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Alfred Thompson Bricher American, 1837-1908 Picnic on the Rocks, Narragansett Signed A. T. Bricher. (lr) Oil on canvas 11 1/2 x 21 3/4 inches Provenance: Vose Galleries, Boston, purchased by present owner - circa 1979/80 Private collection, MA This lot is accompanied by a letter of authentication from Bricher authority Jeffrey R. Brown. In this dramatic composition, Alfred Bricher focuses upon the rugged shoreline, its boulders defined by brilliant sunlight, rather than the group of picnickers perched upon an outcropping at upper right. In a letter dated 10 January 2008, Jeffrey R. Brown, describes the painting's location as "a bit of rocky shoreline on the western side [of] Narragansett Bay south of the town of Narragansett toward Point Judith near the intersection of Ocean Road and Anna Olivo Court. Ever interested in picture making, however, Bricher would alter views of nature by eliminating distracting elements and choosing a point of view to emphasize a noteworthy feature.. "While the artist had been in Newport in 1864, the work inspired by his trip around Narragansett Bay during the summer of 1871 reached a new level of quality and intensity. Bricher documented this trip around Narragansett Bay in a sketchbook of pencil sketches dated between June 20th and August 5th. It is possible to date the subject painting about 1871-1872 by palette and style by comparing Bricher's treatment of spots of light reflecting on the water with a recently discovered 20 x 38 inch canvas dated 1872, Sunrise on Salisbury Beach: Tide Coming In. "Narragansett Bay coastal views have been difficult to identify. Fortunately Bricher provided an answer to the question of identification of Indian Rock, first in his 25 x 51 inch canvas with title and 1871 date inscribed on the verso [formerly Wilmerding Collection], and while sketching at Narragansett again in 1884 when he inscribed [a] sketchbook drawing of Indian Rock." A few years earlier, in 1863, William Stanley Haseltine depicted what appears to be the same location in Indian Rock, Narragansett, Rhode Island [oil on canvas, 22 3/8 x 38 5/8 inches, collection Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, M. H. de Young Memorial Museum, acc. 1985.28], also focusing on the effect of brilliant sunlight on the rocky terrain. A copy of Dr. Brown's letter accompanies this lot. C