Cape Cod Coastal scene
REF: 2351
Painter
Arrah Lee Gaul
(American, 1881-1973)
Coastal Cliffs and Breaking Surf
Circa 1950
Oil on canvas
Signed lower right
In a Newcomb-Macklin frame
A luminous and confidently handled coastal study by Arrah Lee Gaul, this painting captures the elemental drama of sea and stone with remarkable immediacy. Pale, sun-struck cliffs descend sharply into a restless Atlantic swell, the surface of the water animated by curling waves and scattered foam. The composition is simple yet powerful: a strong vertical mass of rock to the left counterbalanced by the open horizon and rhythmic movement of the sea to the right.
Gaul, closely associated with the Provincetown art colony, was renowned for her marine subjects and her ability to convey atmosphere with economy of means. Here, his brushwork is vigorous and direct. Thick passages of impasto articulate the chalky surfaces of the rock face, while broader, fluid strokes describe the shifting blues and greens of the water. The restrained palette-cool sea tones set against warm, sunlit stone-creates a harmonious balance characteristic of mid-century American Impressionism.
The scene feels observed rather than composed in the studio. One senses the artist working en plein air, responding swiftly to the brilliance of coastal light and the constant motion of surf. The horizon line sits high and steady, lending calm to an otherwise animated foreground where waves gather and break in translucent arcs.
The painting is presented in a fine Newcomb-Macklin frame, a maker long associated with leading American artists of the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries, further underscoring the quality and period integrity of the work.
This is a fresh and spirited example of Gaul's coastal painting-at once modern in its brushwork and timeless in its evocation of sea air, light, and the enduring solidity of rock against tide
- Height 78.71 cm / 31 "
- Width 93.94 cm / 37 "
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Coastal Cliffs and Breaking SurfCirca 1950Oil on canvasSigned lower rightIn a Newcomb-Macklin frameA luminous and confidently handled coastal study by Arrah Lee Gaul, this painting captures the elemental drama of sea and stone with remarkable immediacy. Pale, sun-struck cliffs descend sharply into a restless Atlantic swell, the surface of the water animated by curling waves and scattered foam. The composition is simple yet powerful: a strong vertical mass of rock to the left counterbalanced by the open horizon and rhythmic movement of the sea to the right.Gaul, closely associated with the Provincetown art colony, was renowned for her marine subjects and her ability to convey atmosphere with economy of means. Here, his brushwork is vigorous and direct. Thick passages of impasto articulate the chalky surfaces of the rock face, while broader, fluid strokes describe the shifting blues and greens of the water. The restrained palette-cool sea tones set against warm, sunlit stone-creates a harmonious balance characteristic of mid-century American Impressionism.The scene feels observed rather than composed in the studio. One senses the artist working en plein air, responding swiftly to the brilliance of coastal light and the constant motion of surf. The horizon line sits high and steady, lending calm to an otherwise animated foreground where waves gather and break in translucent arcs.The painting is presented in a fine Newcomb-Macklin frame, a maker long associated with leading American artists of the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries, further underscoring the quality and period integrity of the work.This is a fresh and spirited example of Gaul's coastal painting-at once modern in its brushwork and timeless in its evocation of sea air, light, and the enduring solidity of rock against tide){kind=link}