Cornelia Foss

Book excerpt: The first comprehensive survey of Cornelia Foss’s landscapes, still lifes, and portraits, an artist in the style and tradition of Fairfield Porter. The American artist Cornelia Foss is part of a loosely knit group of artists commonly described as “painterly realists,” many of whom are associated with Long Island’s scenic Hamptons region, including Eric Fischl and Fairfield Porter. This is the first such survey of this artist’s work to be published. Long considered a quintessential Long Island artist, Foss has painted Wainscott Pond for over half a century. Foss’s work mirrors her protected environment—pastel drawings of her own garden and nearby ponds; oil portraits of her granddaughters and pets; landscapes featuring beach scenes and still-life paintings showing flowers on a windowsill. Thus, the art conveys a nurturing perspective that also acknowledges the outside world. Beautifully designed, this volume provides deep insight into the breadth and range of the artist’s practice over the past fifty years.