Schofield
Impressionist Landscapes
Reception: September 4, 2015, 5–7pm
Walter Elmer Schofield (1866–1944) was a leading figure among the Pennsylvania landscape painters working in the Bucks County / New Hope area. He is best known for his vibrant, masterfully painted winter scenes of snow-covered riverbanks along the Wissahickon, Schuylkill, and Delaware Rivers and as well for his bright, summer views of cottages and the rocky coastline of Cornwall, England. Schofield gained prominence during the early decades of the twentieth century, showing his work widely and successfully in major museums, expositions, and galleries in New England, New York, the Mid-Atlantic, and the Midwest.
Schofield was born in Philadelphia and attended the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (1889–1892) and the Académie Julian in Paris (1892–1894). In spite of such academic influences, Schofield, like many American artists, was drawn to the French impressionists, who, in the 1870s, painted out-of-doors (en plein-air) with vigorous daubs of color in a manner that challenged the artistic establishment.
By the turn of the century, Schofield developed a style that integrated the plein-air qualities of the impressionists with the vibrant color contrast of the realists. This manner, which is displayed in the works selected for this exhibition, became a hallmark of the Pennsylvania impressionists.
Schofield: Impressionist Landscapes presents an intimate selection of seventeen works by the artist. It complements the pioneering retrospective exhibition organized by the Woodmere Art Museum (2014), drawing together key works from that venue as well as from other important collections.
This exhibition is organized by THE TROUT GALLERY.
Hill Country, 1913
Woodmere Art Museum
