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John Henry Twachtman American, 1853-1902 New York Harbor Steam Lighter, 1879 Signed J. H. Twachtman and dated 79 (lr) Oil on board mounted to panel 13 1/4 x 21 inches Provenance: Private collection Exhibited: New York, Spanierman Gallery, LLC, John Henry Twachtman: Seeing Abstractly-Works on Paper and Small Oils, Dec. 15, 2011-Jan. 14, 2012, no. 2, p. 2 color illus. Literature: Lisa N. Peters, John Henry Twachtman: Seeing Abstractly-Works on Paper and Small Oils, online exh. cat. (New York: Spanierman Gallery, LLC, 2011), http://www.spanierman.com/PDF-catalogue-books/John-H-Twachtman-Seeing-Abstractly-2011.pdf, accessed March 1, 2012, p. 2 color illus., no. 2 This painting will be included in the forthcoming catalogue raisonne of the work of John Henry Twachtman by Lisa N. Peters, Ph.D. and Ira Spanierman. Dated 1879, this image of New York harbor was painted by Twachtman during a time that he was living on Washington Square and deriving inspiration from the Hudson River waterfront near Tenth Street. He was one of few artists to portray this subject, even though it was touted for reflecting the raw, vital energy of the city during a time of exuberant industrial growth. In this scene, Twachtman featured a steam lighter, a hybrid vessel that could be run by steam. What interested him was the challenge of integrating the striking shape of this vessel, projecting diagonally upward against the sky, into his image. He did so through the opposing diagonals of the pier and the shimmer of white nautical and architectural forms in the distance. In its abstract sensibility, this image must have seemed distinctively modern in its day. C The Spanierman Gallery, LLC