Title: Harold Garde (1923-2022), Visionary, 1973
Medium: acrylic on board
Dimensions: 36 x 48
Frame dimensions: 39 x 50 1/4 x 2
Notes:

The meanings of Visionary are not clear, though there does seem to be a correlation between the title and the profusion of flowering, creative energy one might attribute to a visionary spirit. The only thing that is obviously representational is the cascade of foliate forms at the base of the painting, which are characteristic of Garde’s earlier works in that they incorporated a strong sense of line, here in the use of black outlines delineating shapes. The green form at top left might intimate the torso, back and arm of the title character, while below it two ovoid shapes might signal the heads of a couple, or perhaps offspring. Whatever the personal references, what is most palpable is the canvas’s sense of movement, accomplished through Garde’s deft use of color and composition, which guide the eye through the various quadrants of the painting in a circular progression. In addition to being featured at the Museum of Florida Art (now Museum of Art-Deland) in 2009 and the Orlando Museum of Art’s “Harold Garde: Mid-Century to This Century” in 2015 (for which it graced the cover of the catalog), Visionary appeared in the award-winning video series the “Maine Masters Project.”

The painting appears to be in very good condition. There are a few small areas of loss: a small chip upper left, two pin dots lower left, a 1/2 inch by 1/8 inch chip upper center at the frame edge, a 5/8 inch by 1/2 inch chip upper right, a 3/8 inch by 1 inch chip upper right, and two small chips at the center right near the frame edge. The frame appears to be in very good condition.

acrylic on board

signed and dated lower left: Garde 73