Episcopal Church, Spartanburg, SC
Oil on canvas
16 x 20 inches
Circa 1925
As published in:
Scenic Impressions: Southern Interpretations from the Johnson Collection
As exhibited in:
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
When she was an impressionable twelve-year-old, Josephine Sibley Couper made her first trip abroad. The experience transformed her from something of a tomboy to a young girl eager for art lessons. As an adult, she studied with William Merritt Chase at the Art Students League and took a plein air workshop in Old Lyme, Connecticut.
In the mid-1920s, Couper took refresher courses with Hugh Breckenridge who encouraged her to paint more vividly by incorporating obvious brushwork and bright colors. Episcopal Church, Spartanburg, SC displays his influence: intense, distinct daubs of pigment define flowers and leaves as the building radiates sunshine on one side, casting the flank in purple shadows.
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