A Masterpiece of Spring Blooms Bathed in Sunlight
including Delphinium, Daffodils, Peonies, Lilacs, Primroses,
Panseys and Geraniums

ABBOTT FULLER GRAVES
(American, 1859-1936)
Basket of Spring Flowers Bathed in Sunlight
signed Abbot Graves, l.r.; oil on canvas;
32 1/2 x 46 1/2 inches
pre-sale estimate:  $100,000-150,000

Abbott Fuller Graves, was without question one of the most accomplished American Floral painters of his time.  A self-taught artist raised in New England, his favorite subject matter included landscapes, gardens and still lifes.  He was best known for his treatment of sunlight on flowers, in gardens and on architecture.

     Graves love of flowers blossomed in 1877, when he began painting various blooms in his spare time. In 1878, he exhibited his first floral still life, titled Roses, at the Boston Art Club.   By 1881, Graves had opened a studio and began making a name for himself as a talented floral painter.  Graves traveled to Paris in 1884 to refine his skills studying under renowned French floral painter Georges Jennin, who happened to be the President of the Society of Floral Painters.  While there, he befriended Edmund Tarbell and upon his return to Boston he became a teacher at the Cowles Art School of Boston with fellow faculty member and Impressionist Childe Hassam.  

 Grogan & Company is proud to be offering this Abbot Fuller Graves Floral Masterpiece.  Graves ability to balance the realistic Boston School style with the influence of the French Impressionist movement is achieved brilliantly in this sun bathed still life.  The dramatic sunlight and thick impasto brushstrokes combined with the artist’s mastery of technique create an explosion of color, balance and light that delights the eye.