High Bridge - Early Moon 1910

Ernest Lawson created ‘High Bridge – Early Moon’ with oil on canvas, and it’s a real textural feast. You can practically feel the paint, applied in these chunky, delicious strokes. Lawson was really part of this group of artists called ‘The Eight,’ and they were all about showing everyday life, and ordinary scenes, especially in New York. The way he builds up the surface here, it's almost sculptural, like he’s constructing the landscape right there on the canvas. I love how he captures the light hitting the water, it's all broken and shimmering. Look at those dabs of yellow and green – they give it this amazing, almost vibrating energy. It makes me think of someone like Van Gogh, with that same kind of intense, emotional connection to the landscape, but Lawson’s got his own thing, a real American grit. It's a reminder that painting isn't just about representation, it’s about feeling, about being present in the world, and trying to catch it, just for a moment.