Esther Phillips 1957 Gouache Painting on Paperboard "Gowanus Canal"

Item Details

Esther Phillips
Gowanus Canal
gouache
Signed

Esther Phillips (Pittsburgh/New York; 1902-1983)
Gowanus Canal, 1957
Gouache on paperboard
Signed to lower left and to verso
26’ W x 14’ H

A gouache painting on paperboard titled Gowanus Canal by artist Esther Phillips, created in 1957. Drawn to water and bridges at an early age, the artist painted numerous works of the Gowanus Canal and other scenes featuring boats in harbor. Signed ‘Phillips’ to the lower left, this work is also signed, titled, and dated to the paperboard verso. It is not mounted and remains unframed. Other paintings of Gowanus Canal by Phillips are featured in Vicky A. Clark’s article titled “Hidden From History” published in the Fall 2016 issue of Pittsburgh Quarterly, and Lisa A. Miles’ biography of the artist titled This Fantastic Struggle: the life and art of Esther Phillips, published in 2002.

Esther Phillips left Pittsburgh in the late 1930s to pursue a bohemian lifestyle in Greenwich Village. A member of the Associated Artists of Pittsburgh, she immersed herself into local artistic circles, and among her artist friends were modernists Milton Weiss (American; 1912-1995) and Franz Kline (American; 1910-1962). Phillips’ work was often executed in watercolors at a quick pace, exhibiting the influence of Fauvism, Cubism, and artists such as Stuart Davis, Arthur Dove, and Georgia O’Keeffe. Frequent subjects include abstracted cityscapes, townscapes, and asylum scenes that feature vibrant colors, simple shapes, and overall flatness. Her work has been exhibited posthumously at multiple galleries such as the Carson Street Gallery, the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, and the Borelli-Edwards Gallery, among others.

Condition

- wear throughout composition edges including curling, small tears, fraying, and rubbing; lower left corner has torn off.

Dimensions

Item #

18DCC450-066