New England Farm in Winter

American 19th Century

National Gallery of Art

The painting depicts a winter scene. The horizon is in the top third of the image, with a line of dark evergreen trees below a sky of soft blues and hints of yellow. Closer to us, a flat expanse of land with several buildings on it is covered in snow. A woman and child on the right stand near a house with chickens nearby. The chickens fill the snow, and the woman is turned to the left, one arm outstretched towards them and the other holding a large bowl. The child is behind her legs, looking back at a small cat or dog that stands on the right. The woman and child are in front of a low, blue-gray stone building with a roof covered in snow. Another child looks out from inside the building. On the left, past the chickens, a wooden fence leads to a barn with two horses inside of it. In the center, two cattle stand next to a round shed or silo. Behind these buildings, leafless trees stand with snow on their branches. The color palette includes white, grey, green, and brown.