Louis-Dreyfus Family Collection 2019

Helen Searle american, 1834-1884

Crabapples , c. 1877 Oil on paper on card 2 ¾ by 8 inches ( 7 by 20 . 5 cm) Inscribed upper left provenance Thomas Colville Fine Arts; William Louis-Dreyfus, 2009 .

Born in Vermont to the architect Henry Searle, Helen Searle began painting still lives at a young age. By her late 20 s she was exhibiting at arts societies and in 1866 she had a one woman show at the National Academy of Design in New York. Soon after, she moved to Dusseldorf to study with Johann Wilhelm Preyer whose style became a huge influence on her work. Searle found success during this time, exhibiting at local German galleries and gaining commissions and in 1872 , she returned to the US to establish a studio in Washington DC. In 1876 , after marrying an American artist, James William Pattison ( 1844 – 1915 ), they moved to an artist colony just north of Paris in Ecouen. Soon after, a still life was accepted for the Salon of 1879 . In 1882 , they moved back to the States where she remained, continuing to paint with success.