Earlier in the month I bought at auction a painting by the Washington, D.C. painter Edgar Hewitt Nye (1879-1943):
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A plein air sketch (oil on canvas, 18″ x 22″, signed, lr, “E. Nye”, ca. 1920s), this bright landscape was untitled in the auction catalog and otherwise lacked information about its location. It looked familiar, though. The mystery was solved when I found a few souvenir postcards dating back to the early 1900’s when Chesapeake Beach, Maryland, was a popular tourist destination for day-tripping Washingtonians (who arrived there by railway) and Baltimoreans (who traveled by excursion ship). Edgar Nye was one such traveler. What he decided to capture on canvas was not the crowds attracted to the roller coaster and other boardwalk diversions, but an untouched stretch of Calvert Cliffs just to the south of the town. The cliffs are a fossil-rich, Miocene era formation stretching for 30 miles along the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay in Calvert County, Maryland.
Here, then, on a summer day, just a short remove from the noise of the resort, we can imagine Nye walking down to the water’s edge. He finds himself in a place where the air is laden with moisture, where baby waves break softly on the beach. It is here the artist plants his easel in the sand and spends a few hours playing with colors.
He puts to shame the dull penny postcards.
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Tags: Calvert Cliffs, Chesapeake Bay, Chesapeake Beach, Edgar Hewitt Nye, Maryland, The Great Bluff
Mike, thanks for this. My father bought a number of Nye oils and watercolors after his death in 1943. Then when I was 12-13 in the ’60’s, I spent some time at those cliffs at Roosevelt scout camp, and at 18 took a skiff along that shore. Small world, I did not know of these scenes until now.
My ex-husbands great uncle was an artist by the name of Burtis Baker, a friend of Edgar Nye. I believe Burt was a teacher/director at the Corcoran Gallery in DC.
I have 2 paintings by Edgar Nye, one is in excellent condition, it is a water scene with 2 men leaning against a railing. This was given to my mother/father-in-law years ago. They both passed away and my ex got this painting which he gave to me. I have since given this painting to my son who loves it.
The other, I was told, is a painting of a Georgetown street in the early 1920’s. This painting is in good condition and could use very little touch-up/cleaning. Since Burt’s wife gave this painting to me and my husband, I have been so fond of it that my ex-husband told me to keep it. Both of these paintings are signed. I know Burt’s wife also had a couple more of Edgar’s paintings which were not signed. Edgar, his wife, Burt and Kathleen Baker were very close friends.
I have a painting I inherited with just the last name Nye and was trying to find out who painted it. It appears to be his style. Does anyone know the approximate value of of one his paintings? It is a quite beautiful farm scene.
Mary,
On LiveAuctioneers.com you can use the Search box to find a list of a few Edgar Nye works with sale prices: http://www.liveauctioneers.com/search?q=%22edgar+nye%22&org=yes&hasimage=true&dtype=gallery&type=complete&rows=20&addfq=&fq=&location=&sort=pricedesc&by_date=2013-11-01T14%3A43%3A59.338Z
You may have to register on that site to see the actual prices, which range from $75 to $800.
Mike Ettner
Hi! I have several watercolor paintings and two of them are signed EH NYE ’08. They do look like the EH Nye style but the signature looks different. Could his sig have looked different in earlier paintings. The ones I saw online were from the 20s+…. I have 3 or 4 that are not signed and one is entitled At Sea on The Rotterdam Maiden Voyage. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks for your time!
Hi Liza – Thank you for your comment. Unfortunately I’m not familiar enough with Nye’s signature to give any guidance. Artists often change the look of their signatures during their years of training, only settling on a consistent approach once they considered themselves “mature.” Best for you to Google his name in Google Images, and see if there are any paintings shown from his early years, dated and with signatures.
Best regards,
Mike
My mother bougtht a Nye oil in about the mid-fifties which seems to be of this beach as well, though a very different period in his work.I can’t seem to put the actual image here. Maybe this link will work. /Users/margaretgonzalez/Desktop/IMG_0535.jpg
Hi Margaret. Thank you for your comment. I believe the link you provided is the file name of the photo as stored on your computer, but it won’t bring anyone else to the photo itself. Feel free to email the digital photo to me and I’ll try to post it to my blog. Email: mikeettner@aol.com
Best regards,
Mike