Gertrude Fiske (1879-1961)
Amusement Park
signed 'Gertrude Fiske_' (lower right)
oil on canvas
36 1/4 x 48 1/4 in. (92.1 x 122.6 cm.)
Painted circa 1925.
Footnotes:
Provenance
Estate of the artist.
Vose Galleries, Boston, from the above, September 1968.
Robert J. Dodds, III (1943-2019) and DJ (neé Quebe) Dodds (1951-2021), Santa Fe, New Mexico, July 1970.
Sale, Christie's, New York, December 2, 1988, lot 286.
Martha Parrish & James Reinish, Inc., New York.
Michelman Fine Art, New York.
Private collection, Franklin, Michigan, (probably) acquired from the above.
By descent to the present owners from the above, 2023.

Literature
R.H. Ives Gammell, E.I. Hunter, ed., The Boston Painters, 1900-1930, Orleans, Massachusetts, 1986, p. 174, illustrated.

The present work is believed to be a depiction of the amusement-park attraction Gulliver's Travels that once fronted the beach at Revere Beach, Massachusetts. The enormous, 125 ft. long figure lying on its back is of Gulliver from Jonathan Swift's (1667-1745) classic, Gulliver's Travels published in 1726 and was constructed by artist, sculptor, and park engineer, A. Whittemore Nichols using a wooden framework covered with stucco and painted to appear lifelike. Constructed next to Gulliver and used as the ticket booth is a large reproduction of the stone jug that the legendary traveler salvaged when he was forced to abandon ship. Once admitted inside the hollow figure, patrons were able to enjoy some of the thrills experienced by Gulliver during his travels.

The canvas is wax lined. The paint surface is in good, clean condition. There are minor frame abrasions visible along the extreme edges. Upon inspection under ultraviolet light, there are several small spots and pindots of inpainting visible at upper left and upper center in the sky. There are several small spots of inpainting visible at center along the extreme left edge, at lower left on the fence, and at center right on the coaster directly above Gulliver's true left arm.