Surprise in the Water

In her exceptional article, “Mermaids and More: The Whimsical Primitives of Ralph Cahoon,” Madelia Hickman identifies three types of Cahoon paintings: satires of historical events, satires of everyday events set against the backdrop of specific geographical locations, and fantastical scenes (1). The Goose Hunt is a sterling example of the latter. A father and son have gone out to hunt geese by boat, only to have a mermaid, both hunter and hunted in the fairy tales, deliver the prey. To a degree, the narrative is symbolically American – a journey into the wilderness in search of one thing yields the discovery of something wholly different.

As Hickman notes, the innate “American-ness” of Cahoon’s paintings explain their popular appeal. Cahoon’s coterie of symbols – mermaids, hot air balloons, and other anachronistic collisions of technology, history, and legend – reinforce the idea of America as myth. Simply put, in this country, anything is possible.

Ralph Cahoon was born in Chatham, Massachusetts and studied at the School of Practical Art in Boston. He worked part-time as an antiques dealer and kept a shop in Osterville on Cape Cod. Cahoon and his wife, fellow artist Martha Farham, later moved to Cotuit, where they established a permanent home and studio. Cahoon first experimented with what has become his trademark style in 1953. After his death in 1982, his home was converted to a museum (2). The Cahoon Museum of American Art remains open today.

Note (February 11, 2009): The composition of the painting is borrowed from Duck Shooting, Some of the Right Sort, done in 1851 by Arthur Fitzwilliam Tait (1819-1905) and later made into a hand-colored lithograph under the title titled Wild Duck Shooting, A Good Day’s Sport by Nathaniel Currier in 1854.

Provenance: From a private Connecticut collection to the gallery.

Bibliography:
1. Madelia Hickman, “Mermaids and More: The Whimsical Primitives of Ralph Cahoon,” in Antiques and Fine Art magazine < http://antiquesandfineart.com/articles/article.cfm?request=459>, 2008.
2. Hickman.

Presentation notes: In its original 3” walnut cove frame with gilt liner.