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Lot Essay
Fairfield Porter found endless inspiration in the unique landscape of Maine, once declaring, “I’ve been to Maine almost every summer since I was six. It’s the place where most of all I feel myself to belong.” (as quoted in Fairfield Porter’s Maine, Southampton, New York, 1977) Ever since he was a child, Porter’s family spent the warmer months at their house on the small, mile-long and half-mile-wide Great Spruce Head Island in Penobscot Bay. In the present work Island Beach, Porter shares a view of this beloved personal landscape as seen from the rocky shore looking inland towards the white shingled buildings along the coast.
As demonstrated by Island Beach, Porter’s work, while realistic, is moreover a reflection of the artist’s impulsive feelings during the painting process. Inspired by both the intimate, representational paintings of French artists like Édouard Vuillard as well as Willem de Kooning’s Abstract Expressionism, he developed his own signature style combining concrete local detail with overall abstraction. William C. Agee explains, "[Porter's] paintings convey a strong sense of place and presence, but for him the literal transcription of what he saw before him was beside the point. The actual subject was of little concern; rather it was in the paint itself that he found the life, the vitality, and the wholeness of the painting. He understood that the difference between realism and abstraction is not as simple as it seems. " (Fairfield Porter: An American Painter, Southampton, New York, 1993, p. 11)
In the present work, Porter’s unaffected, spontaneous approach is seen through the small, gestural brushstrokes with which he paints on shadows and highlights in layers of contrasting shades, in a manner almost reminiscent of printmaking. Allowing the paint to layer and drip, he creates more the feeling of a rocky shoreline rather than a realistic representation. The buildings stand out as white blocks within the distant greenery, as a brushy gray sky transports the viewer to a cloudy summer day.
Porter's best works seem of-the-moment rather than practiced, casual and direct rather than forced. Uniquely capturing the beautiful imagery of his Maine homeland, Island Beach is a quintessential example of Porter’s play with both detailed and expressionist techniques.
As demonstrated by Island Beach, Porter’s work, while realistic, is moreover a reflection of the artist’s impulsive feelings during the painting process. Inspired by both the intimate, representational paintings of French artists like Édouard Vuillard as well as Willem de Kooning’s Abstract Expressionism, he developed his own signature style combining concrete local detail with overall abstraction. William C. Agee explains, "[Porter's] paintings convey a strong sense of place and presence, but for him the literal transcription of what he saw before him was beside the point. The actual subject was of little concern; rather it was in the paint itself that he found the life, the vitality, and the wholeness of the painting. He understood that the difference between realism and abstraction is not as simple as it seems. " (Fairfield Porter: An American Painter, Southampton, New York, 1993, p. 11)
In the present work, Porter’s unaffected, spontaneous approach is seen through the small, gestural brushstrokes with which he paints on shadows and highlights in layers of contrasting shades, in a manner almost reminiscent of printmaking. Allowing the paint to layer and drip, he creates more the feeling of a rocky shoreline rather than a realistic representation. The buildings stand out as white blocks within the distant greenery, as a brushy gray sky transports the viewer to a cloudy summer day.
Porter's best works seem of-the-moment rather than practiced, casual and direct rather than forced. Uniquely capturing the beautiful imagery of his Maine homeland, Island Beach is a quintessential example of Porter’s play with both detailed and expressionist techniques.