The Crimson Rambler, a painting unique to Gari Melchers’ body of work, will make a special appearance at the Gari Melchers Home and Studio beginning Saturday, Feb. 28 through Sunday, June 7, 2015.
On loan from private collectors, Melchers painted The Crimson Rambler at his residence in Holland sometime around 1915. The subject of the painting is an intimate view of the artist’s garden, its chief features being a rose arbor, neighboring tree and lawn statue.
“Free of other pictorial concerns, Melchers wholly gave in to the broken brushwork and chromatic possibilities of a lush garden in sunlight, rendering the sensation of a garden as opposed to a literal reproduction of one, a key objective of impressionism,” said Curator Joanna Catron. “Because of his preference for figure painting, The Crimson Rambler was to be Melchers’ first and last experiment with a pure garden portrait.”
Gari Melchers Home and Studio is a 28-acre estate and former residence of the artist Gari Melchers and his wife Corinne. The property, which is operated by the University of Mary Washington, is both a Virginia Historic Landmark and a National Historic Landmark. Located at 224 Washington St. in Falmouth, Va., a quarter mile west of the intersection of U.S. 1 and U.S. 17, it is open daily with an admission charge. The museum also serves as the official Stafford County Visitor Center. For directions and other information, call (540) 654-1015 or visit garimelchers.umw.edu.
