$190,000
Estimate: $150,000 - $250,000
American Art & Pennsylvania Impressionists
Auction: June 7, 2015 3:00:00 PM EDT
Signed 'E.W. Redfield' bottom left, oil on canvas
38 x 50 in. (96.5 x 127cm)
Provenance: The Artist.
The Estate of the Artist.
To the Artist's son, Laurent Redfield.
By descent in the family to the Artist's great-grandson.
Private Collection, Washington, DC.
NOTE:
When Edward Redfield and his family settled in the charming environs of Centre Bridge, Pennsylvania, on the banks of the Delaware River in 1898, he surely could not have known that in doing so, he was laying the foundation for one of the great American Art colonies-the New Hope School. The town of Centre Bridge-the Anglicized spelling is traditional-was integral to both Redfield's life and practice.
In "The Road to Centre Bridge," one can see the eponymous original wooden bridge in the distance. During a thunderstorm on the night of July 22, 1923, lightning struck the 112 year-old bridge causing it to ignite. Redfield was driving home with his family when he saw the blaze in the distance. Fearing that it was his house, on fire, he sped homewards only to realize-presumably with a measure of relief-that it was, in fact, the adjacent bridge. Redfield and his family gathered together with many other spectators including his fellow artist, William Lathrop, on the river bank to witness the inferno and the firefighters' frantic efforts to extinguish it. Redfield later remarked, "Lathrop said it was a pity it couldn't be painted. So I took out an envelope and painted all the next day. The following day, I painted it again." This painting, "The Fire at Centre Bridge," believed to be one of the only ones created entirely in his studio from memory, is widely considered to be one of his best and is a highlight of the collection in the Michener Museum in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, where it was presented as a partial gift by the Laurent Redfield family.
"The Road to Centre Bridge" comes with an impeccable provenance. The painting formed part of the artist's estate and was chosen by his son, Laurent, following a drawing of lots within the family to determine ownership. From Laurent Redfield, the painting has descended to the artist's great grandson, to whom it currently belongs. As one present family member pointed out, their grandmother, at one time, had paintings of "the bridge before, during, and after the fire."
Together, these works are a splendid testament to the artist's creative powers and his love of the Centre Bridge area which he called his home.
The present painting will be included in the forthcoming Catalogue Raisonné of Edward Redfield's work, compiled by Dr. Thomas Folk.