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Willard Metcalf preceded Ernest Lawson at the "Acadamie Julian." Lawson was a painter committed to the Impressionist aesthetic and was a member of the "Ashcan" School, a loosely organized group of American artists working in the impressionist style. Swollen Brook typifies Metcalf's late work. He employs the device of a meandering stream, drawing the eye back and forth across the picture plane towards the foothills. The quick, short brush strokes convey a lush new growth on the land, an illusion reinforced by the palette. The painting makes reference to the French Impressionist style but is assuredly American. | ||