Large Charles Krutch (TN, 1849-1934) panoramic oil on composite board landscape depicting a mountain valley during summer. Signed “Krutch” in red lower left. Housed in the original 19th century giltwood frame. Sight – 26 1/2″ H x 37″ W. Framed – 34 1/2″ H x 44 1/2″ W. Biography (Courtesy Knoxville Museum of Art): Krutch is regarded as one of East Tennessee’s first painters to specialize in scenes of the Smoky Mountains. Krutch earned the nickname “Corot of the South” for his soft, atmospheric watercolor and oil paintings of the mountain range that served as his sole focus. Totally untrained as an artist, he often applied thick layers of oil paint with brushes as well as his fingers. Krutch’s goal was to capture the changing “moods” of the mountains. Provenance: acquired by consignor’s family in the 1930s. This painting descended through the East Tennessee family line who also owned the 1913 painting by Catherine Anna Wiley of a mother and child in a meadow, sold by this auction house in January, 2012. CONDITION: Very good condition with moderate to heavy grime overall. Slight craquelure bottom quadrant.