Ralph Eugene Cahoon, Jr. (American, 1910-1982)

Active/Lived; Chatham, Massachusetts

Sailors and Mermaids, ca. 1960s

Signed (l.r.): R. Cahoon

Oil on Masonite

18” x 22 ½”, 21” x 25 ¼” (frame)

Over-all in excellent condition, in a 19th c. gilt frame.

Provenance: Tremont Gallery, Sudbury, Massachusetts; Private Collection, Massachusetts.

Ralph Cahoon, Jr. was an artist and furniture decorator. Born in Chatham, Massachusetts to a family directly descended from the first Dutch Settlers of Cape Cod, Cahoon attended Boston's School of Practical Art where he focused primarily on commercial art. in 1953, socialite Joan Whitney Payson convinced Ralph and his wife, Martha, to frame some of their designs and then offered to show works in their long island Gallery. Their careers took off as they both executed paintings inspired by Pennsylvania Dutch motifs. Ralph's paintings were light-heartened, unpretentious and nostalgic. Ralph started painting whimsical scenes of sailors and mermaids frolicking on the backs of whales, in hot air balloons, on majestic ships, and countless other fantastic settings. As his commissions grew, Ralph would often incorporate his patron's businesses, homes, or professions into the finished work along with the standard mermaids and sailors.

$22,500