Francis Hopkinson Smith (American, 1854-1915) "View From My Gondola"

Francis Hopkinson Smith (American, 1854-1915)
“I have been an outdoor painter since I was sixteen years of age; have never in my whole life painted what is known as a studio picture evolved from memory or from my inner consciousness, or from any one of my outdoor sketches. My pictures are begun and often finished at one sitting; and a white umbrella and a three-legged stool are the sum of my studio appointments.” These words spoken shortly before his death at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1914 express succinctly Smith's credo and love of the spontaneous vitality of the outdoor sketch, the very best of which were created under the pressure of enthusiasm.
Throughout his mature career, from 1882-1915, Smith devoted approximately half of each year, during the warmer months, to rendering outdoor sketches in watercolor and charcoal. During this time he made over nineteen extended visits to Europe. Smith's immediate and profound attachment to the most picturesque European locales was based on the sheer sensory delight he experienced there. The written travel accounts that he began to produce in 1886 culminated in several editions of his book Venice of Today which expanded the narrative context of his watercolors. His sensitivity to the evanescent effects of light and patterns of color was truly remarkable and his verbal descriptions convey the sense of urgency with which he studied the scene before him. For Smith, a Venetian waterway was "full of moods, whims and fancies ... when aroused by a passing boat, breaking out into ribbons of color ... a bewildering, intoxicating jumble of tatters and tangles, maddening in detail, brilliant in color."