Walter GAY (1856 – 1937) Interior scene

Walter Gay

A boldly shot interior scene by the American painter and virtuoso of interior scenes, Walter Gay.

Oil on panel
Signed upper left
Size: 33.5 x 24 cm
with frame: 48.5 x 38 cm
Old label on back with number.

18th century Louis XVI frame in gilded wood with gold leaf.

Price : Sold

“ He is the master of allusion, of the half-word, of clever ellipses and reticences, the weigher of the impalpable, the filterer of ray and shadow in charming old interiors where he is on the lookout for the past and captures the color of Time”. La Société Nouvelle

Walter Gay, a boldly shot interior scene.

Walter Gay presents us with an intimate interior scene. Art objects, paintings and porcelain enhance the scene.He plunges us into the heart of a living room, focusing on a few details: an 18th-century console on which rests a porcelain vase, a wall adorned with various paintings.
On the left, the artist has chosen to keep only a small piece of the window through which the outside light filters.

Walter Gay, virtuoso of interior scenes.

As usual, this virtuoso of interior scenes succeeds in recreating the intimate atmosphere of the place, where with a light touch he sets the scene with virtuosity.

Biography

Walter Gay, an American painter of interior scenes, began his career as a flower painter in Boston until 1876.In April of that year, he moved to Paris, where he studied for three years with Léon Bonnat, who considered him one of his best pupils. In 1879, he left for Spain, where he discovered Velázquez, a true revelation for him. In 1880, he shared a studio with three other Americans on Boulevard de Clichy in Paris.It was his intimate interiors that made him famous. He became a specialist in luxurious and opulent interiors for private mansions and châteaux (Versailles, Fontainebleau, Chablis, the Musée Carnavalet and his own Château de Bréau).

Under the aegis of J. E. Blanche, he participated in the “Group of 33” and the “International Society” in 1896. He exhibited regularly at Galerie Georges Petit (1905 and 1908), in Chicago (March, April 1914) and at Galerie Charpentier (1923 and 1936). He is a faithful member of the Salon de la Nationale and of the “Société Nouvelle”. He received numerous gold medals (Paris in 1900) and honors (Commander of the Legion of Honor in 1927). His exhibition in March 1936 was opened by U.S. Ambassador Jesse-Isidor Strauss and Beaux-Arts Director General George Huisman. Louis Gillet of the French Academy prefaced the catalog with his admiration for the painter.