Beach Scene
Oil on board
16 x 20 inches
1924
Work on loan: Florence County Museum, Florence, South Carolina
As published in:
Scenic Impressions: Southern Interpretations from the Johnson Collection
As exhibited in:
Edward Gay: An American Landscape Painter, 2024, Florence County Museum, South Carolina
Scenic Impressions: Southern Interpretations from the Johnson Collection, 2015–2018, Dixon Gallery and Gardens, Memphis, Tennessee; Morris Museum of Art, Augusta, Georgia; McKissick Museum of Art at the University of South Carolina, Columbia; Telfair Museums, Savannah, Georgia; Knoxville Museum of Art, Tennessee; Rosalind Sallenger Richardson Center for the Arts at Wofford College, Spartanburg, South Carolina
The quintessential Irishman is typically portrayed as an affable storyteller, surrounded by a large and loving family. Such a description fits Edward Gay nicely, but he was also a prolific and successful painter, recognized in his day for sensitive and unpretentious landscapes.
Gay’s aesthetic direction changed significantly in 1881 during a trip to London where he saw landscapes by the English master John Constable. Around 1900, Gay began to spend winters in Florida. Rendered on a firm board with broad brushstrokes, Beach Scene exemplifies a plein air sketch, which he probably completed in one sitting. With its billowing clouds and earth tones, it demonstrates the influence of his artistic mentor, Constable.
Other works by this artist