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Willard Metcalf's New England views are distinctive for their treatment of the transitions between seasons. This sparkling view of the Hollenbeck River in northwestern Connecticut during the early spring documents the pale greens of new growth and freshly tilled fields ready for planting. The rural subject, high horizon line, bright palette, and active brushwork demonstrate Metcalf's debt to French Impressionist landscape painting, which he had observed firsthand while a student in Paris during the 1880s.