The Old House, Stroudwater, Maine by Walter P.S. Griffin (1861-1935), oil on canvas, 17″ x 20 1/2″, signed lower left.
“The Old House…” is the embodiment of Griffin’s developed personal artistic style, as best shown through the ostentive technique of applying dashes of pigment with a palette knife to the canvas. With proper lighting, the texture of such application creates scalloped shadows on the canvas, further enriching the scene and its stylistic complexity. The colors of the piece create an almost tropical mood for the arboreal New England landscape, a feat that speaks to Griffin’s artistic mastery. Even the piece’s asymmetric composition advances ‘The Old House’s’ personality, presenting and preserving a beautiful homage to Griffin’s New England roots.
Medium: Oil on canvas
Walter P.S. Griffin was both raised and trained in the arts by his father Edward Souther Griffin, a prominent woodcarver in Portland Maine. Griffin honed his artistic talent by copying his father’s ship figureheads, proving he possessed an invaluable understanding of space and depth. Such promise earned Griffin a scholarship to the School of Museum of Fine Arts, a windfall that would catalyze his professional artistic career.
Soon after, Griffin attended the National Academy of Design and then the Academie Julian in Paris, where Griffin began to experiment with impressionist techniques. It was here that Griffin developed his own personal style of heavy impasto applications with rich colors. In the latter half of his life, Griffin spent his time bouncing between European travels and a sedentary New England life, throughout which he effectively captured the beauty of both environments in his developed unique style. At the end of his enduring, illustrious career, Griffin migrated back to Portland Maine, where he returned to comfort both in location and subject matter.
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