American Art and Pennsylvania Impressionists

This painting will be included in the forthcoming Catalogue Raisonné of Edward Redfield's work being compiled by Dr. Thomas Folk.

In 1903, Edward Redfield was advised by one of his leading patrons, Dr. Samuel Woodward, to travel to Maine for the summer. While the first trip was generously financed by his friend, Redfield and his wife would return on their own to the charming village of Boothbay Harbor, where they eventually bought a house for their family.

The appeal for Maine was not new, as many artists had visited the wild region since the mid-1800s, some even establishing an artist colony on the picturesque and remote Monhegan Island. For Redfield, Maine offered a drastic change of scenery. Miles away from Centre Bridge, Pennsylvania, the artist would explore the rugged hills, shallow beaches, and picturesque fishing villages. Maine provided Redfield with the liberating opportunity to capture untouched, raw forms of life unique to the northern seacoast.

Executed en plein air, Snug Harbor exudes the simple and peaceful way of life in Maine, and features many local aspects that Redfield has already introduced in earlier, similar subjects such as Peaceful Harbor and Monhegan Home, namely the typical and austere cedar shake fisherman house by the beach, the docked boat and fishing equipment in the foreground, the grassy and rugged hills in the distance, and most importantly, the vast expanse of the sea, here captured on a sunny day in shimmering hues of yellow, green, blue and purple on which the colorful boats rock. The painting, jolly and peaceful, conveys a sense of anonymity as no human figure is in sight, and overall tranquility: summer, at last, is here.