The White Bridge

Arts of the Americas

after 1895

John Henry Twachtman (American, 1853–1902)

The White Bridge depicts Horseneck Brook, which traversed John Henry Twachtman’s Connecticut property. The artist painted at least six versions of the bridge over the course of six years; however, its shape is slightly different in each work. Twachtman may have altered the actual bridge or simply changed its appearance in each painting. Loosely rendered with feathery brushstrokes of green and rich brown, and incorporating expanses of unprimed canvas, this scene captures the rapid growth and verdant blossoming of spring.

Status: Currently Off View
Department: Arts of the Americas

Artist: John Henry Twachtman
Title: The White Bridge
Place: Connecticut (Place depicted:)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: 1895–1902
Medium: Oil on canvas
Inscriptions: Signed, lower left: "J. H. Twachtman"
Dimensions: 75 × 75 cm (29 1/2 × 29 1/2 in.)
Credit Line: Mr. and Mrs. Martin A. Ryerson Collection
Reference Number: 1937.1042
IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.: https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/25872/manifest.json

American Art Annual for 1915–1916, 13, 394.
Paintings in the Art Institute of Chicago: A Catalogue of the Picture Collection (The Netherlands, 1961), 457.
John Douglass Hale, The Life and Creative Development of John H. Twachtman, vol. 1, Ph.D., diss. Ohio State University, 1957, 435.
Lisa N. Peters, “The Suburban Aesthetic: John Twachtman’s ‘White Bridge,’” Porticus, 17–19 (1994–96), 51–56.
Susan G. Larkin, “On Home Ground: John Twachtman and the Familiar Landscape,” American Art Journal, 29, 1 & 2 (1998), 52–85, fig. 19.
Judith A. Barter, et al., The Age of American Impressionism: Masterpieces from the Art Institute of Chicago (Art Institute of Chicago, 2011), cat. 59.

New York School of Applied Design for Women, Exhibition of Fifty Paintings by the late John H. Twachtman, Jan. 15–Feb. 15, 1913, no. 36.
Buffalo Fine Arts Academy, Albright Art Gallery, Exhibition of Paintings and Pastels by the Late John H. Twachtman, Mar. 11–Apr. 2, 1913, no. 27 as The Bridge.
New York, American Art Galleries, Paintings by Ancient and Modern Masters, May 4–9, 1916 (?), no. 78 as The White Bridge.
Detroit, Michigan, The Detroit Institute of Arts (formerly Detroit Museum of Art), Catalogue of the Fourth Annual Exhibition of Selected Paintings by American Artists, Apr. 9 – May 30, 1918, no. 121, as Bridge in Spring.
Art Institute of Chicago, Summer Exhibitions: Paintings from the Permanent Collections, July 20–Oct. 29, 1939, no. 12 as The White Bridge.
Illinois, Decatur Art Center, Millikin University, Masterpieces of European and American Art Lent by the Art Institute of Chicago, Mar. 4–25, 1945, Reginald H. Neal, no. 16; Springfield Art Association, Ill., Apr. 4–30.
South Bend Art Association, Ind., American Painting in the Manner of the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries, Feb. 10–Mar. 31, 1948, James Murray Haddow, no. 55.
Cincinnati Art Museum, A Retrospective Exhibition: John Henry Twachtman, Oct. 7–Nov. 20, 1966, Richard J. Boyle, no. 59.
Charlotte, N.C., The Mint Museum, American Masterpieces from American Museums, Nov. 10, 1985–Jan. 5, 1986.
West Palm Beach, Fla., Norton Gallery of Art, In Nature’s Ways: American Landscape Painting of the Late Nineteenth Century, Feb. 21– Apr. 12, 1987, Bruce Weber and William Gerdts, no. 69, ill. p. 70; New York, National Academy of Design, May 8–Aug. 16, 1987; Chicago, Terra Museum of American Art, Sept. 10–Nov. 1, 1987.
John Twachtman: An American Impressionist Cincinatti: 6/6/99 – 9/5/99; Philadelphia: 10/7/99 – 1/2/2000 and Atlanta 2/12/2000 – 5/27/2000

Alexander Morton, New York, by 1916; American Art Galleries, New York, 1916; Macbeth Galleries, New York, 1916; sold to Martin A. Ryerson (1856–1932), Chicago, 1916; by descent to his wife Carrie Hutchinson Ryerson (1859–1937), Chicago, 1932 [Last Will and Testament of Martin A. Ryerson, Died August 11, 1932, copy in Institutional Archives, Art Institute of Chicago]; bequeathed to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1937.

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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Inscriptions

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.