Morning – Rockport shows Gruppe’s affinity for capturing the industrial fishing ports of the North Shore in all weather conditions. Painted in warm tones of brown and red, this view of Motif #1 at low tide demonstrates the subtle beauty of the harbor, even under the murkiest of skies, that drew so many artists to the area.

More information about this painting...

While Gruppe was a fixture on the Gloucester waterfront, he also traveled north to Vermont to paint beginning in the 1930s and through the 1940s, joining friends Chauncey F. Ryder and Carlson. By the early 1950s, however, the harsh New England winters inspired him to make seasonal trips to the Florida coast, where more temperate climes afforded the artist both a change in subject matter and good fishing. He was well connected to the art circles of his day, exhibiting his work at the National Academy and Salmagundi Club in New York, and at the Art Institute of Chicago. Gruppe won numerous prizes during his lifetime and continued to teach and participate in New England exhibitions through the 1960s and early 1970s. Examples of his work are held in the public collections of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the White House.

Provenance:

Private collection, Ottawa, Canada

Collection, Milford, Connecticut, 2002

To private collection, Boston, Massachusetts, 2002

With Vose Galleries, Boston, inventory no. 33822, October 2002

To private collection, Irvington, Virginia, December 2004 to present

Inscription:

(in black marker on top stretcher) Morning Rockport $200.°°

Labels:

Previous Vose Galleries label, inventory no. 33822