Attributed to John Whorf (American, 1903-1959) Boatyard Signed or inscribed "John Whorf" l.r. Oil on board, 13 x 15 1/2 in. (33.0 x 39.5 cm), framed. Condition: Scattered craquelure, minor losses along edges and at u.r. corner, surface grime. N.B. This small work, which appears to have been painted on wallboard, has all the characteristics of works done by students at the Hawthorne (Hensche) School in Provincetown, Massachusetts. John Whorf was a student there between about 1918 and 1921. Charles Hawthorne was a gifted and influential teacher. This oil sketch is done in what Hawthorne called the "mud head method," where the concentration was on the relationships between big blocks of color. The student works were often done on beaverboard, and in most cases they were not signed. Hawthorne discouraged the signatures because the paintings were intended as an exercise that was to be presented anonymously for critique. Sometimes the artists scribbled their names on the back of the work to distinguish them from the work of other students painting the same subject on the same day. To save money the students would also scrape the beaverboard clean afterwards so it could be used again. It is possible that Whorf could have signed this work after the fact, if he were giving it to a friend or acquaintance. We would like to thank Amy Whorf McGuiggan for her kind assistance cataloging this lot.
Attributed to John Whorf (American, 1903-1959) Boatyard Signed or inscribed "John Whorf" l.r. Oil on board, 13 x 15 1/2 in. (33.0 x 39.5 cm), framed. Condition: Scattered craquelure, minor losses along edges and at u.r. corner, surface grime. N.B. This small work, which appears to have been painted on wallboard, has all the characteristics of works done by students at the Hawthorne (Hensche) School in Provincetown, Massachusetts. John Whorf was a student there between about 1918 and 1921. Charles Hawthorne was a gifted and influential teacher. This oil sketch is done in what Hawthorne called the "mud head method," where the concentration was on the relationships between big blocks of color. The student works were often done on beaverboard, and in most cases they were not signed. Hawthorne discouraged the signatures because the paintings were intended as an exercise that was to be presented anonymously for critique. Sometimes the artists scribbled their names on the back of the work to distinguish them from the work of other students painting the same subject on the same day. To save money the students would also scrape the beaverboard clean afterwards so it could be used again. It is possible that Whorf could have signed this work after the fact, if he were giving it to a friend or acquaintance. We would like to thank Amy Whorf McGuiggan for her kind assistance cataloging this lot.
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