Junius Allen - Low Tide, Port Clyde [c.1950]

Junius Allen - Low Tide, Port Clyde [c.1950], a photo by Gandalf's Gallery on Flickr.

Monhegan Island in Maine, the setting of Low Tide, Port Clyde, offered a locale for Allen (1898 - 1962) to exercise his artistic ability, while depicting his preferred subject matter. He became one the many American artists inspired by the spectacular landscape. The solidarity of the compositional elements and soft brush strokes a provocative dichotomy reminiscent of experiencing frigid ocean water on a hot summer day.

Junius Allen was born in Summit, New Jersey, in 1898. While a student at Kingsley Preparatory School, he was mentored by national academician, Arthur Woelfle, who encouraged him to hone his artistic skills. After many close calls in the First World War, Allen returned and took a job with a lithography firm in New York. While there, he studied at the New York School of Fine and Applied Art. At Woelfle's urging, he decided to enroll at the National Academy of Design. He also studied under Charles Hawthorne, Francis Jones, George Maynard, Ivan Olinsky and George Elmer Browne. Woelfle also encouraged Allen to become active in the Salmagundi Club where he eventually played a distinguished role.

[Oil on board, 18 x 24 inches]