ethel easton paxson
(AMERICAN, 1885-1982)
Ethel Easton Paxson was a favored student of William Merritt Chase at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Her work was featured in an exhibition titled "The Women Students of William Merritt Chase" held at the Marbella Gallery in December of 1973. Distinguished Chase authority and biographer, Ronald Pisano, recognizing Ms. Paxson's noteworthy student associations with Chase, and impressed by her special artistic merit, curated two benchmark shows of her work three years later, again at The Marbella Gallery.
The first of these, in the spring of 1976, was enthusiastically received and completely sold out, and was followed by a second exhibition and sale in the fall of that year. A third show and sale of her work took place in July of 1980 at The Art Center of Old Lyme; 73 paintings were sold, again, a near sellout.
In the 1976 exhibition catalogue, Mr. Pisano said "The work of Ethel Paxson constitutes the first American Impressionist statement of South America". Further, he summarizes," As one of this country's early landscape painters, Ethel Paxson has established herself as one of the important women artists of this century".
She had a successful career spanning 80 years, primarily as a New York City and Long Island artist. She lived and painted for many years in Kew Gardens, N.Y. and exhibited widely from the 1930s through the 1970s. Hailing from Connecticut, she was also a member of the Old Lyme Art Colony. Luminary exhibitions of her work were held at Grand Central Art Galleries, N.Y., Marbella Gallery, N.Y., Argent Gallery, N.Y. and others. She is in the collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Heckscher Museum, Huntington, N.Y., The Parrish Art Museum, Southampton, N.Y., and The Florence Griswold Museum in Old Lyme, CT.
Shortly after her tutelage under Chase, she spent 5 years (1916-1921) painting in Brazil. During this productive period, she maintained close correspondence with her first art teacher, Lilla Yale. Within these eloquent letters she oft mentions Chase' methodology and their frequent visits to the studio of George Bellows, whose work she admired.
“PHLOX AND BUTTERFLIES”
OIL ON BOARD
21”H X 22”W
CIRCA 1935, SIGNED ETHEL PAXSON L/C
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