We meet again ...

... I got this yesterday from my stepdaughter Gwen: masterpiece watercolor nude.

Gwen and I of course know who Harry Stevens was: Gwen's grandfather, her mother's father. We even know who the model in this painting was: Gwen's grandmother. At his best, Steve - as he preferred to be called - was one of the best watercolorists I know of. I once asked him how long it took to paint a watercolor, and he said, "Two hours and 40 years." Whoever wrote the commentary accompanying the nude is a very perceptive fellow. Steve studied at the Chicago Art Institute and back in Philadelphia was associated for a time with Violet Oakley, Morris Blackburn, and Beatrice Fenton. He did some good figure paintings, but his most characteristic works were his landscapes, such as the one shown here, which is of Mount Hamilton in the White Mountains as seen from Mount Washington - done plein air, with the paper, the easel, and to an extent the artist all battened down against the wind. Oh, and yes, I own the landscape.