Forest Scene
by John Lee Fitch, A.N.A.
A graphite (pencil) drawing of a landscape, which depicts a tree overlooking a stream, by John Lee Fitch, A.N.A. (Associate of the National Academy). John Fitch (1836-1895), No. 5285, had two of his paintings exhibited in the National Academy of Design exhibit of 1884, but it is unknown if this was a drawing of either one. It is signed at the lower left, but not identified further. The size is 7 1/4" x 9".
John Fitch, who maintained a studio in New York City, was elected an Associate Member of the National Academy of Design in 1870. He exhibited, in addition to the National Academy, at the Artist's Fund Society of NYC and the Century Club of NYC. This drawing was part of the Charles M. Kurtz Collection. Kurtz was editor of the National Academy Magazine , but it is not known if this drawing was published in the National Academy Notes of the National Academy of Design.
This publication contained illustrations of the "principle pictures" in that years exhibit. These illustrations were photo-engraved reproductions of sketches drawn by the artists themselves, and were minatures of the paintings submitted, differing only in size and detail from the originals. Some were quite sketchy and showed only the barest outline of a given painting, while others were detailed works of art in their own right. Over the years, Mr. Kurtz accumulated a large number of these drawings and, upon his death in 1909, they became the property of his wife and were sold to museums, art collectors, and dealers. This drawing is one of the last known group of the Kurtz items.
Photo courtesy of Louis Starr, Buffalo, NY.