American Art and Pennsylvania Impressionists

The present lot is accompanied by a letter from Michael Quick dated November 11, 2023 that confirms the work's authenticity. Golden Glow will be included in the online supplement to the catalogue raisonné of the works of George Inness, published in 2007. We are grateful to Mr. Quick for his assistance.

Provenance:

Clarence W. Seamans, Ilion, New York.

By descent to Dorothy (Seamans) Self.

By descent to Jean Self Coates, Greenwich, Connecticut.

By descent in the family to the current owner.

Private Collection, Pennsylvania.

Lot Note:

In the 1860s, subsequent to travels through Rome, Florence, and Paris, Inness underwent a transformative phase in his career. Increasingly influenced by philosophical and spiritual currents—and particularly the teachings of Swedish scientist and mystic, Emanuel Swedenborg—Inness's paintings from the period reflect a profound shift towards a more introspective, contemplative approach to the landscape.

Works like Golden Glow, executed in 1862, signal a departure from the broad panoramas of the Hudson River School; in their nuanced exploration of the natural world they recall the painterly canvases of Titian and the landscapes of the Barbizon School, both of which he encountered (and admired) while abroad. In the present lot, Inness employs a brooding palette that, according to Inness scholar Michael Quick likely “represents the dimness at the break of dawn.”

The ethereal, riverside landscape dissolves in an atmospheric haze—and a mere suggestion of reality. Capturing the quiet beauty of nature while conveying a heightened sense of spiritual and emotional depth, Golden Glow heralds a pivotal moment in Inness's career and in the evolution of nineteenth-century American landscape painting.