Snow in Vermont 1944

Guy MacCoy’s ‘Snow in Vermont’ depicts horses in a winter landscape, using color woodcut. This print is an example of a broader artistic interest in rural American life, one that gained popularity in the first half of the twentieth century. MacCoy, who studied at the Art Students League in New York, made this image at a time when urban life was becoming more and more dominant in America. So, perhaps the print attempts to recapture some of that lost rural innocence. The composition is relatively simple. A limited palette gives the scene a quiet and contemplative feel. The print’s graphic style relates to commercial art of the period and shows the influence of Japanese woodblock prints. Further research might explore MacCoy’s relationship to other artists working in this mode, and why they sought inspiration from pre-industrial sources and non-western traditions. Understanding this institutional and social context allows us to fully appreciate the image.