William McGregor Paxton

Glow of Gold, Gleam of Pearl, 1906

oil on canvas

75 ¾ x 35 3/8 in.

Gift of Robert Douglas Hunter

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William Paxton was part of the Boston School of artists that included Frank Benson and Edmund Tarbell. Paxton was strongly influenced by the work of the 17^th-century Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer, whose intimate interiors influenced many of the Boston School painters. Portraiture and figure studies were Paxton’s specialty, and he  was also noted for his depictions of upper-class life. A consummate draftsman and colorist, Paxton was adept at producing supple depictions of flesh, particularly prominent in his nudes. He described his technique: “I let the surfaces flow into one another in a supple envelope of light and paint.”

Glow of Gold, Gleam of Pearl is the masterpiece of Paxton’s early career. A transitional work, it predates most of the elegant domestic scenes for which he and his colleagues are best known. With its sinuous silhouette and theatrical pose, the life-sized nude is an unmistakable vestige of Paxton’s Parisian training with Jean Léon Gérôme, who is known for his academic paintings of women sold at slave markets. Instead of the smooth finish that lends French nudes their icy perfection and remotness, this figure is brushed with a modified Impressionist flourish. The ruddy reflections of the nearby walls give her flesh a sensuous realism, suggesting Paxton’s attraction to Impressionism.

Reference

Ellen Wardwell Lee, R. H. Ives Gammel, Martin F. Krause, Jr. William McGregor Paxton 1869–1941. Indianapolis Museum of Art, 1979. ASIN: B000S6CC4S