2013 Coeur d’Alene Art Auction / Lot 17435 / 309  •  View Catalog  •   • 

174
Norton Bush (1834 – 1894)
Tropical Landscape (1885)
oil on canvas
30 × 50 inches
signed and dated lower right

Verso:
Label, Maxwell Galleries, San Francisco, California

According to Edan Milton Hughes, “Norton Bush (1834-1894) was born in Rochester, New York on February 22, 1834. As a teenager he studied in the studios of Jasper Cropsey and James Harris. He received criticism from Frederick Church who was already famous for his lush tropical scenes. It was Church who encouraged Bush to paint tropicals. Bush came to San Francisco in 1853 via the Isthmus of Panama and the Chagres River. He remained in San Francisco with a studio in the Mercantile Building except during 1869-72 when he was in New York City, voyages to South America on sketching trips, and a few years when he had a studio in Sacramento. From 1878-80 he was the director of the San Francisco Art Association and art director of the California section at the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893. In his later years he painted many marine scenes which were not as popular as his tropicals. Bush died in Oakland, California of a heart attack on April 24, 1894. Member: Bohemian Club; San Francisco Art Ass’n. Exhibited: National Academy of Design, 1852, 1871; Mechanics’ Institute (San Francisco), 1858-76; California Art Union, 1865; San Francisco Art Ass’n, 1872-85; California State Fairs (four gold medals). Works held: Society of California Pioneers; Crocker Museum (Sacramento); Oakland Museum; California Historical Society.”

PROVENANCE:
Maxwell Galleries, San Francisco, California
Dr. R. and Mrs. E Worthington, California, circa 1978
Robert Wiskocil, Walnut Creek, California, by descent

174

Norton Bush

1834 – 1894

Tropical Landscape (1885)
oil on canvas
30 × 50 inches
signed and dated lower right
Sold at Auction: $22,230
Condition ReportSurface condition excellent, lined, spots of old inpainting in sky, large spot upper center, and a 1 x 3 inch spot upper left, small spots of old inpainting in water.

Important Notice: Statements of condition are provided as a service to potential bidders; such statements are educated opinions and should not be regarded as facts. The Coeur d’Alene Art Auction has no responsibility for any errors or omissions.