Success at Macbeth

Lawson settled in his home and studio in 1889 with his wife, Ella Holman. They lived in a small apartment in Washington Heights, overlooking the Harlem River, which Lawson saw everyday. After working independly for several years, Lawson caught the eye of Robert Henri, an experienced Impressionst artist who appreciated and saw potential in Lawson's style. In 1904, Lawson was included into a progressive art group known as 'The Eight", which was led by Henri. The rest of the memebers included Everett Shinn, John Sloan, Arthur B. Davies, Maurice Prendergast, George Luks, William J. Glackens, and later, George Bellows. The driving force behind the group was to bring art into closer touch with everyday life. The Eight's most successful exhibition proved to be at the Macbeth Gallery in 1908, conveiently the year The Harlem River (Rivershacks) was created. Though the catalogue from the show proved that The Harlem River (Rivershacks) was not included, I have hypothesized that the painting must have been created after the exhibition at the Macbeth Gallery. The Eight's exhibition was displayed for two weeks in early February, and looking more closely at the formal aspects of the painting, one can formulate what season the image was painted. The Harlem River (Rivershacks) depicts representations of budding trees, with soft springlike green and blues being used as the primary color pallet. Even warm patches of grass grace the ground , truly indications of the season of spring. Thus, I have concluded that the painting must have been completed in the spring of 1908, and therefore, would not have even been made for the Macbeth Gallery show. 

Image source: http://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/images/detail/macbeth-gallery-7933. accessed 21 April 2014

Text soure: Homer Innes, William. 'The Exhibition of the Eight: Its History and Significance" The American Art Journal. Vol 1. No 1. (Spring 1969) pp. 53-64