East River Snow (Blackwell's Island)
Primary
Robert Henri
(Cincinnati, Ohio, 1865–New York, New York, 1929)
NationalityAmerican, North America
Date1900
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsSight: 25 1/4 × 32 1/16 in. (64.2 × 81.4 cm)
Framed: 35 × 42 in. (88.9 × 106.7 cm)
Framed: 35 × 42 in. (88.9 × 106.7 cm)
Credit LineBlanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin, Gift of Mari and James A. Michener, 1991.236
Rights Statement
Collection AreaModern and Contemporary Art
Object number1991.236
On View
Not on viewA stretch of gold just above the horizon line seems to promise relief for New Yorkers living and working along a snow and ice-clogged East River. Robert Henri’s East River Snow (Blackwell's Island) captures the subtle changes of light and color characteristic of an oppressive winter sky.
Henri painted at least fifteen scenes of Blackwell’s Island (now Roosevelt Island) on the East River in New York City. This work, painted early in Henri’s career, reveals Parisian influences with its delicate treatment of light and color. Henri’s dark, brooding palette of grays, browns, and greens is foretelling, though, as it evokes a mood more in tune with the sober realism he would later help create.
