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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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Additional Images
French River Scene (On the Bethune), ca. 1884 (OP.726). Verso: OP.726, French River Scene (On the Bethune), reverse showing label on stretcher bar.
Verso: OP.726, French River Scene (On the Bethune), reverse showing label on stretcher bar.
French River Scene (On the Bethune), ca. 1884 (OP.726). Verso: OP.729, French River Scene (On the Bethune), reverse, showing labels.
Verso: OP.729, French River Scene (On the Bethune), reverse, showing labels.
Related Work
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Keywords
OP.726
French River Scene (On the Bethune)
Alternate titles: On the Bethune; On the Bethune, Normandie; On the Bethune, Normandy; View on the Bethune
ca. 1884
Oil on canvas
12 x 15 in. (30.5 x 38.1 cm)
Signed lower right: Twachtmann
Location unknown
Provenance
(Fifth Avenue Art Galleries, New York, Twachtman–Weir sale, February 7, 1889, lot 68, as On the Bethune, Normandie, 13 x 15 in.);
(Maxwell Galleries, San Francisco);
to private collection, ca. 1960s;
by descent in the family;
to (Sotheby's, New York, October 20, 2016, lot 101).
Exhibitions
1885 J. Eastman Chase's Gallery probably
J. Eastman Chase's Gallery, Boston, Paintings by John H. Twachtman, February 10–20, 1885, no. 6, as View on the Bethune, 13 x 15 in.
1885 Chicago Inter-State probably
Art Hall, Chicago, Thirteenth Annual Fine Art Exhibition, Inter-State Exposition of Chicago, September 2–October 17, 1885, no. 313, as On the Bethune.
1886 Chicago Inter-State
Art Hall, Chicago, Fourteenth Annual Exhibition, Inter-State Industrial Exposition, Fall 1886, no. 313, as On the Bethune, loaned by J. Eastman Chase, Boston, probably.
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. 68, as On the Bethune, Normandie, 13 x 15 in.
Literature
Sun 1889–II
"Weir and Twachtman Pictures." Sun (New York), February 8, 1889, p. 3, as On the Bethune, Normandy.
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. 431 (catalogue G, no. 49), as On the Bethune. (Hale concordance).
Sotheby's New York 2016–II
American Art. Auction catalogue, October 20, 2016. New York: Sotheby's, 2016, lot 101 ill. in color, as French River Scene (On the Bethune).
Commentary

At the 1885 Chicago Inter-State Exposition, Twachtman showed two paintings: Church at Arques, France and On the Bethune. A label from the exhibition on this painting's verso reads "Church at Arques, France." However, it is clear that the label was intended for the other painting Twachtman exhibited: Church at Arques (OP.711). Thus, by default this painting must be On the Bethune. The title identifies the subject as the Béthune River, which curves through the countryside of Arques-la-Bataille, where Twachtman spent the summer of 1884. Here, the river depicted seems too wide to be the narrow and winding Béthune, but perhaps Twachtman rendered it when the river was swollen from one of the area’s frequent heavy rains. It is also possible that the work depicts a view from midway across the valley where the Béthune turned inward toward two farms, the Grand Launay and the Petit Launay, which stood on tables in the land, with the hills rising to the west behind them. These may constitute the architectural structures depicted in the hills.[1] 

Given the discovery of the painting's title, it was probably the work shown as View on the Bethune in Twachtman's 1885 solo exhibition at Chase's Gallery in Boston and the painting with the title of On the Bethune, Normandy in the Twachtman–Weir auction, held at the Fifth Avenue Art Galleries, New York, on February 7, 1889, from which it sold for $50.[2]

[1] The information on the possible location was courteously provided by Philippe Gautrot, Arques-la-Bataille. 

[1] New York Sun 1889-II.