[From the catalogue-in-progress for “Landscapes & Livestock,” a loan exhibition for Agincourt Homecoming in the Fall of 2015]

EDWARDS, George Wharton [1859–1950]

“Gothic Stalls, Antwerp”

circa 1920

Watercolor, gouache and pastel on board / 19.5 inches by 12.5 inches

George Wharton Edwards began his career in art with Harper & Bros., publishers, and then became a book illustrator for the Century Company. In 1920 he published Belgium, Old and New, lavishly illustrated with this and many other mixed-media paintings. The similar work of N. C. Wyeth and Howard Pyle helped to bridge the gap between art and illustration and brought work such as this into commercial galleries and a different audience. Edwards is also identified as an “American Impressionist,” following his more formal education, which actually included some residency in Belgium. In 1920 he received the Great Medal from King Albert I.

“Gothic Stalls” was acquired at auction and given to the Community Collection by an anonymous friend from Fargo, North Dakota, on the centennial of the outbreak of World War I.