MAG Collection - Lower Falls

Lower Falls

1915
25 1/2 x 29 1/2 in. (64.8 x 74.9 cm)

W. Elmer Schofield
United States (Philadelphia, PA, 1867 - 1944, Cornwall, England)

Object Type: Painting

Medium and Support: Oil on canvas

Credit Line: Bequest of Mrs. Ernest R. Willard

Accession Number: 1940.42

Link to this object

Location: Not currently on view

When Director George Herdle invited artists to exhibit their work at the Memorial Art Gallery, he often included an invitation for them to visit Rochester, give a talk, and meet potential patrons. Such was the case with Walter Elmer Schofield's 1915 exhibition. In March, he came to Rochester, spent time braving cold weather in various locales and painted at least two canvases. As he stood by his easel on the Driving Park Bridge overlooking the Lower Falls of the Genesee River, a news photographer happened upon him and took his picture for the March 3, 1915, newspaper. The headline? "Artist Braves March Weather to Paint Lower River".

[Gallery label text, 2007]

Marks

Artist's signature, lower left: Schofield

Provenance

Purchased from the artist by Mr. Ernest R. Willard, 1915; to his widow at his death; bequeathed to the Gallery by Mrs. Ernest R. Willard in 1940

Keywords Click a term to view the records with the same keyword

views of Rochester & western New York

20th century

rivers

cityscapes

1900-2000

paintings

waterfalls

Additional Images Click an image to view a larger version

View of hte Lower Falls from the Driving Park Bridge

View of the Lower Falls from the Driving Park Bridge

View of the Lower Falls looking back towards the Driving Park Bridge

Artist Braves March Weather To Paint Lower River

Exhibition List

This object was included in the following exhibitions:

Exhibition of Paintings by W. Elmer Schofield Memorial Art Gallery 2/16/1915 - 3/7/1915
Nostalgia in Paint: Rochester and Environs in the Early Days of Nazareth College 9/18/1974 - 10/15/1974
Up and Down the River: Art and Geography of the Genesee River 9/25/1977 - 10/16/1977
Mayor's Office City Hall 8/3/1983 - 2/14/1988
Schofield: International Impressionist 9/18/2014 - 1/25/2015

Bibliography

This object has the following bibliographic references:

Article Scope: Mention and reproduction. Richard H. Love. Carl W. Peters: American Scene Painter from Rochester to Rockport. Rochester, New York: University of Rochester Press, 1999.
Article Title: Artist Braves March Weather to Paint Lower Falls. Article Scope: Mention and reproduction. Rochester Times-Union. Rochester, New York, 1923-1963. Issue Date: March 3, 1915.
Article Scope: Mention. Elizabeth Brayer. Magnum Opus: The Story of the Memorial Art Gallery, 1913-1988. Rochester, NY: Memorial Art Gallery, 1988.
Article Scope: Article and reproduction. Thomas Folk. Walter Elmer Schofield: Bold Impressionist. Chadds Ford, PA: Brandywine River Museum, 1983.
Article Scope: Entry and reproduction. Up & Down the River: Art & Geography of the Genesee River. Geneseo, NY: Genesee Valley Council on the Arts, 1977.
City Newspaper. Rochester, NY
Article Scope: Entry and reproduction. Schofield: International Impressionist. Woodmere, PA: Woodmere Art Museum, 2014.
Article Scope: Mention and reproduction. Marjorie Searl and Lu Harper. The Memorial Art Gallery: 100 Years. Rochester, NY: Memorial Art Gallery, 2013.

Portfolio List Click a portfolio name to view all the objects in that portfolio

This object is a member of the following portfolios:

1900 - 2000

20th Century American Art

All Paintings

Cityscapes

Rochester & Western New York Views

Rochester Artists

Weather & Water

Web Links See links to web pages and lesson plans

View of the Lower Falls of Rochester - 1870-1879 Image from the Rochester Images Project, direct url = http://photo.libraryweb.org/carlweb/jsp/DoSearch?databaseID=716&count=10&terms=492&index=z

Old McCrackenville at Lower Falls Image from the Rochester Images Project, direct url http://photo.libraryweb.org/carlweb/jsp/DoSearch?databaseID=716&count=10&terms=14693&index=z

Lower Falls and factories 1912 Image from the Rochester Images Project, direct url http://photo.libraryweb.org/carlweb/jsp/DoSearch?databaseID=716&count=10&terms=11811&index=z

View of the Lower Falls and factories Ca. 1912 image from the Rochester Images Project, direct url = http://photo.libraryweb.org/carlweb/jsp/DoSearch?databaseID=716&count=10&terms=11811&index=z

Buildings at the Lower Falls 1916 image from the Rochester Images Project, direct url = http://photo.libraryweb.org/carlweb/jsp/DoSearch?databaseID=716&count=10&terms=12199&index=z

Lower Falls of the Genesee River 1894 image from the Rochester Images Project, direct url http://photo.libraryweb.org/carlweb/jsp/DoSearch?databaseID=716&count=10&terms=30&index=z

View of the Lower Falls 1906-1910 image from the Rochester Images Project, direct url http://photo.libraryweb.org/carlweb/jsp/DoSearch?databaseID=716&count=10&terms=14695&index=z

The Artist and the Framemaker: W. Elmer Schofield and H.W. Taylor Essay by James Church, the artist's great-grandson, on Schofield's preferred framers and frame styles.