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Emile Albert Gruppe American, 1896-1978 Mending the Nets, Cape Ann Signed Emile A. Gruppe (lr); inscribed as Morning in Gloucester, by Emile A. Gruppe on the stretcher Oil on canvas 30 x 36 inches Provenance: Private collection Exhibited: New York, Spanierman Gallery, LLC, Emile A. Gruppe (1896-1978), Jul. 10-Aug. 30, 2008 Rockport, MA, The Rockport Art Association, Emile Gruppe Retrospective, Oct. 5-Nov. 23, 2008 Literature: Carol Lowrey, "Emile A. Gruppe (1896-1978)," American Art Review 20 (December 2008), 105 color illus. Gruppe loved to paint views of Gloucester's bustling waterfront, where one could find large schooners huddled next to smaller cat boats, lobster boats and dories. This glimpse shows the inner harbor in the early morning, when the pale light of dawn envelops the setting in a delicate veil of mist. The dockworkers mending the nets in the foreground create a sense of scale, while Gruppe often incorporated them to reveal his feeling that in a harbor scene "workmen are essential." The two men lifting the nets in the foreground are positioned to frame the large boat in the middleground. Silhouetted against an expanse of sky, the vessel's tall masts serve as a reminder that Gruppé would often exaggerate their height in order to give ordinary working boats a "greater dignity." An emblem of Gloucester's role as a commercial fishing hub, the stately vessel is flanked by other craft nestled close to the pier. A few seagulls dive and bank above the calm water, adding to the feeling of activity that permeates the image, as does the inclusion of various boats in the distance. C The Spanierman Gallery, LLC Collection of American Art