The Upper Ipswich River

Born in Swampscott, Massachusetts, Little studied art at the School of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. Following his studies he married and moved to Salem where he shared his first studio with his close friend and American Impressionist, Frank Benson. Financially independent, Little was able to pursue multiple responsibilities - serving as a civic leader of Salem and a curator of the Essex Institute - while pursuing his passion for painting whenever he had a free moment. Consequently, the landscape of his environs served as a mainstay of his artistic output. The Upper Ipswich River reveals Little as a master of his medium (as witnessed in the variety of brushwork) and an astute colorist. This autumnal scene was exhibited in 1915 at the Panama-Pacific International Exhibition in San Francisco where it received a silver medal.