Elms in Winter by the Humber River

This season is marked with the shortest and darkest days of the year but Clara’s Elms in Winter by the Humber River offers us a cheerier interpretation of winter. The canvas is bathed in a soft, almost golden tone. The evergreens that reach skyward have a feathery texture to them. The man in the foreground walks with purpose as he approaches the river. The viewer peers through the shadowy trees to the two buildings on the other side of the river. John W. Beatty’s influence on Clara, his young student. is so evident here. His 1918 Old House, Humber River (www.mayberryfineart.com/artwork/AW23716) and Elms in Winter bear so many similarities including the site of the paintings.