#emmett pine

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Paintings Come, Paintings Go

Two private sales recently brought to a close a year without any discoveries of new paintings or paintings coming into the market.  

The first transaction brought a new painting back into the North Country from a collector in Virginia and a painting left Plattsburgh to join a downstate collection.

Leaving after Sunday Service, Collection of S. Ransom

This great painting, approximately 12″ x 14″ date of painting unknown, shows parishioners leaving Mass or service on a sunny summer day.  Everyone is dressed in their finest “Sunday go to meeting” clothes, walking or riding home in their carriages.

The features of the people are indistinct and somewhat blurred but the impression Pine went for is very clear; a contented and relaxed group of neighbors on a peaceful day.  The warm green with some brown used for the grass and close shadows evoke a typical late morning towards the end of summer one would be used to seeing in the Champlain Valley.

This painting was owned by a lady in Virginia who contacted Stan and offered it for sale.  We were able to cataloged four paintings owned by a couple in the Norfolk, Virginia area a few years ago as part of an exhibit at the Anderson Falls Historical Museum in Keeseville, this painting was not part of the collection of images that couple sent.  Thanks to Stan it has now been added to the catalog of Pine paintings which totals 111 paintings in 33 collections.

Pumpking Harvest, Collection of TJMM

I was thrilled to receive Art Graves recent e-mail that he was considering selling this great painting depicting a farmer and his son harvesting pumpkins on a cool but sunny autumn afternoon while his daughter plays with the family dog.  

A large painting, 22″x 28″ acrylic on art board which is inexpensive and in a large size like this, a quite flimsy light canvas covered piece of cardboard.

Pumpkin Harvest was painted in 1982, three years before Pine’s death.  At 37 years it is in remarkable shape.  Luckily the painting was purchased from Emmett by his good friend of many years Stan Ransom who kept the painting for 33 of those years and even used it on the cover of his 2005 recording, North Country Memories.

Visit Stan’s website at www.stanransom.com to see his entire collection of cd’s.

So often Pine’s paintings fall out of favor by descendants of original owners, or due to the child like quality of his paintings, end up thrown away.  This great work was owned by two collectors that understood and appreciated the special quality of Pine’s work and took great care to preserve it, as I will.

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The Wedding Commission

Don and Mona LeClair were married on October 2, 1965 at her family’s church, the Immaculate Conception located at the top of Front Street hill. The newlyweds moved into a small apartment on Pleasant Street, next door to Pine’s Grocery. Don found himself spending many nights visiting the store and talking to Emmett, developing a friendship that lasted for years.  Mona would often send Don to pick up a few groceries and hours would pass before he crossed back over the driveway that separated the apartment building from the store.

Don loved talking to Emmett.  Emmett knew what was going on around the village and had definite opinions that he happily shared.  The store was comfortable and welcoming, especially if Emmett answered the bells that rang into action when struck by the opening door. Don remembers Emmett standing behind the counter in front of shelves laden with 20 to 30 small paintings. It was a casual, revolving exhibit as paintings would disappear when purchased only to be replaced by new ones. 

A month or so after their wedding, Don was in the store and saw a couple of small paintings of the Immaculate Conception Church. They were paintings of the church in a winter setting.  Don pointed at them and said “Emmett,  that isn’t what the church looked like on my wedding day, Mona and I were married on a beautiful sunny day.” 

 He told Pine that Turner’s Drug Store had post cards of the Church that reminded him exactly of the day they were married.  Emmett told Don to bring him one of the post cards and he would paint it.  Don, wanted a painting larger than the typical boards and canvases he saw placed around the store so he also bought a frame the size he was looking for and gave both to Pine.

Postcard of the Church of the Immaculate Conception,  “The Irish Church”, Keeseville, NY ca1965 Curtesy of Don and Mona LeClair

Pine was busy at the time, he told Don he had a few commission ahead of his but only two or three weeks later, the painting was completed and framed.  Emmett knew Don had very strong feelings about the special scene and he put a lot of work into the painting, recreating the church on that sunny day only a few short months after the wedding had taken place.

Immaculate Conception Church by Emmett Pine, 1965, Curtesy of Don and Mona LeClair.  Approximately 17″ x 24″

Don and Mona’s painting of the Irish Church has hung in their home for 55 years, with the original post card tucked into the corner of the frame.  Their painting of the church on a sunny day, with the south side a bright and brilliant white, the tall spruces and the statue of the Church’s namesake on the front lawn, the stain glass windows styled in blue.  

Using the post card for details, Pine didn’t just copy it.  His view was southwest of the church well across the road allowing him to include a more complete perspective of the church and surrounding land.  He even included glimpses of the cemetery behind the church, through the tall trees that have always graced the South and East sides of the property.  Like the post card, the sky is full of clouds but instead of the bright blue we see a pale sky with some light greying in the East possibly a portent of a storm coming in off Lake Champlain or a gentle nod to the newlyweds that married life isn’t always blue sky and sunshine.

The Immaculate Conception, locally called the Irish Church was built by Irish Immigrants in 1835.  It was the first Catholic Church in Keeseville and remains the oldest active original-structure church in the diocese.  The church was a favorite theme for Pine and one that sold well.  

Emmitt’s family, were long time parishioners of the Irish Church and in fact he is buried in the Immaculate Conception cemetery, as are his parents, his wife, his sister and many other relatives.   Pine’s most popular painting of the Church was an evening scene depicting Midnight Mass.  In fact, in 1980 when he completed a commission of that painting  for a long time friend and collector, Pine told him it was his 25th rendering of that scene at that time.

Don and Mona’s painting is the 9th painting of the Irish church that I have cataloged, and while Emmett had fun varying the colors and using different lighting they are all winter scenes.  This is the only painting cataloged to date showing the church in a warm weather season which makes it pretty special.

Selection of Privately Owned Paintings of the Immaculate Conception in the Emmett Pine Catalogue

Don LeClair is retired now but he still lives on Pleasant Street, a ways down from Emmett’s old store in the home he and Mona brought up their family.    They can be found most days relaxing on their porch, visiting with family and friends.

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March 8, 2018 International Women’s Day

Blanch E. Pine 1908 - 1986 Painting c 1940 Courtesy TJMM

While Emmett Pine may have been the head of the household, the real boss at home was his wife Blanch.  Blanch was the daughter of Helen and Nelson DeFoe of Peru and had at least three siblings; a brother named Garfield a highly regarded doctor practicing in Maine, and at least two other sisters Helen who was younger and Lilian, age unknown.  That is all I could dig up about Blanch.  I spoke with some of their nieces and nephews who remembered her as quiet but definitely the “boss”.  

Local papers from the 1930′s through the 70′s regularly reported on the DeFoe family’s travels and family members visiting Mr. and Mrs. E. J. Pine.  When Lilian was married to Joseph A. Shoendorf the weekly news reported that Lilian was attended by her sister Mrs. E. J. Pine.  The wedding announcement and funeral information for Hellen and Garfield also reported in the local newspapers.  What’s missing is any additional information about Blanch, no wedding announcements and only a death announcement from Alexandria, VA, with no obituary.  After Emmett’s passing, Blanch moved to the Alexandria, Va area where her son Juan lived and where she passed away in February 1986.

At least we have this wonderful painting of Blanch which Emmett titled “Femme Fatale” dating back to 1940.  The painting is oil on flannel and is extremely fragile; the painted surface heavy with oil paint but missing the heft of canvass for support is quite delicate.

The title is perfect for this painting with Blanch in evening clothes wrapped in a mink stole.  Pine painted her in this pose with her dark eyes drawing you in and lips painted with a slight upward curve.  She’s hiding a secret...you want to know what it is but will you survive the encounter?

Back of Painting

Emmett often wrote notes on the back of his paintings; clues to the subject, date or the person or cause that the painting was intended for.  The note above was likely added by Stan Ransom who purchased this painting from Pine’s Store.  Stan was director of the North Country Library System and traveled through the region visiting libraries regularly.  When in Keeseville he always stopped to see his friends Blanch and Emmett Pine.  

This is the second painting I have come across painted on flannel fabric stretched over a wooden frame.  The other painting of a moonlit marsh was also painted in the 1940′s.   Canvas was in high demand for military production, tents, leggings water carriers, cots etc.  Perhaps artists throughout the country had to come up with other material for their work.

Even more interesting is the remains of a painted canvas that had been cut out leaving the margins still attached to the stretchers.

The remaining margin is painted in the blues Pine typically used in his winter scenes.

So here we have this great painting of Blanch as a reminder that Emmett had a wife managing the household, caring for their son and running the store while Emmett painted, probably pulling him away from his easel from time to time to take care of the store and other family business waiting for his attention.  Back then she did it as Mrs. E. J. Pine, today she would be Blanch Pine independent business women and mother.

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Stopping By The Woods On A Snowy Day

Winter Road Through Forrest, Courtesy TJMM

Another visit to the North Country and another surprise from my brother!  A new Emmitt Pine.  He has officially become the E.Pine Bloodhound.

This painting certainly evokes Robert Frost’s poem although it appears to be the day after the “snowy evening” he wrote about. Here we are on a narrow road through a forrest of evergreens with their branches laden with snow. The sun is low in the sky casting long shadows across the road with the warm glow of late afternoon lighting a small break in the forest just ahead. 

 This is a wonderful work by Pine. You can feel the dry cold of a typical Adirondack woodland winter scene.  His use of color in this painting particularly in the shadowing and the snow covered branches add depth and texture to this painting that is rarely seen in his other works.

Winter Road Through Forrest, Courtesy Jay Hamilton

Jay Hamilton’s painting is very similar to the one above in fact almost a duplicate.  This painting is darker and lacks the bright sunlight above yet still has shadows stretching across the road.  The same forest and lonely trail but for a change here and there.  Missing are all the colors Pine used above to build out the shadows and shading.  

Private Road, Town of Chesterfield  Photo by TJMM

One of the great pleasures of spending time in the Adirondacks is exploring the back roads and trails that criss cross the region. Walking along the private roads and trails around my property never gets old. My terrier, free of his leash running wild with new found independence always manages to scare up a partridge or even a mouse below the surface of the snow. Pine, too, must have loved the woods, and the roads that plunged through them. They are a common theme featured in many of his best loved works.

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Pine Painting Goes to the Next Generation

In the 1940′s Helga Peterson, a neighbor of Emmitt Pine, acquired this small painting from him.  She had either seen him throw it away or found it after he had thrown it away.  When she asked why, Pine said he had tossed it because he was unhappy with the foreground.  He gave the painting to her and it has been in her family ever since.

The painting is 8″ by 10″ and offers a birds eye view of the hill rising from River Street to the Immaculate Conception on Front Street in Keeseville.  This interesting perspective shows some of the houses along River Street with the  primary focus on the Irish Church above.

Pine was probably dissatisfied with the two small houses in the foreground which are undersized compared to the white house on the left.  All the houses that line the north side of Front Street are missing from the work; we don’t know if he just didn’t get to them or if he never planned on including them.  Prospect mountain in the background is almost picture perfect.

Emmett Pine’s paintings are often passed within a family from generation to generation, rarely making their way into the open market.  This is the case with this painting.  The work was passed from Helga to her daughter and after many years was passed to Helga’s grand daughter and her husband, Bruce and Nina Sullivan.  

I asked one of Pine’s nephews if he remembered Helga Peterson.  He told me what a great dancer she was and remarked, “no one in town did the shimmy as well as Mrs. Peterson.

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Deer Business

Winter Whitetail, Curtesy TJMM

Deer Hunting in the North Country is an important slice of local life.  In the lead up to deer season hunters plan, they scout, and they talk and talk and talk and when it begins some have been known to stop working until it’s over.  Although Emmett Pine was never a hunter he must have been caught up in the excitement and talk since two paintings featuring a whitetail buck have been identified and included in the Emmett Pine Catalog.

On a recent visit to the North Country, my brother and sister-in-law presented me with this wonderful painting as a gift for Christmas (see above).  The unframed “oddly” sized, hand stretched canvas measures 17″X 25 1/4″.

The scene is a white tail buck momentarily frozen in surprise, crossing a pond or stream.  The deer is looking directly at the source disrupting this placid glen, beautifully lit by the setting sun. 

The water feature in this work adds difficulty for Pine. The buck’s left rear leg tied to a rock in the pond by its reflection looks like a boot, and the rock below the curved front leg might be the period below a question mark.  Pine built his paintings from the background up, layer by layer; I suspect the rocks were already in the pond when Pine decided to add the buck.  He does do justice to the sky reflecting in the surface of the pond and of the snow on the banks above the water.  His blue shadowing through the woods add depth and dimension to the work.

Winter Buck, Curtesy Robert Studebaker

In this painting of another four point buck, surprised once again by some noise or unexpected activity deep in the winter woods, you can see Pine has put a bit more style into defining the body of the buck.  His rear haunches are well defined as is the shape of his raised hoof.

I suspect that the Studebaker’s painting might have been done later in Pines career.  The tree branches are delicate with a light layering of snow unlike the top painting where winter snow and ice are added in a multitude of bluish blotches similar to winter paintings Pine did in the late 30′s and early 40′s.

These are two very charming paintings of typical scenes Pine would have heard about from customers in his store, friends and family throughout hunting season, year after year.  His sister’s husband and sons were all avid hunters and eager story tellers of their exploits in the woods.  Perhaps these paintings illustrate a couple such stories.

The back of the top painting has become very darkened with age and has no discernible date or notes left by Pine as many of his paintings do which is a shame.  His notes provide a window into the work; when it was done and sometimes who or what it was done for.  Never a title though - as a salesman he always left that for the purchaser to add.

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“And The Band Played On”

Emmett Pine and his sister Irene were both talented musicians and enjoyed performing.  With Irene on piano, Emmett on drums and the third on fiddle, (either Wilfred Minor or Ching LaDeau) they played at many local halls and church socials. 

Emmett Pine’s Orchestra - L to R:  Wilfred Minor, Irene Pine McCormick and Emmett Pine    Collection of TJMM 

Articles can be found in the archives of local papers during the 50′s that mention occasions that brought the group together for a number of fundraisers or to entertain arriving guests at the start of minstrel shows.  My mother told me how Emmett and Irene would ham it up on stage with Irene mimicking Liberace while introducing her brother Emmett.  Another of his relatives remembered Irene performing pregnant with a scarf or shawl draped down her side to mask her “delicate” condition.

There are at least two wonderful paintings of their band performing at dances. Both paintings have crowded dance floors, the band is lined up in the same order on a long stage with the piano in the middle.  

Pine and Ladies Orchestra Courtesy Stanley Ransom

Emmett included a lot of detail in these colorful paintings with their charming “naive”  perspective.  He even added the reflection of the chandelier in the highly polished dance floor in the bottom image.  A viewer could assume the top dance was in the fall or winter with the dancers in more formal, darker clothing.  T’he bottom work could be summer since one of the gentlemen is in white trousers and bucks.

Pine’s Orchestra Courtesy Jan McCormick

Years later with the band a memory Pine continued to entertained customers in his store, drumming on the counter while they made their selections, not in a bored way but drumming to a tune in his head as if he were part of the band that recorded it.  Irene continued performing for many years playing the organ every Sunday at the St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Mission in Clintonville and entertained her many grandchildren (a tough crowd) playing the themes of their favorite TV shows and a few older tunes like Sonny or Wincester Cathedral from her days in the band.

My title is borrowed without permission from And the Band Played On, a 1993 HBO Film about the discovery of the AIDS epidemic and the political infighting of the scientific community.

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Final Glories of Autumn

Country Lane, Emmett Pine 1949

From Sabbaths 2011

XIII.

Will-lessly the leaves fall, are blown, coming at last to the ground and to their rest. Among them in their coming down purposely the birds pass, of all the unnumbered ways choosing one, until they like the leaves will will-lessly fall. Thus freed by gravity, every one enters the soil, conformed to the craft and wisdom, the behest of God’s appointed vicar, our mother and judge, who binds us each to each, the largest to the least, in the family of all the creatures: great Nature by whom all are changed, none are wasted, none are lost. Supreme artist of this our present world, her works live and move, love their places and their lives in them. And this is praise to the highest knowledge by the most low.

©Wendell Berry

One of my favorite writers, Wendell Berry lives and works with his wife, Tanya Berry, on their farm in Port Royal, Kentucky. He is the author of more than 30 books, including the recently released, A Place in Time.  I have used this poem without permission and hope to be forgiven.