#e pine

Don and Mona LeClair were married on October 2, 1965 at her family’s church, the Immaculate Conception located at the top of Front Street hill. The newlyweds moved into a small apartment on Pleasant Street, next door to Pine’s Grocery. Don found himself spending many nights visiting the store and talking to Emmett, developing a friendship that lasted for years.  Mona would often send Don to pick up a few groceries and hours would pass before he crossed back over the driveway that separated the apartment building from the store.

Don loved talking to Emmett.  Emmett knew what was going on around the village and had definite opinions that he happily shared.  The store was comfortable and welcoming, especially if Emmett answered the bells that rang into action when struck by the opening door. Don remembers Emmett standing behind the counter in front of shelves laden with 20 to 30 small paintings. It was a casual, revolving exhibit as paintings would disappear when purchased only to be replaced by new ones. 

A month or so after their wedding, Don was in the store and saw a couple of small paintings of the Immaculate Conception Church. They were paintings of the church in a winter setting.  Don pointed at them and said “Emmett,  that isn’t what the church looked like on my wedding day, Mona and I were married on a beautiful sunny day.” 

 He told Pine that Turner’s Drug Store had post cards of the Church that reminded him exactly of the day they were married.  Emmett told Don to bring him one of the post cards and he would paint it.  Don, wanted a painting larger than the typical boards and canvases he saw placed around the store so he also bought a frame the size he was looking for and gave both to Pine.

Postcard of the Church of the Immaculate Conception,  “The Irish Church”, Keeseville, NY ca1965 Curtesy of Don and Mona LeClair

Pine was busy at the time, he told Don he had a few commission ahead of his but only two or three weeks later, the painting was completed and framed.  Emmett knew Don had very strong feelings about the special scene and he put a lot of work into the painting, recreating the church on that sunny day only a few short months after the wedding had taken place.

Immaculate Conception Church by Emmett Pine, 1965, Curtesy of Don and Mona LeClair.  Approximately 17″ x 24″

Don and Mona’s painting of the Irish Church has hung in their home for 55 years, with the original post card tucked into the corner of the frame.  Their painting of the church on a sunny day, with the south side a bright and brilliant white, the tall spruces and the statue of the Church’s namesake on the front lawn, the stain glass windows styled in blue.  

Using the post card for details, Pine didn’t just copy it.  His view was southwest of the church well across the road allowing him to include a more complete perspective of the church and surrounding land.  He even included glimpses of the cemetery behind the church, through the tall trees that have always graced the South and East sides of the property.  Like the post card, the sky is full of clouds but instead of the bright blue we see a pale sky with some light greying in the East possibly a portent of a storm coming in off Lake Champlain or a gentle nod to the newlyweds that married life isn’t always blue sky and sunshine.

The Immaculate Conception, locally called the Irish Church was built by Irish Immigrants in 1835.  It was the first Catholic Church in Keeseville and remains the oldest active original-structure church in the diocese.  The church was a favorite theme for Pine and one that sold well.  

Emmitt’s family, were long time parishioners of the Irish Church and in fact he is buried in the Immaculate Conception cemetery, as are his parents, his wife, his sister and many other relatives.   Pine’s most popular painting of the Church was an evening scene depicting Midnight Mass.  In fact, in 1980 when he completed a commission of that painting  for a long time friend and collector, Pine told him it was his 25th rendering of that scene at that time.

Don and Mona’s painting is the 9th painting of the Irish church that I have cataloged, and while Emmett had fun varying the colors and using different lighting they are all winter scenes.  This is the only painting cataloged to date showing the church in a warm weather season which makes it pretty special.

Selection of Privately Owned Paintings of the Immaculate Conception in the Emmett Pine Catalogue

Don LeClair is retired now but he still lives on Pleasant Street, a ways down from Emmett’s old store in the home he and Mona brought up their family.    They can be found most days relaxing on their porch, visiting with family and friends.

Blanch E. Pine 1908 - 1986 Painting c 1940 Courtesy TJMM

While Emmett Pine may have been the head of the household, the real boss at home was his wife Blanch.  Blanch was the daughter of Helen and Nelson DeFoe of Peru and had at least three siblings; a brother named Garfield a highly regarded doctor practicing in Maine, and at least two other sisters Helen who was younger and Lilian, age unknown.  That is all I could dig up about Blanch.  I spoke with some of their nieces and nephews who remembered her as quiet but definitely the “boss”.  

Local papers from the 1930′s through the 70′s regularly reported on the DeFoe family’s travels and family members visiting Mr. and Mrs. E. J. Pine.  When Lilian was married to Joseph A. Shoendorf the weekly news reported that Lilian was attended by her sister Mrs. E. J. Pine.  The wedding announcement and funeral information for Hellen and Garfield also reported in the local newspapers.  What’s missing is any additional information about Blanch, no wedding announcements and only a death announcement from Alexandria, VA, with no obituary.  After Emmett’s passing, Blanch moved to the Alexandria, Va area where her son Juan lived and where she passed away in February 1986.

At least we have this wonderful painting of Blanch which Emmett titled “Femme Fatale” dating back to 1940.  The painting is oil on flannel and is extremely fragile; the painted surface heavy with oil paint but missing the heft of canvass for support is quite delicate.

The title is perfect for this painting with Blanch in evening clothes wrapped in a mink stole.  Pine painted her in this pose with her dark eyes drawing you in and lips painted with a slight upward curve.  She’s hiding a secret...you want to know what it is but will you survive the encounter?

Back of Painting

Emmett often wrote notes on the back of his paintings; clues to the subject, date or the person or cause that the painting was intended for.  The note above was likely added by Stan Ransom who purchased this painting from Pine’s Store.  Stan was director of the North Country Library System and traveled through the region visiting libraries regularly.  When in Keeseville he always stopped to see his friends Blanch and Emmett Pine.  

This is the second painting I have come across painted on flannel fabric stretched over a wooden frame.  The other painting of a moonlit marsh was also painted in the 1940′s.   Canvas was in high demand for military production, tents, leggings water carriers, cots etc.  Perhaps artists throughout the country had to come up with other material for their work.

Even more interesting is the remains of a painted canvas that had been cut out leaving the margins still attached to the stretchers.

The remaining margin is painted in the blues Pine typically used in his winter scenes.

Winter Road Through Forrest, Courtesy TJMM

Another visit to the North Country and another surprise from my brother!  A new Emmitt Pine.  He has officially become the E.Pine Bloodhound.

This painting certainly evokes Robert Frost’s poem although it appears to be the day after the “snowy evening” he wrote about. Here we are on a narrow road through a forrest of evergreens with their branches laden with snow. The sun is low in the sky casting long shadows across the road with the warm glow of late afternoon lighting a small break in the forest just ahead. 

 This is a wonderful work by Pine. You can feel the dry cold of a typical Adirondack woodland winter scene.  His use of color in this painting particularly in the shadowing and the snow covered branches add depth and texture to this painting that is rarely seen in his other works.

Winter Road Through Forrest, Courtesy Jay Hamilton

Jay Hamilton’s painting is very similar to the one above in fact almost a duplicate.  This painting is darker and lacks the bright sunlight above yet still has shadows stretching across the road.  The same forest and lonely trail but for a change here and there.  Missing are all the colors Pine used above to build out the shadows and shading.  

Private Road, Town of Chesterfield  Photo by TJMM

In the 1940′s Helga Peterson, a neighbor of Emmitt Pine, acquired this small painting from him.  She had either seen him throw it away or found it after he had thrown it away.  When she asked why, Pine said he had tossed it because he was unhappy with the foreground.  He gave the painting to her and it has been in her family ever since.

The painting is 8″ by 10″ and offers a birds eye view of the hill rising from River Street to the Immaculate Conception on Front Street in Keeseville.  This interesting perspective shows some of the houses along River Street with the  primary focus on the Irish Church above.

Pine was probably dissatisfied with the two small houses in the foreground which are undersized compared to the white house on the left.  All the houses that line the north side of Front Street are missing from the work; we don’t know if he just didn’t get to them or if he never planned on including them.  Prospect mountain in the background is almost picture perfect.

Emmett Pine’s paintings are often passed within a family from generation to generation, rarely making their way into the open market.  This is the case with this painting.  The work was passed from Helga to her daughter and after many years was passed to Helga’s grand daughter and her husband, Bruce and Nina Sullivan.  

Winter Whitetail, Curtesy TJMM

Deer Hunting in the North Country is an important slice of local life.  In the lead up to deer season hunters plan, they scout, and they talk and talk and talk and when it begins some have been known to stop working until it’s over.  Although Emmett Pine was never a hunter he must have been caught up in the excitement and talk since two paintings featuring a whitetail buck have been identified and included in the Emmett Pine Catalog.

On a recent visit to the North Country, my brother and sister-in-law presented me with this wonderful painting as a gift for Christmas (see above).  The unframed “oddly” sized, hand stretched canvas measures 17″X 25 1/4″.

The scene is a white tail buck momentarily frozen in surprise, crossing a pond or stream.  The deer is looking directly at the source disrupting this placid glen, beautifully lit by the setting sun. 

The water feature in this work adds difficulty for Pine. The buck’s left rear leg tied to a rock in the pond by its reflection looks like a boot, and the rock below the curved front leg might be the period below a question mark.  Pine built his paintings from the background up, layer by layer; I suspect the rocks were already in the pond when Pine decided to add the buck.  He does do justice to the sky reflecting in the surface of the pond and of the snow on the banks above the water.  His blue shadowing through the woods add depth and dimension to the work.

Winter Buck, Curtesy Robert Studebaker

In this painting of another four point buck, surprised once again by some noise or unexpected activity deep in the winter woods, you can see Pine has put a bit more style into defining the body of the buck.  His rear haunches are well defined as is the shape of his raised hoof.

I suspect that the Studebaker’s painting might have been done later in Pines career.  The tree branches are delicate with a light layering of snow unlike the top painting where winter snow and ice are added in a multitude of bluish blotches similar to winter paintings Pine did in the late 30′s and early 40′s.

These are two very charming paintings of typical scenes Pine would have heard about from customers in his store, friends and family throughout hunting season, year after year.  His sister’s husband and sons were all avid hunters and eager story tellers of their exploits in the woods.  Perhaps these paintings illustrate a couple such stories.

Auger Lake, North Country Summer Camp

Auger Lake is a privately owned 377 acre lake located in the Northeastern Adirondacks near Keeseville.  The lake is surrounded by 85 property owners including North Country Summer Camps for Boys and Girls which occupy a large portion of the eastern side of the lake.

Emmett Pine’s father, J. Henry Pine owned a large farm encompassing many acres right down to the shore of Auger Lake.  Emmett would have spent many days on the farm, too young to do any heavy work; but with the normal curiosity of youth he would have spent plenty of time getting to know the shoreline.

Auger Lake, Collection of TJMM

Emmett’s bright and colorful painting of Auger Lake is likely viewed from Mud Pond, one of the four ponds that contribute to Auger Lake’s makeup.  The work is undated, acrylic on board. In the background Pine has included the smaller rounded mountains and hills that make up the background in many of his landscapes and common to the northeastern portion of the Adirondack Park.

Positioned in the center, both sides of the outlet are lined with the typical spruces, shrubs, wild blueberries and paper birches found throughout the region, reflected in the calm surface of the water.  The birches are textured with heavier paint which give them some dimension on this paintings smooth surface. Pine’s signature is along the shore keeping his work on the waterline and reflections free of interference.

This image from Google Maps has an added pointer showing the location just south of the Lake.

Auger Lake, Courtesy Bruce Sullivan

Emmett repeated many of his favorite themes as seen in this painting.  The familiar shoreline with birches on each side with the rounded mountains in the distance.  The colors of this painting somewhat muted in comparison to the top painting, perhaps a bit more yellow used in the blend giving the work a late summer feeling.  Both paintings are the same size, 22″ X 17″.   

The key to buying or selling a painting by Emmett Pine has always been “being in the right place at the right time”.  Bruce Sullivan bought two paintings by Pine in 2013 at a yard sale for $50.00 which included his painting of Auger Lake.  The top painting was purchased at an estate auction in Keeseville for $2,000.00.  Is the painting worth $2,000.00? It was to the purchaser and to the nephew of the previous owner, the opposing bidder, who drove the price to this historic level before giving up.

Many relatives make the mistake of discounting the naive style of Pine’s work as amateurish and assume the paintings have no value.  When cleaning out after a death in the family I wouldn’t be surprised if many end up in a dumpster.

Experienced professionals from a good auction house like Martin and Sons, recognize value in an estates furniture and art and make sure the audience is peppered with similar collectors maximizing the value of the estate’s collection for the relatives.

The Mud Pond outlet probably looks much the same today as it would have in Emmett’s youth. The banks are still lined with shrubs, birches and evergreens and the lake remains quiet and devoid of any commercial intrusions. Henry Pine’s Meadowbrook Farm is long gone but his relatives remember the beautiful property, and at dusk, the calls of many whip-poor-wills in the surrounding fields and the occasional loon on the lake.

Emmett Pine enjoyed having a mode of transportation take top billing in many of his paintings.  We’ve seen the trains and the trolleys, the horse drawn sleighs and carriages. He also painted a couple of cars and at least one truck.

1905 Buick, Courtesy of TJMM from the Collection of Stanley Ransom

In the painting above Pine places the Buick just below “dead” center drawing the viewer to the car but then up to the center and the distant view through the field to the mountains.

Emmett told his friend Stan Ransom that the painting was of his family.  The driver must be his father, squiring three ladies on this sunny drive, the convertible top folded back giving the ladies in their “Sunday” bonnets an unimpeded view of the passing countryside.  One wonders where Emmett could be, why isn’t he in the car with his family?

Emmett Pine holding newly sold painting.  Courtesy Stanley Ransom

I’ve used this wonderful photo previously but it is too much of a gem for only one showing.  Emmett proudly holds up the painting of the 1905 Buick while Stan takes the photo.

Pine did a pretty good job on the car getting most of the details down as if he remembered the car from his youth.  The headlights, the coach lights above and the long hood stretching to the radiator grill.

Black Buick, Courtesy Peter McCormick

In this second painting, once again a Buick, Pine has chosen a smaller car similar to the 1911 Buick Roadster in the photo below.  

The background is simple, the car is traveling on a dirt road with mountains in the distance, a few bushes and trees but nothing that competes with the car as the main focal point.  

This painting appears slightly rushed.  The background paint is very light almost transparent. Pine was using acrylic paints in later years for its quick drying properties.  In this case it seems the paint may have had too much water blended in as it barely covers the canvas.  The car itself is well done and includes most of the Buick features from that time.

Buick 1911 Roadster

Loaded for Market, Courtesy George Arnold, III

This is an amazing painting with a special story I’ll save for another time.  For the fun of it, let’s assume Pine was a real Buick fan and the truck depicted in this wonderful painting was a Buick.  Can we find a picture of an actual Buick truck that resembles the one in the painting.

This photo is close, perhaps an earlier model.  

With the release of its 1908 line, Buick surpassed Ford and Cadillac as the number one producer of vehicles at 8,820 units that year, so Buicks are being seen more and more throughout the country, but are they being seen in the AuSable Valley?

I spoke with one of Emmett Pine’s nephews who told me that Pine’s father did have a car but he couldn’t remember the make.  Emmett would have been 8 in 1905 although an owner would have the car some years after it came out and may have even purchased it used,  several years later.   

His nephew went on to say that even in the late 30′s when he was growing up, cars on the street were very rare.  He could only remember three or four families that had cars other than his family.   In fact even in the 30′s a car was rare enough around Keeseville that you would stop and look as it passed by.  He remembers he and his friends out late at night, playing in the street rarely had to move for an oncoming vehicle of any make. 

We know Pine would tell potential buyers anything they wanted to hear that might strengthen the connection to a painting, in this case it may be true.  Pine’s father had a general store, he sold lumber, he had a large farm several miles outside of town, if there was a person that couldn’t waste time walking, it was John Henry Pine.

Terry Way grew up in Keeseville alongside her six siblings.  Her mother was a housewife her father a contractor and talented stone mason.  Her family home on Pleasant Street is gone now, torn down by the neighboring Dental office to make way for a parking lot, but her happy memories of life on Pleasant Street, remain intact.

In 1964, 15 year old Terry Way paid a visit to Pine’s Store.  Terry wasn’t a stranger here, the store was only three doors down from her house and she found herself entering the store often, running in to pick up groceries for her mother and on occasion, penny candy for herself.  She was a “regular”.

Way loved Pine’s Store.  She remembers the wide plank floors and the ringing bel as she pushed through the door.  The candy case was on the right, ice cream to the left and either Mr. or Mrs. Pine coming through from their home to wait patiently by the register.

Terry remembers Emmett and Blanche as very kind people, particularly Mr. Pine,  “His wonderful smile, blue eyes and great sense of humor.”  Mr. Pine seemed to come through the curtain more often than Mrs. Pine but she remembers Mrs. Pine as always friendly.  Like most of the people that visited the store, she remembers, “Mr. Pine drumming his fingers on the counter, waiting for me to make my selection.”  not out of impatience but as a former drummer, keeping time to a tune only he could hear.  The Pine’s weren’t only shop keepers, they were neighbors.  They enjoyed the neighborhood children running in from time to time, at least that was the impression young Teresa way had of this wonderful couple.

Terry also remembers the paintings hanging in the background, behind the register and placed between the items on the stocked shelves.  She remembers seeing paintings of local churches, lots of winter scenes particularly with horse drawn sleighs and even a few trains.  on this particular visit, the beautiful blues in a painting caught her eye and drew her attention to a small seascape resting on a shelf.

The painting by Pine is an ocean scene with waves breaking against rocks on the shore.  In the distance is a long low point of land with a lighthouse at the end.

Seascape with Lighthouse by Emmett Pine, circa 1964, Courtesy Teresa Way Hicks

After completing her purchase, Terry went home and in passing mentioned the beautiful painting to her mother.

Her parents purchased the painting and presented it to Terry on her birthday. She was so surprised!  It never crossed her mind that her parents could do this. Terry  never knew how much the painting cost, she never asked, and although her birthday was always a special day in the Way home, (Terry was born on Fathers Day 1949 so it was a double celebration), this one would be remembered through the course of her life.

Terry kept the painting on display in her bedroom and when she married it went with her and her husband to their new home.  Way, now Hicks, treasured the painting, not only for the beautiful blues that first drew her to the work but as a remembrance of her parents who listened to a casual comment by their teenage daughter and understood how much it must have meant to her.  To this day this little painting conjures up memories of her childhood, of Mr. and Mrs. Pine, their store and the wonderful village she grew up in.

Terry (39) with her parents in 1988, courtesy Teresa Way Hicks

Terry’s husband, Michael Hicks was in the Air Force and so travel and moving became a part of their life.  At one point, when the decor in her home changed, Terry stored the painting away and displayed  a beautiful piece of driftwood sculpture, a memento of their honeymoon.  Although packed away, the painting stayed with the Hicks through all their moves and stages of life, eventually brought out of storage and placed back on display.

Michael passed away suddenly at age 40 leaving Terry to raise their three children.  over the years Hicks augmented her Air Force pension working several  part time jobs that allowed her the flexibility she needed as a single parent.  Two of her children are still close by.  Her oldest, a daughter born in Spokane, WA is a speech and hearing teacher with three children of her own. her second oldest, one of two sons born in Plattsburgh works at the local State University and her youngest son manages the shipping and receiving department of a store in Maryland.

After raising her three children and a year after her mother passed away, Terry decided  to downsize into a small apartment and so placed some of her possessions into a storage unit, including her painting.  Seven days after moving into the new apartment, the apartment house caught fire destroying most of her possessions, ruined by fire or damaged by smoke and water.  Luckily the painting, safely in storage was preserved and when the dust settled, brought back out and placed on her mother’s buffet (another survivor of the fire) and continues to bring enjoyment and happy memories to Terry, her family and friends.

The painting is a narrow 5 1/2″ inches by 20 1/2″ long.  Oil on canvas stretched over an old board with the tacking margins nailed onto the side of the board.

 Back of painting, canvas tacked onto an old board.

When Emmett Pine felt like painting, if he didn’t have an artist panel, stretched canvas or a masonite panel available, he would grab an old painting and paint over it or use anything at hand to create a paintable surface like a left over piece of canvas and an old board with a bent rusty nail still in the back.  Add a few tacks and he was ready to go.

Side view showing tacking margins nailed to the board.

Terry is now retired and enjoys spending time with her four grand-children and taking care of her one great grand-daughter born on Christmas Eve 2014, while her parents are at work.  She meets her friends every Sunday for dancing, some laughter and to reminisce about the good times they shared.

Teresa Way Hicks, January 1, 2016