John Henry Twachtman 1853 - 1902

Mr. and Mrs. Robert Woods Bliss, Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, D.C., circa 1900-10
Dumbarton Oaks Collection, Washington, D.C., by 1941
Berry-Hill Galleries, New York, 1975
Acquired by the present owner from the above, 1976

Santa Barbara, California, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Painting Today and Yesterday in the United States, June-September 1941, no. 125 (as Snow Scene)

John Douglass Hale, "The Life and Creative Development of John H. Twachtman", Ph.D. dissertation, Ohio State University, 1957, cat. A, no. 549, p. 569

This painting is in very good condition. Lined. Under UV: there is no apparent inpainting. This work may benefit from a light cleaning.
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From the early 1890's and until his death in 1902, John Henry Twachtman reveled in the isolation afforded by his seventeen acre estate on Round Hill Road in Greenwich, Connecticut. His work from this period captured the effects of the changing seasons on the surrounding landscape and conveyed Twachtman's emotional response to the delicate and mysterious mood of nature. The present painting's composition focuses on the barn on Twachtman's Greenwich property, a structure which was located behind the main house and held particular fascination for the artist throughout his career. The Twachtman family stabled their animals in the barn, and while the building has been altered since their departure it continues to stand today in recognizable form. To the right of the pink-hued building, one can make out the tracks of Round Hill Road, which Twachtman renders with delicate blue strokes. The work is unified by the atmospheric effects and soft tonal values, which seem to dematerialize the small structure and effectively blend it into the composition. Subtle shifts of color portray understated effects of light and a misty sky infuses the work with a profound sense of calm.