Aaron Holland Fine Art

Edward Willis Redfield
American
1869- 1965

Edward Redfield is all but forgotten today. In his lifetime, however, he had won more awards than almost any other living American artist, and was representing America on the International front.
So, what makes him so remarkable?

Edward Redfield painted his first winter landscape, en plein air, near the forests of Fontainebleau. It was there that he met the love of his life Elise Devin Deligant. They eventually married and moved to Pennsylvania (Redfield’s boyhood home) and had several children together. I would not be introducing the man without also introducing his family, as they are as much a part of his story as his paintings are.

Until the invention of the automobile (and his subsequent purchase), the middle part of Redfield’s life was spent within a two mile walk of his home. He bought a neglected home and about 100 acres next to the Delaware river in the small Pennsylvania town of Center Bridge. He and his Father repaired the foundations, refurbished the structure, and beautified the home. During this time of completely renovating his home, and raising a family, he was developing his skills as an artist through plain hard work and perseverance. His singular vision as an artist was: paint a place so that it “explains it at a glance not in a photographic way though because that left nothing to the imagination”. (Singularity of thought and vision would have helped him to maintain a consistent body of work for the 60plus years that he painted. It also helps the viewer to identify with what he is trying to convey.)

working entirely in plein air (outside), the paintings were completed in just one day. One Day. That is remarkable in itself, but by the end of his life he had gradually worked up to a canvas size that was almost 5 feet by 4 feet (or about 20 square feet of canvas)! He would walk to his location in the morning (carrying the large “sail like“ canvas AND all his equipment). He would set up his easel and paint until noon. He would then break for lunch before continuing another 5 hours before packing up and walking back home. This is where we see his mettle.

It is difficult to paint anything well in one go, and especially difficult to use tiny brushes to cover a large canvas in such a short amount of time. It is hard to believe, but there is documentation that Redfield had demonstrated his working methods publicly.

Elise passed away in 1947. With her passing went also the flame of vigor that seemed to define Edward’s career. He painted plein air once more, and then resigned to never paint outside again.