HARRY LEITH-ROSS (American, 1886-1973). The Sleigh. Oil on canvas. 24 x 30 inches (61.0 x 76.2 cm). Signed lower left: ...

Description

HARRY LEITH-ROSS (American, 1886-1973)
The Sleigh
Oil on canvas
24 x 30 inches (61.0 x 76.2 cm)
Signed lower left: Leith Ross
Titled and signed stretcher verso: The Sleigh Leith Ross

PROVENANCE:
Private collection, Grand Rapids, Michigan, c. 1945;
Thence by descent to the present owner.

Best known for his snow-covered landscapes, Harry Leith-Ross was among the most celebrated artists of the New Hope School of American Impressionism. Leith-Ross painted en plein air with the Pennsylvania countryside as his favored subject, and became a leader of this genre in the early to mid-twentieth century. His fellow painter John Folinsbee noted that his scenes were "outstanding records of his favorite terrain, Bucks County in Pennsylvania - its moods, its quality, its roads, mills and farm lands - subjects lived with and known through years of understanding" (Watercolors by Harry Leith-Ross, exh. cat. New York: Ferargil Galleries, 1946).

Harry Leith-Ross was born in the British colony of Mauritius and grew up in Scotland and England. He began his art training at the Decluse Academy and the Académie Julian in Paris. In 1910, the young artist came to the U.S. and began painting studies at the National Academy of Design and at the Art Students League Summer School in Woodstock, New York. In Woodstock, Leith-Ross was influenced by and forged close relationships with the painters Birge Harrison, John F. Carlson, and John Folinsbee. He was introduced to the New Hope artists' colony in 1914 when he began spending winters at Birge Harrison's winter home there and became well acquainted with the colony's leading Impressionists, including Edward Redfield and Daniel Garber. Leith-Ross would continue to visit and paint in New Hope, becoming an increasingly prominent member of the artists' circle, and in 1935 he made his permanent residence there.

Leith-Ross gained renown for depicting humble genre scenes of rural life and finding beauty in the everyday activities of people in the countryside. For more than thirty years he traveled the country exhibiting his vibrant works to great acclaim, and received numerous prizes and glowing reviews from art critics. His snow scenes in particular garnered praise for their distinct charm, skillful rendering and universal appeal. The Herald Tribune art critic Royal Cortissoz wrote, "Anyone of ordinary ability can paint a recognizable picture of our typical woods and pastures, but arresting the imponderable spirit of these things is another story. Mr. Leith-Ross arrests it, especially when he is painting snow scenes. There he seems to get into his impression the very essence of the old-fashioned American country house, the worn barn and its more or less unkempt surroundings." (Erika Jaeger-Smith, Poetry in Design: The Art of Harry Leith-Ross, Doylestown: James A. Michener Art Museum, 2006, p. 60)

Painted in jewel-like hues and thick, impastoed brushwork, The Sleigh is a superb example of Leith-Ross' ability to transform a common scene of everyday life into a sophisticated and eye-catching composition. Leith-Ross masterfully contrasts sunlight with shadow, as well as the stark white blanket of snow in the foreground with a vibrant backdrop of colorful trees. In this scene, a solitary figure is transported by a horse-drawn sleigh along a trodden path and past a sleepy, shuttered cottage. In the trees and foliage, amber, emerald and violet hues are interwoven to dazzling effect. Leith-Ross' scene conveys a sense of rural tranquility while its lively color palette, brilliant sunlight, and charming sleigh create a vivid and idyllic representation of country life.




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