?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 15,000 - $ 20,000
E. AMBROSE WEBSTER Summer Garden, Provincetown.
Oil on canvas, 1916. 510x610 mm; 20x24 inches. Signed and dated in oil, lower right recto.
Provenance: Estate of Mervin Jules (artist), Provincetown, Massachusetts; thence by descent to current owner, private collection, Delaware.
According to the Provincetown Artist Registry, "In 1900, Webster [1869-1935] acquired his white house at 180 Bradford Street on the Provincetown hill overlooking the bay. This house with its still distinctive roof and decorated eaves appears in Webster's own paintings as well as in paintings by Demuth, Stubbs and others.
His Summer School of Painting, started at this time, lasted until his death in 1935. This was to be the first modernist school in Provincetown. As a teacher, Webster with his low key, analytical style evoked in his loyal band of students deep affection, respect and an enduring influence on their painting. This abiding influence is confirmed in reports of conversations with his students, among them Charles Darby, Fritz Fuglister and Kenneth Stubbs.
In a 1919 interview, Webster said 'I started a school for the same reason all painters do. I have an analytic mind and when I know something that I think will help someone else, I like to pass it on.' He went on to state: 'Painting should be taught like mathematics, as a science. You can't teach talent or inspiration but you can teach painting.'"
