It was well know that Tyson was a man of substantial means and he was a great collector of art. He was friends with Felix Wildenstein and Mrs. H.O. Havemeyer. It would then follow that he might have been friends with the great art collector, R. Sturges Ingersoll who was on the board of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Seal Cove Pond is located in an area of Maine known as Indian Island, Old Town. Tyson had a home on Mt. Desert Island and loyally went there every summer. Although Cezanne was a significant influence on Tyson’s work, it is not really until the late 1930’s and early 1940’s that Tyson’s paintings truly reflect it. This particular work can only be indebted to that artist and it is highly successful in its own right. The canvas visually speaks for itself and it offers a fascinating history.
Tyson felt strongly enough about it to exhibit it at the P.A.F.A in 1940. It seems the same year it went on loan to The Philadelphia Academy, where he was a member of the Board of Governors. It was well know that Tyson was a man of substantial means and he was a great collector of art. He was friends with Felix Wildenstein and Mrs. H.O. Havemeyer. It would then follow that he might have been friends with the great art collector, R. Sturges Ingersoll who was on the board of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Ultimately, this painting went into the vast collection of Philip and Muriel Berman, Philip having served as the chairman of the P.A.F.A. from 1989 until his death in 1997.
R. Sturgis Ingersoll, Philadelphia
The Philip & Muriel Berman Collection, Philadelphia
Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, April 12-May 12, 1940 (#48)
Loaned: Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1940 (label verso)
