Accession Number1972/2.21
TitleBuildings with Water Tank (Bellevue Plantation, Virginia)
Artist(s)Henry Lee McFeeArtist NationalityAmerican (North American)Object Creation Datecirca 1930-1931Medium & Supportoil on canvasDimensions 29 15/16 in x 24 3/16 in (76.04 cm x 61.44 cm);35 3/8 in x 29 1/2 in (89.85 cm x 74.93 cm)
Credit LineGift of The Ann Arbor Art Association, in memory of Ruby S. ChurchhillSubject matterHenry Lee McFee was influenced by artists including Georges Braque, Pablo Picasso, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Italian Renaissance painters, however he was most influenced by Paul Cézanne. This work resembles some of Cezanne's houses in Provence in their simple blocky forms and the trees breaking up the foreground space.
McFee primarily painted still lifes and landscapes. His formal art training included his attendance at the School of Fine Arts in St. Louis, the Stevenson Art School in Pittsburgh, and in 1908, Birge Harrrison's landscape class at the Art Students League in Woodstock (where McFee spent two summers, before eventually settling in Woodstock). McFee was a leader of Woodstock's modernist Rock City Group; other members included Andrew Dasburg (who originally introuced McFee to European modernism), Konrad Cramer, and Eugene Speicher. McFee moved to Los Angeles, CA in 1940 where he became a prominent painter and teacher in the Southern California arts scene.
Physical DescriptionIn this painting there are six buildings surrounded by green grass and tall tress without leaves. On the right side of the painting, a green and brown water tank rises out of and stands above the buildings at the height of a tree house. A brown fence separates the water tank from the buildings behind it.
Primary Object ClassificationPaintingCollection AreaModern and ContemporaryRightsIf you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit
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Keywords
buildings (structures)
clouds
fences
houses
modern and contemporary art
plantations
rural areas
trees
water tanks
water towers