Juniper Tree, n.d.
Melville T. Wire (1877-1966 Oregon)
Colored Pencil on Paper 11"x14" Image
16"x20" Matted.
Initialed in lower right corner. Excellent condition.
=====================
Description and Artistic Interpretation
This lyrical drawing in colored pencil presents a solitary juniper tree, its gnarled, wind-sculpted trunk twisted by time and climate. Wire’s linework is fluid yet confident, capturing not just the anatomy of the tree but its posture—stoic and animated in equal measure. The color application is delicate and expressive, with tones of rust, blue, lilac, and ochre interwoven into the bark, suggesting both age and inner vitality. Light greens and yellows flicker through the foliage, contrasting with the buff paper’s warm neutrality to evoke the arid clarity of Oregon’s high desert.
The sparsity of the background directs attention entirely to the tree, which acts as both subject and metaphor. With no human figures, buildings, or wildlife, the juniper becomes emblematic of survival, self-containment, and the expressive potential of natural form.
Art Historical Context
The technique and sensibility evoke the 20th-century American regionalist tradition, particularly artists who worked in the West and Pacific Northwest—figures like Charles Burchfield and, in a more subdued way, Maynard Dixon or the California tonalists. Yet Wire’s touch is less theatrical and more meditative, aligning him with artists who found the sublime in restraint and intimacy rather than grandeur.
Wire's choice of medium—colored pencil—is notable. Once relegated to studies or preparatory sketches, colored pencil found new respect in the mid-20th century as a tool for finished works, thanks to artists who prized its immediacy, transparency, and potential for subtle layering. Here, the medium allows for precise detail in the bark and a poetic handling of foliage and sky.
On the Subject: The Western Juniper
Junipers are a common sight in the Oregon high desert and symbolize resilience in arid climates. Their contorted trunks reflect a lifetime of drought, wind, and slow growth. By choosing such a subject, Wire participates in a regional tradition of artists and writers who saw in Oregon's flora not just landscape but autobiography, myth, and local identity.
Artist's Biography
Melville Thomas Wire, an ordained minister of the Methodist Church, was a talented artist who successfully combined his work for the church with his avocation of outdoor painting in an impressionist style.
Born in Austin, Illinois, on September 24, 1877, Wire moved with his family to Oregon when he was seven. His father, Melville Cox Wire, accepted the post of pastor at the First Methodist Episcopal Church in Salem, where he also taught Greek and Hebrew at Willamette University. He enrolled his son in the university's academy for children, where the young boy studied art with Marie Craig. As he grew older, Melville's love of the outdoors became evident as he traveled and sketched the landscapes he visited.
Wire continued his education at the state university (now University of Oregon) and Albany College (the predecessor of Lewis & Clark College). In 1899, he went back to Illinois to study for the ministry at his father's alma mater, Garrett Biblical Institute, in Evanston. Wire returned to Oregon in 1902 to accept a pastorate in Brownsville.
Methodist ministers were moved every few years, and Wire took advantage of that mobility to paint the diverse landscapes of the Oregon countryside. His vocation—the ministry—and his avocation—art—worked in tandem, allowing him ample time for both. His subjects, both familiar landmarks and lesser-known pastoral scenes, conveyed a personal emotion facilitated by his ability to capture atmosphere, light, and color. He painted in both oil and watercolor. Three of his paintings were exhibited at the Panama Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco in 1915.
At the encouragement of congregation member Gordon Gilkey, Wire began studying printmaking and went on to be nationally recognized for his etchings. Wire used many of the same subjects in his etchings that he had painted and photographed. Between 1944 and 1948, the Associated American Artists Gallery purchased eight of Wire's etchings for publication and national distribution. He was a member of many artist professional groups and the recipient of a number of awards.
His first marriage was short-lived, but in 1910 he met and eventually married Bessie Edna Burgess. The marriage lasted until her death forty-seven years later. Bessie was also an artist, taught mainly by her husband. She worked primarily in watercolor, with awards and exhibitions to her credit. After Bessie's death, Wire moved to the Willamette Lutheran Home in Salem, where he met and married his third wife, Bertha Peabody Shiffer.
Wire traveled the state, serving various parishes for sixty-one years. He was also a participant in art clubs, a noted printmaker, and a photographer. After Wire retired from the ministry in 1946, he devoted himself completely to his art. He continued to exhibit in galleries and museums, to promote his etchings, and to devoted more time to watercolors.
Wire's interpretations of the scenery he loved create a unique body of work that represents the diversity of Oregon's landscapes.
This text is a collaboration with Chat GPT.
Juniper Tree, n.d.
Melville T. Wire (1877-1966 Oregon)
Colored Pencil on Paper 11"x14" Image
16"x20" Matted.
Initialed in lower right corner. Excellent condition.
=====================
Description and Artistic Interpretation
This lyrical drawing in colored pencil presents a solitary juniper tree, its gnarled, wind-sculpted trunk twisted by time and climate. Wire’s linework is fluid yet confident, capturing not just the anatomy of the tree but its posture—stoic and animated in equal measure. The color application is delicate and expressive, with tones of rust, blue, lilac, and ochre interwoven into the bark, suggesting both age and inner vitality. Light greens and yellows flicker through the foliage, contrasting with the buff paper’s warm neutrality to evoke the arid clarity of Oregon’s high desert.
The sparsity of the background directs attention entirely to the tree, which acts as both subject and metaphor. With no human figures, buildings, or wildlife, the juniper becomes emblematic of survival, self-containment, and the expressive potential of natural form.
Art Historical Context
The technique and sensibility evoke the 20th-century American regionalist tradition, particularly artists who worked in the West and Pacific Northwest—figures like Charles Burchfield and, in a more subdued way, Maynard Dixon or the California tonalists. Yet Wire’s touch is less theatrical and more meditative, aligning him with artists who found the sublime in restraint and intimacy rather than grandeur.
Wire's choice of medium—colored pencil—is notable. Once relegated to studies or preparatory sketches, colored pencil found new respect in the mid-20th century as a tool for finished works, thanks to artists who prized its immediacy, transparency, and potential for subtle layering. Here, the medium allows for precise detail in the bark and a poetic handling of foliage and sky.
On the Subject: The Western Juniper
Junipers are a common sight in the Oregon high desert and symbolize resilience in arid climates. Their contorted trunks reflect a lifetime of drought, wind, and slow growth. By choosing such a subject, Wire participates in a regional tradition of artists and writers who saw in Oregon's flora not just landscape but autobiography, myth, and local identity.
Artist's Biography
Melville Thomas Wire, an ordained minister of the Methodist Church, was a talented artist who successfully combined his work for the church with his avocation of outdoor painting in an impressionist style.
Born in Austin, Illinois, on September 24, 1877, Wire moved with his family to Oregon when he was seven. His father, Melville Cox Wire, accepted the post of pastor at the First Methodist Episcopal Church in Salem, where he also taught Greek and Hebrew at Willamette University. He enrolled his son in the university's academy for children, where the young boy studied art with Marie Craig. As he grew older, Melville's love of the outdoors became evident as he traveled and sketched the landscapes he visited.
Wire continued his education at the state university (now University of Oregon) and Albany College (the predecessor of Lewis & Clark College). In 1899, he went back to Illinois to study for the ministry at his father's alma mater, Garrett Biblical Institute, in Evanston. Wire returned to Oregon in 1902 to accept a pastorate in Brownsville.
Methodist ministers were moved every few years, and Wire took advantage of that mobility to paint the diverse landscapes of the Oregon countryside. His vocation—the ministry—and his avocation—art—worked in tandem, allowing him ample time for both. His subjects, both familiar landmarks and lesser-known pastoral scenes, conveyed a personal emotion facilitated by his ability to capture atmosphere, light, and color. He painted in both oil and watercolor. Three of his paintings were exhibited at the Panama Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco in 1915.
At the encouragement of congregation member Gordon Gilkey, Wire began studying printmaking and went on to be nationally recognized for his etchings. Wire used many of the same subjects in his etchings that he had painted and photographed. Between 1944 and 1948, the Associated American Artists Gallery purchased eight of Wire's etchings for publication and national distribution. He was a member of many artist professional groups and the recipient of a number of awards.
His first marriage was short-lived, but in 1910 he met and eventually married Bessie Edna Burgess. The marriage lasted until her death forty-seven years later. Bessie was also an artist, taught mainly by her husband. She worked primarily in watercolor, with awards and exhibitions to her credit. After Bessie's death, Wire moved to the Willamette Lutheran Home in Salem, where he met and married his third wife, Bertha Peabody Shiffer.
Wire traveled the state, serving various parishes for sixty-one years. He was also a participant in art clubs, a noted printmaker, and a photographer. After Wire retired from the ministry in 1946, he devoted himself completely to his art. He continued to exhibit in galleries and museums, to promote his etchings, and to devoted more time to watercolors.
Wire's interpretations of the scenery he loved create a unique body of work that represents the diversity of Oregon's landscapes.
This text is a collaboration with Chat GPT.