Paul Crosthwaite (American, 1911, 1981)

Signed: Crosthwaite (Lower, Right)

" Red Poppies ", circa 1950s-1960s

Oil on Board

 16" x 20"

Housed in a 1 1/8" Frame with a 2 1/4" Liner with a 1/2" Fillet

Overall Size: 27 1/2" x 23"

Light toning to the linen liner, evidence of age, in otherwise very good original condition. Ready to be hung and enjoyed.

Note: Palm Beach Galleries Label on Verso

Paul Crosthwaite was a respected member of the New Hope art community in Pennsylvania. Born in Pelham Manor, New York in 1911, Crosthwaite studied architecture for two years before abandoning this occupational pursuit for an artistic career. He studied at the Art Students League in New York City under the instruction of John Sloan, Raphael Soyer, Yasuo Kunioshi, and Mortis Kantor.

In the mid-1930s, Crosthwaite moved to New Hope with John Sharp, where the two shared an apartment and studio above the Solebury National Bank. While in the New Hope area, Crosthwaite participated in the Works Progress Administration program, the Historic Building Survey, and the founding of the influential Bucks County Playhouse. The duo remained active in New Hope until 1954 when they moved to Palm Beach, Florida, where Crosthwaite exhibited frequently on the exclusive Worth Avenue.

His earlier paintings have a precisionist edge to them, usually depicting the New Hope area or scenes of Nantucket, where he often spent summers. Crosthwaite’s larger paintings were often surreal modernist landscapes or bright and fanciful still lifes. He exhibited at the Phillips Mill Art Association, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and the Four Arts Exhibit in Palm Beach, for which Crosthwaite received the 1956 prize. He also participated in exhibits in New York, Boston, and Washington.