Silvery Moonlight

NBI ID: 27.I
Title: Silvery Moonlight
Medium: oil on canvas
Dimensions: 18 1/4 x 15
Signature: vestigial signature, "R.A. Blakelock" within arrowhead, in earth red [lower right]
Current Owner: Montclair Art Museum
URL of Owner: http://www.montclairartmuseum.org/
CityState: Montclair, NJ
Date: 
Provenance: Artist; W. T. Evans, by 1902; bequeathed to Montclair Art Museum, 1915
Published: 
Exhibited: Newark Museum, Newark, N.J. 1930; American Federation of Arts "1800-1900 American Painting" - September 1954 to September 1955; Hirshl and Adler Galleries, N.Y., 1961
Subject Description: Ground line at bottom quarter of painting, single large irregular tree form at left of center, smaller rounded tree form at center horizon. Lightest area in sky behind large tree seems to spill over into left center in a stream or pool.
Condition: Relined. Heavy contraction crackle at lower left in area of darkest green color. Main sky area very wrinkled. Possibly some cleaning has resulted in losses to overall image.
Infra-red: Sharpens contrast of light and dark.
UltraViolet: Brings out the heavy leathery surface of the overall crackle.
Color: 
X-ray: Coarsely woven canvas, spotty irregular sub-texture, two vertical splits, probably due to the original canvas having been rolled or flattened.
Additional Examination Notes: The extremely broad and irregular character of the pattern of the foliage suggests a relationship to the last period of Blakelock's work. As noted by Mr. Cornelius, this may be due to a cleaning (and relining) which has eliminated some of the details of drawing and modeling and has also flattened the impasto.