Description:

Alfred Gault (American/New Orleans, b. 1840), "Valley of Yumuri, Cuba", oil on canvas, signed lower right, 34 in. x 51 in., period ebonized and gilt-decorated cove frame with brass title plaque. Note: Born in New Orleans in 1840, Alfred Gault had a career as an artist in New York as early as 1870. Though the artist’s biography is presently limited, his views of Cuba and Morocco, as well as his 1875 passport application and his mention in Lippincott's Magazine as a participant in the 1880 Paris Salon tell us that he certainly traveled to various countries and captured scenes of a number of exotic locales. The highly detailed view of the Yumuri Valley that Gault has captured in the monumental painting offered here draws the viewer into the scene, where the vast expanse of land is dotted with palm trees and tiny details, such as the plantation building in the middle of the composition and the smoke stack near the horizon line. A man stands in the foreground with an oxen-drawn cart, waiting to be loaded with crops - perhaps tobacco or sugar cane. The history of Cuba during the 19th century is full of attempts at independence, which finally succeeded in 1898 with the conclusion of the War of Independence, when Spain and the United States reached an agreement to renounce any claims on Cuba. An earlier attempt at revolution, the Ten Years’ War, which took place from 1868-1878, was key in leading up to the ultimate fight for independence. The Yumuri Valley is near Matanzas, an important area sought after by the insurgents fighting Spanish control during the Ten Years’ War and afterward. While the Ten Years’ War was ultimately unsuccessful – the rebels were victorious in overtaking the eastern side of the island, but could not gain control of key areas such as Matanzas, Havana, and Pinar del Rio – this revolution led to further attempts later in the century. By January of 1896, the rebels had invaded these crucial provinces and reached the westernmost tip of the island, triumphing in gaining independence for Cuba. Other artists painting scenes of Cuba have used a similar format to the one here for depicting the vast landscape - a panoramic view with a low horizon line and details to wonderfully show off the beautiful rolling hills, white puffy clouded skies, and verdant foliage of the Cuban landscape. Artists such as Winslow Homer, Edmund Darch Lewis, Esteban Chartrand, and Miguel Arias painted in Cuba, and many of them recorded parallel scenes. The allure of the Cuban landscape has clearly always fascinated those who travel there looking for beauty to capture on canvas. Ref.: Bondil, Nathalie, ed. Cuba: Art and History from 1868 to Today. Montreal: Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, 2008; Libby, Gary R. Cuba: A History in Art. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 1997.

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January 27, 2018 10:00 AM CST
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