Medium: | oil on canvas, lined |
Size: | 14 x 20 in. (36 x 51 cm) |
Inscription: | l/r "SFchafer", initials conjoined in a monogram, in a block-lettering hand not that of the artist |
Provenance: | With eBay, northern California, 16 November 2008; to private collection, Milwaukie, Oregon. Sold 20 March 2012 for $1100 + 20% by Matthew's Galleries (auction), Lake Oswego, Oregon, as lot #64 in "March Fine Art Auction" sale, inventory #8882. |
Reproductions: | Matthew's Galleries (auction) web site, March Fine Art Auction, lot #64 |
Citations: | ebay item #220307663857, 16 Nov 2008 |
Attribution: | While the mountains and trees appear to be typical of Schafer's work and the painting is signed, it has several characteristics that suggest that the signature may be erroneous. The palette is unusually dark and brown-based, the sky unusually forbidding for a Schafer painting. The water is mirror-like where Schafer usually does not provide explicit reflections. The painting is uniformly illuminated, where Schafer usually provides a bright central focus. The signature is quite different from Schafer's usual block-lettering hand, being formed with rounded letters. The monogram that begins the signature is constructed differently from his usual monogram with the "S" placed ahead of the "F", and signature ends with capitalization of the letters "ER". For these reasons, the attribution to Schafer is open to question. |
Site: | The Three Sisters mountains, Oregon, viewed across a river. |
Note: | The eBay listing reports the size as 14 x 24 in, but the photographs are of aspect ratio 0.7 to 1.0, which is consistent with the 14 x 20 in size reported by Matthew's Galleries (auction). |
Identification: | Assigned, descriptive title as suggested by Matthew's Galleries (auction), expanding on the alternate title suggested by the eBay listing. The photographs, while having different color casts, are of the same painting. |
Other title(s): | [The Three Sisters, Oregon] (eBay listing) |
In index(es): | questioned attributions |