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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
P.801
'Neath Summer Skies
Alternate titles: Farm Scene; The Farmer's House
ca. 1888
Pastel on academy board
17 x 21 in. (43.2 x 53.3 cm)
Signed lower right: J. H. Twachtman–
Private collection
Image: Roz Akin
Provenance
(Fifth Avenue Art Galleries, New York, Twachtman–Weir sale, February 7, 1889, no. 16, as 'Neath Summer Skies, 17 x 21 in.)
the artist's daughter, Marjorie Twachtman Pell;
by descent in the family to present collection.
Exhibitions
1889–I Fifth Avenue Art Galleries
Fifth Avenue Art Galleries, New York, Paintings in Oil and Pastel by J. Alden Weir and J. H. Twachtman, February 1–7, 1889, no. 16, as 'Neath Summer Skies, 17 x 21 in.
1891 Wunderlich probably
H. Wunderlich & Co, New York, Paintings in Oil and Pastels by J. H. Twachtman, March 1891, no. 31, as The Farmer's House.
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. 24, as Farm Scene, shown only in New York. Traveled to: Historical Society of the Town of Greenwich, Connecticut, July 13–October 29, 2006.
Literature
Sun 1889–II
"Weir and Twachtman Pictures." Sun (New York), February 8, 1889, p. 3, as 'Neath Summer Skies.
Art Amateur 1891 probably
"My Notebook." Art Amateur 24 (April 1891), p. 116, as The Farmer's House.
Brooklyn Eagle 1891 probably
"An Exhibition of Mr. Twachtman's Work at Wunderlich's." Brooklyn Eagle, March 22, 1891, p. 9, as The Farmer's House.
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. 126–27 col. ill., as Farm Scene.
Peters 2021–II
Peters, Lisa N. Life and Art: The Greenwich Paintings of John Henry Twachtman. Cos Cob, Conn.: Greenwich Historical Society, 2021. Exhibition catalogue (2022 Greenwich Historical Society), p. 11 ill. in color (fig. 7), as 'Neath Summer Skies.
Commentary

Based on its dimensions and subject, this work can be identified as the pastel included in the sale of the work of Twachtman and Julian Alden Weir, held February 7, 1889 at the Fifth Avenue Art Galleries, as ‘Neath Summer Skies. The work's measurements match those listed in the catalogue: 17 x 21 inches. According to a report in the New York Sun, the pastel was purchased from the sale for $36, but the fact that it remained in the hands of a descendant of the artist suggests that it was probably bought by a friend and returned to Twachtman.

In the work, Twachtman focused attentively on the pastoral scene’s varied elements. He applied pastel with control and fluidity, conveying the presence of a brisk wind in the trees, the clouds forming dense masses, and the solidity of the farmhouse and barn facing a road that continues into the distance. The linkage among Twachtman’s works reveals that they must be considered together to be understood; this is apparent in his depiction of this same site in two oil paintings The House in Nodd (OP.815) and Road to Ridgefield (OP.816). The latter is the closest to this scene, but using a more rectangular composition, Twachtman gave a larger role to the farmhouse and barn, giving its setting less significance. The work perhaps depicts the same road featured in the oil and etching each titled Windy Day (OP.817 and E.801); it possibly depicts Nod Hill Road, on which Weir’s farm was located.

Twachtman was inconsistent in the titling of his works, and it is likely that he showed this pastel as The Farmer’s House in his 1891 exhibition at Wunderlich Galleries. The critic for the Brooklyn Eagle considered The Farmer's House to be "rather sweet in color," noting that it had something more of the substance than most of the work; there is a sense of air in it, too.”[1]

[1] Brooklyn Eagle 1891.