Edgar Alwin Payne
(1883-1947)
"Sierra Trails Temple Crags"
Oil on waxed canvas
Signed lower left: Edgar Payne
20" H x 24" W
Provenance: Private Collection, Fox Island, WA.


Recognized as one of California's leading landscape artists, Edgar Payne earned the respect of his peers and art critics for his Impressionistic landscapes painted in the plein-air style. Possessing a reverence for nature, he especially loved the mountains. Frequently he took pack horses in the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range to the upper lakes to paint, where he glorified the areas majestic peaks and cobalt blue lakes. He would spend several weeks in remote locations, living with his family in large, elaborate campsites in order to create his remarkable compositions. This work, having been in private hands for decades in Washington State is a perfect example of Payneis ability to capture the magnificent beauty of the great Sierra Mountain range. Edgar Payneis work can be found in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley,; Indianapolis Museum, Indiana; Irvine Museum, California, National Academy of Design, New York, Oakland Museum of California; Orange County Museum of Art, the Laguna Art Museum, and the Pasadena Art Institute, amongst others.

Visual: Overall good condition. Outside of the frame there are areas of paint loss at the extreme edges of the canvas due to frame abrasion commiserate with age. The areas of loss are four small areas along the top center edge of the painting, a very small area at the left center edge of the painting, one area of loss at the bottom left/center edge of the painting (this is the largest area of loss) which is approximately 0.25"H x 0.5"W. The left edge of the painting has one small area of loss at the edge of the canvas at the very top left edge. The canvas has been relined. Otherwise, no other visible issues apparent. The painting reads very well in person with bright colors and lively brushstrokes that come together to create a beautiful quintessential Payne composition.

Blacklight: Inpainting at center/right peak of mountain in three areas. One area is a round dot of inpainting approximately 1/2 inch in diameter. The second area of inpainting is just below the first area and is approximately 1"H x 2"W. The third area of inpainting is concentrated in the top right area of the mountain peak and is approximately 1/2 inch in diameter. There is also an area of inpainting about 4 inches into the mountain from the right top of the peak that is approximately 1.5"H x 0.5"W. At the left/center quadrant of the painting where the tree-line and the mountain meet slightly to the left and above the back horse there is a 0.5"H x 1.5"W area of inpainting. For visual reference of the areas mentioned in this report please email jennifer@johnmoran.com to receive a video of the painting under UV/Blacklight.

Frame: 28" H x 32" W x 2" D