Live Auction 17661American Art
Frederick Carl Frieseke (1874-1939)
Lot 81

Frederick Carl Frieseke (1874-1939)

Venus in Sunlight (Study B)

Closed20 November 2019

Price Realised

USD 75,000

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Frederick Carl Frieseke (1874-1939)
Venus in Sunlight (Study B)
signed 'F.C. Frieseke' (lower right)
oil on canvas
16 ¼ x 20 in. (41.3 x 50.8 cm.)
Painted by 1913.

Private collection, Paris, France.
Private collection, acquired from the above, circa 1920s.
Private collection, by descent.
Sotheby's, New York, 25 May 1988, lot 164, sold by the above.
Private collection, San Antonio, Texas, acquired from the above.
Christie's, New York, 26 May 1999, lot 64, sold by the above.
Acquired by the present owner from the above.

Specialist note


This painting will be included in the Frederick C. Frieseke Catalogue Raisonné being compiled by Nicholas Kilmer, the artist’s grandson, with the support of the Hollis Taggart Galleries, New York.

The present work is one of two paintings related to a larger work entitled Venus in Sunlight which was exhibited at the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts in 1914.

Frederick Frieseke demonstrated his mastery of light and color in both landscape and interiors, yet his figural works of nudes painted in plein-air may have provided for him the most personal means of expression. Painted in the artist's garden in Giverny during summertime, Venus in Sunlight (Study B) exemplifies the Impressionist plein-air sketch.