Frederick Arthur Bridgman

(American, 1847-1928)

New Shoes, Algiers

Footnotes

Provenance
The artist; his sale, American Art Galleries, New York, 10 March 1899, lot 40.
M. Knoedler & Co., New York (acquired at the above sale).
William Randolph Hearst, Sr. (1863-1951), New York and San Simeon, CA, (acquired from the above, 14 March 1899).
With Maxwell Galleries, San Francisco, after 1940.
Dr. James V. Raia (1923-2020) (probably acquired directly from the above circa 1965).
By descent to the present owner, 1999.

Literature
'Some Prices brought at the Bridgman Sale', American Art Annual, New York, 1899, p. 67, no. 40.

We are grateful to Ilene Susan Fort, Ph.D., F. A. Bridgman authority and Curator Emerita, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, for confirming the authenticity of this work on the basis of photographs.

Born in Alabama, USA, Frederick Bridgman's early training was as a draughtsman and engraver for the American Banknote Company. Visiting Paris in 1866, he worked for a time in the atelier of the Orientalist master, Jeon-Leon Gérome, at the École des Beaux-Arts. Often referred to as 'the American Gérôme', Bridgman's early work reflects the master's precise draughtsmanship and smooth finishes, although his palette would soften over the years, his style becoming broader and more impressionistic.

Bridgman's first visit to North Africa came in 1872, remaining there for the next five years, where he divided his time between Egypt and Algiers. As well as producing hundreds of preparatory sketches, he also took numerous photographs, and amassed a large collection of objects, costumes and architectural pieces, which cluttered his Paris studio and served as props for his paintings.

Bridgman was a regular exhibitor at the Paris Salons, notably the Salon des Artistes Français and the Salon of the Société Coloniale des Artistes Français, as well as at the Royal Academy, and Suffolk Street Gallery in London. His work was shown at the Exposition Universelle of 1878, 1889 and 1900, receiving a silver medal at each of the exhibitions. He was decorated with the Légion d'Honneur in 1878 and was made Officier in 1907. Bridgman retained his ties with his home country and held a number of exhibitions with accompanying sales in New York, the first of which was held in 1890.