Julius L. Stewart (American, 1855-1919) A wood nymph, 1904 Oil on canvas 59 x 34 inches (149.9 x 86.4 cm) Signed and...

Julius L. Stewart (American, 1855-1919) A wood nymph, 1904 Oil on canvas 59 x 34 inches (149.9 x 86.4 cm) Signed and dated lower right: JL Stewart / 1904 PROVENANCE: Private collection, Beverly Hills, California, acquired circa 1982; Thence by descent to the present owner. Few American painters were afforded such complete acceptance into French society as Julius Leblanc Stewart. Nicknamed "the Parisian from Philadelphia", Stewart became an expatriate early in life, when he moved to Paris with his family at age ten. Stewart's artistic education could be described as a remarkable parade of master tutors. Initially trained by Mariano Fortuny and later Eduardo Zamacoïs, he quickly earned a place in the École des Beaux-Arts, and soon rose to become a favored pupil under the direction of another nineteenth century giant, Jean-Léon Gérôme. The son of sugar baron William Hood Stewart, young J.L. was granted unrestrained access to the upper echelons of society in turn-of-the-century France, a class that both inspired and supported his early career. His large-scale group portraits of ton darlings became his calling card, this style emulated in his popular works, The Baptism (1892), On the Yacht, Namoura (1890), and especially The Hunt Ball of 1885, which was accepted into the Salon of that year. Despite his continued success, recessions in the 1890s led to a decrease in general leisure, and Stewart shifted his attentions accordingly, away from the frivolities of the upper class, instead revisiting the tradition of the mythological nude. His earliest iterations feature anonymous figures in pastoral settings, but he transitioned to more recognizable nymphs and goddesses in a bid for another Salon appearance. This single-figure composition is emblematic of that shift. While multi-figure works like his monumental Nymphes chasseresses of 1898 represent the height of his ambition, the present work is more typical of his production during this time. Regardless of scale, the overall sense of idyllic tranquility remains consistent. The nubile young women with luminous porcelain skin stroll through a bucolic wilderness with hair piled atop their heads in precarious knots, resplendent in their health and youth, their rounded, natural bellies unhindered by the restrictive corseting of the era. The models in Stewart's new world of nudes remained the same local Parisiennes, fresh-faced and youthful. Yet, in a significant indication of the constant evolution of beauty standards, the present nymph was at one point overpainted. Prior to her acquisition by the current owner's family, an effort had been made to turn her into more of a mid-century modern woman. Her features were sharpened, slightly advancing her age and pulling her out of early adolescence. Waist-length hair completed her look. However, she has since been professionally restored to her original beauty, regaining the soft, ethereal face and haphazard topknot so recognizable in her peers. HID12701242017