New Hampshire Antique Co-op presents: After the Storm: American Winter Landscapes

New Hampshire Antique Co-op presents "After the Storm: American Winter Landscapes," a pop-up exhibit and sale of paintings celebrating the enduring beauty of winter in American landscape painting, in New England and beyond. The show brings together 19th-century American Impressionist and Tonalist painters alongside contemporary artists, united by a shared passion for capturing winter's fleeting light and scenery. Featured artists include Aldro Thompson Hibbard, Emile Gruppe, William Lester Stevens, Bruce Crane and Arthur Clifton Goodwin, alongside contemporary painters William R. Davis and T.M. Nicholas. At the heart of the exhibition is the tradition of plein air painting — working directly outdoors in front of the landscape. For many artists, winter presented both irresistible beauty and genuine hardship: frozen fingers, gusting winds and rapidly changing light. Yet these challenges often produced some of their most captivating results. Aldro T. Hibbard famously painted outdoors in subzero temperatures, sometimes tying his brushes to his hands to continue working as his fingers stiffened from cold. He was closely associated with the art colonies of Cape Ann and Vermont, and became renowned for his distinctive brushwork and snowy village scenes. Early Impressionist and Tonalist painters embraced winter for the way snow, ice and leafless trees bring a calm, unified look and a strong sense of mood to the landscape. Snow becomes not merely white, but lavender, blue, peach and pearl — mirroring sky, shadow and time of day. Bruce Crane, a leading American Tonalist, favored quiet, contemplative landscapes. His winter works often dissolve detail into atmosphere, creating stillness in scenes that feel serene and timeless. Contemporary painters such as William R. Davis and T.M. Nicholas, known for their landscape and marine works, frequently paint en plein air in all seasons. Davis' tonal winter paintings retain a strong sense of immediacy, with confident brushwork and direct responses to shifting light. Nicholas' winter scenes often feel alive with movement, even within the quiet of a frozen landscape. Getting to the painting locations in the winter is also a challenge for en plein air artists. Weather conditions make driving to remote locations difficult, and often artists hike into nature to reach favorite spots. For the artists of the 1800s, this would have been accomplished with horses, sleds, snowshoes or on foot, all while hauling painting supplies as well as provisions with them. Artists would even catch rides with loggers heading deep into the forest. Spanning more than a century of American painting, "After the Storm: American Winter Landscapes" highlights how artists have turned to winter as a timeless and powerful subject — valued for its clarity, contrast and, ultimately, wonder of nature. Collectively, these works show how winter has inspired generations of painters who embraced it as both a challenge and an inspiration, drawn by the enduring fascination of capturing its essence. "After the Storm: American Winter Landscapes" is on view now through April 30 in the Tower Gallery at New Hampshire Antique Co-op. New Hampshire Antique Co-op is a destination shop for fine art, period furniture, porcelain, silver, collectibles, jewelry and more. NHAC is one of the largest group antique shops in the state. Established in 1983 by the Hackler family, the shop features more than 200 dealers and 2,000 consignors. The shop is located at 323 Elm Street in Milford, and is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, please call (603) 673-8499 or visit online at www.nhantiquecoop.com.