The Demuth Museum unveiled seven new paintings at it’s fourth-annual Bastille Day Party on July 13. The new donations are from early in Charles Demuth’s career, before 1917.
Three of the gifts are from Ann Hill, the niece of Richard Weyand, who lived in Demuth’s home with Robert Locher until his untimely death in 1956. The three gifts consist of a crayon drawing of two women gossiping under an umbrella and their dogs, a landscape with windmill from Demuth’s time spent in Provincetown and a landscape of lush green hills. These works have not been seen publicly in decades and give us new insight to Demuth’s working methods and use of color. Executive Director, Anne M. Lampe notes, “Charles’ whimsical nature and his quick wit are shown in how he captures these local ladies who’ve met up during their daily dog walk. He had the unique ability to infuse everyday observations with his own sense of humor. The landscape with windmill gives us another look into the magical summer he spent in Provincetown working towards his mature, precisionist style.” The other four gifts to the collection are three pencil drawings and a wonderful Marine scene, that are all given in honor of Executive Director, Anne M. Lampe. The Marine watercolor is a particularly notable addition to the collection as it has not been seen publicly in over fifty years and is an exhibit of the Fauvist influence in Charles’ early work. Lampe says of the pencil drawings, “They give us great insight into the working mind of the artist and flesh out portions of the collection heretofore unexplored.” These new acquisitions will be on view until September 1, 2013 in conjunction with our current exhibition, Charles Demuth: Gardens and More
The museum celebrates Bastille Day in honor of Demuth’s time in Paris, where he learned from famous and influential artists before bringing European ideals to Lancaster.