Schofield’s expressive brushstrokes capture the wheel-rutted, man-made road that cuts through a snowy landscape, teeming with life even in the low, faint sun—note the swirling impasto with which the artist painted the snow, and the dormant plants in the ditch that runs along the roadside. The road disappears at the horizon line, bringing the viewer’s attention to a stand of mature trees in the upper right. The artist’s philosophy was as follows: “Vitality and convincing quality only come to the man who serves, not in the studio, but out in the open where even the things he fights against strengthen him, because you see, nature is always vital . . . and never denies a vision to the real lover.”
A leading figure of American Impressionism, Schofield was born in Philadelphia. After briefly attending Swarthmore College, he worked as a cowboy in Texas, where ranch hands encouraged him to pursue art. He went on to attend the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia and the Académie Julian in Paris, where he studied French Impressionism. In 1902 he settled in St. Ives, Cornwall, painting its rugged coasts and harbors while returning to Pennsylvania in the winters.
![Untitled [Harbor Scene]](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/68961b6b3189b29172d19dc9/691c6cb29a992de3c88fec8a_Schofield_2004.42_WEB-1.avif)
