| Date: | 1900-1909 |
| Medium: | oil on canvas, lined |
| Size: | 38 x 60 in (97 x 152 cm) |
| Inscription: | "FS 190*" on a foreground rock, last digit unreadable |
| Verso: | said to have been "F.W. & Co. E No 1180 Plain" stencilled on the canvas |
| Provenance: | Collection of Hugh Baird, Mercer Island, Washington; to collection of J. Gould, West Seattle, Washington c. 1929; to collection of Mrs. Grace Anderson, 1959; by gift to The Seattle Art Museum 1968 (public), inventory #68.182; Sold 8 September 2013 for $3,500 + 20% by Clar's Auction Gallery, Oakland, California, as lot 6175 in "Fine Art and Antique Auction". |
| Reproductions: | IAP S2.96 LC10/8; William K. Dick photo #170 (undated); 8 September 2013 on-line sale catalog. |
| Citations: | IAP #56490025; Seattle Art Museum accession file 68.182. |
| Attribution: | The uniformly crisp finish of this painting is not characteristic of Frederick Schafer, nor are the palette, the brushwork, the treatment of the sky, and the use of light. The inscription "FS" has never turned up on a painting that is clearly in his style. The painting is accompanied with undocumented legends about a Seattle studio from 1900 to 1906 and that Schafer signed paintings "FS" when drunk. It seems more likely that this painting is by another artist who shares the initials. Other examples of paintings, signed only with initials, can be found in the discussion of Signatures with initials only. |
| Site: | Mount Rainier, in Washington state southeast of Seattle. An appraiser has suggested that the lake is Lake Mowich. |
| Description: | A massive snow-covered mountain stands in the center against a cloudy sky, above a small lake; a smaller peak (presumably Little Tahoma) stands well to the left. At the left edge is a grove of trees; the nearest tree is leafless, apparently dead; In the left foreground is a fallen tree and a stump and boulder are silhouetted against the bright lake. In the right foreground are several small bushes. Across the lake, the low hillsides between the lake and the mountain are forested; the various forests are of different brightnesses. There appears to be a sailboat on the far side of the lake. (From a photograph.) |
| In index(es): | questioned attributions |
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