CONCORD, N.H. — An oil painting by American impressionist Edmund C. Tarbell that was rolled up and forgotten for more than a century has been restored just in time to be included in a large retrospective of the artist’s work.
“Woman With an Oar and a Gentleman” joined the exhibit at the Discover Portsmouth visitors’ center Friday after months of restoration work by art conservationist Jeremy Fogg. The “Illuminating Tarbell” exhibit opened in March and ends June 3.
“I would’ve liked to have it done sooner, but I wasn’t going to rush the conservation just to get it into the show,” said Fogg.
Based on his research, Fogg estimates that the painting was done around 1891, about five years after Tarbell returned from his studies in Paris and as he was embarking on his career in Boston. Tarbell, a founder of the Boston School style of painting, spent his summers in New Castle, N.H., and later lived there full time until his death in 1938.
Fogg suspects the painting was damaged at some point during Tarbell’s lifetime — there was a burn mark as if it had rested against a woodstove — and got tucked away. Tarbell died without a will, and his belongings were divided among numerous relatives. A few years ago, one of the family members found the painting rolled up with several other canvases alongside a collection of props and other items.