Hudson Valley I
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A dramatic, heavy landscape sketch dominated by a turbulent sky. The upper two-thirds of the composition consist of thick, rapidly applied brushstrokes in dark grey, slate blue, and black, with a brief horizontal break of pale white and ochre light. Below, the land is a low, rolling expanse of dark green, dotted with a cluster of tiny, pale houses. Davies frequently utilized small wooden panels for his outdoor oil sketches, allowing him to work quickly and capture immediate atmospheric shifts. The raw, unblended impasto in this piece completely subverts the ethereal romanticism of his larger studio works, showcasing a more immediate, tactile response to the environment.