CHARLES MERRILL MOUNT (New York/Ireland/Washington, D.C., 1928-1995). ROCKY STREAM AND WATER, OUTSIDE OF DUBLIN WITH YOUNG BOY, signed lower left and titled on stretcher. Oil on canvas - Framed, 30 in. x 25 in. Estimate $800-1,200
To see Mr. Fastov's brief introductory essay that he solely prepared, without assistance/supervision from Sloans and Kenyon, specifically for this auction of a small collection of 15 beautiful Impressionist paintings by CHARLES MERRILL MOUNT (New York/Ireland/Washington, D.C., 1928-1995) please click here to view supplemental information for this lot. Mr. Fastov, who knew Mount very well, bought this small 15 painting collection from Mount, and selected them from the approximately 400 paintings offered him on the basis that he thought he had selected the very best of Mount's paintings. Mr. Fastov brief essay is based on his personal knowledge of Mount's personality, foibles, extraordinary gifts as an artist, art scholar, raconteur and tragic flaws and extreme economic distress, that ultimately caused him to be convicted of interstate transportation of stolen historical documents from the U.S. Government, on March 30, 1989, and to be sentenced to eight years in prison. He died a very broken, embittered man in 1995. Early in his career, Mount earned very significant compensation for his portraits. He was also an excellent and successful biographer of important artists, such as Gilbert Stuart, Claude Monet and John Singer Sargent. Sargent had a profound and lasting impact on Mount's classical Impressionist style, in which be painted in buttery, impasto brush strokes and high key pastel colors. Mr. Fastov commissioned Mount to paint the portrait of his former wife, which he executed using a Sargent pose. While the portrait was very beautiful and somewhat sexy depiction of his wife, Mr. Fastov's enjoyment of it was somewhat impaired by the fact that his wife told him that Mount had importuned her to run away with him. When Mount caused a good friend of Mr. Fastov, Coleman Rosenberger, a great deal of pain and grief, as discussed in his essay, Mr. Fastov took the painting down from its prime hanging place in his dining room, because it reminded him of how his relationship with the extremely interesting, charming and bright, but very difficult Mount had deteriorated to the point, that Mr. Fastov could not stand being reminded of Mount every time he saw the portrait.
