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Julian Alden Weir
(American, 1852 - 1919)
Springtime
ca. 1890-1910
6 3/4 × 6 in. (17.1 × 15.2 cm)
2016.11.31
Richard M. Scaife Bequest, 2015
On view
This diminutive painting is precisely the type of quick study an American Impressionist such as J. Alden Weir would make out in the field. Portable easels, pre-mixed paints, and an array of brushes could easily be packed up and carried—along with an umbrella and camp stool for comfort—for a day of plein air painting. Weir frequently did this type of painting in Connecticut, where he worked at the Cos Cob art colony and later around his own home in Ridgefield. Weir captured the fresh green fields and new leaves in combination with the coral and lavender atmospheric effects for a small remembrance of the dazzling, although brief, appearance of spring.