EDMUND CHARLES TARBELL (AMERICAN, 1862-1938)
The girl in the pines (A Summer Idyll)
signed 'Tarbell' (lower right), inscribed 'To Mr & Mrs Bush from The Tarbells' (lower left)
oil on canvas
73.6 x 55.8 cm. (29 x 22 in.)
Painted in 1893

Provenance
With R.H Love Galleries, Inc., Chicago, Illinois.
Sale; Sotheby's, American Paintings, Drawings and Sculpture, 25 May 1988, New York, lot 183, Illustrated on page 211 of the catalogue;
thence by family decent.

Literature
Catalogue of paintings and portraits by E.C Tarbell, Galleries of M. Knoedler & Co., Knoedler & Company, New York, 556-558 Fifth Ave., near 46^th St, February 25th to March 9th, inclusive 1918, No. 20 "Summer Idyl" Washington, D. C. .. Artist F T .’ page 2.

Born in 1862, Groton Massachusetts, Tarbell is now regarded as one of the leading painters of his time. His animated career led him to be known not only as an admired impressionist, but also as a founder of artistic groups and a great teacher, educating artists across America throughout the late 1900s until his death in 1938. Tarbell was head of the Boston School of artists, now named the ‘Tarbellites’.[1]

As a young man, Tarbell attended evening art classes at the Massachusetts Normal Art School. In 1879, he attended the school of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, where he was taught under Otto Grundmann. Following this, the artist transported his studies to Paris where he joined the Académie Julian. His exposure to training in the centre of the art world at this time lead to the dual influence of both Old Master traditions and the Impressionists. After some time travelling and developing his craft, Tarbell returned to Boston in 1886.Following his return, in the early 1890s he began to receive positive praise for his plein air works. Notable examples were In the Orchard (Terra Foundation for the Arts, Chicago, Daniel J. Terra Collection, 1999.141), Three Sisters—A Study of June Sunlight of 1890 (Milwaukee Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Montgomery Sears) as well as the present example, The girl in the pines (A Summer Idyll) which was gifted by the artist and has since been privately owned. Each of these examples showcase the artist's position as an Impressionist painter, inspired by nature and figures (most often his family members) in outdoor scenes.

Here, the figure, dressed in a clean white dress and hat, playfully peaks out from behind a pine tree, smiling at the artist. The vibrant palette and bright treatment of light greatly enhance the depiction of a warm and vivid summers day, typical of much of Tarbell’s early works.

References

[1] Sadakichi Hartman in his critique, "The Tarbellites," Art News 1 (March 1897): 3-4.
[2] HALE, PHILIP L. “EDMUND C. TARBELL—PAINTER OF PICTURES: LIVING AMERICAN PAINTERS—TWELFTH ARTICLE.” Arts & Decoration (1910-1918), vol. 2, no. 4, 1912, pp. 129–58.
[3] TRASK, JOHN E. D. “ABOUT TARBELL.” The American Magazine of Art, vol. 9, no. 6, 1918, pp. 217–28.
[4] Buckley, Laurene, and Edmund Charles Tarbell. Edmund C. Tarbell : Poet of Domesticity. New York: Hudson Hills Press, 2001. Print.
[5] Strickler, Susan E et al. Impressionism Transformed : The Paintings of Edmund C. Tarbell. Manchester, N.H: Currier Gallery of Art, 2001. Print.