William Henry Buck (American/New Orleans, 1840-1888), "Live Oak along the Bayou", oil on canvas, signed lower right, 18 in. x 30 in., later gilt frame, accompanied by a small collection of books used by Wilhelmina Buck.
PLEASE NOTE: Provenance: Descended in a notable Birmingham, Alabama, family; recently discovered within a collection of paintings and books, all from the family of William H. Buck and Marie Fortin Buck. The books, which are all in French and include French grammar and idiomatic phrase guides, as well as Honoré de Balzac's novel La Peau de Chagrin, belonged to Wilhelmina, or "Mina" Buck, daughter of William H. Buck and Marie Fortin Buck. According to U.S. Federal Census records, Mina lived in Birmingham, Alabama, with her mother, Marie Fortin Buck, her aunt, Louise Fortin, and her sister, Amelia Buck Leonard. The four women were music and French instructors. After the death of her mother, Mina moved to Evanston, Illinois, with her aunt and sister, where they continued to teach music and French. Mina returned to Birmingham in August 1924 to apply for a passport which enabled her to travel to Europe from 1924-25. She is listed on the 1930 census living in a guesthouse in Evanston, Illinois. Note: William Henry Buck's romantic and atmospheric depictions of the Louisiana landscape are noted for his moss-laden live oak trees and views of rustic cabins by the water. He achieved a recognizable compositional style which makes his work discernable from that of his contemporaries. Buck often paints a large live oak tree placed prominently within the picture creating an anchor for the scene. The work offered here shows a tree in the foreground, which is more engaging than other more expansive landscapes with the tree further afield. A moss-laden cypress tree is across the bayou framing the curving waterway going towards the cabin in the distance.