Artwork
Autumn
Autumn is an oil painting by the American Impressionist artist Hugh Bolton Jones. It dates from 1891 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Hugh Bolton Jones painted this oil, Autumn, in 1891. A large bare tree dominates the foreground, ringed by smaller trees and bushes whose leaves have mostly fallen, under a flat, light gray sky. Soft contrasts of light and shadow give the scene depth and a quiet, settled calm.
Subject & Meaning
A winding stream or path meanders through the scene, guiding the viewer’s eye toward a distant, hazy horizon, reinforcing the work’s serene, pastoral mood.
Hugh Bolton Jones’s Autumn (1881) depicts a tranquil rural landscape suffused with the colors of fall. The painting centers on a cluster of trees, likely maples or oaks, whose foliage has turned vibrant hues of red, orange, and gold, emblematic of the season’s transition. A winding stream or path meanders through the scene, guiding the viewer’s eye toward a distant, hazy horizon, reinforcing the work’s serene, pastoral mood.
The iconography of autumnal foliage and harvested fields symbolizes nature’s cyclical renewal and the fleeting beauty of the season. Rather than a narrative, the work evokes a contemplative meditation on time, decay, and the quiet majesty of the natural world.
Technique & Style
Executed in 1881, Hugh Bolton Jones's Autumn is an oil painting on canvas. The work measures 25.4 by 35.6 centimeters and is classified as a landscape. Visually, the composition depicts trees within an autumnal setting, adhering to the conventions of the landscape genre.
The application of oil paint on a woven canvas support represents the standard materials utilized by the artist for this piece during the late nineteenth century.
History & Provenance
Autumn, an oil-on-canvas landscape by Hugh Bolton Jones, was created in 1881, with the work's inception dated to that year. The painting measures 25.4 by 35.6 centimeters and entered the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it remains held and on display. No further details regarding commission, intermediate ownership, or acquisition history are documented in the available sources.
Overview
Hugh Bolton Jones, an American landscape painter, created Autumn in 1891. This oil painting exemplifies his characteristic focus on realistic depictions of natural environments in the eastern United States. The work captures a serene, unpopulated rural scene, showcasing the artist's detailed observation of the changing seasons.
Autumn is part of the collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, representing a significant aspect of American landscape tradition.
Context
Hugh Bolton Jones, who received his artistic training in Baltimore and New York, consistently explored rural American scenery throughout his career. Autumn, painted in 1891, aligns with his broader artistic practice of capturing seasonal landscapes with precision and a contemplative mood. The painting is now housed in the permanent collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it contributes to the understanding of late 19th-century American landscape art.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Hugh Bolton Jones (20 October 1848 – 24 September 1927) was an American landscape painter.
