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ARTHUR CLIFTON GOODWIN (American, 1864-1929) Boathouse by the Water, 1911 Pastel on paper 17-1/4 x 21-1/2 inches (43.8 x 54.6 cm) Signed, dated, and dedicated in pencil in lower right corner: To my friend / Gertrude Frankel (?) / A.C. Goodwin 1911 THE JEAN AND GRAHAM DEVOE WILLIFORD CHARITABLE TRUST This large, nearly square composition of a boathouse near the water is an excellent example of Arthur Goodwin's lush manner of handling pastel. His style reflected American Impressionism, although his subject matter was not typically rural. He preferred painting Boston and particularly scenes where the city met the natural landscape, such as piers and bridges over water, where buildings, vegetation and restless skies created dizzying reflections. Goodwin was born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and was raised in Chelsea, Massachusetts. He did not begin painting until the age of thirty and became a self-taught Impressionist and also a follower of the Ashcan School led by Robert Henri. After painting in Boston in both oil and pastel for a twenty-year period, Goodwin gained the recognition of famous art figures including John Singer Sargent, Mrs. Jack Gardner, and John T. Spaulding. Childe Hassam was quoted as describing Goodwin as "the greatest painter in Boston." In 1920, Goodwin and his wife moved to New York where he painted Washington Square from his studio there. After his marriage failed, the despondent artist returned to Boston and led the life of a Bohemian who drank excessively. Louis Kronberg often roomed with Goodwin, taking care of him and making sure he didn't drink too much. Although Goodwin never studied in Paris, he vowed one day he would go to see the French Impressionists' work firsthand. Tragically, after an excessive drinking binge, Goodwin was found dead in his Boston studio with tickets for Paris in his pocket. His work is represented in numerous museum collections including: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the Addison Gallery of American Art, Phillips Academy, Andover, Massachusetts; and the Fogg Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts.