View of the Brush House

About the Art

Born in Cincinnati, John Henry Twachtman studied and worked in Europe, eventually settling in Connecticut where he made this painting. Twachtman helped found the American Impressionist group, The Ten American Painters, often referred to simply as “The Ten.” They emphasized painting local places outdoors with a light palette of colors often selected to recreate atmospheric conditions.

This oil painting was most likely painted outside, or en plein air. Note its gestural quality and limited palette—with few paint colors and quick, loose brushstrokes, Twachtman achieved a great deal of atmosphere, depth and sense of place. The structure on the right clues us in to the location. The two-story building is the Brush House that sat across from the Bush-Holley House in Cos Cob, Connecticut, the home of the Cos Cob Artist Colony in which Twachtman participated.

In the painting’s bottom left-hand corner is a red, oval stamp reading “Twachtman Sale” and is a remaining sign of its inclusion in the estate sale of Twachtman’s art after his death.

FEATURED IMAGE
John Henry Twachtman (American, 1853–1902), View of the Brush House, Cos Cob, Connecticut, about 1901–1902, oil on canvas, 30 1/8 x 30 1/4 inches (76.5 x 76.8 cm). Gift of Mr. William P. Patterson, 1988.66