Walter Elmer Schofield, Trenwith-Cornish Farm

Conservation of this work was made possible by the generous contribution of William M. Leach, Jr. and family in memory of Jeffrey Leach in 1993.

The Trenwith family, whose farm and buildings are depicted here, had been associated with St. Ives, Cornwall since the Middle Ages. However, their buildings are not as close to the sea and as dramatically perched above the cliffs as Schofield makes them appear. The painting is an invention; Schofield constructs the scene with a curving road and grouping of architectural structures in the foreground juxtaposed with a backdrop of Cornwall's great cliffs. It is possible the landscape itself was assembled, in the manner of a collage, from several independent studies.

Walter Elmer Schofield was a leader of the Philadelphia Impressionists and central to the broader phenomenon of American Impressionism. Spending winters in his hometown of Philadelphia, his summer months he left to find inspiration in the scenic coastline of Cornwall, England. Schofield traveled extensively to Cornwall, England, from 1903 onwards, eventually taking up residence in the area and staying there until his death in 1944. It was the subject of many works throughout Schofield's career.