The Bulletin from Johnny Cake Hill, Summer 2013 - New Bedford ...

four remarkablebradfordpaintingsBy ELLERY H. KURTZNancy Jean (nee Bradford) Robertson acquired fourmarvelous paintings by William Bradford betweenNovember 2006 and November 2007. When I beganto work with Jean to acquire these paintings, I learnedthat her family was proud to count William Bradfordamong their ancestors. Unfortunately, Jean only hadthe pleasure of living with these paintings until 2012,when she passed away at the age of seventy-seven.I learned of Jean’s death last year when her familycontacted me to discuss placing the paintings on longterm loan to a museum.The first two Bradford paintings to enter into Jean’s collectionwere the remarkably sublime East River off Lower Manhattanc. 1861-1862 and the arresting Ships off the Labrador Coast ca. 1870s.East River off Lower Manhattan is notable for its realistic attentionto detail, as well as for being one of only two paintings of NewYork City by Bradford. In East River off Lower Manhattan, multipleships are at rest in the calm waters of New York City’s major shippingroute. The painting is crisply detailed and evenly illuminatedin full daylight. With attention to detail and a strongly paintedcomposition, the artist succeeded in producing a work that is both“ It was apparent that the joy she found in owningthe first two Bradfords had inspired Jean to addothers to her walls. This remarkable gem is amasterful painting done in a luminous style thatevokes the romance of the sea and the feelingof isolation that often accompanied the life of aseaman in the 19th century.”Paintings courtesy of the children and grand-children of Nancy Jean (Bradford) Robertson.Above: East River off Lower Manhattan, 1861-1862.Below: Ships off the Labrador Coast, 1870s.“The painting is crisply detailed and evenly illuminated in full daylight.”historically accurate and aesthetically beautiful. The reflections ofthe ships in the serene water are a marked comparison to some of theartist’s more dramatically narrative paintings of vessels caught in theice floes of the Arctic.Ships off the Labrador Coast, painted over a decade later, is distinctivelydifferent in subject, palette and infusion of light. Here we seeseveral ships in the northern waters off the Labrador coast set againsta background of icebergs and coastline bathed in the warm colorsof a setting sun. The relatively calm seas catch and reflect the warmcolors in stark contrast to the cold environment.In December 2006, Jean acquired Coastal Scene, 1860. It was apparentthat the joy she found in owning the first two Bradfords hadinspired Jean to add others to her walls. This remarkable gem is amasterful painting done in a luminous style that evokes the romanceof the sea and the feeling of isolation that often accompanied the lifeof a seaman in the 19th century. It is a very personal painting thatno doubt reflected the inner feelings of Bradford and his love for thislifestyle. The multi-toned sky, with layered planes of blues, lavenders,and yellows, successfully backlights and silhouettes the beached ship.Though small in size, it is very compelling through its strong compositionsupported by the multi-colored planes from foreground toshoreline to horizon to sky. It is a masterpiece that instantly mesmerizesthe viewer.The fourth and final painting by Bradford to enter into Jean’s lifecame in November, 2007 with the acquisition of the powerful,Working through the Ice in Melville Bay, 1869-1870. The darkest andmost dramatic of the four paintings, Bradford’s fascination with thebeauty and solitude of this frigid and remote environment is readilyconveyed to the viewer. Here the artist has depicted a two-mastedship immobilized by the ice fields with several mountainous icebergsin the background bathed in raking sunlight to build a beautifulcontrast between the red radiant warmth of the sun and frigid arcticcold of the ice. Compositionally, it is an extremely well thought outwork of art. The vessel is placed just to the right of center canvasimparting a sense of slow arduous forward motion through the ice.The reddish glow from a setting sun outside of the viewer’s vantagepoint produces deep shadows and exciting colors that illuminate theship, icebergs, and clouds in a gripping effect.Jean’s children expressed that she would have wanted the paintings tostay together for now. I could think of no other museum that wouldbe as glad to receive them than the New Bedford Whaling Museum.The Museum’s holdings of paintings, drawings and prints by the artistare the greatest repository of his work in the country. The abilityto study and display four more fully realized paintings in contextwill present an excellent opportunity to the collection, particularlybecause these paintings are of outstanding quality, rarity, and beauty.Four paintings, all executed by Bradford in different years and in differentcities are for now reunited due to Jean Robertson’s keen eye andeven keener desire to acquire them. She was proud that these Bradfordpaintings were appreciated by her family and I feel comfortablesaying that she would be immensely proud by having them displayedprominently on the walls of a venerable institution as the WhalingMuseum, where they can be enjoyed by the art viewing public. Allfour of the paintings will be on display at the museum in two exhibitionsopening in early May, Arctic Visions and Harbor Views.I am personally appreciative for the opportunity to have workedwith Jean and enabled her to have these paintings in her life. I amjust as appreciative of her family’s magnanimity in making thesepaintings available to the New Bedford Whaling Museum. It is anextremely generous gesture by her family that honors the wishes andmemory of Jean Robertson.Ellery H. Kurtz, AAA Director | Godel & Co., Inc. New York | www.godelfineart.comAbove: Coastal Scene, 1860. Below: Working through the Ice in Melville Bay, 1869-1870.8 bulletin | summer 2013For up-to-date calendar listings visit www.whalingmuseum.org9