Rain on the River 1908

George Bellows made this landscape of a train passing through a park with oil on canvas, but when? There’s a damp atmosphere, a grey light, and a general haziness that veils everything, but then suddenly these thick strokes of white jump out at us, announcing a burst of steam, or maybe even the rain itself. It’s like Bellows has captured a passing moment, a fleeting sensation. You can almost smell the coal burning and hear the chugging sound of the train as it disappears into the distance. I imagine Bellows standing there, in the drizzle, furiously trying to capture the light as it filters through the clouds. You know, he's not just painting a scene, but also a mood, a feeling. It reminds me of some of the tonalist painters like Whistler, who were also interested in capturing atmospheric effects, but Bellows brings a distinctly American sensibility to it all. This picture is a painterly moment, both in the making and for us, the viewer.