![]() Examples include East River Embankment, Winter (1900, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington), East River, Snow (1900, The Archer M. Many of Henri’s early New York cityscapes were snow scenes. Photo by Gérard Blot, a snowy view of the rue de Sèvres in Paris that had been purchased for the Musée du Luxembourg in 1899. ![]() Henri hoped to produce a painting for the occasion that would achieve a degree of critical acclaim comparable to that of La Neige Robert Henri, Snow (La Neige), 1899, oil on canvas, Musée d’Orsay, Paris. In March 1902 the dealer William Macbeth encouraged him to paint New York street scenes to be included in a solo exhibition scheduled for the following month. At this point in his career, the artist occupied himself with painting cityscapes similar to those he had recently executed in Paris. By June 1901 he had established a studio in the Sherwood Building on the corner of West 57th Street and Sixth Avenue, and in September he began to live there. In the summer of 1900, Robert Henri returned from a lengthy stay in Paris and rented a house in New York City on East 58th Street overlooking the East River. While a buyer was found for Snow in New York, only one other work sold, prompting Henri to turn his attention primarily to portraiture. Henri hoped to produce a painting for the occasion that would achieve a degree of critical acclaim comparable to that of La Neige (1899, Louvre, Paris), a snowy view of the rue de Sèvres in Paris that had been purchased for the Musée du Luxembourg in 1899. In March 1902 the dealer William Macbeth encouraged him to paint New York cityscapes for inclusion in a solo exhibition scheduled for the following month. Having returned to New York City in 1900 following an extended stay in Paris, Henri eventually established a studio and living quarters in the Sherwood Building on the corner of West 57th Street and Sixth Avenue. In his Record Book, Henri described Snow in New York as, “N.Y. Robert Henri’s energetic but stark image of New York in the snow deviates from impressionist urban snow scenes of the period in several ways: it represents a common side street rather than a major avenue there is nothing narrative, anecdotal, or prettified about the image the straightforward, one-point perspective composition is devoid of trivial details the exceptionally daring, textured brushwork resembles a preparatory study rather than a finished oil painting and the somber palette creates a dark, oppressive atmosphere. ![]() The artist signed and dated the painting in the lower left corner, “Robert Henri Mar 5 1902.” In the distance, the sky between the buildings is parchment brown. The snow is painted in tones of ivory and cream white. The globe dangles from the curved top of the lamppost. A single lamppost stands about halfway back along the street to our left. Painted with a few strokes in black, golden yellow, and crimson red, people walk or stand along both sides of the street. Closest to us and to our right, the horse and carriage move away from us. Two-story houses with steps leading down to the street line the composition to each side, and the taller buildings beyond stretch off the top edge of the canvas. The buildings to each side are painted in tones of coffee and earth brown along the street, and oatmeal brown and slate gray for the buildings farther from us. The overcast scene is loosely painted with visible brushstrokes throughout, so some details are difficult to make out. A snowy street with a horse and carriage is flanked to each side by tall buildings in this vertical painting. ![]()
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