Large Mid-Century Impressionist Oil Painting “Picnic Along the Eure River in France” – by Clifford Silsby

This vividly colored Impressionist oil painting on canvas painted by American artist Clifford F. Silsby is a beautifully detailed landscape-seascape depicting people carrying out their daily lives, enjoying a picnic on the banks of the picturesque Eure River in Normandy, France, a tributary of the Seine.

Artist: Clifford F. Silsby (American 1896-1986)
Active: France, California, Connecticut
Title: “Picnic Along the Eure River in France”
Medium: Oil
Ground: Canvas
Signature: Artist signed “Clifford Silsby” front lower right
(Beneath artist signature is painted the word “FRANCE”)
Other Markings or Attachments: titled on verso (reverse side of canvas) by attached card; also present is an attached typed card with biography of artist
Style and/or school: California Impressionist; American Impressionist
Period Created: Mid-century
Year (estimated): 1965-1970
Provenance: Private collection, Beverly Hills, CA since 1971

The artist was active in France, Connecticut and California, with the bulk of his paintings having been created while he was living in California. However, due to the inclusion of the word “FRANCE” beneath his signature on this painting, which is uncommon, it is a reasonable assumption that it was painted while in France.

Canvas Size (assumed): 30 inches x 40 inches (H x W)
Viewable image (of painting): 28.5 in H x 38.50 in W
Framed size: 35 in H x 49.25 in W x 2-5/8 in D

Included vintage frame, original to the work, is ornate carved wood with an antiqued whitewashed finish and matted in beige linen with a gold tone fillet.

(NOTE to collectors of Clifford Silsby works: a smaller sized oil, a companion piece to this one, was previously sold from this Chairish shop; for reference it can be found in the Chairish Pink Book.)

Background on Clifford F. Silsby:
Clifford was an American Impressionist artist (of paintings and etchings) and an engraver and the adopted son of renowned American lithographer and engraver Wilson Silsby. Born in New Haven, CT in 1896, he studied art abroad for many years, primarily in Paris at the Academy Julian, the Ecole des Beaux Arts and Academie La Grande Chaumiere. During his career he was active in Connecticut, France and California, but from 1912 to 1962 he lived and created his works primarily in California. He died in Los Angeles in 1986.

Exhibits of his works included the Salon d’Automne, Paris, 1923; LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art), 1926 & 1959; Painters and Sculptors of LA, 1929-1943. His works belong to the permanent collections of museums in the U.S. and abroad, including the Victoria & Albert Museum, London; LACMA; and the Evansville Museum of Arts, History and Science, Evansville, Indiana.

Silsby has been listed in numerous art publications and directories including “Southern California Artists”; “American Art Annual”, 1929-1933; “Who’s Who in American Art”, 1936-1956; and “Who’s Who in California”, 1942.