Sàndor Bernàth (1892 – c. 1984)
Pair of Lighthouse Paintings
American, 2nd Quarter 20th Century
Both signed Sàndor Bernàth, one lower left and one lower right
Watercolor on paper
11 x 14 inches overall, each
$5,800 pair
Pair of Lighthouse Paintings
Watercolors by Sàndor Bernàth
Watercolors by Sàndor Bernàth
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Pair of watercolors of lighthouses, each in the dramatic late afternoon light. Both are painted in a Precisionist style, emphasizing the geometric forms of the lighthouses and outbuildings. One has more slender proportions, and two detached buildings near it, and is partially obscured by a large, windblown tree. The other one has an attached structure and picket fence; it appears to be based on the Pemaquid Point Light in Bristol, Maine (see References below).
Sàndor Bernàth was a prolific American watercolorist. He was born in Hungary, but emigrated to America early in his career. Bernàth developed a characteristic style of smoothly delineated forms with strong contrasts of light and shadow, which relate to the styles of his slightly older contemporaries Edward Hopper and the American Precisionist painters Charles Sheeler and Charles Demuth. He is sometimes referred to as a “student of Edward Hopper” but this likely is metaphorical rather than literal. His later works in the 1970s (when he was in his eighties) were more painterly and atmospheric in style. He was a member of the American Watercolor Society, and remains best known for his watercolor paintings.
Bernàth began exhibiting watercolor landscapes in New York by the early 1920s, including European and New York scenes. He was also painting seascapes of New England, including Cape Cod; an extant Bernàth work of dunes in Cape Cod is dated 1928, and one of Long Point Light, Provincetown, Cape Cod, is dated 1935. From the 1920s to 1940s he lived in Maine, although he continued to travel. He painted many views of the Maine coast, one of which was purchased by the Brooklyn Museum of Art. In his mid career, Bernàth traveled to the mountainous regions of New Mexico, presumably Taos, where he painted numerous landscape watercolors featuring its snowy mountains and adobe buildings. These remain among of his most sought-after works.
Bernàth worked as an illustration artist for many New York City advertising agencies in the 1950s, and would frequently bring his pictures to sell directly to executives working at the firms for their private collections. At that time he produced multiple works of similar images that apparently sold well, especially his yachting pictures.
In the 1970s, Bernàth relocated to Central America, executing a series of watercolors of coastal landscapes and palm trees, some of which he labeled as locations in Honduras. Bernàth spent the last few years of his life in the Central American nation of Belize, and died there in about 1984.
Condition: Generally very good with the usual overall light toning and wear. Glue residue backside from former tape mounting, apparently stable and not affecting the front.
Reference:
Britten, William A. “Pemaquid Point Light.” Lighthouse Getaway. 1994-2007. http://www.lighthousegetaway.com/lights/maine3.html (22 April 2008).