Greetings

We were recently visiting Truro for family beach camping trip and I am sorry that I missed getting to Town Hall in Ptown to see the Hawthorne paintings.

In viewing the online sites and collections related I realized that it might be inspiring and worthwhile to share this painting and story with you and whomever is involved in preserving and documenting the Hawthorne collection.

My grandfather, a cellist from New York, Leo Tushnett, befriended Hawthorne as a young man while visiting Provincetown in early 1900's and had this portrait done by Hawthorne in exchange for Cello lessons. So the story goes... my dates may be slightly off but we thought the friendship and musical exchange was worthy of documentation as well as the very stunning and authentic Hawthorne portrait which we enjoy and treasure at my mothers home. If you are interested in any further information or pics; feell free to contact me here.

Thank you for keeping these beautifull paintings alive and well.

Sincerely
Carey Harben

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Hawthorne is chiefly noted in Provincetown for his perceptive rendering of the local fishing folk. Here he depicts an elegant young lady engaged in a demure, feminine pursuit - sewing. This was a popular topic that was, in a way, the expression of a genteel bourgeois ethos. However, Hawthorne’s subject is anything but languid: her intent gaze, the active gesture of her hands enliven the scene, and give it a feeling of immediacy consistent with the contemporary fact of woman’s suffrage. One can find in the composition a balance almost like a Dutch interior, reminding us that Hawthorne spent an important period early in his career studying painting in that country.

The Collection of the Provincetown Art Association and Museum, March 3-13, 2000, The National Arts Club, New York, NY; Curatorial Notes: Tony Vevers

Hawthorne Charles

Charles Hawthorne, "Fish Cleaners"
Provincetown Town Hall Collection

Hawthorne Charles

Charles Hawthorne
Provincetown Town Collection

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The Fisher Boy, oil on canvas, 39.25 x 39
New Britain Museum of American Art, Connecticut

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For more, visit Lauren Rogers Museum of Art, A Painter's Painter: Charles Webster Hawthorne; The Influence of Provincetown and Henry Hensche on Sammy Britt, Gerald DeLoach, Richard Kelso, and George T. Thurmond

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© 2001 - 2017 Provincetown Artist Registry | P.O. Box 675, North Truro, MA 02652 | 508 487-0011