Hollyhocks

The subject of the garden has long been synonymous with the work of the Impressionists, stemming from the dreamy village of Giverny where French master Claude Monet’s elaborate gardens inspired a host of the leading expatriate American Impressionists, including Frederick Frieseke, Richard Miller and Louis Ritman. Gardens provided the ideal setting for these progressive artists to explore the effects of light, shadow and atmosphere. As epitomized by his lively Hollyhocks, Ritman’s lush paintings inspired by Giverny gardens are the highlight of his oeuvre, garnering notable recognition since their creation.

Born in Russia, Ritman immigrated as a child to the United States, where his family settled in Chicago. He studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and later for a short period with William Merritt Chase in Philadelphia. In 1909, he felt the romantic pull of Paris and went to study at the Académie Julian and the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, absorbing the Academic methods of the time. His career dramatically changed course after a chance encounter at a Parisian café in which Frieseke invited him to summer in Giverny. Ritman accepted and was immediately inspired by the light, landscape and the creative atmosphere of the American Impressionist community there. Frieseke became Ritman's mentor and close friend and gave the younger artist access to his celebrated garden, studio and house, which was next door to Monet's.

Similar to Frieseke's finest works, Ritman's paintings reflect the simple, everyday life and tranquil delight of sunshine and flowers. Ritman’s quintessential garden scenes such as Hollyhocks marry the Intimist style of painting practiced by notable French painters of the early 20th century with the vibrant sensibility of American Impressionism. Focusing on a genteel single figure, Ritman’s best paintings have a stunning mosaic-like quality and veer toward abstraction with their abundant brushwork and dazzling color. Specked with sunlight and imbued with a sense of atmospheric tranquility, the present work exemplifies the power and sheer beauty of the celebrated garden theme for which Ritman was renowned.