Palmer traveled widely in search of inspiration, including frequent return trips to Europe, but in 1915, when the start of World War One made foreign travel unwise, she began summering in Provincetown, Massachusetts, where she studied under renowned American Impressionist Charles W. Hawthorne. View from the Water, Provincetown is a delightful example of the effect Impressionism had on Palmer’s established academic foundation. The light-filled composition and colorful buildings on the pier, as well as the looseness of her strokes in the water, reflect her adaption of plein-air painting, while her use of a palette knife when rendering the sky is a clear sign of Hawthorne’s influence. The scene captures the town’s Center Methodist Church on Commercial Street, first constructed in 1860 and now home to the Provincetown Public Library.

More information about this painting...

Provenance:

Private collection, 1940s

By descent to private collection, Texas, until 2005

To Caldwell Gallery, Hudson, New Your (as Provincetown Pier), 2005

To private collection, Illinois, 2006

Eventually with Richard H. Love Galleries, Chicago, Illinois

Eventually to Dr. William H. Marshall, Peoria, Illinois, and later his estate by 2021    

Labels:

1. Godel & Co. Fine Art, New York, New York / Pauline Palmer (1867-1938) / View from the Water, Provincetown / Oil on board / 20 1/8 x 16 inches / GC-2894
2. Richard H. Love Galleries, Chicago, Illinois / P-2153/16583 / Pauline Palmer / oil on canvas: 20 x 26 inches / signed: lower right / VIEW FROM THE WATER PROVINCETOWN
3. Photograph affixed verso possibly showing inscription on artist’s original board prior to being mounted to thicker board: Reflections / by / Pauline Palmer / $150 (?)