Fisherman's Hut

Daniel Garber’s Fisherman’s Hut pictures a modest house separated by a low fence from the bank of a river and sheltered under a tall tree almost bare of foliage. The tree’s stark branches are set against the late-autumnal tones of the bluffs on the distant shore. The warmth of the golden sunset light flooding the scene contrasts with the cool blue shadows in the foreground cast by unseen forms. Two boards askew on the lean-to attached to the house and the brightly colored laundry drying on the fence on the right interject a note of casual human use. Almost unnoticed in shadow, a man, presumably the fisherman himself, walks away from the house toward the flowing water. Garber’s characteristic long, thin brushstrokes in patterned arrangements, used especially in the trees covering the distant bank, capture the crisp atmosphere and warm sunlight of a rapidly passing day and season.

In 1907, Garber purchased a farm in Lumberville, near New Hope, Pennsylvania, that served for the next five decades as the base from which he painted numerous images of the Delaware River Valley. Fisherman’s Hut is typical of them in its almost-square format, high horizon and tipped-up perspective, brilliant colors, and “screen” of foreground trees that emphasize deep recession into space. Like other members of the so-called New Hope school of landscape painting, Garber was drawn to scenes marked by human use of the land. The bare area of the bluff at upper left, for example, appears to be one of the local quarries to which he devoted a series of paintings, and another house appears on the bank below it. Garber characterizes the Delaware River region as a place historically conditioned by the intersection of natural beauty and human utility. During World War II, the period to which Fisherman’s Hut is thought to date, this harmonious, homelike landscape setting undoubtedly took on additional resonance as a refuge and as a reflection of American identity and values.

Exhibition of Paintings, Drawings and Prints by Daniel Garber, The Woodmere Art Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, November 1–22, 1942, no. 15.

Masterworks in American Art from the Daniel J. Terra Collection, Terra Museum of American Art, Evanston, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Evanston, Illinois, April 27–September 12, 1985.

A Proud Heritage: Two Centuries of American Art, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, April 21–June 21, 1987. [exh. cat.]

Selections from the Permanent Collection: Americans at Home and Abroad, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, November 6–29, 1987.

An American Revelation: The Daniel J. Terra Collection, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, February 28–October 1, 1988.

Masterworks of American Impressionism: Edward Redfield and the New Hope Group, James A. Michener Art Museum, Doylestown, Pennsylvania (organizer). Venue: James A. Michener Art Museum, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, March 26–September 4, 1994.

Visions of a Nation: Exploring Identity through American Art, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, August 10, 1996–January 12, 1997.

Mid-Century Modern: Selections from the Terra Foundation for the Arts, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, April 20–July 7, 2002.

American Classics from the Collection, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, May 14–June 15, 2003.

A Narrative of American Art, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, February 13–October 31, 2004.

La Scène américaine, 1860-1930 (Americans at Home, 1860–1930), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, Giverny, France (organizer). Venues: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, Giverny, France, July 10–October 30, 2005.

La Scène américaine, 1860-1930 (Americans at Home, 1860–1930), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, Giverny, France (organizer). Venues: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, Giverny, France, April 1–October 29, 2006.

Daniel Garber: Romantic Realist, James A. Michener Art Museum, Doylestown, Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (organizers). Venues: James A. Micherner Art Museum, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, February 3–May 6, 2007; Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, January 27–April 8, 2007.

Atkinson, D. Scott et al. A Proud Heritage: Two Centuries of American Art. Edited by Terry A. Neff. (exh. cat., Terra Museum of American Art). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 1987. Pl. T-166, p. 275 (color).

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Gerdts, William H. et al. Lasting Impressions: American Painters in France, 1865–1915. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 1992. Text p. 82; fig. 78, p. 83 (black & white).

Gerdts, William H. et al. Impressions de toujours: les peintres américains en France, 1865–1915. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 1992. Text p. 82; fig. 78, p. 83 (black & white).

Humphries, Lance. Daniel Garber: Romantic Realist. (exh. cat. Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and James A. Michener Art Museum). Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 2007. Text p. 44 (checklist).