Ernest Lawson (Canadian/American, 1873-1939) - Ice House

Signed and dated ‘Ernest Lawson/96’ bottom right; also inscribed with the painting's first owner's details verso, oil on canvas16 x 20 (40.6 x 50.8cm)

Provenance

The Artist.

Collection of Miss Emilie Vaughn, Forest Hill, Asheville, North Carolina (per inscription verso).

Private Collection, Pennsylvania.

Lot essay
A member of The Eight and known for his jewel-like compositions of the Berkshires, Ernest Lawson was born in 1873 in Nova Scotia, before emigrating to the United States in 1888. At 18, the artist moved to New York, where he enrolled at the Arts Students League, studying under John Twachtman, who first introduced him to Impressionism - a trend he would further explore at the Cos Cob summer art school throughout the 1890s.

The present work dates from a pivotal moment in the artist's career as 1896 marked Lawson's return to the United States from France, where he had spent several years studying, and even exhibited at the local Salon. With its free, yet precise touch, and careful attention to the dazzling winter light, the present work is a compelling example of Lawson's early Impressionist style, directly driven from the French influence.