![]() |
| Wharf Scene in Winter, c. 1910, Charles Salis Kaelin |
We woke up to yet another grey, snow-covered day with a
temperature of 12° F. and all-day snow on the forecast. It’s a good thing snow
is beautiful, and ever so paintable. Here are three snow scenes from American
masters.
Charles Salis Kaelin was one of the earliest American
exponents of Divisionism (or Chromoluminarism). This is the style invented by
Georges Suerat, where colors are separated into individual dots or patches
which interact optically.
Kaelin was a
respected member of the art colony at Rockport, Massachusetts.
![]() |
| Snow scene by Emile Albert Gruppé . He painted many variations on this theme—mountains, stream, snow. |
Emile Albert Gruppé was born in Rochester, NY, but
spent his formative years in the Netherlands. He was the son of painter Charles
P. Gruppé. The family returned permanently to the United States in 1913 as the
political situation in Europe deteriorated. Gruppé was one of the most famous
of the Cape Ann painters, establishing himself in Gloucester, MA.
![]() |
| Winter Rocky Landscape, William Partridge Burpee. There's a hint of Spring in there. |
William Partridge Burpee was born in Rockland, ME. He
studied with marine painter William Bradford in the late 1870s and began
painting in the luminist marine style of Fitz Hugh Lane. He began showing in
Boston in the 1880s but did not take up pastel until after a Grand Tour to
Europe in 1897, where he became more familiar with impressionism. In 1914, he
returned to his birthplace, where he died in 1940.
Let me know if you’re interested in painting with me in Maine in 2014 or Rochester at any time. Click here for more information on my Maine workshops!


