Collections record Beta

Sketch - Landscape

1953-17-34

Pencil sketch on paper of a hilly landscape covered mainly in trees clustered towards the center and right hand side of the sketch. There is also a sketch of two small structures towards the upper right hand corner of the painting. the artist includes some notes in pencil scattered among the trees and grassy areas pictured about their coloring. The entire sketch is within a pencil-drawn rectangular box spanning most of the paper. Initialed and dated 1941 in red pencil on the bottom right hand corner of the sketch. On back is written in red pencil: "Howe Job."

Born in Philadelphia, Austin M. Purves Jr. (1900-1977) lived in the East Litchfield section of Litchfield for the last 40 years of his life. Purves studied art at the Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts and the Académie Julian in Paris, France, before opening a studio in New York, where he was director of the day and night schools at the Cooper Union. After moving to Litchfield, Purves taught art at Bennington College and at Yale Art School and was a member of the Architectural League of New York, the National Society of Mural Painters, and the (then newly-formed) Hartford Art School. Over the course of his career Purves did commission work for R. H. Macy & Co., the Folger Memorial Library in Washington, D.C., the American Battle Monument in Draguignan, France, the 1939 World’s Fair, various churches, ship lines and private clients, among others. In addition to commission work, Purves drew primarily from people and nature for his own personal sketches and paintings.

• Purves, Austin, 1900-1977

1941

Overall Width 1'1.5"; Length 1'1.5"

• pencil
• paper