WALTER BLACKMAN (American, 1847-1928). Woman with Upswept Hair. Oil on panel in an elaborate carved and gilt frame. 8-3/...

Description

WALTER BLACKMAN (American, 1847-1928)
Woman with Upswept Hair
Oil on panel in an elaborate carved and gilt frame
8-3/4 x 6-1/4 inches (22.2 x 15.9 cm)
Signed upper right: W. Blackman

THE JEAN AND GRAHAM DEVOE WILLIFORD CHARITABLE TRUST
PROVENANCE:
George Webster Adams, Utica, New York (per handwritten label verso he was the father of George Webster Adams, Jr.).

The smooth porcelain finish of this exquisite painting is a testament to Walter Blackman's training at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris under Gerome. Born in New York, Blackman went to Paris in the early 1860s, where he studied initially at the Academy but then switched to studying in the independent studios that began to appear during the course of the decade as an alternative to the Academy's overarching emphasis on draftsmanship and classical traditions of rendering. Groups of students, including Blackman, organized two independent ateliers, in which Bonnat and Carolus-Duran served as visiting critics. This encouraged more progressive views on subject matter and style. Blackman returned to New York in 1868 where he found it difficult to establish himself, particularly with the National Academy. He decided to move to London, after receiving a warmer artistic reception for his paintings, and where he received an invitation to exhibit at the Royal Academy. Exhibition records in London note that he was actively exhibiting between 1878 and 1895. Blackman was also a poet, and for the last fifteen years of his life he divided his time between London and Paris.

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