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Learn MoreLittle Ranch, Colorado by Ernest Lawson
- Ernest Lawson captures the poetry of rural life in this intimate yet expansive landscape
- The evocative work depicts a cluster of buildings nestled at the base of a wooded mountain slope
- Lawson builds the composition through expressive impasto, allowing layered colors to merge
- A key figure in early American modernism, Lawson bridges Impressionism and realism
- Get complete item description here
$29,850
Item No.
32-2639
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Description
Ernest Lawson
1873-1939 | Canadian-American
Little Ranch, Colorado
Signed "E. Lawson" (lower right)
Signed, titled and inscribed "119 East 19th St / N.Y. City" (en verso)
Oil on canvas board
This richly atmospheric landscape by Ernest Lawson captures a quiet ranching scene at the base of a Colorado mountain. Painted circa 1925–1930, the composition reflects Lawson’s mature Impressionist vision, where the scene dissolves into layered color and texture. Rustic buildings and grazing. . .
1873-1939 | Canadian-American
Little Ranch, Colorado
Signed "E. Lawson" (lower right)
Signed, titled and inscribed "119 East 19th St / N.Y. City" (en verso)
Oil on canvas board
This richly atmospheric landscape by Ernest Lawson captures a quiet ranching scene at the base of a Colorado mountain. Painted circa 1925–1930, the composition reflects Lawson’s mature Impressionist vision, where the scene dissolves into layered color and texture. Rustic buildings and grazing. . .
Read More
Ernest Lawson
1873-1939 | Canadian-American
Little Ranch, Colorado
Signed "E. Lawson" (lower right)
Signed, titled and inscribed "119 East 19th St / N.Y. City" (en verso)
Oil on canvas board
This richly atmospheric landscape by Ernest Lawson captures a quiet ranching scene at the base of a Colorado mountain. Painted circa 1925–1930, the composition reflects Lawson’s mature Impressionist vision, where the scene dissolves into layered color and texture. Rustic buildings and grazing livestock anchor the foreground, while the sweeping hillside rises behind them in a tapestry of deep greens, blues and violets beneath a softly clouded sky.
Lawson builds the surface with his characteristic impasto, applying paint in thick, expressive strokes that emphasize the physicality of the landscape. The work most likely depicts a ranch in the Colorado Springs foothills, probably in the Broadmoor or Cheyenne Mountain area, where Lawson painted while teaching at the Broadmoor Art Academy in the late 1920s. Here, light and color become the true subjects, as the rolling terrain and clustered ranch structures emerge from a dense, vibrating surface. The result balances natural description with a heightened sense of mood and rhythm.
A key figure in early 20th-century American painting, Lawson was associated with The Eight and exhibited widely as part of the broader shift toward modern realism and Impressionism in the United States. Born in Nova Scotia in 1873, he later trained at the Art Students League in New York and in Paris at the Académie Julian, where exposure to Impressionist methods shaped his lifelong commitment to plein air landscape painting. His work occupies a distinctive position between Impressionism and realism, defined by its emphasis on structure, atmosphere and painterly surface rather than strict representation.
In the late 1920s, Lawson taught at the Broadmoor Art Academy in Colorado Springs, where this work was almost certainly painted. The painting's setting matches the foothills of this region, perhaps depicting a small ranch near Cheyenne Mountain. Today Lawson is recognized as one of the leading American landscape painters of the early 20th century, and his works belong to major institutions, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Whitney Museum of American Art and more.
Circa 1925–1930
Canvas: 11 3/4" high x 15" wide (29.9 x 38.1 cm)
Frame: 20" high x 24" wide x 2" deep (50.8 x 61 x 5.1 cm)
Provenance:
Private collection, Colorado
Private collection, Minnesota
M.S. Rau, New Orleans
1873-1939 | Canadian-American
Little Ranch, Colorado
Signed "E. Lawson" (lower right)
Signed, titled and inscribed "119 East 19th St / N.Y. City" (en verso)
Oil on canvas board
This richly atmospheric landscape by Ernest Lawson captures a quiet ranching scene at the base of a Colorado mountain. Painted circa 1925–1930, the composition reflects Lawson’s mature Impressionist vision, where the scene dissolves into layered color and texture. Rustic buildings and grazing livestock anchor the foreground, while the sweeping hillside rises behind them in a tapestry of deep greens, blues and violets beneath a softly clouded sky.
Lawson builds the surface with his characteristic impasto, applying paint in thick, expressive strokes that emphasize the physicality of the landscape. The work most likely depicts a ranch in the Colorado Springs foothills, probably in the Broadmoor or Cheyenne Mountain area, where Lawson painted while teaching at the Broadmoor Art Academy in the late 1920s. Here, light and color become the true subjects, as the rolling terrain and clustered ranch structures emerge from a dense, vibrating surface. The result balances natural description with a heightened sense of mood and rhythm.
A key figure in early 20th-century American painting, Lawson was associated with The Eight and exhibited widely as part of the broader shift toward modern realism and Impressionism in the United States. Born in Nova Scotia in 1873, he later trained at the Art Students League in New York and in Paris at the Académie Julian, where exposure to Impressionist methods shaped his lifelong commitment to plein air landscape painting. His work occupies a distinctive position between Impressionism and realism, defined by its emphasis on structure, atmosphere and painterly surface rather than strict representation.
In the late 1920s, Lawson taught at the Broadmoor Art Academy in Colorado Springs, where this work was almost certainly painted. The painting's setting matches the foothills of this region, perhaps depicting a small ranch near Cheyenne Mountain. Today Lawson is recognized as one of the leading American landscape painters of the early 20th century, and his works belong to major institutions, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Whitney Museum of American Art and more.
Circa 1925–1930
Canvas: 11 3/4" high x 15" wide (29.9 x 38.1 cm)
Frame: 20" high x 24" wide x 2" deep (50.8 x 61 x 5.1 cm)
Provenance:
Private collection, Colorado
Private collection, Minnesota
M.S. Rau, New Orleans
Read Less
Specifications
| Maker: | Lawson, Ernest |
| Period: | 1919-Present |
| Origin: | America |
| Type: | Paintings |
| Style: | Impressionism |
| Depth: | 2.0 in. (5.08 cm) |
| Width: | 24.0 in. (60.96 cm) |
| Height: | 20.0 in. (50.8 cm) |
| Canvas Width: | 15.000 in. (38.1 cm) |
| Canvas Height: | 11.750 in. (29.85 cm) |
Buy with Confidence
At M.S. Rau, we are committed to building a long-term, rewarding relationship with each and every client. That’s why your purchase is backed by our 125% guarantee.
Learn More
