Cowan's Auctions & Cowan's Historic Americana

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280. KENTUCKY FISHING SCENE BY PAUL SAWYIER,

watercolor on paper, signed in the lower left. A wonderful scene depicting 2 men fishing in a Kentucky creek (possibly Elkhorn Creek, one of Sawyier's favorite subjects). In a modern frame; 13" x 20" (sight), 24" x 31" (w/frame).

Paul Sawyier (1865-1917) was born the son of a physician in Madison County, Ohio, but his family relocated to Frankfort, Kentucky when he was young. Paul’s early inclinations towards art were cultivated by his parents, and in 1884, Sawyier enrolled in the Cincinnati Art School. Within 2 years, he had opened a studio in Cincinnati. After a stint in New York (studying under William Merritt Chase at Art Students League), Sawyier returned to Cincinnati and studied under Frank Duveneck. Sawyier then returned to Frankfort and local subjects became his focus, and it was then that he developed his particular aptitude for watercolors. Between 1908 and 1913, Sawyier spent several years living on a houseboat on the Kentucky River painting his surroundings. It was at the 1893 Columbian Exposition that saw Sawyier and his work achieve some level of popularity, and it was there that he, unlike most of Kentucky contemporaries, embraced Impressionism. Being very proud of his status as a professional artist, Sawyier generally refused to engage in other pursuits even when money was short (which it often was). In 1913, Sawyier relocated to Brooklyn, New York; there he lived with his widowed sister. A couple years later, he moved to the Catskill Mountains where he died in 1917.

The 5 Sawyier paintings offered here were originally owned by Mayme Bull (presumably gifts from Sawyier), and they descended in the Bull family to Mayme's niece, Elizabeth Bull Howard (probably through Mayme's sisters). The paintings were then bequeathed to the current owner, a close friend of Elizabeth.

References: Arthur F. Jones, The Art of Paul Sawyier (Lexington, KY: University of Kentucky Press, 1976)

Light toning, a few spots of foxing.

(EST $7000-$9000)