Isabel Bishop (American, 1902-1988), "Undressing," tempera and oil on canvas painting depicting a woman in the act of undressing. The artist's technique of unevenly layering paint over a striated gray ground gives the effect of the subject being viewed through a sheer, semi-reflective curtain. Unsigned. Label en verso for Midtown Galleries, New York, with exhibition stamp for the Tennessee Fine Arts Gallery at Cheekwood (exhibition dates unknown). Housed in a gold leaf frame with painted canvas mat. 16"H x 14"W. Frame – 23 1/2" H x 21 1/2"W. Biography: "Born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1902, Isabel Bishop [Mrs. Harold G. Wolfe] moved to New York at the age of sixteen to study art at both the New York School of Applied Design for Women and the Art Students League. With a studio on 14th Street, Bishop was identified as a member of the Fourteenth Street School, along with Kenneth Hayes Miller and Reginald Marsh. Although Bishop was influenced by Renaissance and Baroque art, her late-1920s to the mid-1930s work is characterized by depiction of the urban working class and destitute men and women around Union Square. She served as a perceptive observer of appearance and action and sought to capture the everyday behaviors of normal people. Later in her life, she became enamored with the hustle and bustle of college students around New York University, which was a return to the very street scenes of her earlier days." Source: The Columbus Museum of Art (Georgia).

PROVENANCE: The estate of Ann H. Wells, Nashville, Tennessee. 1973 and 1990 appraisals of this item from Midtown Galleries, New York, stating it was purchased there, is available to the winning bidder.

CONDITION: Painting: Excellent condition. Frame exhibits minor wear.