ARTIST: Edward Redfield
TITLE: Frozen River

DISTINGUISHING MARKS:

1) Signed lower left, " E.W. Redfield".
2) Label lower left of stretcher reverse that has been eaten by silverfish.
3) Manufacturer's stamps on the stretcher bars.

OWNER:
James A. Michener Art Museum
138 S. Pine Street
Doylestown, PA 18901
Tel: 215-340-9800 SUPPORT

SUPPORT
The painting's support is a five member mitered mortise and tenon stretcher with one vertical crossbar. The crossbar is stationary. One key out of eight is missing. The unlined medium weight plain weave canvas is attached to the stretcher with staples. The artist's original tach holes are empty indicating that the painting has been re-stretched. The canvas reverse is grimy. Some deformations can be noted on the canvas reverse that correspond with the thicker areas of paint.

GROUND
The canvas was prepared commercially with a white oil (est. lead white) ground layer. It was applied in a moderate thickness so that the weave of the canvas remains slightly visible. The ground layer has grayed along the tacking edge from the accumulation of grime. On the face of the canvas, the ground layer has yellowed where it is exposed but covered by the rabbet of the frame. The ground layer is stable.

PAINT
The oil paint layer varies in application from moderately thick paint with low impasto to moderate to areas where the ground layer is visible. The paint was applied wet-into-wet in short but fluid brushstrokes. A line of damage occurs across the sky. The damage appears to have been casued by the painting sticking to another painting while still wet. The damage causes surface texture problems in this area where the brushwork is evident but relatively flat. Overpaint covers this area of damage. The retouching paint, which is estimated to be oil paint, has either discolored or was mismatched.

The signature, which was painted in purple in the lower left of the painting, was smeared while still wet.

Retouching paint, similar in character to that used over the damage in the sky, can be noted in an area in the lower left section of the painting. It is located along the left edge in the snow below the trees. Two small areas of repaint can be noted to the right of the signature and cover two small losses to the paint layer. The repaint is discolored.