Emil Carlsen : Sand dunes, ca.1922.
ECA record control number: 34506
Archives of American Art #: [none]
Record level: Item
Record type: Movable work
Work title: Sand dunes [title from auction catalog]
Alternate work titles:
2025 : Sand dunes [title from auction catalog]
Work date: ca.1922 [based on palette and theme]
Work creator: Emil Carlsen [1848-1932]
Work medium: Oil on board
Work dimensions: 5-1/4 x 10 inches [unframed] | 10-1/2 x 15-1/4 inches [framed]
Inscribed / signed front:
Location: At lower left.
Dated: No.
Text: ‘E.C.’.
Verso:
Marking type:
Location:
Text: ‘ ‘.
ECA category: Landscape
ECA sub-category: Dunes
Archives of American Art subjects:
Landscape
Landscape — Beach
Waterscape
Waterscape — Coast
Description of work:
Provenance / ownership:
after 2023 Estate of Maryle “Lee” A (Brumfield) Larson and Peter Larsen [1939-2023], Scottsdale, AZ ;
after 1993 Private collection of Maryle “Lee” A (Brumfield) Larson and Peter Larsen [1939-2023], Scottsdale, AZ ;
1993 ( Christie’s [1766- ], Rockefeller Center, 20 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10020 ) ;
1992 ( Christie’s [1766- ], Rockefeller Center, 20 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10020, item returned to owner as unsold ) ;
after 1975 Private collection of [unknown] ;
1975 Estate of Florence B. G. S. Carlsen [1903-1974], Falls Village, CT, the artist’s daughter-in-law [likely] ;
1966 Private collection of Florence B. G. S. Carlsen [1903-1974], Falls Village, CT, the artist’s daughter-in-law [likely] ;
after 1943 Private estate of Dines Carlsen [1901-1966], Falls Village, CT, the artist’s son [likely] ;
1932 Private collection of Luella May (Ruby) Carlsen [c.1869-before 1943], New York, NY, the artist’s wife [likely] ;
ca.1922 Emil Carlsen [1848-1932], the artist .
Exhibition history:
1993 Christie’s [1766- ], Rockefeller Center, New York, NY, “sale 1412 – 19th and 20th-century American paintings, watercolours and sculpture”, March 11.
1992 Christie’s [1766- ], Rockefeller Center, New York, NY, “sale 7632 – American watercolours, paintings and sculpture of the 19th & 20th-centuries”, March 12.
References / citations:
– Christie’s [1766- ], New York, Rockefeller Center, NY, sale catalog, “sale 1412 – 19th and 20th-century American paintings, watercolours and sculpture”, March 11, 1993, lot #134, illustrated : b&w [online].
– Christie’s [1766- ], New York, Rockefeller Center, NY, sale catalog, “sale 7632 – American watercolours, paintings and sculpture of the 19th & 20th-centuries”, March 12, 1992, lot #154, illustrated : b&w [online].
Related works:
ECA notes:
There are approximately 450+ small oil sketches by the artist Emil Carlsen [1848-1932] based on notes after he passed. Carlsen did careful line drawings if he wanted to capture outlines of various features, like trees or rocks, on paper, but would, especially later in his life when his drawing prowess became seasoned, paint quick small oil sketches outside in situ (plein aire.) He faithfully recorded color, movement and the blocking of shapes in oil that was heavily thickened with damar varnish or sometimes copal dryer, often creating large cracks in the finished paint surface and even excessive yellowing. Many of his sketches showed layers of thick paint to capture the effects of the scene. To accomplish this and make it easier for him to transport, he used varnish or dryer liberally creating paint that was sticky, shiny and could hold brush strokes. Many people love Carlsen’s quick brushy sketches preferring this work to his more finished pieces, believing it to be Modern. Carlsen was staunchly against Modern art, so it is somewhat ironic that his more than 450+ sketches which he kept with him his entire life as reference for larger finished studio works would find themselves important collector vehicles. More than 90% of Carlsen’s works are in private hands, making it difficult to catalog all the small sketches. This panel is particularly desirable due to the bright colors and thickly painted brush strokes and its small size makes it perfect for small urban apartments. Many of Carlsen’s sketches where simple signed ‘E.C.’ usually at the lower left. But, a tell tale sign of a real Carlsen is the myriad small pencil notes all over the canvas especially at the lower corners and lower edge. Carlsen would make quick notes about color, time of day, and anything that occurred to him. He would often simplify colors into numbers and then put them on the canvas similar to paint by numbers. The numbers would say for example 2 = light blue. This approach can be seen most prominently within his 1899 sketchbooks when he traveled to England. The painting could be several locations, including Long Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Venice, Cape May, Cape Cod, Vermont, Maine, and others but, is likely Denmark around Skagen, an area particularly known for his summering and its home of artists.
Carlsen kept his sketches with him his entire life. It is rare that he would ever depart with them. These plein aire sketches followed with him everywhere he went and when he past they went to his wife, Luella. His son, Dines then inherited the sketches until his early death when Dines’ wife Florence inherited them. She sold choice sketches off to the public using a local Connecticut dealer towards her death. At the time of her death approximately 450+ sketches where left to her estate. Without any children, the estate was split between 4-5 antique dealers. One of the places that most of the sketches went where the gallery Wortsman/Rowe Galleries, Inc. [1972-1975], 575 Sutter Street, San Francisco, CA. Here more than 50% of the sketches were sold to private collectors. Most sketches contain an estate stamp from Dine’s wife’s estate marked ‘Florence B.G.S. Carlsen’ ([1903-1974] Carlsen, Florence Battle Gulick Shaw). Many of the sketches where later mounted on board and some of the stamps can not be seen. However, if the work did not have the estate stamp, it may have been sold just before Florence’s death at the Connecticut dealer Joseph G Fudali [1921-2003] (which is why we mark it as LIKELY in the provenance.)
Price history:
1993 – $2,760 USD [auction]
1992 – unsold [auction]
Document information
Document permalink:
https://emilcarlsen.org/work/?p=34506
Digital-born document number:
ECA.2025.34506
Digital document provenance:
Original compiled and researched document by the Emil Carlsen Archives, 266 West 21st Street, Suite 4E, New York, NY 10011.
Document license:
Creative Commons Corporation shareAlike (sa) license. Some of the information contained within this document may hold further publication restrictions depending on final use. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine.
Image license:
The author of this artwork died more than 70 years ago. According to U.S. Copyright Law, copyright expires 70 years after the author’s death. In other countries, legislation may differ.
Record birth date:
[lmt-post-modified-info]
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