Dryads Green Gallery
Where collectors find the masterpiece American art they want!
George Gardner Symons
Gallery Database:
George Gardner Symons (1861-1930). "Blue Barn Westfield River," oil on canvas over artist board, 9 x 12, signed.
Gallery Database:
George Gardner Symons (1861-1930). "Woodpile in Winter," oil on artist board, 8 x 10, signed.
WE ARE LUCKY TO HAVE TWO SYMONS' POCHADES FOR SALE!
Curator's Comments:
Symons works are noted for their energy and simplicity. Although his Western desert and Grand Canyon paintings are highly acclaimed, he is best remembered for his snowy winter landscapes of New England, especially of the Berkshires and Tobacco Valley. Best valued of all are his small sketches on board, often 6 x 8 inches in size. These pochades capture his vigor and his truly unique vision. Symons' style is impressionist, but accentuated by realistic effects of shimmering light. His snow scenes are covered with areas of brilliant white flanked by deep and lively permutations in single contrasting shades. We offer two pochades The Blue Barn Westfield and The Woodpile in Winter, both scintillating winter scenes that are fascinating for their mastery.
George Gardner Symons is one of America's most noted plein-air painters whose works blended realism with a broad, vigorous, impressionistic strokes. Born in Chicago, Illinois, he studied at the Art Institute of Chicago where he met his life-long friend, the painter William Wendt. Then Symons traveled overseas to study in London, Paris, and Munich. He joined a colony of artists at St. Ives, Cornwall, learning new plein-air techniques. After returning, he soon settled in Brooklyn, New York in 1909. At that time, due to his concerns about anti-Semitism, he changed his name from Simon to Symons. Earlier, in 1884, he had made his first trip to Southern California, and in 1896, accompanied by Wendt, he returned and built a studio south of Laguna Beach, where they were able to paint en plein air year-round. He split his time between the coasts, and in the east also maintained a studio at his country home in Colrain, Massachusetts, to the west of the Pioneer Valley, where the Westfield River flows into the Connecticut. Symons has two works in the Smithsonian, and hangs in the Chicago Art Institute, the Corcoran Gallery in Washington, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the National Academy of Design. His awards range from Salmagundi to the Phillips Collection.
AND WE JUST ADDED A MAJOR SYMONS LANDSCAPE TO OUR GALLERY!
Gallery Database:
George Gardner Symons (1861-1930). "Forest Brook, Greenfield," oil on canvas, 26 x 30, signed.
WE CALL IT
LANDSCAPE
EN GRISAILLE!
Curator's Comments:
To paint en grisaille means using all the grey color values between black or brown and white--with the idea being to give the painting the effect of sculpture. A number of times, Symons experimented with this technique on landscape, achieving brilliant results. Here nature is the sculptor and winter freezes the medium. We think this new addition to our collection is one of Symon's very best landscapes, and are pleased to offer it to collectors.