The Hills

Preston Dickinson, The Hills, ca. 1919, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Flora E. H. Shawan from the Ferdinand Howald Collection, 1965.11.1
Copied Preston Dickinson, The Hills, ca. 1919, oil on canvas, 2427 in. (61.068.5 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Flora E. H. Shawan from the Ferdinand Howald Collection, 1965.11.1
Free to use

Artwork Details

Title
The Hills
Date
ca. 1919
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
2427 in. (61.068.5 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of Flora E. H. Shawan from the Ferdinand Howald Collection
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Keywords
  • Landscape — mountain
  • Landscape — farm
  • Architecture Exterior — farm — barn
  • Architecture Exterior — domestic — farmhouse
Object Number
1965.11.1

Artwork Description

Preston Dickinson painted The Hills a few years after he returned to New York from France. He admired the work of the French modernist painters, especially Paul Cézanne, who transformed his subjects into simple shapes and planes of color. Dickinson composed this landscape from triangles and curves, and even the clouds reflect the shapes of the hills and buildings. The expressive brushstrokes and vibrant color evoke an energetic, windswept day in the countryside of New York.