Trout Water
Signed lower right: John Whorf
Description
Sporting motifs, Boston city views, coastal subjects, and attractive nudes in outdoor settings constituted a large portion of John Whorf’s chosen subject matter and were all admired and quickly purchased by collectors. He was especially successful with his fishing themes, such as Trout Water, which may have been inspired by time spent exploring the rivers of Maine, upstate New York, and Canada. The painting demonstrates Whorf’s mastery of the watercolor medium, particular in his interpretation of the play of light in the scene, simultaneously creating a silhouette effect on the fishermen and casting their faces in soft shadow, while creating interesting reflections in the rippling water.
Provenance
Private collection, Brookline, Massachusetts, until 2025
Inscriptions
1). (verso of paper in pencil) #1 Trout Water
2). (verso of paper in pencil) 24 ½ x 35
Labels
Exhibitions
Literature
Condition
Very good. The verso of the paper has very mild toning and there is faint residue from old mounting tape along the edges, while the recto has minor toning along the edges undoubtedly from an old, previous mat. There is no significant fading to the artist’s colors. It is now housed in an archival mat and framed behind museum glass. It appears that the artist signed the work twice, with the top portions of the ‘h’, ‘W’, ‘h’, and ‘f’ of a second signature seen along the extreme lower right edge of the paper. The evidence of old tape residue along this edge on the verso indicates the work was framed at this size for some time, thus it can be assumed that the artist made this compositional change by removing part of the lower section of the image before signing the work again after achieving his preferred design.
Frame Details
Description
Sporting motifs, Boston city views, coastal subjects, and attractive nudes in outdoor settings constituted a large portion of John Whorf’s chosen subject matter and were all admired and quickly purchased by collectors. He was especially successful with his fishing themes, such as Trout Water, which may have been inspired by time spent exploring the rivers of Maine, upstate New York, and Canada. The painting demonstrates Whorf’s mastery of the watercolor medium, particular in his interpretation of the play of light in the scene, simultaneously creating a silhouette effect on the fishermen and casting their faces in soft shadow, while creating interesting reflections in the rippling water.
Provenance
Private collection, Brookline, Massachusetts, until 2025
Inscriptions
1). (verso of paper in pencil) #1 Trout Water
2). (verso of paper in pencil) 24 ½ x 35
Labels
Exhibitions
Literature
Condition
Very good. The verso of the paper has very mild toning and there is faint residue from old mounting tape along the edges, while the recto has minor toning along the edges undoubtedly from an old, previous mat. There is no significant fading to the artist’s colors. It is now housed in an archival mat and framed behind museum glass. It appears that the artist signed the work twice, with the top portions of the ‘h’, ‘W’, ‘h’, and ‘f’ of a second signature seen along the extreme lower right edge of the paper. The evidence of old tape residue along this edge on the verso indicates the work was framed at this size for some time, thus it can be assumed that the artist made this compositional change by removing part of the lower section of the image before signing the work again after achieving his preferred design.
