Gallery 28

A Day in July

A Day in July by Louis Ritman

What are the psychological impacts of war?

A Day in July was painted during the final year of World War I, which dramatically disrupted life in Paris and the areas surrounding Giverny, the two places Ritman split his time between. Yet this work reveals none of the turmoil and devastation of those final months of war. Rather, Ritman’s patchwork of calm, harmonious colors and dappled light convey a sense of peace and repose.

Harlem River at High Bridge

Harlem River at High Bridge by Ernest Lawson

How has industry changed the landscape of America?

In 1893 Lawson left for France to study Impressionism at its source; he hoped “to keep my individuality and at the same time get as much of the best French influence as will be consistent with it.” He usually painted en plein air, working directly on the canvas without preliminary studies, later reworking paintings in his studio. In this work, Lawson presents a study in contrasts, juxtaposing aspects of modern city life with bucolic landscape elements inspired by French Impressionism.

Harlem River at High Bridge

Harlem River at High Bridge by Ernest Lawson

How has industry changed the landscape of America?

In 1893 Lawson left for France to study Impressionism at its source; he hoped “to keep my individuality and at the same time get as much of the best French influence as will be consistent with it.” He usually painted en plein air, working directly on the canvas without preliminary studies, later reworking paintings in his studio. In this work, Lawson presents a study in contrasts, juxtaposing aspects of modern city life with bucolic landscape elements inspired by French Impressionism.

Winter's Festival

Willard Leroy Metcalf, Winter's Festival

What does this winter scene promise?

Some American painters of winter scenes did not regard the season as cold and unforgiving. Instead, many had positive views of the potential inherent in depicting such landscapes. Metcalf may have agreed with the American essayist Hamilton Wright Mabie, who declared that “winter is the concealment, not absence of life, and the woods are as full of potential vitality when the snow covers them as when the summer strives in vain to penetrate the depths of their foliage.”

Winter's Festival

Willard Leroy Metcalf, Winter's Festival

What does this winter scene promise?

Some American painters of winter scenes did not regard the season as cold and unforgiving. Instead, many had positive views of the potential inherent in depicting such landscapes. Metcalf may have agreed with the American essayist Hamilton Wright Mabie, who declared that “winter is the concealment, not absence of life, and the woods are as full of potential vitality when the snow covers them as when the summer strives in vain to penetrate the depths of their foliage.”

Le verre de porto (A Dinner Table at Night)

Le verre de porto (A Dinner Table at Night) by John Singer Sargent

Do the colors in this scene evoke particular emotions?

This intimate scene featuring Albert and Edith Vickers takes place in the dining room of a country house in England. Sargent’s composition weds the informal portraiture of the conversation piece to the techniques of Impressionism. Mrs. Vickers occupies the center of the painting and looks directly at the viewer. Her hand rests on a glass of claret, while Mr. Vickers crosses his legs as he puffs on an after-dinner cigar, imparting a casual freshness to the scene.

Le verre de porto (A Dinner Table at Night)

Le verre de porto (A Dinner Table at Night) by John Singer Sargent

Do the colors in this scene evoke particular emotions?

This intimate scene featuring Albert and Edith Vickers takes place in the dining room of a country house in England. Sargent’s composition weds the informal portraiture of the conversation piece to the techniques of Impressionism. Mrs. Vickers occupies the center of the painting and looks directly at the viewer. Her hand rests on a glass of claret, while Mr. Vickers crosses his legs as he puffs on an after-dinner cigar, imparting a casual freshness to the scene.

Tulip Culture

Tulip Culture by George Hitchcock

Where do you find “symphonies of colors” in nature?

In 1883 the American painter Hitchcock settled in the Netherlands, making his home near Egmond aan Zee, which he helped transform into a significant artists’ colony. Inspired by the “symphonies of color” he found in the Dutch landscape, Hitchcock later published a series of articles titled “The Picturesque Quality of Holland,” in which he praised “the mysterious, endless fields . . . the opulence of tone and color; the unity and mystery of the vast meadows.”

Tulip Culture

Tulip Culture by George Hitchcock

Where do you find “symphonies of colors” in nature?

In 1883 the American painter Hitchcock settled in the Netherlands, making his home near Egmond aan Zee, which he helped transform into a significant artists’ colony. Inspired by the “symphonies of color” he found in the Dutch landscape, Hitchcock later published a series of articles titled “The Picturesque Quality of Holland,” in which he praised “the mysterious, endless fields . . . the opulence of tone and color; the unity and mystery of the vast meadows.”

Portrait of Miss D.

Portrait of Miss D. by William Merritt Chase

What questions does this portrait ask?

The subject of this elegant full-length portrait is Alice Dieudonnée, Chase’s oldest child with his wife, Alice Bremond Gerson. Chase often used family and friends as models for his paintings, and his wife and children were often recognized in public as the subjects in his work. As Alice grew older, she gradually replaced her mother and namesake as a favorite model, perhaps in part because she increasingly resembled her mother at the age she met the artist.