Aldro Thompson Hibbard (1886-1972)
Gloucester Boats, c. 1920-25
signed "A.T. Hibbard" lower right
oil on canvas on board, 18 by 24 in.
titled on back

Aldro Hibbard was born in Falmouth, Massachusetts, in 1886. After high school, he enrolled at the Boston Museum School in 1909, where he studied under notable impressionists Frank W. Benson, Philip Hale, and Edmund C. Tarbell.

Upon graduating from the Museum School in 1913, Hibbard was awarded the Paige Traveling Scholarship, like Aiden Lassell Ripley; however, his time in Europe was cut short by the outbreak of World War I. After his return, Hibbard took space at Fenway Studios in Boston. He had a one-man show at the Boston Art Club in 1916, and, according to Judith Curtis, "The show attracted critical acclaim from both the public and the press that brought Hibbard's name to the fore, where it remained in the vanguard of American art for the next half century."

"Even as a young man Hibbard did not care for the confines of the studio. He wanted to be outdoors amid Nature, observing the world around him first hand. "Nature," he often said, "is constantly changing, offering fresh challenges. She won't come to your studio; you must go to her," Curtis continues.

Hibbard first visited Rockport, Massachusetts, in the spring of 1919, returning the next summer and starting the Hibbard School of Painting, also known as Rockport Summer School, as well as the Rockport Art Association. Hibbard directed the Summer School of Painting and Drawing for nearly thirty years. He co-founded the Rockport Art Colony, and today the Rockport Art Association is located in his former studio.

Among other honors, he was a member of the Guild of Boston Artists, the National Academy of Design in New York, and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia. He spent winters in Vermont with his wife, Winifred Jackman, who grew up in El Paso, Texas.

In this work, Hibbard brings his characteristic painterly attention to detail to this coastal scene. He expertly captures the New England light on the water. The angled verticals and the reflection of the ships and rigging on the water creates a dynamic composition.

The painting was featured in the popular 2012 exhibition, "A.T. Hibbard, N.A., American Master," held at the Rockport Art Association on the fortieth anniversary of the artist"s death.

Provenance: Private Collection, FloridaExhibited: Rockport, Massachusetts, Rockport Art Association, "Aldro T. Hibbard, N.A.," October 5-November 11, 2012Literature: Judith A. Curtis, "A.T. Hibbard, N.A. (1886-1972) American Master," Rockport, MA, 2012, pp. 8, 30, 39, and 51, illustrated.

Please email condition report requests to leah@copleyart.com. Any condition statement given is a courtesy to customers, Copley will not be held responsible for any errors or omissions. The absence of a condition statement does not imply that the lot is in perfect condition.