Icebound

Description

During the last decade of his life, John Henry Twachtman frequently painted views of the landscape surrounding his home in Greenwich, Connecticut. In a departure from typically barren images of winter, he enjoyed depicting the beauty of the frozen terrain, believing that it was conducive to contemplation and regeneration. The dense layers of paint in Icebound mimic the accumulation of snow on frozen ground, and the sinuous curves that define the snow and ice against the water suggest movement in an otherwise tranquil environment. Almost square in format, the painting’s harmonious composition exemplifies Twachtman’s opinion that “never is nature more lovely than when it is snowing.”

Provenance

John Forsythe, New York, by 1913; American Art Association, New York, 1913; N.E. Montross Gallery, New York, 1913; sold by them to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1917.

Icebound

John Henry Twachtman

c. 1889

Accession Number

72801

Medium

Oil on canvas

Dimensions

64.2 × 76.6 cm (25 5/16 × 30 3/16 in.)

Classification

Painting

Museum

The Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago, United States

Credit Line

Friends of American Art Collection