Afternoon Drive
Emmett Pine enjoyed having a mode of transportation take top billing in many of his paintings. We’ve seen the trains and the trolleys, the horse drawn sleighs and carriages. He also painted a couple of cars and at least one truck.
1905 Buick, Courtesy of TJMM from the Collection of Stanley Ransom
In the painting above Pine places the Buick just below “dead” center drawing the viewer to the car but then up to the center and the distant view through the field to the mountains.
Emmett told his friend Stan Ransom that the painting was of his family. The driver must be his father, squiring three ladies on this sunny drive, the convertible top folded back giving the ladies in their “Sunday” bonnets an unimpeded view of the passing countryside. One wonders where Emmett could be, why isn’t he in the car with his family?
Emmett Pine holding newly sold painting. Courtesy Stanley Ransom
I’ve used this wonderful photo previously but it is too much of a gem for only one showing. Emmett proudly holds up the painting of the 1905 Buick while Stan takes the photo.
Pine did a pretty good job on the car getting most of the details down as if he remembered the car from his youth. The headlights, the coach lights above and the long hood stretching to the radiator grill.
Black Buick, Courtesy Peter McCormick
In this second painting, once again a Buick, Pine has chosen a smaller car similar to the 1911 Buick Roadster in the photo below.
The background is simple, the car is traveling on a dirt road with mountains in the distance, a few bushes and trees but nothing that competes with the car as the main focal point.
This painting appears slightly rushed. The background paint is very light almost transparent. Pine was using acrylic paints in later years for its quick drying properties. In this case it seems the paint may have had too much water blended in as it barely covers the canvas. The car itself is well done and includes most of the Buick features from that time.
Buick 1911 Roadster
Loaded for Market, Courtesy George Arnold, III
This is an amazing painting with a special story I’ll save for another time. For the fun of it, let’s assume Pine was a real Buick fan and the truck depicted in this wonderful painting was a Buick. Can we find a picture of an actual Buick truck that resembles the one in the painting.
This photo is close, perhaps an earlier model.
With the release of its 1908 line, Buick surpassed Ford and Cadillac as the number one producer of vehicles at 8,820 units that year, so Buicks are being seen more and more throughout the country, but are they being seen in the AuSable Valley?
I spoke with one of Emmett Pine’s nephews who told me that Pine’s father did have a car but he couldn’t remember the make. Emmett would have been 8 in 1905 although an owner would have the car some years after it came out and may have even purchased it used, several years later.
His nephew went on to say that even in the late 30′s when he was growing up, cars on the street were very rare. He could only remember three or four families that had cars other than his family. In fact even in the 30′s a car was rare enough around Keeseville that you would stop and look as it passed by. He remembers he and his friends out late at night, playing in the street rarely had to move for an oncoming vehicle of any make.
We know Pine would tell potential buyers anything they wanted to hear that might strengthen the connection to a painting, in this case it may be true. Pine’s father had a general store, he sold lumber, he had a large farm several miles outside of town, if there was a person that couldn’t waste time walking, it was John Henry Pine.
Lets go back up and look at the photo once again. Look closely at the background of this image. Standing amongst the Slim Jims, cigarettes, Miller Highlife, and I think I see a case of Carling Black Label just above his right ear. There are no less then six paintings displayed for sale. In the past few years I’ve catalogued over 100 paintings by Pine and have never seen the Keeseville Tennis Courts painted in any other setting but the winter skating rink. Here in the middle far right is a peak at what appears to be the tennis courts. Look along his left ear, another never before seen painting, this one of a busy Keeseville Train Station, its platform bustling with activity. In fact not one of the six paintings is currently in my catalogue of Pine paintings which stands at 103 works. If you know the location or collection that these paintings are part of please pass the information to me at [email protected]. Always happy to hear of any painting and especially stories of Emmett Pine.