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Lot 271:
Description
Signed Reynolds Beal , ‘Circus Scene with Elephants’. Crayon & Pencil on Paper, circa 1936
Reynolds Beal (American, 1866-1951). ‘Circus Scene with Elephants’, 1936. Color crayon & pencil on paper. Pencil signed and dated lower right.
The elder brother of painter Gifford Beal, Reynolds was born in new york city. He and his brother Gifford spent their summers at wilellyn in newburgh, ny, on the hudson river and together they would later design the gardens there. He worked in a variety of styles including impressionism and tonalism. Beal produced drawings, watercolors, oils, etchings, and woodblock prints covering a wide range of subjects and scenes. The great majority of these works depict port activities, coastlines, and sea-going vessels, some city views, and landscapes. The hudson valley near his parents’ home was frequented by traveling circuses, and he began to capture their bright colors and billowing tents starting in the first decade of the 20th century. Beal continued to depict circus themes for the rest of his life. In 1924, at the age of 58, Beal married a 33 year-old decorative artist named Helen Higgins. The couple used rockport, massachusetts as their home base, and from there used Beal’s boat, which he began to call his ‘floating studio’ to explore and paint numerous sites in the northeast, as well as to venture further south to florida, bermuda, the caribbean, central america and mexico. Between 1924 and 1938, the Beals also made more extensive trips, journeying to africa, asia, australia, samoa, europe and the middle east. Because he was on the water so much, Beal began to do fewer oil paintings and worked instead in watercolor, crayon and other media on paper, enjoying the greater convenience, spontaneity and portability of this approach. Beal was very active in the art community. By 1934, he was a participant in the salmagundi club, lotus club, century club, national academy of design, and the american watercolor society.
Sheet – 11" high x 15" wide. Frame – 18 1/2" high x 22 1/2" wide.
Condition: Very good. Recent framing in very good condition.
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