Josephine Sibley Couper (American, 1867-1957), A Southern Laundry

Oil on canvas (lined), signed at lower right, retaining exhibition labels to the verso, presented in a later giltwood frame.

Stretcher size 17 x 14 in.; Frame dimensions 24 1/2 x 21 1/2 in.

From the Collection of Mr. Jonathan P. Alcott, Raleigh, North Carolina

Exhibited:
Carolina Art Association, Exhibition of Southern Paintings
Southern States Art League
North Shore Arts Association, Small Picture Show
Rock House Art Gallery, Mrs. B. King Couper, Tryon, North Carolina, 1935.

Josephine Sibley Couper was born in Augusta, Georgia to a wealthy textile entrepreneur. In 1879, she embarked on a tour of Europe with her family, keeping a sketchbook of the art and architecture she saw. Upon their return, Couper’s father fostered her interest in the arts by building her a studio space and hiring a private instructor. She continued her formal studies at a Charleston Art Academy before enrolling at the Art Students League in New York in 1889.

In New York, Couper studied with William Merritt Chase. She returned to Europe briefly before settling in Spartanburg, South Carolina where she maintained a studio at her home and raised a family. Following the death of her husband, Couper moved to Montreat, North Carolina. She studied with Elliott Daingerfield in Blowing Rock, North Carolina. While her son was attending the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, she spent her summers in the artistic colony of Gloucester. She returned to France in 1929 and 1930 to study with André Lhote. Her last years were spent with the artist colony of Tryon, North Carolina.

Couper exhibited frequently throughout her lifetime including at the Paris Salons and the High Museum of Art in Atlanta. Her paintings are in numerous prominent public collections including The Johnson Collection, Spartanburg, South Carolina, and the Brooklyn Museum, New York.

Age cracking, this work was professionally lined and retouched, a summary of the conservation affixed to verso.