Icy River (West River, Vermont) exemplifies Hibbard’s gift for finding elements of beauty in an otherwise commonplace scene of a partially frozen river bank. With passages of yellow and pink, he has rendered the sun’s rays falling on the snow and against the tree trunks and sloping mountainside on the far side of the water, thereby imbuing a chilly winter scene with undeniable warmth and optimism. 

More information about this painting...

Trained at the Boston Museum School, Hibbard carried forth the tenets of traditional academic art into the 20^th century. He exhibited widely in New York, Philadelphia and Chicago, and launched himself in the Boston art world with a one-man exhibition at the Boston Art Club in 1916. Three years later, a show of his winter scenes at the Guild of Boston Artists received glowing reviews.

Hibbard had long been interested in snow-covered landscapes, and at the recommendation of fellow Boston artist and Fenway Studios resident William J. Kaula, he first traveled to Vermont in 1915 and was immediately taken with the mountains, valleys, and charming residents of the region. By the 1930s, Hibbard established a schedule of spending the winter months in Vermont, and the rest of the year in Rockport, Massachusetts, where he had earlier established the Rockport Summer School of Drawing and Painting. He grew to become a legendary member of the North Shore artists’ colony.

A leader in the community, he remained active in nearby Boston, and in 1965 the Guild of Boston Artists, where Hibbard had exhibited for 45 years, mounted a retrospective exhibition of his work.

Provenance:

Collection of Robert C. Vose, Jr., Duxbury, Massachusetts

Eventually by descent to collection of Abbot W. and Marcia L. Vose, Duxbury, Massachusetts

Inscription:

1. (verso of canvas prior to lining) #75 #120 / “Icy River”
2. (on frame in pencil, upper right) Property of / Robert  C. Vose Jr. / (underneath in pen) AWV
3. (on frame in black) West River, Vermont

Labels:

(on frame) Rockport Art Association / Rockport, Massachusetts / Artist: A. T. Hibbard / Title: “Icey (sic) River” / Price: $800 Medium: Oil