Dodge MacKnight - The Bay, Belle-Île, 1890

Dodge MacKnight (Providence, 1860 - 1950, Sandwich, Massachusetts)

The Bay, Belle-Île, 1890

Watercolor on paper, 40.6 x 39.4 cm (16 x 15 1/2 in.)

Commentary

Dodge Macknight painted this watercolor of the island Belle-Île, on the coast of Brittany in northwest France. Rich jewel-toned pigments on a wetted surface capture the depth and dimension on the water’s surface.  

Less well known today, Macknight was lauded as Boston’s King of Impressionists in the early 1900s. Isabella Stewart Gardner was one of his most significant patrons and friends. In 1915, she opened the only gallery in her Museum dedicated to a contemporary artist—the Macknight Room.