Evening (Auvers-sur-Oise)

In Evening (Auvers-Sur-Oise), a shepherd, cloaked against the chill of an autumn night, is arrested by the sight of the rising moon as his flock grazes peacefully on the rough stubble of a harvested field. Silvery moonlight is diffused through the moist atmosphere, bathing the scene in muted harmonious tones of soft purples, blues, and greens, and rendering distant stacks of harvested grain as dim mounds. His face blocked from view by his wide-brimmed hat, the shepherd is an anonymous figure, but his awed attention is echoed in his dog's alert pose. The scene combines an everyday rustic setting with religious sentiment, prompting the viewer's emotional participation through the humble figure of the solitary shepherd.

Pearce had established himself as a painter of Biblical subjects, along with exotic scenes and portraits, when he moved from Paris to the nearby village of Auvers-sur-Oise, in 1885. By that date he had already taken up the highly popular theme of French rural life, which he often portrayed in religious terms. Pearce painted the subject of the lone shepherd or shepherdess repeatedly, apparently drawn to its Christian associations. This work may have been painted in 1888 or thereafter, when the artist began to adopt a "grey tone"—diffused, even light and cool, muted colors—in emulation of French painter Jules Bastien-Lepage (1848–1884), famed for his peasant paintings. In his mature works, Pearce expressed religious sentiment not by portraying specific Biblical events or peasant religious practice but by directly infusing his subjects with spiritual overtones.

Evening (Auvers-Sur-Oise) was an important work for Pearce. It was among four paintings he chose to show in 1889 at the Universal Exposition in Paris (for which he served as a juror) and he later sent it to important exhibitions in Philadelphia, New York, and Dresden, Germany. An American reviewer commended the painting as "extremely refined and full of poetical sentiment."1

1. Theodore Child, "American Artists at the Paris Exhibitions," Harper's New Monthly Magazine 79 (Sept. 1889): 514.

Universal Exhibition, Paris, France, 1889, no. 237.

Annual Exhibition, National Academy of Design, New York, New York, 1890, no. 606 (as Evening).

60th Annual Exhibition, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, January 30–March 6, 1890, no. 155 (as Le Soir).

International Art Exhibition, Dresden, Germany, 1897, no. 1292.

Sunset to Dawn, Richard York Gallery, New York, New York, 1983, no. 152cy.

Paris 1889: American Artists at the Universal Exposition, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (organizer). Venues: Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, Virginia, September 29–December 17, 1989; Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, February 1–April 15 1990; Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, Memphis, Tennessee, May 6–July 15, 1990; The New York Historical Society, New York, New York, September 1989–December 1990, no. 237. [exh. cat.]

Un regard américain sur Paris (An American Glance at Paris), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, April 11–October 31, 1997.

Giverny: une impression américaine (Giverny, An American Impression), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, April 1–November 1, 1998.

Ville et campagne: les artistes américains, 1870–1920 (The City and the Country: American Perspectives, 1870–1920), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venues: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, April 1–July 15, 1999; Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, December 10, 1999–May 7, 2000 (in modified form). [exh. cat.]

The People Work: American Perspectives, 1840–1940 (Le Travail à l'oeuvre: les artistes américains 1840–1940), Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venues: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, March 15–May 25, 2003; Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, June 8–August 17, 2003. [exh. cat.]

Child, Theodore. "American Artists at the Paris Exhibitions." Harper's New Monthly Magazine 79:472 (September 1889): 489–521. Text p. 514 (as Le Soir).

Knaufft, Ernest. "Pennsylvania Academy Exhibition." Art Amateur (March 22, 1890): 75. Text p. 75.

Blaugrund, Annette. Paris 1889: American Artists at the Universal Exposition. (exh. cat., Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts). Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in association with Harry N. Abrams, New York, 1989. Text pp. 198, 288 (checklist); ill. no. 237, p. 200 (color).

Lublin, Mary. A Rare Elegance: The Paintings of Charles Sprague Pearce. (exh. cat., The Jordan-Volpe Gallery). New York: The Jordan-Volpe Gallery, 1993. Text p. 35; fig. 17, p. 34 (black & white).

Sotheby's, New York, New York (May 25, 1994): lot 63. Ill. lot 63.

Cartwright, Derrick R. The City and the Country: American Perspectives, 1870–1920. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 1999. Text p. 26 (checklist); ill. p. 47 (color).

Cartwright, Derrick R. Ville et campagne: les artistes américains, 1870–1920. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 1999. Text p. 26 (checklist); ill. p. 47 (color).

Cartwright, Derrick. "The City and Country: American Perspectives 1870–1920." American Art Review 7:1 (January-February 2000): 100-11. Ill. p. 110 (color).