John Henry Twachtman
American, 1853­1902
Icebound
1889­1900
Oil on canvas
64.1 x 76.5 cm
Friends of American Art Collection, 1917.200

Even though its title suggests a landscape that is frozen and still, what is moving in this tranquil winter scene? What provides bright spots of color in the generally blue and white landscape?

Like the French Impressionists, whose style deeply influenced him, Twachtman painted the same scene over and over again in order to capture on canvas the effects of light at different times of day and in different seasons. Icebound was painted on the farm near Cos Cob, Connecticut, where the artist settled in 1889.