Edge of the Moor, Brittany

Beneath the fading light of an overcast sky, a solitary woman carries a bundle of sticks down a mossy path. Bare trees rise above her, their branches silhouetted against the clouds. The scene is quiet, almost mournful. There is no majestic scenery to be found, just the slow drama of land giving way to autumn. A Baltimore-based painter, Bolton Jones completed this work while studying in Europe. In 1876, he settled in Pont-Aven, France, where he joined a community of artists working in a style known as the Barbizon School. Named for the forests surrounding the French village of Barbizon, this style emphasized subdued, atmospheric scenes, often within rural or agricultural settings. By the end of the 19th century, Barbizon imagery had replaced the Hudson River School as the most popular form of landscape painting among U.S. collectors.