Rocky Seascape Oil painting by Alfred Thompson Bircher (1837-1908, American) (Hudson River School, Luminist Style) 15 x 32 inches (without frame), 20 1/2 x 37 ½ inches (framed), Signed in lower left with monogram [AB]ircher Ex. Feldman Collection Bircher is considered to be one of the preeminent maritime painters of the 19th century. He studied with William Morris Hunt and Albert Bierstadt and perfected a luminist style that is particularly well-suited to seascapes. Bircher spent the first half of his life primarily in Massachusetts where he produced panoramic oils embodying the expansive atmosphere of the New England coastline. In 1868, Bircher moved to New York City where he transitioned to watercolors as his primary medium. Bircher passed away in 1908 at his home in New Drop, on the Eastern shore of Staten Island. The seascape offered here is similar in composition to Bircher’s Time and Tide (1873, Dallas Museum of Art) with a coastline to the right and distant sailboats to the left. Our painting depicts a stormier sea with choppy waves and whitecaps. The translucence of the water is masterfully rendered to evoke the turbulent movement of the waves, enhancing the emotive resonance of the painting. Works by Bircher are in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The National Gallery of Art, The Boston Athenaeum, and The Smithsonian American Art Museum amongst others. Good. Please contact our rug department at info@1stbid.com or you may also call +1-917-623-6308 (also on WhatsApp for international) for any additional information.