In his early canvases, Hibbard practiced a similar technique that produced a delicate pointillist feeling, which he called “broken color.” Equally important to Hibbard was Metcalf’s practice of painting outside in the middle of winter; Hibbard’s snow scenes of the Canadian Rocky Mountains and his many landscapes of the winters spent in Vermont attest to his love for painting in harsh conditions.

More information about this painting...

Painted with the dappled brushwork characteristic of works done earlier in his career, Signs of Spring in the Mountains demonstrates the artist’s strength for composition as the gently sloping terrain brings the eye into the scene and along the mountain’s incline to the lofty peak, wonderfully glowing with the late day’s sunlight. Although the winter’s snowpack is gradually disappearing, what remains is painted with Hibbard’s distinctive palette of soft blues, purples and pinks, thereby following the advice he imparted to his students that, “Snow is the most sensitive subject, subtly influenced by sudden changes in light. It is never dead white!”

Provenance:

By descent through the family of the artist

Labels:

1). A. T. Hibbard Collection / Ledgendsea / Gallery / Rockport / Massachusetts

2). (on frame) Artist / A. T. Hibbard, N.A. / Address / Rockport, Mass. / Tel. 546-2021