Solitude

A letter from the artist to Lee Phillips, Jr. regarding the present work reads, "Your painting has been completed now for over two months and the reason I did not send it before this is that I wanted to keep it face to the wall for several weeks then suddenly examine it with a critical eye to see if it is as good as I thought it was...I believe it is one of my best landscapes and of course hope you agree...I hope you are not disappointed that I left the cattle out; I call the painting 'Solitude' and perhaps this will explain the reason why. I want the viewer of the painting to feel he is the only intruder in a scene of complete aloneness...The inclusion of anything living would have robbed the painting of this mood...I hope you will stop in to see us again when near here...I'd like to take you to the spot where I painted this tempera about 15 miles west of Roswell." (Peter Hurd to Lee Phillips Jr., August 28, 1955). A copy of this letter will accompany this lot.