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John Henry Twachtman Catalogue Raisonné
An online catalogue by Lisa N. Peters, Ph.D., in collaboration with the Greenwich Historical Society

Catalogue Entry

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Keywords
OP.1007
Spring
Alternate title: Summer Day
1890s
Oil on canvas
18 x 15 1/2 in. (45.7 x 39.4 cm)
Stamped lower left: Twachtman Sale [1903 estate sale]
Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Providence; Gift of Mrs. Gustav Radeke (20.290)
Provenance
(American Art Galleries, New York, Twachtman estate sale, March 24, 1903, no. 40 as Summer Day, 18 x 15 in.);
to Chester Holmes Aldrich;
Mrs. Gustave Radeke, Providence;
gift to present collection, 1920.
Exhibitions
1903–I American Art Galleries
American Art Galleries, New York, Sale of the Work of the Late John H. Twachtman, exhibition and auction, March 19–24, 1903, no. 40, as Summer Day.
1966 Cincinnati Art Museum
Cincinnati Art Museum, John Henry Twachtman: A Retrospective Exhibition, October 7–November 20, 1966. (Exhibition catalogue: Baskett 1966); (Exhibition catalogue: Boyle 1966–I), no. 46, as Spring, lent by the Rhode Island School of Design, Providence.
1977 Rhode School of Design
Rhode Island School of Design, Museum of Art, Providence, American Paintings from the Museum's Collection, c. 1800-1930, March 31–May 8, 1977, no. 28, pp. 72–73 ill. in b&w, 74, as Spring.
1980 Hurlbutt Gallery
William Benton Museum, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut and American Impressionism, March 20–May 31, 1980, no. 67, as Spring.
Literature
Sun 1903–II probably
"Twachtman Pictures, $16,610." Sun (New York), March 25, 1903, p. 5, as Summer Day.
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. 2, p. 570 (catalogue A, no. 576), as Spring. (Hale concordance).
Yarnall 1977–II
Y[arnall], J[ames] L. Bulletin of Rhode Island School of Design 63 (April 1977), pp. 72–73 ill. in b/w, as Spring.
Commentary

This painting, presumably depicting a view of Horseneck Brook, was included in Twachtman’s 1903 estate sale as Summer Day (its dimensions were listed in the catalogue as 18 x 15 inches). It was purchased from the sale by the architect Chester Holmes Aldrich (1871–1940), who worked for the noted architectural firm of Carrère & Hastings before 1903, when he set up his own firm, Delano & Aldrich. He retained his association with Adams Delano throughout his life. The firm designed homes for John D. Rockefeller and Charles Lindbergh, among other prominent figures. The National Cyclopedia of American Biography states “Aldrich had a passion for beauty in every form and was a painter as well as an architect.” [1]

At some point before 1920 the painting was acquired by Elizabeth Greene Metcalf Radeke (1854–1931) (Mrs. Gustave Radeke), who was president of the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence and a director of the American Federation of Arts. Her interest in art was shared by her husband, a German-born doctor who came to America in 1870 and was affiliated with Rhode Island Hospital. Her brother, Jesse H. Metcalf, was a U.S. Senator from Rhode Island. Mrs. Radeke donated the painting to the Rhode Island School of Design in 1920.

Probably while it was in Elizabeth Radeke’s collection, the painting became known as Spring. This name change may have been due to its delicate and agile shapes, which draw the viewer's eye in an upward direction, evoking the lively feeling of nature coming back to life. 

[1] The National Cyclopedia of American Biography 33 (New York: James T.  White, 1947), p. 238.