John Greenleaf Cloudman (1813-1892) American School, Maine and California

Diamond Cove, Casco Bay
Signed and titled verso; Diamond Cove, Casco Bay by J. G. Cloudman
26” x 50”, 38 ½” x 63 ½” (frame)
Over-all in exceptional condition, virtually no in-painting seen under UV light. Original frame with some minor restoration to gesso and gilt.
Provenance: An important North Shore Collection, Eldred’s, East Dennis, Massachusetts; Stephen Score, Boston, Massachusetts.
In a large, imposing size, Cloudman brilliantly captures the imagery of Diamond Cove in the nineteenth century. Depicting boats anchored in the cove with families and dogs along the bank, we obtain a glimpse of life on the coast of Maine on a summer’s day. We assume either John Cloudman or the client whom commissioned him chose this elaborate, carved gesso and gilt wood frame.
Although Cloudman’s work is scarce and little is known about him, he must have had a successful career as a genre, figural and landscape artist. Born in Newburyport, Massachusetts in 1813, he worked for a short time as a carpenter, until opting for a career in art. He sailed to Paris in 1847 to further his studies to become an artist, as so many did during this period. Upon Cloudman’s return, he moved to northern California (1852-53) to paint the Pomo Indians. He spent the majority of his life in Maine and died in Bethel in 1892.
A strikingly similar work by Cloudman is in the collection of the Portland Museum of Art, Maine (1993.14.2): Pleasant Cove, Diamond Island, Casco Bay, 1869 (oil on canvas, 26” x 50”).