Venice (near the Arsenal)

From 1868-69, Sanford Robinson Gifford embarked on his second and final trip abroad, traveling to Egypt, Constantinople and Athens, but finding a particular love for the city of Venice. The present work is a stunning manifestation of his ongoing fascination with the beauty of this city. According to Ila Weis, the present work's "adept brushwork, figures in boats conjured with tiny impasto highlights, dots of bright highlights and their reflections, other reflections executed as vertical extensions, dark or light, comprised of short horizontal dabs evoking rippling water, all proclaim Gifford’s authorship. This painting is a unique and personal expression of the artist." (unpublished letter, 2024)