Description:

William Henry Buck (Norwegian/Louisiana, 1840-1888) , "Expansive View of a Sun-Dappled Louisiana Vista with Bayou Farmstead and French Creole Cottage surrounding a Moss-Draped Oak", oil on canvas, signed lower right, "Sotheby's New York" label attached on reverse of frame, 26 in. x 40 in., period frame. Provenance: Sotheby's, New York, Mar. 11, 1999, lot 32.

  • Notes: William Henry Buck created both intimate and expansive landscapes portraying the rivers, lakes and bayous of New Orleans and its surrounding area. Among his known body of work, perhaps no canvas more perfectly encapsulates Buck's passion for the environs of Louisiana than the monumental work offered here. A farmstead scene with a French Colonial home is centered by the artist’s iconic oak in a vast panorama which simultaneously depicts both the grandeur of nature and minutiae of everyday life along a southern bayou in the nineteenth century. Rows of diagonal cotton shrubs at the forefront of the composition lead to a planter’s house constructed in the French Colonial style, although perhaps built during the Spanish or Early American periods. The characteristic French Colonial features include the wide gallery and double-pitched roof composed of cypress shakes. The wall surfaces appear to be wide boards intended to protect the colombage, or heavy timber frame raised on short piers. The “fill” might have been brick or bousillage, a mixture of mud, animal hair, and moss that was common in the country. Behind to the right is a kitchen building that could have included a laundry and other domestic rooms along with two rows of former slave cabins. Next to the water, a small crop of corn is grown, likely to feed the livestock grazing in the distance. Small figures engaged in various labors are scattered throughout the scene furthering the feeling of a fleeting moment in time captured within the breadth of Buck’s canvas. Both a sweeping landscape and an historical window into the past, this masterwork portrays the beauty and the toil that accompanied carving out a self-sustaining home in the Louisiana countryside. The moss-draped oak anchors the scene, providing shade and serving as a symbol of the enduring heart of the people of South Louisiana. Buck’s distinctive and subtle luminosity yields a golden glow that bathes the scene from the distant vanishing point to the shadowed fields. The depictions of the clouds, reflections on the water, dense foliage and meticulous details are Buck at his very finest, which, combined with the substantial dimensions of the canvas, truly set this staggering work apart within the artist’s oeuvre. Neal Auction would like to thank Ann Masson for her assistance with the cataloguing of this lot.
  • Condition: If Condition is NOT stated in the description of the lot, the absence of a condition report does not indicate the lot is free of damage or condition issues. Available Condition Reports will appear as an additional image. Condition Reports and photographs may be requested on items until the Wednesday prior to the auction. Bid accordingly. All sales are final, no returns are accepted on the basis of condition.

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November 19, 2022 11:00 AM CST
New Orleans, LA, US

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$100 $499 $25
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$1,000 $2,999 $100
$3,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $29,999 $1,000
$30,000 $49,999 $5,000
$50,000 $99,999 $10,000
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