Provenance
(Gerold Wunderlich & Co., New York), in 1983; Dr. Robert Aaronson, Branford, Connecticut; purchased 1989 through (Hirschl & Adler Galleries, Inc., New York) by Jo Ann and Julian Ganz, Jr., Los Angeles; acquired 2008 by gift and purchase by NGA.
Accession Number
2008.66.1
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
overall: 50.8 x 97.16 cm (20 x 38 1/4 in.)
Classification
Painting
Credit Line
Paul Mellon Fund, Avalon Fund, and Gift of Jo Ann and Julian Ganz, Jr.
Tags
Painting Impressionist & Modern (1851–1900) Oil Painting Canvas American
Background & Context
Background Story
Alfred Thompson Bricher (1837-1908) was an American painter known for the luminous, precisely observed marine and coastal landscapes that make him one of the most important painters of the American Luminist tradition. A Quiet Day near Manchester from 1873 depicts the New England coast near Manchester, Massachusetts in the luminous, precisely observed manner that distinguishes Bricher's best work from the more atmospheric painting of his contemporaries. The 1873 date places this in Bricher's most productive period, when he was producing the luminous coastal landscapes that are his most accomplished works.
Cultural Impact
A Quiet Day near Manchester is important in the history of American landscape painting because it demonstrates the luminous, precisely observed manner that Bricher brought to coastal landscape as one of the most important painters of the American Luminist tradition. Bricher's luminous coastal landscapes—combining precise observation with the luminous effect of the New England coast—represent one of the most accomplished traditions in American landscape painting, and the 1873 painting shows this tradition at its most luminous and precise.
Why It Matters
A Quiet Day near Manchester is Bricher's luminous American coast: the New England shore rendered in the precisely observed, luminous manner of one of the most important painters of the American Luminist tradition. The 1873 painting shows the combination of precise observation with the luminous effect that makes Luminism one of the most accomplished traditions in American landscape painting.
