Benjamin Foster's specialties were
the poetic scenes of the New England countryside. He was also
an art critic. In style, he is associated with a group of landscape
painters who were known for their use of limited tones and subdued
color--almost exclusively autumn colors, muted browns, grays and
rusts. He also used many of the painting techniques of the impressionists.
It is thought he completed most of his paintings in his studio
and not on location, "en plein air." Foster was born
in Maine and for financial reasons, did not begin an art career
until he was almost age thirty. After an early profession in business,
he attended the Art Students League in New York City, studying
under Abbott Thayer. In 1886, like many American artists, he went
to Paris where he studied with Aime Morot and Luc Oliver Merson.
But he was homesick for New England and returned to America after
one year, settling in Cornwall Hollow, Connecticut. Most of his
landscape painting was of that area. He died in New York City.
