Farmers with Horse Cart

Mathias Alten was an American Impressionist from Grand Rapids, Michigan, who painted landscapes, seascapes, farm scenes and portraits in bright, loose colour. His fields, rivers and horse-drawn ploughs show the Grand River Valley at the turn of the twentieth century with warmth and directness. Born in Gusenburg, Germany, he emigrated with his family to Grand Rapids as a teenager. He studied in Paris at the Académie Julian and Académie Colarossi, then returned to Michigan, where he worked for the rest of his life. He travelled often in Europe, painting in the Netherlands and Spain, and visited American art colonies from Old Lyme to Laguna Beach. He showed at the National Academy, the Art Institute of Chicago and the Pennsylvania Academy. Grand Valley State University holds a large collection of his work. Look for the sunlight on fields and water, which he painted with quick, broken strokes.