West Chop, Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts
Signed lower right: POLLY THAYER
Description
In West Chop, Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, Thayer’s use of an elevated perspective and high horizon line calls attention to the rocky bulkhead in the foreground, its craggy form and strong shadow rendered in distinct contrast to the softer tones and brushwork used in the rest of the scene. The painting demonstrates advice Thayer absorbed about not giving equal weight to value, line, and color: “There’s a French saying, tout dire, c’est ennuyer. If you’re saying everything, you’re a bore. Things that you see aren’t sharp against each other, they’re blurred. You only sharpen the ones that you want to look at….If you want to make a statement, then you need to focus on some one point in it.” While the rocks pull the viewer in, its diagonal form leads to the pair of beachgoers wading in the shallows, which in turn directs the eyes across the water to the distant shore of East Chop on the other end of Vineyard Haven Harbor. These intersecting angles enliven the composition, while Thayer’s effective and astute color sense is revealed by the complementary palette and the way she applied blueish tones among the golden sand and vice versa in the sky.
Provenance
From the collection of the artist
To her goddaughter, private collection, Coupeville, Washington
To the daughter of the above, private collection, Lynden, Washington, 2022 to present
Inscriptions
Labels
Exhibitions
Literature
Condition
Excellent. The painting was recently cleaned and has very minor in-paint in the middle water and right sky, in the top of the rock bulkhead and towards the bottom near the edge, and a thin line near the lower left corner.
Frame Details
Description
In West Chop, Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, Thayer’s use of an elevated perspective and high horizon line calls attention to the rocky bulkhead in the foreground, its craggy form and strong shadow rendered in distinct contrast to the softer tones and brushwork used in the rest of the scene. The painting demonstrates advice Thayer absorbed about not giving equal weight to value, line, and color: “There’s a French saying, tout dire, c’est ennuyer. If you’re saying everything, you’re a bore. Things that you see aren’t sharp against each other, they’re blurred. You only sharpen the ones that you want to look at….If you want to make a statement, then you need to focus on some one point in it.” While the rocks pull the viewer in, its diagonal form leads to the pair of beachgoers wading in the shallows, which in turn directs the eyes across the water to the distant shore of East Chop on the other end of Vineyard Haven Harbor. These intersecting angles enliven the composition, while Thayer’s effective and astute color sense is revealed by the complementary palette and the way she applied blueish tones among the golden sand and vice versa in the sky.
Provenance
From the collection of the artist
To her goddaughter, private collection, Coupeville, Washington
To the daughter of the above, private collection, Lynden, Washington, 2022 to present
Inscriptions
Labels
Exhibitions
Literature
Condition
Excellent. The painting was recently cleaned and has very minor in-paint in the middle water and right sky, in the top of the rock bulkhead and towards the bottom near the edge, and a thin line near the lower left corner.
