Gabriel Guay

Paintings in Inventory (Click on an image for a larger view)

Gabriel Guay (born 1848) became an esteemed painter of biblical and mythological subjects in Paris during the 1870s and ‘80s. Paintings with titles like “Ulysses Suspended over the Gulf of Charybdis” and “The Death of Jezebel” won prize after prize at the Paris Salon, and in 1892, Guay became a “Chevalier” of the Legion of Honor. The artist also painted portraits and figure paintings on a smaller scale. In 1877, the San Francisco art dealers Snow and May sold two paintings by Guay at auction–“The Anglers” and “A Fishing Party.” Our painting depicting an elegant young lady doing needlework seated on a stump while a river flows behind her seems related to these works. This member of “the fishing party” does not seem too thrilled to be out in nature. The great charm of this work is the contrast between the fancy silks and millinery sported by the lady and the rustic context in which it is found.