Love of Winter, 1914

“There has been none of my favorite snow,” George Bellows wrote to a friend in January 1914, “I must always paint the snow at least once a year.” Then, on February 13, a huge blizzard hit New York City. It was what Bellows had been waiting for. Using an exquisite combo of bright reds, yellows, and greens to intensify the winter scene and broad, slashing brushstrokes to convey movement, wind, and speed, he painted Love of Winter. The energetic group of skaters and onlookers, composed of people of a range of ages and social classes, reflects the diverse population who enjoyed the public parks in early 20th-century NYC.