“Country Road in Winter”

Original oil paint on canvas board panel of old houses and a church on a snow covered county road. The painter is the well known American artist Gardner Symons. Signed lower right. Condition is very good; no issues. The painting is housed in a new custom handmade gold gallery frame by Motyka frames of Rhode Island. Overall framed measurements are 19.5 by 23.5 inches. Provenance: A Miami, Florida estate.

Gardner Symons was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1861. Not much is known about his early life other than he studied at the Chicago Art Institute and worked for a time in Chicago as a commercial artist. In school he developed a close friendship with William Wendt, a noted California Impressionist. When Wendt moved to California in 1903, Symons went with him, built a studio in Laguna Beach and became active in western art societies including the California Art Club. He returned to California often but his main studio was in Brooklyn, New York.

Symons was accustomed to travel; besides his time spent in England, while in Europe he also studied in Paris, Munich and London, but it was in St. Ives that he adopted plein air techniques from his fellow artist associations. Symons became one of America’s most noted plein air painters. His style combined Impressionism and Realism and is cited for its energy, simplicity, and panoramic views. He preferred painting the snow covered landscape. George Gardner Symons died in Hillside, New Jersey in 1930.