Augustus Buhler 

(1853-1920)

I believe that most collectors gradually develop a sense of which artists they would like to focus on heavily and which artists from whom they would like one example—nice, representative, but not necessarily a major piece. Augustus Buhler evolved into the latter for me. I was familiar with his work from the Cape Ann Historical Society, and he was included in my son’s book Artists of Cape Ann. I became very impressed by the biographical facts of his life, particularly his dedication to understanding the life and struggles of the region’s fishermen and how he came to earn their trust in return for an honest portrayal, not a romanticized viewpoint. My opportunity arose in 2001 at an outdoor antique fair in Wilton, Connecticut, in the tent booth of an upstate New York marine art dealer. This small oil simply felt authentic, real to me.