280 in "Worldly Enticements, Timeless Temptations" sale by Thomaston Place Auction Galleries, Thomaston, Maine to private collection, Lake Oswego, Oregon.
Reproductions: 12 June 2012 sale catalog; 8 February 2014 sale catalog; 2 June 2018 sale catalog
Attribution: The painting is unsigned, with verso attribution to "Schafer" in an unknown hand. In favor of attribution are that the general composition and palette are typical of Frederick F. Schafer, with a more detailed foreground, less finished distant planes, consistent light treatment, typical sky treatment, botanically accurate trees, and foreground debris and wild flowers. Against attribution are the oversimplified structure with just three disconnected planes, the lack of staffage, and atypical dimensions. Overall, the weight of evidence is somewhat in favor of attribution.
Site: Mount Shasta, viewed from the South, through an unidentified valley with Shastina on the left.
Note: The first four lines of the inscription are in a script-like block printing hand similar to that of the recto title inscription. The next four lines are in a more italic script-like block printing hand. The verso date seems to refer to a presentation date rather than the date of execution of the painting itself.
Identification: Title from recto inscription.
In index(es): Title list, Mount Shasta and Shastina, paintings probably attributable to Schafer

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Mar 10, 2024, 11:47 MDT Accessibility