In the News
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Now Available!The John F. Folinsbee Art Trust is pleased to announce the release of Folinsbee Considered, published by Hudson Hills Press. PLEASE NOTE: If you encounter a free download of the book on YouTube, do not proceed. The download (on rarshare.com) contains a tracking virus that will infect your computer. The book is only available through the publisher, distributor, or other traditional channels such as amazon.com or Barnes and Noble. |
Exciting News and Discoveries
We have just learned that Inlet-Gloucester Harbor was acquired at auction. The new owner has kindly sent an image of this long missing painting from 1919.
We are excited to report that The Coal Car, CR#381 , has been found, having been inherited from an estate by the current owner, who was kind enough to send us the image.
The Reading Museum of Reading, Pennsylvania has just acquired two early Folinsbee oil on canvas paintings, Ice Cutters, CR#1227, c. 2014, and Grey Day With Clouds, CR#1628, 2013, from the estate of Rev. J. Richard Szeremany, in fulfillment of a long promised gift that will greatly enhance the Museum's existing collection of Folinsbee works. We are grateful to Rev. Szeremany and his family for making these fine works available for permanent public enjoyment.
A notation in Folinsbee's logbook for the 1920s-1940s suggested that this painting, First Snow, 1925 (JFF.661), may have been destroyed by 1931. However it was discovered residing in a private collection having been handed down by descent in the family. It was painted during the height of Folinsbee's Pennsylvania Impressionist period.
An early lovely painting, c.1913-1914, has been discovered and recently entered a private collection in Syracuse, New York. It is believed that Grey Day, Winter, c. Early 1913–14 (JFF.1667) is a study for the larger painting, Snow Patches, 1913–15 (JFF.1249) which was widely exhibited and whose current location is unknown. It is possible that both paintings were painted from the same vantage point in Woodstock, New York during the winter months of 1913-1914. At the time, he was studying with Birge Harrison at the Woodstock School of Art, an extension of the Art Students League of New York, whose emphasis was on Plein-Air painting. A method of working that Folinsbee continued to pursue throughout his career.
The Artist Book Foundation, located at The Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA) in North Adams, MA has generously distributed a large number of books titled Folinsbee Considered, by Kirsten M. Jensen, P.h.D, (the Founding Director of the Catalogue Raisonné), through their inventive and unique Library Donations Program. They are sent to underserved public, art, and university libraries in addition to correctional centers all across the United States in an effort " to be sure art is shared and made available to all." To learn more about their program you can visit The Artist Book Foundation's gallery and library at MASS MoCA and find out more information about the organization at (www.artistbkfoundation.org)
John Folinsbee was a featured artist for the month of March, 2020 at Vose Galleries, in Boston, MA. You can read an insightful biographical article on their website and view two of his works painted during an inspiring and influential month long trip to France in 1926. Bourré Gardens, 1926–29 (JFF.307) and Pont Neuf, Paris, 1926 (JFF.603) (www.vosegalleries.com)
In 2020, we had the great pleasure of meeting Pauline Tai, who traveled from Hong Kong, China, to New York, Pauline Tai, c.1970 (JFF.1466) (pictured right). She was a close family friend of the Folinsbee's and he painted numerous portraits of her through-out his career. This was the last one he painted of her c. 1970. She shared wonderful stories with us along with illustrated letters and cards he had sent to her over the course of many years.
An interesting New Hope canal scene, known as Untitled, (Bucks County Landscape), c.1930's (JFF.1643) (pictured right); had recently been brought to our attention courtesy of Rich with Antiques, of Haddonfield, New Jersey. It has been certified by Dr. Kirsten Jensen, P.h.D. and has been gratefully added to the Catalogue Raisonné. It reflects Folinsbee's exploration and employment of different shades of color than typical of other works of the same period to produce a refreshing image of a familar New Hope scene.
A study has surfaced with the title, Poughkeepsie Bridge, (Study), c.1913 (JFF.1256) (pictured right); for the larger painting Poughkeepsie Bridge, 1914 (JFF.448) (pictured right). It has been listed in the catalogue as current location unknown for many years. It had remained in a private nautical collection in Texas.
The Frick Art Reference Library of the Frick Collection has added the John F. Folinsbee Catalogue Raisonne's website to the New York Art Resources Consortium (NYARC), which consists of the research librairies of three leading art museums in New York City: The Brooklyn Museum, The Frick Collection, which operates the Frick Reference Library, and the Museum of Modern Art. This enables public online accsessibility to the broadest range of print materials related to art and art history. It is also making archival copies of important web resources for preservation and to allow access for both the domestic and international scholary community for future researchers. (www.frick.org/research/library)
The James A. Michener Art Museum, in Doylestown, PA. In 2015, they announced its involvement in The Google Art Project. The website allows viewers to access thousands of artworks in the worlds most noted museum collections. It provides the most highlighted exploration enabling the viewer to study the details of the work beyond what is possible with the naked eye. Three Folinsbee paintings are currently represented River Ice, c.1936 (JFF.893); Mill by the River, Fall, 1923–25 (JFF.920), and Ellingston Rock, 1960 (JFF.890). You can see the collection by following the link provided here, (artsandculture.google.com/partner/james-a-michener-art-museum).
The James A. Michener Art Museum is publishing a monthly blog titled Volunteer Voices created and written by the museum's Archivist and Manager of Volunteers, Pam Sergey. The primary focus is to share with the Volunteer's, stories, points of view and details, that Pam has researched and unearthed about particular Artists and Exhibitions at the Michener in the hope that they will be inspired to pass this information on to the visitor's. The April, 2015 blog post, titled Harry Leith Ross's Paint Box is a facinating one that talks about the close friendship between Harry Leith-Ross and John F. Folinsbee. There are two paintings by Folinsbee titled, Leith-Ross Painting, 1930s (JFF.245) and Harry Leith-Ross Painting Outdoors, 1913 (JFF.833). You can view the post by following the link provided here, (michenervolunteervoices.wordpress.com/2015/04/).
Loire at Tours, 1926 (JFF.976) painted during Folinsbee's 1926 visit to France, has been located in a private collection, where it was passed down from the individual who originally purchased the painting from the artist.
Polk Museum of Art, at Florida Southern College, in Lakeland, Florida, presented in the summer and fall of 2021 an exhibition; American Impressionism: Treasures from the Daywood Collection, featuring 41 rarely-scene Impressionist paintings from the private collection of Arthur Dayton and Ruth Woods Dayton. It includes John Folinsbee's, Outskirts of Trenton, 1924 (JFF.361); on loan from the Huntington Museum of Art. The exhibition was on view from July 31, 2021 - October 24, 2021. (www.polkmuseumofart.org)
Vose Galleries, in Boston, Massachusetts, had included the painting, Bourré Gardens, 1926–29 (JFF.307); in the it's annual Staff Picks exhibition through April, 6, 2021.The entire exhibition can be viewed on line at (www.vosegalleries.com)
Vose Galleries, in Boston, Massachusetts, displayed the painting Pont Neuf, Paris, 1926 (JFF.603); in an exhibition titled, Small Gems: November 24, 2020 - February 2, 2021.The entire exhibition can be viewed online at (www.vosegalleries.com)
Vose Galleries, in Boston, Massachusetts, recently displayed an exhibition titled, Bringing to Light: A Century of American Painting; November 23, 2019 - January 25, 2020. It included the Folinsbee painting Bourré Gardens, 1926–29 (JFF.307). (www.vosegalleries.com)
The James A. Michener Art Museum, in Doylestown, Pennsylvania is displaying a new exhibition, Impressionism to Modernism: The Lenfest Collection of American Art: September, 29 2019 - March 1, 2020. Marguerite and Gerry Lefest collected 59 Pennsylvania Impressionist paintings and the entire collection will be exhibited for the first time in history. Three John Folinsbee paintings are displayed, Bowman's Hill, 1936 (JFF.921); Canal Bridge, New Hope, 1929–32 (JFF.919); and Mill by the River, Fall, 1923–25 (JFF.920). (www.michenerartmuseum.org)
The Woodmere Art Museum, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania had a recent exhibition titled, The Pennsylvania Landscape in Impressionism and Contemporary Art: September 22, 2018 - January, 27, 2019. The painting, known as Slate Quarry, Bangor, 1929 (JFF.475) has been included. (www.woodmereartmuseum.org)
The Reading Public Museum, in Reading, Pennsylvania had an exhibition titled, Across the Atlantic: American Impressionism through the French Lens: September 8, 2018 - January 20, 2019. The two studies known as Untitled (Study, Grey Day with Cows), 1913 (JFF.1628) and Ice Cutters, c.1914 (JFF.1227) were exhibited on loan as a promised future gift to the museum. (readingpublicmuseum.org)
The Roswell Museum and Art Center, in Roswell, New Mexico, had an exhibition titled, Pennsylvania Impressionists: November 10, 2017 - May 31, 2018. It was curated by the James A. Michener Art Museum, in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. A painting by John Folinsbee, Mill by the River, Fall, 1923–25 (JFF.920) was on display along with fourteen other Pennsylvania Impressionists works.The exhibition was developed out of a partnership between the Roswell Art Museum and the Michener and co-curated by Sara Woodbury of the Roswell and Dr. Kirsten M. Jensen, P.h.D., of the Michener. In exchange, an exhibition titled Magical and Real: Henriette Wyeth and Peter Hurd, A Retrospective will open at the James A.Michener Art Museum on January 21, 2018 - May 6, 2018, in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. (www.michenerartmuseum.org); (roswell-nm.gov/308/Roswell-Museum-Art-Center)
The James A. Michener Art Museum, in Doylestown, Pennsylvania had an exhibition titled The Death of Impressionism?: Disruption andInnovation in Art:, was on view from November 11, 2016 - February 26, 2017. It was curated by Dr. Kirsten M. Jensen, P.h.D., the Chief Curator of the Museum and the former, Founding Director of the John F. Folinsbee Catalogue Raisonné. Several paintings by Folinsbee were included in the exhibition. The titles were, Coal Yard, 1922 (JFF.585); Trenton Platform, 1929 (JFF.582); The Bridge at New Hope, 1916 (JFF.956); and Burnt Coat Harbor, 1937 (JFF.810). The paintings, Beth and Joan (The Sisters), 1924 (JFF.720); and Pauline Tai, c.1970 (JFF.1466); were in a comparison series highlighting transitional moments. (www.michenerartmuseum.org)
The Mystic Seaport, Museum, in Mystic, Connecticut had an exhibition titled, "Over Life'sWaters: The Coastal Art Collection of Charles and Irene Hamm, that was on view from May 21, 2016 - January 16, 2017. The exhibition was on loan from the New Britain Museum of American Art. There were four Folinsbee paintings from the Hamm's collection that were included titled, Five Islands, 1950s (JFF.472); Tide Rift, 1944 (JFF.008); /entry:847/; and Hockomock Bay (Wiscasset, Waterfront), n.d. (JFF.1431). (www.mysticseaport.org)
The Wiscasset Bay Gallery, in Wiscasset, Maine, displayed a summer exhibition titled, Maine and America in the Twentieth Century, (August 11 - September 30, 2016). A number of John F. Folinsbee paintings, that are listed in the Catalogue Raisonne, were included in the exhibition. River Lane, 1927–28 (JFF.455); Freeland Coal Breaker, 1941 (JFF.492); Goose Rocks Passage, 1960s (JFF.549); Shad Fishermen, 1927 (JFF.835); Storm Over Chewonki, 1942–43 (JFF.487); Pauline Tai, 1958 (JFF.489); and Winter River Mist, 1929–30 (JFF.264). The paintings can also be viewed on the gallery website at (www.wiscassetbaygallery.com).
Freeland Coal Breaker, 1941 (JFF.492) was included in an exhibition at the James A. Micherner Art Museum: Iron and Coal, Petroleum and Steel: Industrial Art from the SteidleCollection. The exhibition was organized by Dr. Kirsten M. Jensen, Senior Curator of Exhibitions at the James A. Michener Art Museum in Doylestown, PA. It is drawn from the Steidle Collection at the Earth and Mineral Sciences Museum & Art Gallery at the Pennsylvania State University. The bulk of the exhibition was assembled by Edward Steidle, Dean of the College of Earth and Sciences to demonstrate visually to his students various industrial processes and the critical role of mineral industries in Pennsylvania. Dr. Jensen notes "So much of Pennsylvania's original industries have long since disappeared, that these paintings are significant historically in providing viewers a unique window into the past. Equally compelling, however, is their stunning visual appeal and dramatic impact, and the collective statement they make about Pennsylvania's artistic, as well as industrial, heritage". The exhibition was on view from (July 11 through October 25, 2015). (www.michenerartmuseum.org)
Bourré Gardens, 1926–29 (JFF.307) was included in a exhibition at the James A. Michener Art Museum: Artist in the Garden exploring the relationship between artists and nature from early in the 20th century to today. It was curated by Dr. Kirsten M. Jensen, Senior Curator of Exhibitions at the James A. Michener Art Museum in Doylestown, PA. She is the Founding Director of the John F. Folinsbee Catalogue Raisonne. The exhibition dates were (February 7 through August 9, 2015), Putman Smith Gallery. (www.michenerartmuseum.org)
Jersey City Ramp, 1933–34 (JFF.445) was included in a 2015 summer exhibition at the Wiscasset Bay Gallery, Wiscasset, Maine: Modern Life, 20th Century Art, (July 9 - August 7, 2015). (www.wiscassetbaygallery.com)
Queensboro Bridge, 1917 (JFF.093) and The Harbor, 1917 (JFF.200) were included in an exhibition at the Hudson River Museum: The Industrial Sublime: Modernism and the Transformation of New York's Rivers, 1900-1940. The exhibition was co-curated by Dr. Kirsten M. Jensen and Bartholomew F. Bland of the Hudson River Museum. It opened in October, 2013 and traveled to the Norton Museum, West Palm Beach, (20 March - 22 June 2014). (www.hrm.org); (www.norton.org)
/enrty:686/ was included
Publications
In the March, 2016 issue of PleinAir Magazine, p.3; has a featured first page article titled, Plein Air Hertitage, John Folinsbee (1892-1972), was published with the intent to historically represent painters working in the Plein Air tradition in the hopes to inspire contemporary Plein Air painters working today.
In May/June 2014 American Fine Art Magazine published a review of the book Folinsbee Considered; by Dr. Kirsten M. Jensen titled, Poetic Interpretation; p.44, 45
The catalogue for the exhibition, The Industrial Sublime: Modernism and the Transformation of New York's Rivers, 1900-1940 (Fordham University Press, 2013), includes color illustrations and catalogue entries for Queensboro Bridge, 1917 (JFF.093) and The Harbor, 1917 (JFF.200) (pictured right), as well as an essay by the Folinsbee Catalogue Raisonne's Founding Director, Dr. Kirsten M. Jensen.
In conjunction with the exhibition, John Folinsbee and American Modernism; the Woodmere Art Museum published a catalogue with a biography, essay, and chronology by Catalogue Raisonné Director Kirsten M. Jensen (for more information, see the museum’s website. An essay excerpted from the exhibition catalogue is also available in the American Art Review vol. 23, no. 1 (February 2011): 90-97.
In 2008, David Lembeck published an article about the New Deal murals in Pennsylvania, including a discussion of the two by John Folinsbee with the assistance of Peter G. Cook. See Lembeck, “Rediscovering the People’s Art: New Deal Murals in Pennsylvania’s Post Offices,” Pennsylvania Heritage vol. 34, no. 3 (Summer 2008), 28-37.
In 2007, Catalogue Raisonné Director, Kirsten Jensen published an article about the influence of Cezanne on the landscapes of John Folinsbee. See Jensen, “Contour, Bones, and Skin: Cezanne’s Influence on John Folinsbee,” Fine Art Connoisseur vol. 4, no. 4 (August 2007), 51-55.
Announcements
The Catalogue Raisonné's former Founding Director, Dr. Kirsten M. Jensen, P.h.D., has moved on from her position as the Chief Curator of Exhibitions at the James A. Michener Art Museum in Doylestown, PA. She continues to be an advisory member of the Catalogue and the John F. Folinsbee Art Trust. The Art Trust is the current Manager of the Catalogue Raisonné. The Trustees, can be contacted here.
Programs, Events & Lectures
Folinsbee Catalogue Raisonne's former Founding Director, Kirsten M. Jensen, considered aspects of the artist's work during a lecture titled, "John Folinsbee's dark Night " (exploring the 40s and 50s), at the Union League Club of Philadelphia on December 1st, 2014.
If you would like to schedule a talk, lecture, or booksigning, please contact us and include this in the subject line.