"Nantucket"

Signed Lower Left

Paul Crosthwaite (1911 - 1981)

Paul Crosthwaite was a respected member of the New Hope art community. He was born in Pelham Manor, New York and after studying in architecture for two years decided upon a career as an artist. With that in mind he enrolled in the Art Students League in New York City studying under John Sloan, Raphael Soyer, Yasuo Kunioshi and Morris Kantor.

In the mid-thirties he and artist John Sharp moved to New Hope and shared an apartment and studio above the Solebury National Bank in New Hope. Crosthwaite and Sharp remained active in New Hope until 1954 when they moved to Palm Beach, Florida. Crosthwaite exhibited frequently and was the subject of many one man shows on exclusive Worth Avenue in Palm Beach.

During his residence in New Hope, he was involved in the WPA program, was active in the Historic Building Survey and was involved in the founding of the Bucks County Playhouse. His earlier paintings have a precisionist edge to them usually depicting the New Hope area or Nantucket where he often spent summers. Crosthwaite’s later paintings were surreal modernist landscapes and bright, fanciful still lifes.

Crosthwaite exhibited at the Phillips Mill Art Association, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and the Four Arts Exhibit in Palm Beach (1956 prize). He also participated in exhibits in New York, Boston and Washington

Phillips Mill 50th Anniversary
James Hunt Barker Galleries, Palm Beach, FL. Folder 1974
Paintings by Paul Crosthwaite. Palm Beach Galleries. 1972
New Hope Gazette, April 22, 1982