Meetinghouse Hill, Roxbury, Massachusetts
1799
oil
From the collection of Art Institute of Chicago
1799
oil
From the collection of Art Institute of Chicago
You see a quiet New England hillside with a white meetinghouse, a few houses, and a winding dirt road. This is one of the earliest American paintings to show a real place—not a made-up scene. Penniman was only seventeen when he painted it, yet the light feels honest, like early morning in Roxbury. The trees are still, the shadows soft. To see how other young artists painted their hometowns, look up the technique called *glazing*.
