Summer

Joseph Rubens Powell

National Gallery of Art

This painting shows a curving countryside path on the left, with a wooden fence partially visible on the far left in front of a cluster of green trees. The path is cutting through a field of yellow grass with bright red flowers on the right. A woman stands on the edge of the path, to the left of center. She is looking towards the trees on the left. She wears a gray dress with a white apron and appears to hold a basket. Closer to us, to the right of center, a child stands among tall yellow grasses, holding a bunch of bright red flowers. The child is facing the left, looking towards the woman. They wear a blue dress with dark stockings and have shoulder-length, reddish-brown hair. Both people have pale skin and no visible facial features. In the distance there are rolling blue hills beneath a pale gray sky. The brushstrokes in the painting are fluid, and some colors blend together.