2014 Coeur d’Alene Art Auction / Lot 3226 / 302  •  View Catalog  •   • 

32
Norton Bush (1834 – 1894)
Guayaquil River, Ecuador, South America (1881)
oil on canvas
36 × 65 inches
signed and dated lower right

Verso:
Titled

According to Edan Milton Hughes, “Norton Bush (1834-1894) was born in Rochester, New York on February 22, 1834. As a teenager he studied in the studios of Jasper Cropsey and James Harris. He received criticism from Frederick Church, who was already famous for his lush tropical scenes. It was Church who encouraged Bush to paint tropicals. Bush came to San Francisco in 1853 via the Isthmus of Panama and the Chagres River. He remained in San Francisco with a studio in the Mercantile Building except during 1869-72 when he was in New York City, voyages to South America on sketching trips, and a few years when he had a studio in Sacramento. From 1878-80, he was the director of the San Francisco Art Association and later became art director of the California section at the Chicago World’s Fair. In his later years he painted many marine scenes which were not as popular as his tropicals. Bush died in Oakland, California of a heart attack on April 24, 1894. Member: Bohemian Club; San Francisco Art Ass’n. Exhibited: National Academy of Design, 1852, 1871; Mechanics’ Institute (San Francisco), 1858-76; California Art Union, 1865; San Francisco Art Ass’n, 1872-85; California State Fairs (four gold medals). Works held: Society of California Pioneers; Crocker Museum (Sacramento); Oakland Museum; California Historical Society.”

PROVENANCE:
Douglas de la Fontaine, Santiago, Chile, 1979
Private Collection, San Francisco, California, by 1983

32

Norton Bush

1834 – 1894

Guayaquil River, Ecuador, South America (1881)
oil on canvas
36 × 65 inches
signed and dated lower right
Sold at Auction: $35,100
Condition ReportSlight bar mark along right side. Craquelure throughout sky. Surface condition good. Painting has been lined. Inpainting along top-edge of painting, at edge of frame. Several specks of inpainting in upper-left. Multiple specks of inpainting in mountain, center of canvas.

Important Notice: Statements of condition are provided as a service to potential bidders; such statements are educated opinions and should not be regarded as facts. The Coeur d’Alene Art Auction has no responsibility for any errors or omissions.