Rural New England locale; clouded sky; snow covered fields with wooded area at left; fallen tree in foreground; two farmhouses with barns at center right with three skaters on pond in center; two people with oxen pulling sleigh-load of wood in front of pond.
landscapes (representations)
paintings (visual works)
canvas
oil paint (paint)
Painting
"Cherished Possessions": William Titcomb's idyllic depiction of a snowy New Hampshire landscape suggests the dual nature of New England's winter. At once beautiful and threatening, winter was a time of leisure for some, hard work for others, and bitter cold for most. From the skaters at play to the farmer and his helper returning from a hard day's work, their oxen dragging a sledge loaded with that day's felled timber, Titcomb's scene suggests bone-chilling cold and the promise of warmth in the snow-laden house.
"Artful Stories": With its smoking chimney on a snow-covered house and its sunset-tinged sky, William Titcombs depiction of a wintery New Hampshire landscape is iconic. Children play on a pond as a farmer leads home his ox pulling a sledge filled with the lumber he has cut down for next years use. As appealing as the scene is, the approaching cloud cover in the distance and the fallen tree in the foreground are troubling.
Original to Rundlet-May House (Portsmouth, N.H.),
Titcomb, William H., 1823-1888 (Artist)
New Hampshire, United States
28 3/4 x 36 3/8 (HxW) (inches)
Gift of Ralph May
1971.590
Massachusetts (United States)
New Hampshire (United States)
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