ID hoped for early to mid-twentieth century painting - ice fishing

[ajaj]

Any help with identifying this artist would be helpful. Obviously, one name (first or last) is Catlin or Gatlin, and it was painted in 1937, but my online research produced nothing. It's approximately 8" x 7" and looks to be oil. My father had it framed many years ago, and I do not want to remove the brown paper on the back, yet.

I rally like this painting; the person on the left shows strong "strength and motion" despite performing the mundane task of making a hole in the ice. It reminds me of the buff people found in WW II posters!

aj

 

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[DCMatt]

Can you give us a county, town, or city name where you think this came from? Any additional backstory?

If it was done by a local artist, there may be some information in the local newspapers of the day.

We have researchers on this forum with some access to those resources.

I search briefly but everything I saw was George Catlin who died in 1872. If he painted yours, you would really have something!

DCMatt

 

[ajaj]

The painting is located now in Northern NY on Lake Champlain near the Canadian border. Knowing the picking areas my Dad frequented, my guess for areas for the scene and/or artist would be northern NY including the northern Adirondacks, northern Vermont, and southern Quebec. My "gut" tells me that it's an Adirondack lake, maybe near Saranac Lake. At the same time, the people alone in the painting give me sense of being French Canadian.

aj

 

[cw0909]

your artist may have been, at one of the retreats/workshops
back in the 30s, not sure how helpful, these links, will be
in an ID


Associated American Artists records, ca. 1934-1981
https://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/associated-american-artists-records-5426

The Federal Art Project (FAP) was created in 1935
https://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/newdeal/fap.html