Lot 48
Gerald Harvey(1933-2017)Land of the Yosemite 50 x 98in
8 February 2019, 12:00 PST
Los AngelesSold for US$312,500 inc. premium
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Gerald Harvey (1933-2017)
Land of the Yosemite
signed, dated and inscribed 'G. Harvey 1980 ©' (lower right)
oil on canvas
50 x 98in
Painted in 1980.
signed, dated and inscribed 'G. Harvey 1980 ©' (lower right)
oil on canvas
50 x 98in
Painted in 1980.
Footnotes
Provenance
Texas Art Gallery, Dallas, Texas.
Acquired by the late owner from the above, by 1983.
Literature
S.H. McGarry, Honoring The Western Tradition: The L.D. "Brink" Brinkman Collection, Kerrville, Texas, 2003, p. 208, illustrated.
Gerald Harvey's leap from full-time art teacher to easel painter paid off quickly when in 1965 he won the 37th New Masters Award, presented by the American Artist Professional League's Grand National Exhibition in New York. This prestigious award garnered the attention of the Western art community, most notably several well-known Texas collectors, including former President Lyndon B. Johnson, former Governor and U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, John Connally, and former Texas State Senator, Lloyd Bentsen.
When L.D. Brinkman began building his esteemed collection of Western Art, his first two purchases were artworks by Gerald Harvey, more commonly known as G. Harvey. With Harvey living in neighboring Fredericksburg, Texas, Brinkman came to be a longtime friend of the artist's and they shared many stories about painting and collecting through the years. It was Brinkman's desire to own a monumental masterpiece by G. Harvey to serve as a cornerstone of his collection. The work was hung on the walls of the sweeping conference room of his corporate headquarters, in Kerrville, Texas, where the scale and magnitude of such a canvas was an awesome realization of the Western landscape for its many visitors over the years. Land of the Yosemite is one of the artist's most accomplished pictures, as evident by its impressive size and expert detail.
Land of the Yosemite is painted in the spirit of artist Albert Bierstadt and other 19th century Luminist painters who came before him. A cluster of teepees line the center of the composition, the Merced River flowing gently nearby. A beautiful day ahead, with puffy clouds and no sign of rain. As with other Harvey paintings, the scene is one of quiet solitude. No battles or altercations ensue, just a peaceful community in one of the most idyllic locations in the world. The viewer feels transported to this beautiful, pristine landscape of the American West. Although monumental in scale, the present work does not appear overwhelming, it more simply invites the viewer to visit and dream of a simpler time.