Walter Elmer Schofield, Hill Country

Funding for the conservation of this work was given in loving memory of James E. Edwards, through the generous contribution of his wife and sons in 2000

A constant traveler, Schofield enjoyed painting dramatic views of nature. Here, his expressive brushstrokes capture alternate moods: the strength of a man-made road that cuts through a wintery landscape and the life of delicate plants emerging from a ditch that runs along its side. The road disappears at the horizon line, bringing the viewer’s attention to a stand of trees in the upper right. 

Schofield was a leading voice among the Pennsylvania Impressionists, and he painted in both Europe and the United States throughout his distinguished career. He grew up in the Kensington section of Philadelphia, where his family owned a successful thread factory, and trained at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and at the Académie Julian in Paris. Later in life, he divided his time between Chestnut Hill, where he lived on West Moreland Street in the home of his brother Albert, and Cornwall, England, where he purchased a historic manor, Godolphin.