Plein Air Heritage
“Aim to tell the truth; but if you have to lie, lie courageously,” L. Birge Harrison (1854-1929) told his students at the Woodstock, New York, summer school operated by the Art Students League of New York. That message, and Harrison’s belief that truth can come through plein air painting, influenced a number of artists associated with the school. Among those dedicated outdoor painters working near the school in the Catskill Mountains region were Harry (Tony) Leith-Ross (1886-1973) and his friend John Folinsbee (1892-1972). In this small plein air painting, Leith-Ross is shown painting under an umbrella with a open paint box resting on his outstretched legs. Folinsbee captured his appearance with thick, swirling strokes of oil colors that mix on the panel much as they do on the palette. At the…