Alna Willows by Ernest Haskell

The image is a large willow overhanging a covered bridge from Alna, Maine. This is from a series of willow images done by Haskell in the 1920s. Haskell is a master of capturing the essence of the tree whether its a pine, cypress, or, in this case, a willow.
Signed in the plate lower left. Pencil signed in center. Edition of 12.
Ernest Haskell (1876-1925)
Haskell was born in Connecticut and received his first training at the Woodstock Academy. While recovering from an attack of Typhoid Fever, he began to make sketches. Seen by an editor of a New York newspaper many were published.
He began formal art study in Boston, but left after a few weeks to take a position at the New York American as an illustrator. In 1897, he went to Paris to ostensibly study at the Academie Julian. Rebelling against the formal academic tradition, he spent 2 years haunting the museums and galleries and working by himself. He returned to New York, worked as an illustrator and began doing some portraiture and caricature. He did two famous caricatures of Whistler which lead to a meeting with the great master. Whistler exposed Haskell to etching, a medium he enthusiastically embraced. He became a master etcher exploring a variety of techniques including flick engraving, and dry point. In particular, he was fond of trees doing oaks in Maine, pines on the beach, cypress from Florida and California and the giant sequoias and redwoods of the west coast. His work spans the range of tone from light and atmospheric to extremely dark and brooding. Haskell was tragically killed in an automobile accident depriving us of one of our great artists at the height of his powers.
His work is held by most major American museums, including the Fine Art Museums of San Francisco, the National Gallery of Art, the New York Public Library, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Size: 1924
Price: $400.00
Size: 13.25 x 10 7/8 inches
Plate Size: 10 7/8 x 8.25 inches
Condition: Excellent
Medium: Etching
Subject: Landscape

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