Note
1) The following biographical materials are taken from the Askart.com website:
“Hugo Fisher was known for his skill
in watercolor painting of landscapes. Born in Kladno, Czechoslovakia in 1854,
he remained in his native land to study art with his father and Anton Mauve in
Prague. Fisher came to the United States in 1874. He lived in New York City for
a period, and there he married Addie Pond. The couple moved to Alameda,
California in 1886, and Fisher set up a studio in nearby San Francisco. While
commuting to his studio by ferryboat, he sketched scenes of the marshes and the
countryside. The couple had two children. His son, Hugo Melville Fisher,
followed in his father's footsteps, and became a skilled painter, recognized in
California for his Impressionist style.
In 1896, the Pacific Commercial
Advertiser newspaper reported that Fisher had opened a studio in J. J.
Williams' Photo Studio in Honolulu. The same year the magazine “Paradise of the
Pacific” reproduced a watercolor by Fisher depicting Manoa Valley in Honolulu.
Fisher specialized in watercolor, but one of his rare oils is a glowing sunrise
scene of Hilo Bay, on the island of Hawaii.
ate in 1896, Fisher returned to the
U.S. mainland, selling all his paintings with the exception of one.
Fisher gained critical praise for
his work and became popular on both the East and West coasts. He exhibited in
New York and California and was a member of the San Francisco Art Association.
Fisher lost many of his early paintings when his studio was destroyed in the
San Francisco Earthquake in 1906.
Hugo Fisher died in Alameda,
California in 1916.
Sources:
Edan Hughes, “Artists in California,
1786-1940; “Don Severson, “Finding Paradise”
Note 2) Fisher's dramatic vista of
cows watering in a mountain lake with a subtly painted atmospheric fog
shrouding the mountain tops is a beautifully painted, large watercolor, in good
condition and nicely framed. A reader's review of all of the 165 Fisher works
of art in Askart.com that are illustrated, will prove to the reader that this
Fisher auction watercolor is among the most dramatic and beautiful vistas
painted by Fisher and is, at worst, one of the top 5 of those works of art. All
of the foregoing considerations and the following auction records regarding sales
warrant the conclusion that the presale estimate of $1,000-$2,500 is reasonable
and justifiable.
Title/Subject:
Hunting Scene Signed. Watercolor on paper. 14 in. x 21.75 in. sold for $1,380
on 02/07/2008 at US Auction House
Title/Subject:
Alameda CA Signed. Watercolor on paper. 24 in. x 34 in. sold for $5,000 on 04/22/2007
at Monterey Museum of Art: Baird Benefit Auction, Monterey, CA
Title/Subject: Pastoral Wooded
Landscape Signed. Watercolor on paper. 14.50 in. x 29.50 in. sold for $1,495 on
04/17/2007 at John Moran Auctioneers, Altadena, CA
Title/Subject: Marin Pastoral
Signed. Watercolor on paper. 27 in. x 21 in. sold for $2,400 on 04/02/2006 at
Simpson Galleries, Houston, TX
Title/Subject: Cattle with Stream
Signed. Watercolor on paper. 26 in. x 38 in. sold for $2,185 on 01/15/2006 at Point Pleasant Galleries, Point Pleasant, NJ
Title/Subject: A Shepherd, His Dog, and His Flock Signed. Mixed Media 18
in. x 30 in. sold for $1,528 on 12/12/2005 at Bonhams & Butterfields, San
Francisco CA
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Title/Subject: Cows In Landscape Signed. Watercolor on paper. 10 in. x 15.50 in. sold for $1,210 on 06/17/2003
at John Moran Auctioneers, Altadena,
CA
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