388 - Lee Greene Richards,

Lee Greene Richards, American 1878-1950- A woodland scene; oil on panel, signed, dated, and inscribed 'to my friend /"Billie" / Lee Greene Richards / Paris. 1903', 33 x 23 cm. (unframed). Provenance: with the Pyms Gallery, London [PG D745]. Note: Born in Utah to a pioneer family, Lee Greene Richards grew up in an artistic community. He decided to change his birth name 'Levi' for 'Lee' early in life. Although he would settle in the Salt Lake area, where he still is a well-known and appreciated local artist, he took multiple trips to Paris to study at the Académie Julian and the École des Beaux-Arts under French painter Léon Bonnat (1833-1922). It was during one of his sojourns in Paris that he painted the present lot, dedicated to a friend, dated and inscribed 'Paris 1903'—when he was just 25 years old. Most of his works are held in institutional buildings in Utah. Although he was a prolific portraitist, and is primarily known for this genre, he was also a talented landscape painter. The present lot, an excellent example of this production during his training years, is a fresh and quickly painted woodland scene with beautifully preserved impasto.