Theodore Robinson 1852 - 1896

Samuel T. Shaw, New York, 1892 (acquired directly from the artist; sold: American Art Galleries, New York, January 21, 1926, lot 76, illustrated)
Frank K.M. Rehn Galleries, New York (acquired at the above sale)
Reginald F. Kilpatrick, New York
Kennedy Galleries, New York
Acquired by the present owner from the above, 1987

New York, Society of American Artists, 1892, no. 184 (Shaw Fund Award)
New York, Society of American Artists, Retrospective Exhibition, 1892, no. 267
New York, Lotos Club, 1894
St. Louis, Missouri, Universal Exposition, 1904, no. 649
San Francisco, California, Panama-Pacific International Exposition, 1915, no. 2667
Brooklyn, New York, Brooklyn Museum, Theodore Robinson Retrospective, November 1946-January 1947, no. 115, p. 66, illustrated pl. XX
Oshkosh, Wisconsin, Paine Art Center and Arboretum, The Figural Images of Theodore Robinson American Impressionist, 1987, no. 24, p. 66, illustrated, p. 28, illustrated in color

International Studio, August 1915, illustrated p. 25
Eliot Clark, "Art in America," October 1918, illustrated p. 287
L.M. Bryant, American Paintings and Their Painters, New York, 1928, fig. 65

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In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
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Theodore Robinson was one of the first American painters to grasp the principles of European Impressionism and develop a technique effectively integrating academic training with an innovative artistic style. After several visits to Europe, Robinson brought his own interpretation of French Impressionism back to America, where he became an influential artistic figure among his contemporaries and discovered "the golden light" of summers closer to home.

Robinson's initial introduction to European art circles began in 1876 at the Paris atelier of Carolus-Duran, but he soon moved his studies to the Ecole des Beaux-Arts where he followed the rigorous academic tenets of Jean Leon Gerome. After excursions to the French countryside and a sojourn of several months in Venice, where he appears to have come into contact with James McNeill Whistler, he returned to America and found work as a decorative painter, mostly in New York and Boston. Searching for artistic direction during the mid-1880's, Robinson became caught-up in the cross-current of influences between France and America. It was not until 1888, while summering in the village of Giverny, when Robinson met and forged a deep relationship with Claude Monet, that his canvases would become infused with a new awareness of color and light. Under Monet's influence, Robinson assimilated the master's principles and acquired a deeper understanding of Impressionism, with its emphasis on the effects of sunlight and shadow and the dissolution and altered perception of solid form.

In the Sun combines the free brushwork, sparkling light and brilliant color of Robinson's most mature Impressionist works. The subject of the painting – a woman lying in a field of grass awash in bright sunlight – retains her formidable sense of solidity, though softened by Robinson's application of color in broken patches and sketchy brushstrokes. Though the line between the model's clothing and the grass is mostly blurred in areas of shadow. Robinson did not ultimately follow Monet's dissolution of form into pure color. Scott Atkinson writes, "The solidly modeled figures preserved his loyalty to academic training, while the landscape provided an opportunity to explore the phenomenon of light and color prescribed by impressionism" (D. Scott Atkinson, Theodore Robinson: Pioneer of American Impressionism, New York, 2000, p.22). Robinson's palette of pastels creates an atmospheric tapestry of greens and yellows, while the sole figure reflects the warmth of the sun with vivid traces of red, scarlet, blue and white. Shadows play throughout the work and as the female figure shields her face from the light, a profound quiet seems to envelope her.

In March 1892 In the Sun won the coveted Shaw Prize. Hotel proprietor Samuel Shaw, who had assembled one of the largest collections of American Paintings in the country, established the prize "For the purchase of one figure composition painted in oil by an American artist, to be selected by a jury. The jury was none other than the Society of American Artists, who awarded Robinson the prize of $1,000" (Theodore Robinson: Pioneer of American Impressionism, 2000, p. 26).