Frederick Ferdinand Schafer Painting Catalog

Problematic painting record FFSp1156
[photo] [Indians on the Amazon River]
Date: undated
Medium: oil on canvas
Size: 9.5 x 11.5 in. (sight, canvas is probably 10 x 12 in.)
Inscription: l/r "F Schafer", single dot above the "a", in a block-printing hand similar to that of Frederick Schafer
Verso: In chalk(?) on the canvas, "95". In pencil on the stretcher, "Indians on the Amazon River." in an unknown block-printing hand. A sticker label on the stretcher, "F. Schafer / On the Amazon" in pen in an unknown script hand.
Provenance: Sold 1 August 2021 by Helmut Stone Gallery, Sarasota, Florida for $868. as lot 97 in "Important Fine Art and Asian Antiques" sale.
Reproductions: Helmut Stone Gallery on-line sale catalog.
Attribution: The small size suggests that this painting is actually a sketch, which makes it hard to draw a convincing conclusion either for or against attribution.
Against... The unusually high quality of draftsmanship of figures and boats is unlike Schafer's other work. Schafer is not known to have ever visited Amazonia. Although there are other paintings of tropical scenes, they are purely botanical. The subject matter of this painting is unique. The palette is darker than usual. The treatment of clouds is unusual for Schafer. The painting is uniformly illuminated, light is not used to identify a central focus, and one cannot discern the direction of the light source. The signature shows some similarity to Schafer's usual signature but is not convincing. The nearly square format is unusual.
For... Water is convincingly natural. Although dark, palette is within range for Schafer. Foliage is botanically detailed throughout. The frame & canvas appear in the photographs to be of appropriate age.
Conclusion: Uncertain, may either be by Schafer or another artist who shares the name.
Identification: Title from verso inscriptions
In index(es): questioned attributions

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Sep 1, 2024, 19:55 MDT Accessibility