Harlem River Winter Scene 1910

Ernest Lawson made this painting of a winter scene on the Harlem River with oil on canvas. What hits you first is the heavy impasto, the way Lawson builds up a crusty surface with thick daubs of paint. It’s not just about representation; it’s about the material itself, its weight and texture. Look closely, and you can see how the paint application mimics the scene. The strokes are like the rough, granular texture of snow, the way it clumps and gathers on the ground. The color palette is muted – grays, blues, and greens – but there are subtle shifts, like the way the light hits the buildings and the water. Notice that little red flag near the middle of the composition. Lawson’s technique reminds me of the Impressionists, but he takes it a step further, pushing the materiality of paint to the foreground. He might have been looking at Monet or Pissarro. But, in the end, a painting is a conversation, a layering of ideas, and Lawson makes something new.