Featured Artwork: Farmland Ledge

Image taken from the Robert Livernois Fine Arts
website might possibly be the original painting.

Excerpt from Diary Comments regarding the original Silver Barn related to this artwork:

"A painting made in the studio for my G.C.A.G. Exhibition in New York in the spring of 1945. Made from an earlier 25 x 30 which was not perfect technically and which I destroyed after copying it, as above, made in West Hawley of a picturesque old barn set over ledges, the farm of Mr. Stetson..."

Provenance of this painting:

This oil painting was purchased by Mrs. Henry Everett for her famous collection. Upon her death it was willed to the Pasadena Art Museum which sold it in 1970 to an unknown buyer. This piece then appeared for sale on the Robert Livernois Fine Arts website unnamed in early 2012. It was sold to a private owner.

more on this artwork in the scrapbook

Additional Notes

The barn is still standing. Here is a 2001 photo.

Initially, it was believed this painting may have been the original The Silver Barn reportedly destroyed by RSW. We now believe Farmland Ledge to be an original in it's own right painted on a different day at a different time.

Between 1938 and 1945, RSW "re-painted" a number of paintings he held on to because he liked the subject but found them to not suit his standard. While Farmland Ledge is a painting in its own right, we believe there was a third painting which was repainted to make The Silver Barn and that painting was then destroyed.

Farmland Ledge

The Silver Barn

A sketch of the back side of the Stetson barn.

On the back stretcher of The Silver Barn there is a sketch drawing of the backside of the barn found in our Sketchbook Gallery and can be seen to the picture to the left.

Also, recently discovered in an old shipping crate in the attic of the Southwick Studio, is an unfinished chalk of the farm itself. It is more sketch than chalk, but RSW did begin to apply his white chalk which seems to be the color he started with. The drawing shows the layout of the barns in relation to the sheds and farmhouse. We do not know why RSW did not complete this piece and are very disappointed to not get to see we he would have done with the subject. Below, we have prepared a graphic showing the subject area of Farmland Ledge and The Silver Barn.

SEE THE FULL UNFINISHED CHALK BY CLICKING HERE