"As the Canoe Swept By..."

Details

Frank Earle Schoonover (1877-1972)
"As the Canoe Swept By..."
signed and dated 'Frank E Schoonover--/1950' (lower right)--dated again 'April 1950' (on the reverse)
oil on canvas
28 x 46 in. (71.1 x 116.8 cm.)
Painted in 1950.

Provenance

The artist.
Mr. and Mrs. William Stanier, commissioned from the above, 1950.
Mr. and Mrs. Stephen K. Leech, by descent.
Alma Leech, by descent.
Darryl Leech, Atlanta, Georgia, by descent.
[With]Schoonover Studios, Ltd., Wilmington, Delaware.
Private collection, 2005.
Bonhams, San Francisco, California, 11 December 2012, lot 203.
Acquired by the present owner from the above.

Literature

H.C. Pitz, "Frank E. Schoonover: An Exemplar of the Pyle Tradition," American Artist, November 1964, p. 65, illustrated.
F.E. Schoonover, The Edge of Wilderness, Toronto, Canada, 1974, p. 156, illustrated (as The Canoeists).
J.R. Schoonover, L.S. Smith, L. Dean, Frank E. Schoonover: Catalogue Raisonne, vol. II, New Castle, Delaware, 2009, pp. 655, 702-03, no. 2450, illustrated.

Lot Essay

The present composition was originally created by Frank E. Schoonover as an illustration for Laurie York Erskine's "Why Craig Laughed" in the May 1940 issue of The American Boy--Youth's Companion. The work depicts the story's line: "As the canoe swept by, Tom caught a glimpse of Crawford, but what he saw sent through him a chill of horror."

Unfortunately, on March 2, 1950, the original painting was destroyed in a cabin fire in Vermont. That same year, at the request of the work's owner Mr. William Stainer, Schoonover painted the present version to replace the lost work.

More from American Art

View All