Honoré Sharrer (1920–2009)

HONORÉ SHARRER (1920–2009)
Afternoon at the Beach, 1990
Oil on canvas, 30 x 32 in.
Signed (at upper right): Sharrer

EXHIBITED: Spanierman Gallery, New York, April 18–May 11, 2002, Honoré Sharrer: Selected Paintings and Drawings, p. 28 no. 10 illus. in color // Columbus Museum of Art, Ohio; The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia; Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton, Massachusetts, February 2017–January 2018, A Dangerous Woman: Subversion and Surrealism in the Art of Honoré Sharrer, pp. 132 plate 34 illus. in color; p. 162 as chapter heading for “Chronology” (detail)

Afternoon at the Beach addresses what is arguably Sharrer’s major theme: relations between men and women. The artist never declared herself a feminist and was personally devoted to her husband and son, with numerous male friends. Still, there is no denying she has no use for the patriarchy. In Afternoon at the Beach, as is almost always the case, the men do not come out well. They may be clueless; they may be ciphers, acting out patriarchal, male dominant roles to the detriment of the female involved. In this case the gentleman is literally out of it. He is sound asleep, oblivious, while his female companion sits erect and alert, the expression on her face bearing no suggestion of relaxation or leisure.

Sharrer often worked out her large pictures with preliminary sketches, developing her composition, palette, and ideas. In the present instance, there is a series of small gouache renderings, exploring different figural elements and palettes, some with a third figure on the adjacent blanket. Most fascinating is a large line drawing. Instead of the rowboat at the left, there is a large threatening squid, a veritable sea monster emerging from the water onto the beach. Its large single eye is fixed on the figures on the sand. Neither the sleeping man nor the seated woman, still looking fixedly to her right, are aware of the imminent threat.