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  An Exhibit of Jesse and Eurilda
 Pictures in Buffalo, NY
 

In our family files we discovered copies of pages from a book (“Academy Notes”)  describing  “A Collection of Pictures”  by Jesse Leach France and Eurilda Loomis France.   The citations under their  three pictures shown in the article indicate that the exhibit was “April Exhibitions, Albert Art Gallery, Buffalo”.  The paperwork that the family has does not give a date of the exhibition, which  likely took place circa 1910. Please note that this entire section is directly quoted from the cited reference.     

A COLLECTION OF PICTURES
BY
JESSE LEACH FRANCE
AND
EURILDA LOOMIS FRANCE

Jesse Leach France was born at Cincinnati, Ohio. He was a pupil of the Art Students' League and of Harry Chase, N. A., New York; of Carolus Duran, Jules Lefebvre and Benjamin Constant, Paris, and Hendrik W. Mesdag, at the Hague. He has exhibited at the Salon, Paris, and at various institutions in the United States. Has made illustrations for Harper's, Scribner's and McClure's Magazines, etc.

Eurilda Loomis France was born at Pittsburg, Pa. She was a pupil of the Julian Academy. Paris, under Carolus Duran, Gustav Courtois and Aime Morot. Has exhibited at the Salon, Paris, and at various institutions in the United States.

 

BY JESSE LEACH FRANCE

  1. RETURNING HOME.
  2. GATHERING SEA WEED ; COAST OF MAINE.
  3. VILLAGE OF ANDRESSELLES ; MOONLIGHT.
  4. COAST OF HOLLAND; MOONLIGHT.
  5. MISTY MORNING; COAST OF MAINE.
  6. OLD BIRCHES.
  7. EARLY MOONRISE.
  8. BRINGING IN THE FISH ; HOLLAND.
  9. MISTY EVENING.
  10. MISTY SUNRISE ON THE CLAM FLATS.
  11. EARLY MORNING ; SETTING MOON.
  12. THE WHITE SAIL.
  13. EVENING, COAST OF HOLLAND.
  14. ROCKS AND SURF.
  15. MISTY EVENING, BERTHIERVILLE.
  16. ST. MICHAEL'S TOWN; WET NIGHT.
  17. DOVER PLAINS.
  18. AN AUTUMN AFTERNOON.
  19. ARRIVAL OF A HERRING BOAT; MOONLIGHT.
  20. SUNRISE, COAST OF MAINE.

 

BY EURILDA LOOMIS FRANCE

  1. LES PAYSANS.
  2. ANNIE.
  3. PORTRAIT.
  4. SONG OF PRAISE.
  5. PASSING EFFECT.
  6. DISAPPOINTED CALL.
  7. ACROSS THE FIELDS.
  8. RECEPTION DAY.
  9. MY SON DE WAYNE.
  10. MY SON WILLIAM.
  11. THE WHITE HAT.

The collection of thirty-one pictures rep­resenting Jesse Leach France and Eurilda Loomis France (Mrs. J. L. France) are hung in Gallery V, and constitute a very admirable exhibit. Mr. France contributes the larger number of works and his pictures represent an almost equal number of landscapes and marine views, while Mrs. France shows landscapes, portraits, and figure studies.

One of the most important of Mr. France's pictures is the  “Village of Andres­selles; Moonlight” (No. 3) -- a composition with a stream in the middle ground reflecting a dull-blue sky sprinkled with stars, and beyond, over the bluffs of the stream, the suggestion of a village -- housetops and the upper portion of a church with its square tower. In some of the upper windows of the houses, lights are visible. In this picture the coloring is tender, harmonious, and impresses one as being true to nature. Number 2, "Gathering Seaweed; Coast of Maine," is another of the more attractive of Mr. France's pictures. At the foot of a tall cliff which extends into the picture from the right, is a cart to which oxen are attached and into which men are throwing seaweed. There is a luminous sky with cumulous clouds reflecting the glow of an afternoon sun, and surf is rolling in on the beach at the left.

Very effective representations of the sea are "Early Moonrise" (No. 7) and "Misty Morning; Coast of Maine" (No. 5), both exceedingly attractive in color. "Misty Sunrise on the Clam Flats " (No. 10) is a refined and beautiful bit of coloring, and "Bringing in the Fish, Holland" (No. 8), is a moonlight effect of fine character. "Returning Home " (No. 1) -- a hillside near a river, with a flock of sheep gathered under a tree in the middle ground, represents late afternoon and is one of the best of the landscapes.

Among the pictures of Mrs. France, one of the most noteworthy, "A Song of Praise " (No. 24), is a portrait of one of the sons of the artists — a boy of perhaps ten years, clad in choral vestments and holding a book in his hand which he regards intently. This picture is painted with strength and simplicity, is fine in color, and is a good interpretation of character. Another figure -- "My Son De Wayne" (No. 29) -- is equally admirable in flesh painting, color, and character.

One of the most popular pictures of Mrs. France, entitled "Reception Day" (No. 28), shows a young woman seated before a table on which is a candle with a red shade, a copper teapot, and a bowl of roses. The young woman is seen in profile with the face in shadow. She wears an e!aborate reception gown trimmed with lace. This is one of the most decorative subjects shown and is very pleasing in color. The largest of the paintings of Mrs. France is entitled "Les Paysans " (No. 21), and represents two young peasant women in a cabbage garden in the foreground with cottages beyond. This picture is notable for its effects of sunshine and shadow and its beautiful coloring. Another work showing very admirable color arrangement is entitled "My Son William" (No. 30), and represents a sturdy boy in a blue sailor suit standing by a round table on which is a blue and white pitcher filled with yellow daffodils. "A Passing Effect" (No. 25) is a garden scene with a peasant woman in a blue skirt and white cap who is standing near a group of hollyhocks. Beyond the figure is a cottage in a gray-green landscape under a luminous blue sky across which floating clouds give effective passages of sunshine and shadow. This picture is a real bouquet of beautiful coloring.