| Date: | undated |
| Medium: | oil on Academy Board |
| Size: | 18 x 12 in (46 x 31 cm) |
| Inscription: | bears signature l/r "F. Schafer", underlined, in what appears to be the artist's characteristic block-printing hand |
| Verso: | Partial sticker label of F. Weber & Co., Philadelphia; On lower edge of frame lightly in pencil "12 x 18"; Handwritten in upper right corner of frame "RB". In the July 2024 verso photograph the back is covered with a window showing the Academy Board label and attached to the back covering there is a gallery advertisement with the gallery name removed. |
| Provenance: | Sold 16 June 2013 for $550 (hammer) by Clar's Auction Gallery, Oakland, California, as lot 2127; again 26 April 2015 for $600 (hammer) as lot 2147; and offered 19 July 2024 as lot 4442 in "Jewelry, Furniture, Art & Asian" sale (passed). |
| Reproductions: | Clar's Auction Gallery 16 June 2013, 26 April 2015, and July 2024 auction catalogs. |
| Attribution: | Though bearing what appears to be an authentic signature, and being typical subject material and composition for Schafer, the painting has several unusual characteristics. Foremost, the overall appearance of the painting is unlike that of Schafer's usual work. It is uniformly bright without a central focus created by varying the illumination. The palette unusually includes both saturated and pastel colors, and the primary subject, a waterfall, is in a secondary plane that is less finished. The apparent removal of a verso inscription (see note 2) raises further questions. On the other hand the sky treatment, foreground boulders, trees, dead branch overhead, and snag in the creek are typical of Schafer's work, and being a sketch may explain some of the other unusual features. On balance, it seems best to place it in the list of questionable attributions. |
| Site: | The Merced River at the base of Vernal Fall, Yosemite Valley, California. |
| Note: | 1. Appears to be a field sketch. 2. On the back of the Academy board, in the upper right corner, the top layer of a small rectangle is missing, as if to remove an inscription. |
| Identification: | Assigned, descriptive title. |
| Other title(s): | [Yosemite Waterfall] (Clar's Auction Gallery 2013 sale catalog); [Springtime, Sierras] (Clar's Auction Gallery 2015 sale catalog); [Vernal Faces] (Clar's Auction Gallery 2024 sale catalog) |
| In index(es): | questioned attributions |
![[photo]](../smalls/p/img2029.jpg)