Thayer Copy (detail)
6x6in oil on canvas 85.
Roses by Abbott Handerson Thayer is one of my favorite flower paintings.
It is in the Smithsonian American Art Museum in D.C. The surface texture is quite wonderful with layers peeping through both thick and thin paint. Thayer had a remarkable ability to describe the essentials of a rose with loose strokes and perfect values.
Thayer is known for painting beautiful, idealized women. Angel is one of the most famous of his pieces. Not everyone's cup of tea I know, but the way he painted it is fabulous.
He had a very contemporary way of handling the paint.There is a story that he once used a broom, not brush, on a wet painting to make it less rigid. He also experimented with additives to his paint...like adding soil for a landscape painting.
His theories about nature's use of concealing coloration (to protect the Animal Kingdom) are worth reading.
Beautiful copy! I recognized Thayer the moment I saw it! It is also one of my favorites! Your interpretation is wonderful!
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