Sam Barber, SWAN BOATS, BOSTON PUBLIC GARDEN, oil on canvas,
50 x 40 inches unframed, 55 x 44.5 inches framed, price upon request
Impressionist painter Sam Barber took his children to ride the swan boats in Boston Public Garden when they were small. But he’s often returned to them as a source of inspiration. “Every time I get desperate I go to Boston and photograph the swans and buy art supplies at Johnson Paint on Newbury Street,” he says.
Sam estimates he’s painted the swan boats some two dozen times over the past 35 to 40 years. A 48 x 48-inch version donated to Children’s Hospital hangs in their lobby, providing a cheerful sight for young patients and their families. The swan boat on view at Chapman Art Gallery is one of his most recent. What particularly captivated him was the way the wind disturbed the reflection on the water, he says. He painted it loosely and freely, almost as if it were an abstraction. The reflection, however, looks very fluid and convincing when viewed from a short distance. The entire painting shimmers with color and light.
Sam has found the swan boats compelling in different seasons, including in winter, covered with snow; under different light conditions, with sunsets being a favorite; and from different viewpoints. Sometimes he’s looked down on the boats from the bridge over the lagoon. Some paintings — like this one — focus on a single boat. Others have shown the boats in various configurations. “I never repeat a painting,” Sam says.
“Why do I like the swan boats?” he asks, then answers. “Because the swan is like the queen of the birds. … She knows she’s beautiful.” The “swan” in this painting is beautifully painted as well, with exquisite pale shades of lavender, peach, blue and green making up her graceful white form. “How good the painting is is how much love you give to it,” Sam says. See more paintings by Sam Barber