Violets in a Glass
Ralph Albert Blakelock, American, 1847 - 1919
about 1910
Oil and charcoal on unstretched canvas laid down on board
Overall: 7 3/4 × 4 1/2 in. (19.7 × 11.4 cm)
Frame: 15 × 12 in. (38.1 × 30.5 cm)
Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth: Gift of Peter A. Vogt, Class of 1947, in memory of Judson Hannigan, Class of 1946
2008.21
Geography
Place Made: United States, North America
Period
20th century
Object Name
Painting
Research Area
Painting
On view
Inscriptions
Signed with initials, upper right: R.W.B.; typed label on reverse: Ralph Blacklock / Violets in Glass, c. 1910; Printed label on reverse: University of Nebraska / BLAKELOCK INVENTORY / NO. 318 [number typed]; Labels removed from back of frame, now stored in acetate sleeve adhered to backing: [Burchfield Center exhibition label: printed: BURCHFIELD CENTER / BUFFALO STATE / UNIVERSITY COLLEGE / 1300 ELMWOOD AVENUE, BUFFALO, N.Y.; typed: RECOGNIZING THE PAINTERLY TRADITION / IN AMERICAN ART, 1850-1920 / MARCH 30 - MAY 4, 1980 / Cat. No. 4] [gummed printed label: EGFA / (bar code) / 3FDPF / Ralph A. Blakelock, / "Violet in a Glass" / blue circular gummed label adhered to EGFA label, handwritten: 172/7F); [gummed printed label: (bar code) / 3FDPF / N08257 0007]; [printed circular blue gummed label: SOTHEBY'S NEW YORK / 7 (in center)
Label
Loosely painted daubs of blue instill a sense of fragility in this work, while the unpainted background and bold signature at the upper right add an urgent immediacy. Ralph Blakelock captured these flowers at peak bloom before they began to wilt, using just a few charcoal lines to create the illusion of a glass vase filled with water sitting on a table.
Blakelock suffered from mental illness throughout the latter part of his life, and he likely painted this work while institutionalized. Did someone send him these flowers? Were they brought in by a hospital worker? Such questions ask us to consider the relationship between art and healing.
From the 2024 exhibition Beyond the Bouquet: Arranging Flowers in American Art, curated by Michael Hartman, Jonathan Little Cohen Associate Curator of American Art
Exhibition History
Beyond the Bouquet: Arranging Flowers in American Art, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, December 18, 2024 - late 2025.
Recognizing the Painterly Tradition in American Art, 1850-1920: From a Western New York Collection, Burchfield Center, Buffalo State University College, Buffalo, New York, March 30-May 4, 1980, cat. no. 4.
Publication History
Recognizing the Painterly Tradition in American Art, 1850-1920: From a Western New York Collection, Buffalo, New York, Burchfield Center, Buffalo State University College, 1980, cat. no. 4, p. 13.
Provenance
The artist; given to Harry Cole, probably Middletown, New York; given to Robert S. Sleicher [Cole's nephew]; Mr. Dibble; Warren Adelson; Peter A. Vogt (Class of 1947), Buffalo, New York; given to present collection, 2008.
Catalogue Raisonne
Norman A. Geske, Blakelock Inventory, Category I, University of Nebraska , Lincoln, Nebraska, no. 318 [unpublished.]
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