John Henry Twachtman Catalogue Raisonné
An online catalogue by Lisa N. Peters, Ph.D., in collaboration with the Greenwich Historical Society
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Coney Island: From Brighton Pier, ca. 1879–80 (OP.314). Fig. 1. Twachtman, Coney Island: From Brighton Pier, engraving from William Bishop, "To Coney Island," Scribner's Monthly 20 (July 1880), p. 364.
Fig. 1. Twachtman, Coney Island: From Brighton Pier, engraving from William Bishop, "To Coney Island," Scribner's Monthly 20 (July 1880), p. 364.
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Keywords
OP.314
Coney Island: From Brighton Pier
Alternate titles: Atlantic City; Coney Island; From Brighton Pier
ca. 1879–80
Oil on canvas
14 x 24 1/4 in. (35.6 x 61.6 cm)
Signed lower left: J. H. Twachtman
David B. Findlay Jr. Trust, New York
Exhibitions
1949 Milch
Milch Galleries, New York, Paintings by John H. Twachtman, November 14–December 3, 1949, no. 3, as Atlantic City, lent by a private collector.
1968 Spanierman
Ira Spanierman, New York, John Henry Twachtman, 1853–1902: An Exhibition of Paintings and Pastels, February 3–24, 1968, no. 3, as Atlantic City, lent by Mr. David B. Findlay.
2006 Spanierman
Spanierman Gallery, New York, John Twachtman (1853–1902): A "Painter's Painter," May 4–June 24, 2006. (Nelson 2006); (Parkes 2006); (Peters 2006–I); (Peters 2006–II); (Peters 2006–III); (Peters 2006–IV), no. 8, as Coney Island: From Brighton Pier, shown only in New York. Traveled to: Historical Society of the Town of Greenwich, Connecticut, July 13–October 29, 2006.
Literature
Bishop 1880
Bishop, William. "To Coney Island." Scribner's Monthly 20 (July 1880), p. 364 ill. in b/w, as From Brighton Pier.
Clark 1921
Clark, Eliot. "The Art of John Twachtman." International Studio 72 (January 1921), p. lxxviii, as Coney Island.
Wheeler 1927
Wheeler, Charles Van Cise. Sketches. Washington, D.C.: privately printed, 1927, p. 113, as Atlantic City.
American Art Association—Anderson Galleries 1935–I
American and French Paintings . . . The Private Collection of Charles V. Wheeler of Washington, D.C. Auction catalogue, November 1, 1935. New York: American Art Association—Anderson Galleries, 1935, lot 14 ill. in b/w, as Atlantic City.
Reed 1949
Reed, Judith Kaye. "Twachtman's Sensitive Poetry." Art Digest 24 (November 15, 1949), p. 17, as Atlantic City.
Hale 1957
Hale, John Douglass. "Life and Creative Development of John H. Twachtman." 2 vols. Ph.D. dissertation, Ohio State University, 1957. Ann Arbor, Mich.: University Microfilms, 1958, vol. 1, pp. 300–1 ill. (fig. 66); vol. 2, pp. 441 (catalogue G, no. 132, as Coney Island), 539 (catalogue A, no.. 15, as Atlantic City), as Atlantic City. (Hale concordance).
Peters 2006–IV
Peters, Lisa N. "Catalogue." In John Twachtman (1853–1902): A "Painter's Painter", by Lisa N. Peters. New York: Spanierman Gallery, 2006. Exhibition catalogue (2006 Spanierman), pp. 94–95 ill. in color, as Coney Island: From Brighton Pier.
Commentary

This painting was illustrated in a wood engraving in William Bishop's article, "To Coney Island,” in the July 1880 issue of Scribner's Monthly (fig.1).[1] There it was captioned: “From Brighton Pier.” One of three works by Twachtman reproduced in the article, the image is a view looking eastward along the beach from the new iron pier in West Brighton Beach, Coney Island—constructed in 1878–79.[2] Extending one-hundred feet into the ocean, the pier was a seaside theater and landing for the steamboats that brought vacationers back and forth from Manhattan. In the distance are the pavilions of the amusement park.

Twachtman's images in the article, including Dunes, Back of Coney Island (OP.315) and Under the Iron Pier (I.303), were deemed exemplary of the painter-illustrator movement, in which artists rendered scenes with more aesthetic than reportorial intent. 

The work was erroneously titled Atlantic City by Charles Van Cise Wheeler in his self-published Sketches (1927). The original title was restored in 2006.

[1] Bishop 1880, p. 364.  

[2] Other artists who contributed images for illustrations include Douglas Volk and Robert Blum.

Selected Literature

Wheeler 1927

Twachtman's “Atlantic City,” in my collection, portrays a very primitive view of that resort, with its, at that time, rudimentary boardwalk and an ornate red lamppost. But the beach seems to have been there, too, and the surf is tenderly rendered in opalescent gray effects and a few little red flags gave a gay note quite delightful. It is a little gem; bought of Brooks-Reed, in Boston, in 1916. He claimed to have had it on hand for some time and considered it a rarity of the artist's work [p. 113].