Landscape by Fursman

Painting

-

Saugatuck Douglas Historical Society

Name/Title

Landscape by Fursman

Entry/Object ID

2023.59.10

Description

Impressionistic brush strokes render a marsh or flat fore dune with forested hills rising to a blue sky. Painting may need cleaning. 1.5" wide gold-leaf frame with carved details and red priming.

Type of Painting

Panel

Artwork Details

Medium

Oil

Subject Person or Organization

Old Harbor/Channel piers pre-1906/Ox-Bow Lagoon

Context

The painting was acquired from the Kit and Art Lane estate. Fursman was one of Ox-Bow's founders. In 1914, the (then) Summer School of Painting School moved its entire operation to the Riverside Hotel. This painting may be of the the landscapes fringing the Old Harbor, now known as the Ox-Bow lagoon. If so, it is a very early work from the schools future home.

Collection

Artworks

Cataloged By

Winthers, Sally

Acquisition

Accession

2023.59

Source or Donor

Lakeshore Event Center/Tressa Mills

Acquisition Method

Purchase

Made/Created

Artist

Fursman, Frederick Frary 1874-1943

Date made

1914

Dimensions

Dimension Description

including frame

Height

9 in

Width

11 in

Location

Shelf

AC bay 21 small works

Room

Art Conservation Room

Interpretative Labels

Label

From "Collecting the Lakeshore" 2025-2026 at the History Center main floor gallery Frederick Frary Fursman 1874-1943 Ox-Bow Lagoon 1914 | oil on panel This intimate oil on panel painting in its carved gilt frame tells a bigger story about the Ox-Bow Summer School of Painting than its small size might suggest. The finished painting is more than an oil sketch captured en plein air on the dunes of Lake Michigan. Look closely in the lower right corner and you can make out the artist-teacher’s signature “Frederick F Fursman” and the year 1914. That is the same year the school moved from Riverside Rest in Saugatuck to its new (and present) home on the Lagoon. Fursman was a principal founder of the Ox-Bow school and brought Post-Impressionist art theory from Chicago to the Lakeshore by way of Paris. His influence as a teacher can be seen in the comparison between this artwork and that of the landscape to your left. Art and Kit Lane collection Accession 2023.59.10

General Notes

Note

2023 auction description: 1914 Untitled oil painting on board by Frederick Frary Fursman (1874-1943). Signed Frederick F Fursman, dated. Approx. 9"x11" OA; 5.75"x8" SS. Back matting shows wear. Piece has not been removed from frame for examination. Part of a Saugatuck/Douglas Art Collection.

Create Date

December 19, 2023

Update Date

September 15, 2026