Lingering Winter, 1925
Oil on canvas, 30 x 36”
Signed and dated lower left
A wilderness artist at first, Crane grew to prefer landscapes with a human touch. From the 1920s to 1937, he was often in Old Lyme, finding his subject matter in the neighboring woods, meadows, and hills. A Tonalist, he made oil or pencil sketches on site, then painted scenes like this in his Bronxville, New York, studio.
In Lingering Winter, Crane composed subtle rhythms and patterns out of saplings and snow, blending the close color harmonies of Tonalism with the high horizon, spatial shallowness, and robust brushwork of Impressionism. His aim was essence, not detail.