Rebecca Salsbury James
American (1891-1968)
Date:
c. 1940
Medium:
Reverse oil on glass
Size:
Width: 17″
Height: 22″

Seen through a glass surface, Rebecca Salsbury James’ paintings have a glowing, eerie, and austere effect. In making this reverse painting on glass, the self-taught artist combined the influences of American folk traditions, European modernist practices, and early color photography. Her precise technique is incredibly complex: details are painted first, then color is built up in reverse, ending with the background color. Artist Marsden Hartley wrote to James of his own efforts at glass painting: “It nearly killed me and I never had the courage to take it up again.”

W. Clagett Emory Bequest Fund, in Memory of his Parents, William H. Emory of A and Martha B. Emory; Edward Joseph Gallagher III Memorial Fund; and purchase with exchange funds from Bequest of Lowell Nesbitt in Memory of Adelyn D. Breeskin BMA 2007.161

A Local Connection to Her Technique

Transcript

[Aaron Henkin] The technique, Rebecca Salsbury James is reviving here–reverse glass painting–has a particularly strong tradition in Baltimore.

[David Park Curry] The use of reverse glass painted panels was a major decorative technique in Baltimore, federal furniture, and we have a number of examples including one on view nearby.