Gilbert Gaul (New York/Tennessee/New Jersey, 1855-1919), "The New Street," oil on canvas (laid onto canvasboard) Impressionist painting depicting two black figures on a country road, standing or walking next to a grove of trees; across the road stand two houses and an empty buggy. Borders of canvasboard augmented by artist on both sides to match the canvas. Signed "Gaul" lower right. Titled in pencil en verso followed by "Ridgfield …. N.J.". Framed under glass in an ornate period giltwood and composition frame with high relief acanthus carving and beaded and fluted molding; artist name plaque lower center. Sight: 11 1/2" H x 15 1/2" W, Frame: 25" H x 29" W. Biography: Gilbert Gaul studied art with Lemuel E. Wilmarth at the school of the National Academy of Design from 1872 to 1876, and privately with the noted genre painter, J. G. Brown. He continued his training at the Art Students League during 1875 and 1876. Gaul first exhibited his work at the National Academy in 1877. In 1881, he inherited a farm in Van Buren County, Tennessee, from his mother's family, and lived there four years to fulfill terms of the bequest. In 1885, he returned to New York though he also continued to spend time at the farm in Tennessee. Gaul gained acclaim for his illustration art and portrayals of Civil War scenes. He became a regular exhibitor at the National Academy annuals between 1877 and 1902; in 1882, he was accorded the status of full academician-the youngest artist to attain the honor. He exhibited at the 1889 Paris Exposition; the 1893 World Columbian Exposition in Chicago; and the 1902 Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, where he was awarded medals. In 1876 Gaul made his first trip to the American West, an area for which he developed a particular affinity. He made numerous western trips in subsequent years, photographing and rendering scenes of Native Americans and the frontier, which he would later work up into paintings in his studios in New York or Tennessee. In 1890, he worked for the United States census on reservations in North Dakota. He also visited Mexico, the West Indies, Panama, and Nicaragua. An account of his travels was published in Century Magazine in 1892. In 1904, he returned to Tennessee and settled in Nashville. The decreasing interest in Civil War subjects resulted in financial hardship for Gaul. He gave private art lessons and taught at the Watkins Institute, Nashville, and at Cumberland Female College, in McMinnville. He also spent time in Charleston, South Carolina. When the First World War began, he did illustration work including posters to encourage support for the war effort. By the end of the War, he had returned to New Jersey, where he died in 1919. (Source: The Johnson Collection; Askart).

CONDITION: Painting overall very good condition, housed under glass. Frame with some regilding to surface and some wear, small losses, cracks, and repaired breaks. No restoration or other in-painting evident under blacklight inspection.