Hilda Coates Altschule Watercolor Painting Erie Canal Coal Docks, Pittsford

This watercolor on thick handmade paper by Hilda Altschule measures 14" x 21" or in the simple wood frame of 18" x 25" and is signed and dated upper right corner H. The watercolor is in good overall condition with no visible defects or anything that distracts when viewing. The painting shows a view of the'Erie Canal Coal Docks - Pittsford' as looking from the backside towards the lake. Since Pittsford is located just to the Southeast of Rochester, New York where Hilda Altschule lived and worked, I believe the Pittsford coal docks were a common subject to paint of hers, making this a quintessential representation of her work. Limited art training, Hilda Altschule Coates evolved a personnel and expressive style. Born in New York, Hilda Altschule painted throughout the region with paintings being included in the Finger Lakes Exhibits, the Albright Gallery in Buffalo, the New York State Exhibit at Syracuse, the Contemporary Arts Gallery in New York City, the former Great Lakes Exhibits at Buffalo, Rochester, Chicago, Cleveland and Toronto as well as many private galleries and collections. In her early years, Altschule painted in an impressionistic style in watercolor, gouache, mixed media and oil but later transitioned into the "Expressionistic-Abstract" school where the artist's intention is to reconstruct the objective world by creating a new world that carries a terrific emotional impact. Hilda Altschule, in her paintings, achieves her "emotional impact" with the skillful use of color, form and movement. Altschule, dubbing her talent as self-taught, she would admit that she would absorb art wherever she found it, especially throughout her many visits to Europe. An impressive list of prizes spanning her years includes several first prizes in oils at the Finger Lakes Exhibit. Many watercolor prizes at the Finger Lakes and New York State Exhibits, the Lillian Fairchild Award for Meritorious Contributions in Art and a prize at Buffalo's Albright Gallery, just to name a few. Hilda Altshule married Willson H.