Attributed to Thomas Birch (American, 1797-1851). A Country Scene in Winter with a City in the Distance. Oil on canvas, 26 x 36 inches, within gilded and carved frame. The son of William Birch, engraver and painter of enamel miniatures, Thomas Birch was one of the first professional marine painters in America, but was also noted for his landscapes, which he began painting in the early 1830s. Many of the latter were snow scenes of the eastern Pennsylvania countryside outside of Philadelphia, although others depicted the Hudson River Valley.