Edge of the Forest

Shadows flicker across a tranquil field dotted with flowers. Charlotte Buell Coman mixed vigorous brushwork with passages of flat colors to convey the textures of foliage and the subtle effects of light and atmosphere. She probably painted this summer scene in upstate New York. Coman first embraced this approach during her studies in France with a group of landscape painters known as the Barbizon School. She began painting professionally in her mid-30s, around the time she became Deaf. Coman’s career eventually stretched over six decades, during which she exhibited in Paris, London, and the United States, including the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair.