Collections record Beta

Watercolor - "Washington Cathedral Interior Pavement #2"

1984-02-33 A

Watercolor and pencil executed on paper and matted in a "T" shape. Color palette has light and dark browns, black, and white outlining designs. Center includes rectangles that, all together, form a cross (without the top) on the "T" shaped paper. Black diamond shapes lay on sides of rectangles, and then squares with various designs after that, followed by a black border. Back of the mat reads "Austin Purves Litchfield CT. Washington Cathedral. No 2. Revised providing for similar iconography and enlarged seating area."

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.

Mid-20th century

Height 28 1/4"; Width 16 3/4"

• paper
• pencil
• watercolor