"Walter GAY (Boston, 1856 - Paris, 1937) American- Interior Scene."
Interior scene.
Oil on panel
Size: 25 x 20 cm
with frame: 39 x 35 cm
"He is the master of allusion, of the half-word, of learned ellipses, of reticence, the weigher of the impalpable, the filter of the ray and the shadow in charming old interiors where he is on the lookout for the past and captures the color of Time". The New Society
 
Walter gay gives us here the portrait of a charming turquoise blue living room that warms the eighteenth century furniture, wood paneling and a Versailles parquet floor. Art objects, paintings, mirrors, statues and porcelain embellish the scene.
As usual, this virtuoso of interior scenes manages to recreate the intimate atmosphere of the place where with a light and removed touch he sets up the decor with virtuosity.
Walter Gay, American interior scene painter, began his career as a flower painter in Boston until 1876.
In April of that same year, he went to Paris, where he studied for three years with Léon Bonnat, who considered him one of his best students. In 1879, he left for Spain, where he discovered Velázquez, who would be a real revelation for him. In 1880, he shared a workshop with three other Americans, boulevard de Clichy.
It is its intimate interiors that will make its notoriety and its glory. He is a specialist in luxurious or opulent interiors of mansions and castles (Versailles, Fontainebleau, Chablis, the Carnavalet Museum or his own castle in Bréau). 
Under the aegis of J. E. Blanche, he participated in the "Group of 33" and the "International Society" in 1896. He exhibited very regularly at Georges Petit (1905 and 1908), in Chicago (March, April 1914) and at the Charpentier gallery (1923 and 1936). He is a faithful member of the Salon de la Nationale and the "New Society". He received numerous gold medals (Paris in 1900) and honors (Commander of the Legion of Honor in 1927).
His exhibition in March 1936 was inaugurated by the ambassador of the United States, Jesse-Isidor Strauss and by the director General of Fine Arts, George Huisman. Louis Gillet of the French Academy prefaces the catalog with great admiration for painter :
 
Museum:
   * Paris, Orsay Museum, Louvre Museum.
   * Boston, Museum of Fine Arts.
   • New York, Metropolitan of art.
   • Washington, National gallery of art.
   • London, British Museum