The First Snowfall c. 1877 - 1887

Arthur Bowen Davies created this pastel drawing, titled "The First Snowfall," during a time of significant transformation in American art and society. Davies, who had a vision that moved between romanticism and modernism, often portrayed scenes that evoked a sense of longing and idyllic beauty. Here, in a muted palette, we see a landscape rendered with soft, ethereal strokes; the delicate lines capture the quiet stillness of a winter scene with bare trees and a dusting of snow, where a black cat crosses the landscape. His choice of subject matter departs from traditional representations of pastoral landscapes by infusing it with a sense of personal experience. The scene is less about documenting a specific location and more about conveying a mood, an emotional state of quiet contemplation and solitude. "The First Snowfall" resonates as a reflection of the artist’s inner world, inviting us to ponder the simple, yet profound beauty of nature and the emotions it stirs within us.