193

Colin Campbell Cooper

(1856-1937)

"Edgartown Harbor - Edgartown, MA," 1915

Oil on canvas laid to board
Signed and dated lower left: Colin Campbell Cooper 1915; titled on the frame plaque; alternatively titled "At Edgartown, Martha's Vineyard"
29.25" H x 36.25" W

  • Provenance:
    Sold: Sotheby's, New York, NY, March 15, 1995, Lot 113
    From the Collection of Robert A. Day

    Other notes:
    Colin Campbell Cooper was a prominent American Impressionist painter best known for his architectural cityscapes and urban scenes. Born in Philadelphia, Cooper studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and later in Europe, where he was deeply influenced by the French Impressionists. His early works reflect his fascination with light, atmosphere, and the bustling life of modern cities, especially during a time when skyscrapers and urbanization were reshaping the American landscape.

    Cooper earned acclaim for his vibrant depictions of American and European cities, particularly New York, Chicago, and Paris. He was among the first American painters to capture the vertical grandeur of skyscrapers using Impressionist techniques, skillfully portraying the interplay between sunlight and steel. These paintings not only celebrated technological progress but also brought an artistic sensitivity to the modern urban experience. Cooper's work often featured crowds, horse-drawn carriages, and iconic buildings, offering a snapshot of early 20th-century life.

    Cooper travelled widely and also painted landscapes, portraits, and travel scenes from Asia, the Middle East, the American South, California, and elsewhere. His versatility and dedication to capturing beauty in both natural and man-made environments cemented his reputation as a key figure in American Impressionism. As an educator and exhibitor, he contributed to the development of American art in the early 1900s and remains celebrated for blending traditional Impressionist methods with a uniquely American subject matter.

    In summer 1915, Cooper made his only known trip to Martha's Vineyard, where he painted the present work in Edgartown. Later that year, Cooper and his artist-wife Emma Lampert Cooper spent an enjoyable winter of 1915-16 in Southern California, where they both participated in the Panama-Pacific International Exposition. Between 1918 and 1919, Cooper spent time working and exhibiting in Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts, including on Nantucket. After Emma's death from tuberculosis in 1920, Cooper settled permanently in Santa Barbara.

    Of the period around 1915 to 1920, William H. Gerdts writes, "Cooper appears to have been joining Hassam and a good many other American artists in seeking out the more traditional aspects of American life, almost in contradistinction to the architectural 'newness' with which he had become associated, concentrating on the 'old' American rather than the modern, a nationalistic preference that could only have received further motivation from America's entry into World War I" (William H. Gerdts and Deborah Epstein Solon, "East Coast / West Coast and Beyond: Colin Campbell Cooper - American Impressionist," Laguna Art Museum, Laguna, CA, p. 62).

    The present painting's charming view of the seaside homes, docks, and boats on Edgartown's historic harbor is presented in a pure Impressionist palette. The jewel-toned blue hues of the calm harbor are reflected in the bright sky, and Cooper's steadfast interest in architecture, whether older and traditional like these homes, or cutting-edge city skyscrapers, is on display.
  • Condition: Visual: Overall good appearance. Scattered areas of craquelure. As mentioned, the canvas is laid to board. Small scattered areas of the canvas lifting from the board to which it is laid, primarily visible in raking light.

    Blacklight: Scattered areas of touch-up, the largest 0.75" H x 0.5" W, primarily in the outer edges and corners. A 0.25" H x 0.75" W area of touch-up surrounding the head of the leftmost figure in the lower left quadrant, as well as a few pea-sized (or smaller) touch-ups scattered throughout.

    Frame: 40.25" H x 47.25" W x 4.5" D


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