George Gardner Symons (American, 1863-1930) oil on board landscape painting depicting a group of buildings including a barn and larger and smaller structures, possibly a large house with separate kitchen, all shaded by a large tree, with a fence in the foreground. Signed "G Symons" lower right. Cove molded giltwood frame with ribbon molded rabbet edge. Panel: 13 3/4" H x 17" W. Framed: 18" H x 21 1/4" W. Biography: Chicago-born George Symons was noted for his plein-air paintings that combined styles of impressionism and realism. He studied at the Chicago Art Institute with William Wendt, who would become a lifelong friend. Wendt and Symons painted together in California and then in Cornwall, England in 1898, where Symons joined a colony of artists at St. Ives and adopted the plein-air techniques of Julius Olsson, Adrian Stokes, and Rudolph Hellwag. Symons also studied in Paris, Munich and London. In 1903 he returned to California with Wendt and built a studio in Laguna Beach and became active in the California Art Club and other Western art societies. He maintained a studio in Brooklyn, New York, and also painted frequently in Colerain, Massachusetts. Symons' work can be found in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences; the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Fleischer Museum in Scottsdale, Arizona. Associations. He was a member of the National Academy of Design, the National Arts Club, the Institute of Arts and Letters, the Lotos, Century, and Salmagundi Clubs. He was also a member of the Royal Society of British Artists and the Union Internationale des Beaux-Arts et des Lettres. (Sources: Edan Hughes, "Artists in California, 1786-1940"; Peter Falk, "Who Was Who in American Art.").

CONDITION: Overall very good condition. One small 1/2" L chip to board in center, sky area at frame edge, and one small 1/2" L chip to lower center of board, just above frame edge. Some other minor, shallow chips to board only visible en verso. 1" scratch or pen mark lower center. A couple of scattered tiny flyspecks or dark paint drips. Canvas has faint scent of cigarette smoke.