Love of Winter
George Wesley Bellows (American, 1882–1925)
1914
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Classification
- Painting
- Dimensions
- 81.6 × 101.6 cm (32 1/2 × 40 1/2 in.)
- Culture
- New York
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago, Arts of the Americas
- Credit line
- Friends of American Art Collection
- Rights
- Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Tweens profiles and older: its subjects are known and suit older children. How works are placed
View at the Art Institute of Chicago
About this work
In January 1914 George Bellows wrote to a friend, “There has been none of my favorite snow. I must always paint the snow at least once a year.” Soon after, on February 13, a major blizzard hit New York City, inspiring the artist to paint Love of Winter. He used bright reds, yellows, and greens to intensify the winter scene and broad, slashing brushstrokes to convey movement, wind, and speed. The energetic group of skaters and onlookers, composed of people of a range of ages and social classes, reflects the diverse populations who enjoyed the public parks and the leisure activities they offered in early 20th-century New York City.
Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0
