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After Snow was painted during one of Hartley’s early visits to Maine. The immensity of the mountains and the effect of the changing seasons on the landscape fascinated the young artist. Painted in muted, dark colors with impressionistic, feathery brushstrokes, After Snow not only reveals Hartley’s knowledge of Post-Impressionism but also pays homage to his favorite American artist, Albert Pinkham Ryder. Despite the active brushstrokes, the vertical trees frame the mountain and stabilize the composition. The introduction of trees as compositional devices is also reminiscent of Paul Cezanne, whose painting Hartley greatly admired. Generally, the scene is subdued.
After Snow was one of Duncan Phillips’s favorite works. According to Phillips, Hartley’s painting was a "brave beginning."
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