The Waterfall

Artist John Henry Twachtman (American, 1853–1902)

Dateabout 1890

Mediumoil on canvas

Dimensionscanvas: 76.2 × 76.5 cm (30 × 30 1/8 in.)
framed: 117.5 × 117.5 × 6.4 cm (46 1/4 × 46 1/4 × 2 1/2 in.)

ClassificationsPaintings

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Terms

Object number1907.91

Label TextIn the 1890s, Twachtman began a series of cascading streams at Horseneck Falls near his farm in Cos Cob, Connecticut. Inspired by French Impressionist Claude Monet, who sequentially depicted the same scenery under various times of day, Twachtman repeatedly painted this meditative subject with varying degrees of light and color. The hidden horizon line in this square composition draws attention to the foamy, blue-green water flowing down the rocky ledge, with loose brushwork suggesting activity rather than tranquility. The Waterfall expresses Twachtman’s emotional response to secluded, untouched countryside: “I feel more and more contented with the isolation of country life. To be isolated is a fine thing and we are then nearer to nature.”Provenance(Copley Gallery, Boston, ?-1907); WAM, 1907

On View

Not on view