Winter Scene in Moonlight
1869
Medium
Watercolor and gouache on white wove paper
Dimensions
11 7/8 x 15 3/16 in. (30.2 x 38.6 cm)
Classification
Watercolor
Culture
American
Department
The American Wing
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Morris K. Jesup Fund, Martha and Barbara Fleischman, and Katherine and Frank Martucci Gifts, 1999
Accession Number
1999.19
Tags
Art Historical Context
Henry Farrer's *Winter Scene in Moonlight* (1869) captures the serene magic of a frozen nocturnal landscape, rendered in watercolor and gouache on white wove paper. This intimate work, measuring just under 12 by 15 inches, evokes the hush of a wintry night illuminated by the moon's glow, with stark trees silhouetted against a pale sky. As an American artist working in the late 19th century, Farrer draws viewers into nature's quiet drama, a theme resonant in the Hudson River School tradition of celebrating the American wilderness. The choice of watercolor—transparent and fluid—paired with goua...
About the Artist
Henry Farrer
Henry Farrer (1843–1903) was a British-born American etcher and watercolorist who played a significant role in the development of the etching revival in the United States during the latter half of the nineteenth century. Born in London, Farrer emigrated to the United States, where he became a founding member of the New York Etching Club in 1877, an organization that brought together American print...