Brook in June

In Brook in June Willard Leroy Metcalf portrays a springtime scene in the Oak Ridge section of Woodbury, a small historic town in central Connecticut. The painting places the viewer close to the rushing, shallow stream that cuts through the landscape, leading the eye toward the rising slopes in the distance as it snakes past typical rural New England wood-frame houses and outbuildings. Metcalf rendered forms in series of rapidly applied, open parallel brushstrokes for an almost shimmering effect, apparent here in the sky and in the foliage of the trees that frame the scene on either side. Such technique captured the transience of a spring day, suggesting the rapid, even audible flow of stream water and the breeze moving clouds across a fair-weather sky. At the same time, the deliberately balanced composition, with its nearly square format, echoes the stability and sense of timelessness for which many of the artist’s contemporaries looked to such scenes of America’s rural roots.

The painting’s mood of contentment reflects the relative peace of Metcalf’s life in 1911, one of the happiest years in a career marred by marital instability and alcoholism. In January, he wedded his second wife, Henriette, who was thirty years his junior; although the marriage would soon prove unhappy for both, its first months were idyllic and professionally productive for Metcalf. An exhibition of his paintings was set to tour the country, and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia, for which he served as an exhibition juror soon after the wedding, awarded him a medal for meritorious service. After spending their honeymoon in Cornish, New Hampshire, site of a seasonal artists’ colony with which the painter was associated, the couple took up residence in New York City. Brook in June indicates that Metcalf soon resumed his rambles in search of compatible subjects for his landscape painting.

Metcalf’s paintings of 1911 demonstrate his continuing interest in typical New England scenery and towns, the artist’s most important source of subjects since 1905. In these works, Metcalf forged an American interpretation of impressionism, a mode first developed in France. His landscapes celebrate the distinctive color and light of rural New England, explore the diversity of its seasons, and evoke its cultural traditions and long past through its historic architecture. Metcalf’s New England is a place of rich associations and collective memory, yet the freshness and spontaneity of his impressionist technique emphasizes immediate, transient, and sensory experience of the landscape. Carefully composed for balance, stability, and steady recession into the distance, Brook in June also conveys the lively perceptions of the artist as he painted outdoors and on site, according to impressionist methods.

American Paintings from the Collection of Daniel J. Terra, Museum of Art, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania (organizer). Venue: Museum of Art, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, June 5–July 17, 1977 (as Oak Ridge). [exh. cat.]

The Ten, Art Museum of South Texas, Corpus Christi, Texas, November 11–December 31, 1977 (as The River). [exh. cat.]

American Impressionism, Henry Art Gallery, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington (organizer). Venues: Henry Art Gallery, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, January 3–March 2, 1980; Frederick S. Wight Gallery, University of California at Los Angeles, California, March 9–May 4, 1980; Terra Museum of American Art, Evanston, Illinois, May 16–June 22, 1980; The Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, Massachusetts, July 1–August 31, 1980. [exh. cat.]

An International Episode: Millet, Monet and their North American Counterparts, The Dixon Gallery and Gardens, Memphis, Tennessee (organizer). Venues: The Dixon Gallery and Gardens, Memphis, Tennessee, November 21–December 23, 1982; Terra Museum of American Art, Evanston, Illinois, January 8–February 13, 1983; Worcester Art Museum, Worcester, Massachusetts, March 3–April 30, 1983 (as The River). [exh. cat.]

Selections from a Special Collection, Federal Reserve System, Board of Governors, Washington, D.C. (organizer). Venue: Marriner S. Eccles Federal Reserve Board Building, Washington, D.C., September 19–October 30, 1984. [exh. cat.]

Selections from the Permanent Collection, Terra Museum of American Art, Evanston, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Evanston, Illinois, July 19–September 14, 1985.

A Proud Heritage: Two Centuries of American Art, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, April 21–June 21, 1987. [exh. cat.]

An American Revelation: The Daniel J. Terra Collection, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, February 28–October 1, 1988.

American Impressionists, Reynolda House, Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, October 6–December 31, 1989.

Un regard américain sur Paris (An American Glance at Paris), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, April 11–October 31, 1997.

Rivières et rivages: les artistes américains, 1850–1900 (Waves and Waterways: American Perspectives, 1850–1900), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, April 1–October 31, 2000. [exh. cat.]

Giverny au fil des saisons (Giverny in All Seasons), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, April 1–November 30, 2001.

The French Experience: American Artists at Giverny, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, July 27–October 20, 2002.

A Place on the Avenue: Terra Museum of American Art Celebrates 15 Years in Chicago, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, November 16, 2002–February 16, 2003 (on exhibit extended run: November 2, 2002–February 16, 2003).

Deux collections en regard: oeuvres de la Terra Foundation for the Arts et du Detroit Institute of Arts (Side by Side: Works from the Terra Foundation for the Arts and the Detroit Institute of Arts), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, March 2–June 1, 2003. [exh. cat.]

Copley to Cassatt: Masterworks from the Terra Collection, New Britain Museum of American Art, New Britain, Connecticut and Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: New Britain Museum of American Art, New Britain, Connecticut, September 5–December 7, 2003.

A Narrative of American Art, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, February 13–October 31, 2004.

Manifest Destiny, Manifest Responsibility: Environmentalism and the Art of the American Landscape. Terra Foundation for American Art, Chicago, Illinois and Loyola University Museum of Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizers). Venue: Loyola University Museum of Art, May 17–August 10, 2008. [exh. cat.]

The Studio of Nature, 1860-1910: The Terra Collection in Context (L’atelier de la Nature, 1860-1910. Invitation à la Terra Collection). Terra Foundation for American Art with the Musée des Impressionnismes Giverny (organizers). Venue: Musée des Impressionnismes Giverny, France, September 12, 2020–January 3, 2021. [exh. cat. in French]

Driscoll, J. P. American Paintings from the Collection of Daniel J. Terra. (exh. cat., Museum of Art, The Pennsylvania State University). University Park, Pennsylvania: Museum of Art, The Pennsylvania State University, 1977. Ill. (black & white as Oak Ridge).

Hoopes, Donelson. The Ten. (exh. cat., Art Museum of South Texas). Corpus Christi, Texas: Art Museum of South Texas, 1977. Ill. p. 37 (black & white as The River).

Gerdts, William H. American Impressionism. (exh. cat., Henry Art Gallery). Seattle, Washington: Henry Art Gallery, University of Washington, 1980. Text p. 134 (checklist); ill. p. 81 (color as The River).

Meixner, Laura L. An International Episode: Millet, Monet and Their North American Counterparts. (exh. cat., The Dixon Gallery and Gardens). Memphis, Tennessee: The Dixon Gallery and Gardens, 1982. Cat. no. 46, p. 164 (checklist); pl. 46, p. 182 (color as The River).

Goley, Mary Anne. Selections from a Special Collection. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, 1984. Text pp. 7, 13 (checklist); fig. no. 24, p. 6 (black & white).

De Veer, Elizabeth and Richard J. Boyle. Sunlight and Shadow: The Life and Art of Willard L. Metcalf. New York: Abbeville Press Publishers, 1987. Fig. 290, p. 247 (black & white).

Atkinson, D. Scott et al. A Proud Heritage: Two Centuries of American Art. Edited by Terry A. Neff. (exh. cat., Terra Museum of American Art). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 1987. Pl. T-98, p. 207 (color).

Gerdts, William H. et al. Lasting Impressions: American Painters in France, 1865–1915. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 1992. Text p. 47; fig. 36, p. 46 (black & white).

Gerdts, William H. et al. Impressions de toujours: les peintres américains en France, 1865–1915. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 1992. Text p. 47; fig. 36, p. 46 (black & white).

Side by Side: Works from the Terra Foundation for the Arts and the Detroit Institute of Arts. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2003. Text p. 19; ill. p. 18 (color).

Deux collections en regard: oeuvres de la Terra Foundation for the Arts et du Detroit Institute of Arts. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2003. Text p. 19; ill. p. 18 (color).

Brownlee, Peter John.  Manifest Destiny / Manifest Responsibility: Environmentalism and the Art of the American Landscape. (exh. cat., Loyola University Museum of Art, Chicago, Illinois). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for American Art and Loyola University Museum of Art, 2008.  Text p. 37 (checklist).Bourguignon, Katherine and Valerie Reis. The Studio of Nature, 1860-1910: The Terra Collection in Context. (exh. cat, Terra Foundation for American Art with the Musée des Impressionnismes Giverny). Paris, France: Réunion des musées nationaux, 2020.  Pl. 86, p. 155 (color).